African American And Diaspora Studies

“Stitched Stories: A Children’s Literature and Quilting Journey” took place over six weeks and brought upper-elementary students together with members of the Zuri Quilting Circle, a collective of local Black women quilters who use fabric to tell stories about their lives and traditions. The students read and discussed four picture books about quilting before designing their own quilts and learning hands-on techniques to assemble and sew them. Read More

“Creating cuisines is about building community through agriculture and bridging the local with the global,” said Ted Fischer, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Anthropology, during the opening session of “Food for Thought”—a free program presented by Vanderbilt University and the Frist Art Museum. This series brings together Vanderbilt faculty, Frist curators and local leaders to explore cultural and societal issues through art. The Spring 2025 season focused on two Frist exhibitions: Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism and Tennessee Harvest. Read More

Vanderbilt University will host an acclaimed multimedia art exhibit celebrating more than 100 years of influential Black writers—from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights era—at several campus locations this spring.  Read More

Immersion Vanderbilt, now in its third year as a graduation requirement, consistently provides students with the opportunity to pursue a variety of in-depth experiences and independent projects. Students align their immersion projects with their interests—whether those are artistic, research-oriented, career-focused, globally aimed or community-engaged. Faculty from all 10 schools and colleges support students’ goals and ambitions within immersion, and this year, that support is enhanced by a new cohort of 10 Immersion Faculty Fellows who are supported by Undergraduate Education in the Office of the Provost.  Read More

In celebration of Juneteenth, a new mural honoring Black country music artists was unveiled on June 19 at the site of the former Vanderbilt Printing Services building. The mural, created by local artist Elisheba Israel Mrozik, draws inspiration from stories and history featured in Vanderbilt professor and award-winning songwriter Alice Randall’s latest book, My Black Country. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Division of Government and Community Relations will host the special event at Vanderbilt Printing Services, 625 Chestnut St. in Nashville, from 4 to 5 p.m. on June 19. Read More

Four students will be Keegan Fellows and travel the world for one year, and for the first time, Vanderbilt has also awarded four students a Keegan Fellowship to travel in summer 2024. The Keegan Fellowship reflects the promise from the university and Keegan Fellowship alumni to provide transformative global experiences that foster the growth of future leaders. Read More

With a goal of establishing international research collaborations among women in higher education, the U.S.-based Chair at the Table Network (CHAT) and U.K.-based Women’s Higher Education Network (WHEN) explored themes related to advancing careers and building partnerships at the hybrid event. Read More

Vanderbilt Divinity School invites the community to a viewing of Gospel, a new PBS docuseries on the rich history of Black religious music and preaching, and a conversation with two of the program’s commentators on Feb. 13. The event, which begins at 6 p.m. in Sarratt Cinema, features Yolanda Pierce and Michael Eric Dyson, both of whom are in the docuseries. Read More

Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams are both writers-in-residence at Vanderbilt—Randall in the Department of African American and Diaspora Studies and Williams in the Department of Medicine, Health and Society. And neither is afraid to shine a light on complicated questions around race. Read More

Vanderbilt professors John Geer, Efrén Pérez and Tracy Sharpley-Whiting discuss the 2016 presidential election. Read More

Believing Donald Trump's only constituency is white working class men is an incorrect assumption. Read More

Senior Nate Marshall’s passion for poetry helped him find his voice – and his calling Nate Marshall is all about the words. He started writing poetry in grammar school, and in the eighth grade, when a poem he wrote got him detention, Marshall realized two things: His words could have… Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case this fall that could put new limits on the ability of colleges and universities to use race as a factor in admissions decisions. Legal and African American Studies experts from Vanderbilt are available to speak with media about these issues. Read More

Anthropologist explores modern Africa and black immigrant experience in America Jemima Pierre (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt) In her interactions with black immigrants over the years, Jemima Pierre said she discovered a surprising sentiment. “They told me, ‘I never knew I was black until I came to the U.S.’ I found that… Read More

Ten Vanderbilt University faculty members who have been named to new endowed chairs were recognized for their remarkable achievements and contributions on Feb. 28. Read More

Watch video of the Feb. 24 talk by Adam Hochschild, author and journalist, titled “‘Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch . . .’: What Scholars Can Learn from Novelists–and Journalists–about Storytelling.” Hochschild is an award-winning author of six books, including King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial… Read More

Scholars from Duke, UC-Berkeley and Columbia will look at slavery and its afterlives during a daylong symposium at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Watch video of the Feb. 10, 2011, Black Atlantic Lecture. Mamadou Diouf (African Studies, Columbia University) and Toyin Falola (history, University of Texas at Austin) present “Historicizing the Black Atlantic, Comparative Colonialism, and Transnational Citizenship.” The event is moderated by Moses Ochonu, assistant professor of history, and is co-sponsored by… Read More

The lives and challenges of being black or of African descent in Europe are explored this semester in the Black Europe and the African Diaspora lecture and film series at Vanderbilt University. Convened by Trica Danielle Keaton, associate professor of African American and Diaspora Studies, and co-sponsored by… Read More