News
Dr. Smith-Purviance joins Dr. Marc Lamont Hill on his Office Hours show on October 15, 2026 at 9:00pm CST/10:00pm EST.
Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/…
Congratulations Dr. Ashley Smith-Purviance’s on your upcoming book, Unschooling Black Girls Surviving Anti-Black Violence in Suburban Schools! It will be published with UNC Press…
Congratulations AAAS Faculty member Charles Athanasopoulos ("Dr. A") on recently receiving two major awards from the National Communication Association:
The 2026 New Investigator Award…
Congratulations, Dr. Viet Trinh on being interviewed on Stupid Sexy Privacy (October 1), a podcast on data privacy and civil liberties! The episode is entitled "Everyone Is Being Watched…
Congratulations, Dr. Charles Athanasopoulos on being featured on the Breaking Culture Live Podcast (September 16) to preview the 2027 Cultural Studies Association Conference theme …
Celebrating Creative Practice, Culture, and a New Era of Hip Hop at Ohio State
Dig, Sample, Chop, Sequence: Hip Hop Studies in Practice is an evening of DJing, beat making…
AAAS & Music Hip Hop Minor
The Hip Hop minor in African American & African Studies and Music consists of 15 semester hours: 6 hours in core requirements (AFAMAST/MUSIC 3450 & 3354) and 9 semester…
Congratulations Dr. Jason Rawls on your new article,"Crate Missions and the Hip Hop Producer’s Ear: Listening, Legacy and Beat-Making as Archival Practice in Intellect Discover."
AAAS Faculty member Dr. Charles Athanasopoulos was recently elected the Vice President of the Cultural Studies Association. Per CSA guidelines, Dr. A will serve a two-year term followed by a…
Tiyi M. Morris is a Professor of African American and African Studies at The Ohio State University at the Newark campus and the co-director of the Ohio Prison Education Exchange Project (OPEEP)…
Dr. Campbell's article proposes that Black queer blogs from the early 2000s demonstrate how to preserve Black life and personhood. Please see the below link for more details.
https://read…
Dr. Ashley Smith-Purviance scholarship critically analyzes how social structures, educational policies, and institutions shape and reproduce harmful inequalities for Black women and girls. As a…
"Blackness and the Sociality of Sports: A Conversation with Fred Moten" by Roberto Sirvent, Charles Athanasopoulos and Fred Moten. Lateral 15.1 (Spring 2026). https://csalateral.org…
Congratulation to AAAS Assistant Professor, Dr. Jason Rawls, on his appearance on Sway in the Morning (April 10, 2026)!
Check out the link.
https://www…
Congratulation Dr. Michael R. Fisher Jr. on being appointed to a three-year term as a senator representing the Division of Arts & Humanities! Dr. Fishers term runs from Fall Semester, 2026…
The article titled "Follow the Rain: Freedom Summer 2020 and Somali American Political Consciousness,” is published with The Black Scholar: Journal of Black Studies and Research. The authors—Muna…
Stevie “Dr. View” Johnson is an award-winning DJ, producer, scholar, and cultural architect whose work sits at the intersection of Black sound, creative practice, community organizing, and…
Congratulations Dr. Sunnie Rucker-Chang on your publication in a special issue of Slavic Review: Critical Forum: Blackness in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Societies. This special…
“Together We Rise: Solidarity Stories from Central Ohio" features interviews with organizers and activists Dr. Pranav Jani has worked with for 20+ years in Columbus. Many are connected with OSU. …
Congratulations AAAS Assistant Professor Dr. Zoé Samudzi on being an Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant recipient. Hooray!
Please check out the link to Zoe’s award.
Congratulation AAAS Professor Ryan Skinner on your essay celebrating the importance of the Arts and Humanities being published by NBC!
