AOCI: The Ruth J. Simmons Africana Studies Endowed Fund
Goal: $100,000
Results: $66,519 (as of February 16, 2012)
The Department of Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary intellectual center for students, faculty, artists and scholars interested in the artistic, historical, literary and theoretical expressions of Africa and the African Diaspora. It houses scholars in the fields of history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, political theory, performance studies, feminist studies and cultural studies.
“When I first came to Brown in the fall of 1970 I had no idea that I would return two decades later as a member of the faculty. I became part of a truly extraordinary community of scholars in Africana Studies and a new generation of Brown students walked into my heart. Three years have now turned into twenty and within that time much has happened. This year marks our 10th year as a department and we welcomed the inaugural class of Ph.D. students into the graduate program.”Elmo Terry-Morgan '74
Associate Professor
Recently named The Ruth J. Simmons Africana Studies Endowed Fund, this endowed fund supports the various initiatives of the Department of Africana Studies, a premiere intellectual center for the study of the history, ideas, culture and artistic expressions of Africa and the African diaspora.
The department's Rites and Reason Theatre develops new plays by students and faculty. Africana Studies sponsors symposia, lectures, debates, a bi-annual film festival and regular colloquia on African and African Diaspora writing. The Department is also at the hub of a global collaboration project, "The Trilateral Reconnection Project," with the University of Cape Town and the University of West Indies.
The Ruth J. Simmons Africana Studies Endowed Fund
Goal: $100,000 +
Your gift to this fund will help support the activities of the department, including the Slavery and Justice initiatives and Rites and Reason Theatre. The endowment will also fund visiting scholars and artists and support program enhancements that will benefit the entire Brown community.
“Africana Studies has allowed me to investigate my own intellectual curiosity, but also to firmly connect with those around me and to think in a very comprehensive way. Through this program a lot of important questions about culture and politics have been raised and this is important for students, like me, to experience as we prepare to enter the [real] world.”Justin Williams ’12
“I tell every student that you should not graduate Brown without taking an Africana class because it is just that transforming. And it's not about being black, or white, or Latino, or gay. It's about learning about being human and understanding our collective history from a different, relevant and underexplored perspective.”Alicia Maule ’11