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Africana Studies

A trio of events welcome world leaders to Penn
A composite of three images featuring, left to right, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio; former South African President Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe; and former Peruvian President  Francisco Sagasti.

World leaders who came to Penn in recent weeks include (left to right) Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio; former South African President Kgalema Petrus Motlanthe; and former Peruvian President and Penn alum Francisco Sagasti.

(Images: Courtesy of Eddy Marenco and Sarah Miller Photography)


 

A trio of events welcome world leaders to Penn

In recent weeks, the Center for Africana Studies hosted the president of Sierra Leone and a former president of South Africa, while Perry World House had a conversation with a former leader of Peru.

Kristen de Groot

Two Penn professors named 2024 Guggenheim Fellows
Wale Adebanwi and Deborah A. Thomas.

Wale Adebanwi and Deborah A. Thomas of the School of Arts & Sciences.

(Images: Courtesy of Penn Arts & Sciences and Shira Yudkoff)

Two Penn professors named 2024 Guggenheim Fellows

Wale Adebanwi and Deborah A. Thomas of the School of Arts & Sciences are among 188 fellows chosen in the United States and Canada.

Kristina García

The legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois: ‘Something fresh to say’
Zuberi and Morris sit on red chairs at the front of a large lecture hall. The podium reads "Annenberg" and there is a sign saying "Department of Sociology."

Tukufu Zuberi (left) and Aldon Morris (right) at the 2nd Annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture in Public Social Science.

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The legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois: ‘Something fresh to say’

At the 2nd Annual W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture in Public Social Science, Aldon Morris of Northwestern University and Tukufu Zuberi of the School of Arts & Sciences discuss Du Bois’ contributions to the field and to humanity.

Kristina García

‘Are Civil Rights Enough?’
Dorothy Roberts speaks at a podium. The wooden podium has the words "University of Pennsylvania" and its seal.

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts addresses the audience at the  23rd annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice.

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‘Are Civil Rights Enough?’

During the 23rd annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture in Social Justice, PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts addressed the question “Are Civil Rights Enough?”

Kristina García

Through first-year seminar, a glimpse of Black queer traditions
Dag Woubshet leading a class of students.

Associate professor of English Dag Woubshet leads students of the course “Black Queer Traditions” in Fisher-Bennett Hall. 

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Through first-year seminar, a glimpse of Black queer traditions

Dagmawi Woubshet, an associate professor of English, led a new first-year seminar in the fall that explores Black queer media and its intersection with history and politics.
‘Black Modernisms in the Transatlantic World’
Bronze sculpture of a large bust of a Black woman on Penn’s campus surrounded by autumn leaves

The 16-foot-tall bronze form of “Brick House” by artist Simone Leigh, who contributed to “Black Modernisms.”

(Image: Eric Sucar)

‘Black Modernisms in the Transatlantic World’

A new book, co-edited by art historian Huey Copeland, examines the conception of modernism and Black artistry and agency and how the transatlantic slave trade enabled the modern world.

Kristina García

Torn Apart: Terror

Torn Apart: Terror

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts describes the horrors that the child welfare system inflicts by invading homes, targeting low-income families, and threatening to separate parents and children.

Penn’s ‘long tradition’ as a center for the study of African American history
african american history professors

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Penn’s ‘long tradition’ as a center for the study of African American history

New hires like Marcia Chatelain and Vaughn Booker in Africana Studies and William Sturkey in the History Department are bolstering Penn’s position as one of the best places for the field of African American history.

Kristen de Groot