Here is a link to the article: https://www.nbc4i.com…
AAAS Assistant Professor, Dr. Charles Athanasopoulos book, Black Iconoclasm, was recently awarded the 2025 Critical and Cultural Studies Division Book of the Year Award by the National…
Please join Dr. Athanasopoulos and the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) at his upcoming virtual lecture on September 26th, 2025, 6PM-7:30PM ET. This talk is part of…
On Thursday September 25th, AAAS Assistant Professor, Ashley L. Smith-Purviance will be one of three featured speakers on the Black Girlhood Roundtable Virtual Event. Please read below and check…
Dr. Zoé Samudzi will be giving a lecture at Bard College’s Center for Human Rights and the Arts on Friday, September 26th from 12-1:30pm. Dr. Samudzi's talk is about an exhibition…
Thursday September 25th, 2025 at the Wexner Center 6pm influential producers Pete Rock and J. Rawls explore the hip hop archive through music and conversation. This event is free to OSU students…
J Rawls will be performing in Yellow Springs, Ohio at the second annual Talib Kweli KWELIFEST – hosted by Dave Chappelle. The three day event will feature performances by Jungle Brothers, Skyzoo,…
Congratulations Dr. Sunnie Rucker-Chang on your well deserved appointment to The Ohio State University Press Board!
Sunnie Rucker-Chang is the Interim Chair of the Department of African…
Last month, the Department of African American & African Studies at The Ohio State University hosted its inaugural summer residency program. Funded by the Andrew W…
Check out the link for the article from The Lantern about Dr. Lupenga Mphande's remarkable history of activism and global scholarship. https://www.thelantern.com/2025/04/ohio-state…
U.S. Public Trust in Higher Ed Rises From Recent Low
Link to interview below.
SKY NEWS - Diddy Verdict, July 2 2025 shareable (540).mp4
Congratulation Dr. Abu-Maye on your recently published book, Black Muslim Refugee!
This multisited project, the first of its kind, exposes the links between US military violence…
On May 30th, 2025, Black Iconoclasm: Public Symbols, Racial Progress, and Post/Ferguson America was awarded The Cultural Studies Association’s 2025 First Book Prize. During the CSA…
On Episode 99 of the Re:Verb Podcast, AAAS faculty member Dr. Charles Athanasopoulos was recently interviewed on his first book project. The episode's summary is as follows:
"Today’s episode…
On March 27th 2025, AAAS faculty member Jason Rawls was celebrated as a professor and a musician in 2 consecutive features by The Columbus Dispatch. Watch him discuss how Ohio State students react…
To support and promote high-impact engaged scholarship, the Office of Outreach and Engagement has instituted a process to certify programs of excellence in engaged scholarship. The certification…
On February 27th 2025, Dr. Abigail Lindo of the Department of Comparative Studies and the Department of African-American and African Studies hosted a workshop tailored to graduate students…
AAAS faculty member Tiyi Morris assisted a group of undergraduate students in producing 2 documentaries in 2015 and 2022 on the Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans. In the fall semester, Dr. Morris…
Affiliated faculty member Pranav Jani of the Ohio State English Department has recently published an op-ed discussing the introduction and implications of Ohio Senate Bill 1. The full article is…
AAAS Faculty Member Jason Rawls debuted the brand-new SiriusXM Shade 45 show Crate Missions on January 10th, 2025 alongside Lord Sear. …
In December 2024, AAAS Faculty Member Elea Proctor was published in the Journal of the Society for American Music. Titled Dora Dean and the Performance of Black Womanhood in the “Coon Song”…
AAAS Faculty Member Ashley Smith-Purviance has recently co-authored and published a research article in the International Journal of Qualitative Research. Titled Where We Live and Be: (Re…
AAAS Faculty Member Viet Trinh recently published an article in Time Magazine on the potential landscape of deportations under the Trump presidential administration. The full article is available…
AAAS faculty member Judson L. Jeffries recently published an article about the supposed 50th anniversary of hip-hop in the Columbus Dispatch. The full article is available on their…
AAAS faculty member Judson L. Jeffries and staff member Molly Reinhoudt will be joined by their coeditor Shannon M. Cochran for a book signing for volume 1 of their new book Feel My Big Guitar…
AAAS faculty member Judson L. Jeffries recently wrote two commentaries marking the passing of Tina Turner and Jim Brown for the Columbus Dispatch.
