About AAS: Vision for the Future

As chair of the department, I proposed that we engage in a process of curricular revision, putting in place long-term curricular plans and concrete action for further development of African America Studies at Syracuse University. We will start this process with revision of the core social science courses, Introduction to African American Studies AAS112. Students in this introductory course will engage in all the above questions in an attempt to determine the structural relevance of these questions to the construction of African American Studies as a field of study. While the AAS curriculum has been updated over the years to reflect individual areas of study, this introductory course has not undergone any substantial revision over the last five years.

There are numerous indicators that map change in society and some elements of change, immigration patterns for example, have altered the meaning and tendency for historical "owner-ship" of the term African American. It is critical for our students to understand that structurally integrating theses changes into the field of AAS does not reflect a de-centering of the historical significance of the African American struggle that ended racial apartheid in this country and, among other historical results, gave birth to African American Studies. Rather integrating changes into the field represent building on that foundation and strengthening of the field. Additionally, the multicultural dynamic among the increasing numbers of peoples of African descent in the United States must be understood and problematized in the scholarly discourse if the field is to remain relevant not only in academic but, perhaps more significantly, to the changing community where it is rooted. The revision of AAS 112 therefore would provi de students with a more substantive grounding in the socio-economic, political, and gender dynamics that are critical to understanding African American life. The role of women in African American society, the crucial significance of the performing arts to its cultures, and the clearly delineated points of struggle throughout the society's history, would all expand the learning opportunities of our students.

Beginning in 2001, the department will contribute to the national dynamic structural change in the field, offering additional opportunities for students, as well as the broader university community, to learn about African American Cultures. The department will host conferences, special seminars, workshops, and colloquia, and support theatrical productions and art exhibitions by our affiliated units. These active learning experiences will represent the three specific academic/cultural foci of the department: African, African American, and Caribbean. The benefits of exposure and participation of our students (and others) in these events cannot be overstated.

Additionally, we are at the threshold of an exciting period in the history of the department and this moment of the University's commitment to "diversity". Our work to develop an M.A. program in the department will fill an important void at the state and national level in contribution to a widening pool of available scholars.