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Resources for African and African Diaspora Studies

Welcome to the Website for Resources for the AADS Program

Commencement Day, 2022: Dr. Maria Rice Bellamy and Graduates of the AADS Program at CSI.

The African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) Program

The AADS program offers a baccalaureate degree in African and African Diaspora Studies. The program, established in 1976, has an interdisciplinary curriculum that examines the following: the interplay of culture, history, socioeconomic, and political forces shaping the experiences of the people of sub-Saharan Africa and its diaspora; the roles that Africans and their descendants have played in the creation of the United States and other New World projects; Africa’s historic relationship with the Mediterranean and Atlantic Worlds; and the ideas and experiences of race in the U.S. and the world and how they change over time and space.

Coursework includes the study of history, literature, sociology, religion, geography, politics, and the arts. The program’s rigorous curriculum has prepared our graduates for success in many challenging careers and professional degree programs in such fields as education, law, law enforcement, business, and the arts. The program’s philosophy is best articulated through its course offerings and its faculty research and publications.

Calvin B. Holder Scholarship Recipients

The Calvin B. Holder Scholarship was estabilshed in 2017 by friends and family members of Professor Holder, upon his retirement after 37 years of teaching and service at CSI, to provide financial assistance to students enrolled at CSI who are pursuing a major in African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS). Read more about the scholarship under News and Events. Recipients include:

2022/2023 - Odette Garcia and Amya Lightbody

2021/2022 - Assiata Akanji and Janesha Yancey

2020/2021 - Briannie Gayle and Real Gill

2019/2020 - Malcolm Allen

2018/2019 - Gregory Garnet and Lovejit Singh

Advisory Board Members of the AADS Program

Maria Rice Bellamy, Associate Professor of English and Director of the AADS Program

Paul Archibald, Assistant Professor of Social Work

Comfort Asanbe, Professor & Chairperson, Department of Psychology

Grace M. Cho, Associate Professor of Sociology & Anthropology

Emmanuel Mbah, Professor of History

Ozlem Goner, Associate Professor of Sociology

Roshen Hendrickson, Associate Professor of Political Science & Global Affairs

Wilma Jones, Professor and Reference/Instruction Librarian

Catherine Lavender, Associate Professor of History

Saadia Toor, Associate Professor of Sociology

Ozlem Goner, Associate Professor of Sociology

Michael Paris, Associate Professor of Political Science & Global Affairs

Affiliated Faculty

Femi Adegbulu, Adjunct Lecturer, Department of History

Jay Arena, Associate Professor of Sociology

Jeffrey Bussolini, Associate Professor of Sociology

Natalie L. Kimball, Assistant Professor of History

Paul Lopez, Adjunct Lecturer, Department of History

Ananya Mukherjea, Associate Professor of Sociology

Christopher Santiago, Doctoral Lecturer, Department of Sociology/Anthropology

Jonathan Sassi, Professor of History