AAAS faculty member Simone Drake recently completed a documentary on the events that led police to shut down Linden-McKinley High School in May 1971. The screening will take place on May 20, 2023…
Congratulations to the students selected to be the second cohort of participants in the Blackness and the Politics of a Professional Career Program: Bryana Chambers, Jaiden Davis, Merafe Endalew,…
AAAS faculty member Ryan Skinner was named author of the month by the journal Africa Today for January 2023. Read more on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AfricaTodayJournal…
The two journals housed in AAAS (Research in African Literatures and Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men) were fortunate to host their inaugural editorial intern from OSU's…
AAAS will be hiring for five faculty positions this year. Interested individuals are encouraged to read the full position descriptions and apply:
—Department Chair (Associate/Full Professor…
Ryan Skinner (Associate Professor, AAAS & Music) recently published his second scholarly monograph, Afro-Sweden: Becoming Black in a Color-Blind Country (Minnesota, 2022)…
Looking for a course this fall to fulfill the GEN Theme Citizenship for a Diverse & Just World? Look no further than AFAMAST 3450: The Arts & Politics of Hip Hop. Taught by Dr. Jason Rawls, the…
Congratulations to the fifteen students admitted into the inaugural Blackness and the Politics of a Professional Career Program sponsored by the Department of African American and African Studies …
The Alliance for the Support of Black Studies (AAAS's undergraduate student organization) is planning their first Game Night on Wednesday, October 13, at 6PM. All are invited to attend. Test your…
AAAS Professor Emeritus Linda James Myers is being recognized and honored for her lifelong work in Psychology and Optimal Theory at UCSB’s Center for Black Studies Research, on Wednesday, October…
AAAS faculty member Ryan Skinner was recently award an Ohio State Arts & Humanities Larger Grant for a research project.
AAAS faculty member Sarah Van Beurden was recently awarded a Virtual Exchange Global Teaching and Learning Grant from Ohio State's Office of International Affairs for her virtual global teaching…
If you missed our virtual spring 2021 commencement ceremony on Friday, May 7, 2021, a video of the program is now available.
"Being Black/Becoming Black," the $50,000 Community Engagement Grant Award project by AAAS interim chair and Distinguished Professor of Humanities Adélékè Adéẹ̀kọ́ and associate professor Kwaku…
Students are encouraged to check out our new in-depth course descriptions for Autumn 2021. You'll find new information on possible texts for our courses as well as potential assignments.
Read the full story here: https://www.thelantern.com/2021/03/african-american-and-african-studies-faculty-call-for-increased-support-following-five-year-instructor-decrease/
If you were unable to attend the webinar with Professor Adélékè Adéẹ̀kọ́ in person on December 9, 2020, a video of the talk and Q&A session is now available for viewing.
If you were unable to attend the webinar with Olufemi Taiwo in person on February 24, 2021, a video of the talk and Q&A session is now available for viewing.
Dr. Simone C. Drake is participating in a variety of speaking engagements as part of Black History Month. Just yesterday, she was a guest on Texas Public Radio's The Source to discuss her…
Every year when Dr. King’s birthday rolls around, scholars and intellectuals come out of the woodwork, Black scholars and intellectuals in particular, offering what they believe to be a thoughtful…
Recently, three new calls for papers have been added for Research in African Literatures on South African Literature a Priori, Namwali Serpell’s The Old Drift: Disruption, and Ama Ata…
OSUDance’s Dance Notation Bureau Extension Center for Education and Research; The Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s Frank W. Hale, Jr. Black Cultural Center; and the African American…
Simone C. Drake, Hazel C. Youngberg Trustees Distinguished Professor of African American and African Studies, recently published an article in the Ohio Humanities magazine Pathways titled…
Attention AAAS major, minors, and other interested OSU students! The Department of African American and African Studies is seeking to help interested students start an undergraduate student…
Courses for Spring 2021 are now open for registration, visit https://aaas.osu.edu/students/undergrad/courses for more information.
