NEWS / EVENTS
KATRINA'S IMPACT ON NEW ORLEANS
December 1, 2005
Professor Dorothy V. Smith, a historian from Dillard University, and currently a Visiting Senior Research Scholar in African-American Studies, at Princeton University will discuss the impact and consequences of the recent storm disaster in New Orleans. Her publications are in the area of the history of African-American journalism. Undergraduate Students Ayo Peterson, Crystal Spellman, and Ronald Sloan will join Professor Wendell Holbrook, Department Chair on a panel that will engage Professor Smith in a discussion of the recent developments and prospects for change in New Orleans.
This presentation, sponsored by the Department of African-American and African Studies, will be held on Thursday, December 1st in the Dean's Lounge, 1st floor of Ackerson Hall (180 University Avenue), from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.
congratulations class of 2005!
May 2005
Congratulations to Kristina Eugene, Regina Fitch and Khalil Muhammad, graduating seniors of the class of 2005 in African-American and African Studies and recipients of this year's Departmental Awards. Ms. Eugene was awarded the Wendell A. Jean-Pierre Award as the graduating senior who best exemplifies the Department's mission to combine scholastic excellence with service to the field and to the community. Ms. Fitch and Mr. Muhammad were the recepients of a Merit Award in recognition of their high achievement and committment to the Department's mission to combine scholastic excellence with service to the field and the community.
World war II: How black soldiers won the war
April 27, 2005
In the sixtieth anniversary year of the end of World War II, join Christopher Paul Moore, research coordinator for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and author of Fighting For America: Black Soldiers - the Unsung Heroes of World War II, for a discussion of the critical role black soldiers played on all fronts across the world from the first day of America's involvement in the war. The son of two proud World War II veterans, Moore will present never-before-published material on individual soldiers and black platoons.
This presentation, sponsored by the Department of African-American and African Studies, will be held on Wednesday, April 27th in the Dean's Lounge of Ackerson Hall (180 University Avenue), from 2:30 p.m.-3:50 p.m. Refreshments will be provided.
The Future of urban literature
April 22, 2005
On April 8, 1980 noted scholars, authors, activists, poets, corporations, and the Rutgers community partnered to discuss the impact of literature and the Urban Experience. Some of the featured speakers included great literary icons such as James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates and Amiri Baraka. The conference served as a catalyst for providing an avenue to address the issue of Black literature and expression and inclusion in the American literary canon.
In commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of this significant event, we bring to you a panel discussion, "The Future of Urban Literature", on Friday, April 22, 2005 from 4:00-7:00 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Paul Robeson Campus Center. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Clement Alexander Price; and panelists will include Ras Baraka, Grace Edwards, Barbara Foley, Louis Reyes Rivera, and Junius Williams.
Please RSVP to 973.353.5300, Ms. Nelitha Michael (Office of Student Activities); nmichael@andromeda.rutgers.edu.
ZORA NEALE HURSTON: Front Porch Lies, Contemporary Truths
March 5, 2005
Rutgers University-Newark Campus presents “Zora Neale Hurston: Front Porch Lies, Contemporary Truths” on Saturday, March 5, 2005 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Paul Robeson Campus Center, Multipurpose Room, 350 Dr. King Blvd .
The panel discussion is an open-to-the-public conversation about issues and themes in Hurston's body of work that continue to influence, impact and even aggravate our 21 st century lives. Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) was a novelist, folklorist, short story writer, essayist, playwright and anthropologist during the glory days of The Harlem Renaissance (1920s-1930s). Hurston, who wrote Dust Tracks on the Road, Of Mules and Men, Their Eyes Were Watching God and other titles, died penniless and was buried in a pauper's grave in Florida. In 1973, novelist Alice Walker ( Meridian and The Color Purple ) put a headstone on the burial site with the words inscribed “Genius of the South,” and reintroduced Hurston to the world.
Books written by the panelists and light refreshments will be available. Distinguished panelists include:
Valerie Boyd is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Georgia, and author of Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston. Wrapped in Rainbows received the American Library Association Notable Book Award (2004) and the Southern Book Award (2003).
Dr. Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr is a Harlem Renaissance Scholar who has taught Black Psychology and courses on Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston at Rutgers-Newark. She is a leader of The Literary Salon Movement in Harlem, and author of many books including a poetry tribute to essayist James Baldwin titled Cantata For Jimmy
Dr. Cheryl Wall is Professor of English at Rutgers University-New Brunswick Campus and author of Women in the Harlem Renaissance. She teaches Black Women Writers, African American Essay and Black Narrative. Her primary fields of research are Black Women's Writing, Harlem Renaissance, and Zora Neale Hurston.
For further information contact Conference Convener, Prof. Sandra L. West at 973-353-5300.
Past News and Events:
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323 Conklin Hall, 175 University Avenue, Newark, NJ 07102
Phone: 973.353.5528, Fax: 973.353.1193