Judson Jeffries, professor of African American and African Studies, researches media studies, public policy, homeland security, African American politics and police-community relations. He sees…
As the editor of Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a few words about the recent passing of Dr. Joseph Lowery, the Rev. C. T. Vivian, and Congressman…
Judson L. Jeffries, Professor of African American and African Studies, was recently interviewed by a variety of news outlets following the protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd at the…
#BlackLivesMatter
A Scarred Past
Having just celebrated the 50th anniversary of the formation of this department and recognized the…
Dr. Simone C. Drake, chair of Ohio State's Department of African American and African Studies, recently led a gallery talk exploring the work in Mickalene Thomas: I Can’t See You Without Me…
Eric Herschthal, AAAS's new Postdoctoral Fellow in Race & Medicine, recently reviewed…
Congratulations Sarah Wilkes and Chris Newman, the 1st and 2nd place winners of our “Roots before Branches” contest! Sarah and Chris received $100 and $50 gift cards, respectively, for their…
November 9, 1989 saw not only the opening of The Berlin Wall but also the first one-person, one-vote election in Namibia. Within a year, young Namibians were returning to their unknown homeland,…
Nearly two years since the Ferguson uprising, and thanks to movements such as Black Lives Matter, Rhodes Must Fall, and Fees Must Fall, there can be no doubt that the cause of Black Liberation is…
The Department of African American and African Studies is pleased to announce the AAAS Brown Bag featuring our very own Dr. Monika Brodnicka. The talk is scheduled on February 26th at 1:30pm-3…
In conjunction with Black History Month, the Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) is organizing a contest called “Roots before Branches.” Through this contest,…
The Department of African American and African Studies is co-sponsoring one of Africa's greatest musicians, Youssou N'Dour, in his upcoming concert in Columbus! Youssou N'Dour will be appearing at…
On Friday, November 13, Dr. Pranav Jani, Associate Professor of English at The Ohio State University, will deliver a talk in the AAAS Brown Bag Lecture series, entitled "When the Subaltern Speaks:…
On Monday, October 26 at 6 pm, come to the Ohio Union, where the Department of African American and African Studies is sponsoring a special screening of the documentary film Inside Buffalo, which…
The Department of African American and African Studies is pleased to announce the Brown Bag Presentation featuring AAAS Faculty Member, Dr. David Crawford Jones. The talk is entitled, "Farm Boys…
Professor Emeritus Ted McDaniel has written a new article uncovering the history of racial appropriation behind "Hang on Sloopy," an OSU tradition marking its 50th anniversary this year.
The Minister of Culture Emory Douglas and former Los Angeles Panther leader Harold Taylor will share their experiences as members of the Black Panther Party during the turbulent 60s and 70s. Douglas…
The Department of African American and African Studies is pleased to announce the Brown Bag Presentation featuring AAAS Faculty Member, Dr. Denise Noble. The talk is entitled, “Re-Memorying…
This Friday, April 3, The Voices of the Black Academy and the Department of African American and African Studies will be hosting its first Block Party recruitment event! The event will be held…
Thursday, April 16, 2015 - 4…
The Department of African American and African Studies is pleased to announce the Brown Bag Presentation featuring Professor Pedro Schacht Pereira. The talk is entitled, “Hegel, Exceptionalism and…
Dr. Mary Helen Washington will discuss her book
“The Other Blacklist…
Ryan Skinner of The Ohio State University music faculty presents "An Afropolitan Muse." This lecture is free and…
The Department of African American and African Studies is pleased to announce the Distinguished Lecturere Series Presentation featuring Dr. John Jackson. The talk is scheduled for Noon, Friday, 10…
In the spring of 2014, the Department of African American and African Studies offered its first Study Abroad Program to Brazil. Building upon its strengths in…
The Department of African American and African Studies is pleased to announce the Distinguished Lecturer Presentation featuring Monique Morris, Ed.D. The talk is entitled, “Black Girls and School…
The Department of African American and African Studies hosted the Distinguished Lecture Series presentation featuring Jana Braziel, Ph.D., Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Africana…