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2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Letter from the Chair

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2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Letter from the Chair 2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Letter from the Chair By any measure, this has been a challenging year. Our national political especially when our most popular critical acclaim and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor’s In this latest iteration of the nation’s ongoing struggle with racism, with climate is toxic. Selfishness abounds. Hatreds and fears overwhelm, professors are on sabbatical. But the Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate brutal murders of Black people at the hands of police and protests in and politicians exploit those fears for their own selfish gains. We are overall trends continue to be exciting. Industry Undermined Black Homeownership was the streets around the country, the faculty in African American Studies also overwhelmed by a deadly pandemic. Covid-19 has fundamentally Next year, the department will have shortlisted for the National Book Award and was at Princeton continue to offer the nation resources to imagine itself changed how we live together. And many in our own community are fifteen senior concentrators. Eleven a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in History. We also otherwise. We have provided analyses, historical contexts, languages to weighed down by unimaginable grief. So much about the future, sophomores have also declared. are delighted to report that Kinohi Nishikawa was talk about the problems we face, and moral provocations for a country including how we will conduct our business at Princeton, is uncertain. African American Studies at Princeton promoted to the ranks of associate professor. on a knife’s edge. Covid-19 hasn’t disrupted this fact: that we remain a continues to thrive. He is an outstanding colleague and citizen of the national resource and the best department of African American Studies Covid-19 forced the university to move classes online and for most of us department and university. in the world. to leave campus. Overall, the department transitioned without too many But Covid-19 continues to haunt. problems. Faculty adjusted their instruction and our students, given the Faculty are preparing diligently for With a bit of sadness and lots of excitement, we stressors, performed as best as they could. Many of our concentrators online instruction in the fall. We will have begun preliminary preparations to move from faced particularly difficult circumstances. Families were impacted by not be offering on-campus courses. Stanhope Hall to Morrison Hall. We are excited Sincerely, Covid-19. Housing insecurity disrupted their ability to work. Uneven The majority of our classes translate about the prospect of a larger departmental space internet access affected the overall performance of some. But even with rather seamlessly to virtual platforms. where more of our colleagues can join us in one these challenges, I believe, we had an extraordinary year. Some adjustments are being made for space. While Stanhope Hall will be missed, we look the spring. We know, for example, that forward to being housed in a building named after In 2019-2020, we graduated our third class of ten concentrators, relatively small classes and precepts Toni Morrison, who helped build African American and they were joined by nineteen graduating seniors who completed work best online. We are committed, Photo by Sameer A. Khan Studies at Princeton. a certificate in African American Studies. This year we had five Ph.D. if resources allow, to shrinking the students who earned graduate certificates in the field. Our largest class size of both. But as the University moves online, we are concerned In the end, even with the disruption of Covid-19, our department Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. ever. Because of the disruptions caused by the pandemic, the faculty continues to thrive. I have been amazed by the dedication and creativity about the privacy of students and faculty. Our courses are particular Chair, Department of African American Studies, decided not to award the Ruth Simmons Thesis prize this year, but we of our faculty as we abruptly moved our classes online. Our staff worked targets for conservative groups, and we are concerned for our students. James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor were genuinely pleased with the quality of the work produced by our We have begun some preliminary conversation about expectations for tirelessly, under the direction of our department manager, April Peters, students. online classes that will be consistent across the courses offered in the to provide our students and faculty with the resources necessary to unit. make this experience the best it could possibly be. I remain convinced We did notice a decrease in our course enrollments this year. One that we are one of the best teaching units on campus and I saw evidence thousand and seven students enrolled in our classes, representing a I continue to marvel at the productivity and broad influence of my of that fact in the way my colleagues taught and tended to their students 3.6% decrease. This seems to be consistent with our leave patterns— colleagues. Imani Perry’s book, Breathe: A Letter to My Sons, received under these trying times. Page 1 aas.princeton.edu Table of Contents Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS About the Department AAS Undergraduate Studies Programming & Highlights Publications & Articles Overview................................................................................................Page 3 Overview............................................................................................. Page 13 Overview............................................................................................. Page 57 Princeton Scholars Discuss Race, Politics and the 2020 Presidential Election .............................................. Page 81 Our Staff .................................................................................................Page 4 Course of Study & Subfields ........................................................... Page 14 Fall 2019 Events ....................................................................... Page 59 [Opinion] The ‘American Way of Life’ Advisory Council ..................................................................................Page 5 Undergraduate Certificate Requirements ................................... Page 16 Spring 2020 Events ................................................................. Page 60 Is Shaping Up to Be a Battleground .............................................. Page 82 Undergraduate Board of Advisers ....................................................Page 6 Undergraduate Certificate Students ........................................... Page 17 2020 Virtual Class Day ................................................................... Page 63 Can You Be Black and Listen to This? .......................................... Page 86 AAS Academic Committees ...............................................................Page 7 Concentration Overview and Requirements .............................. Page 19 Reclaiming History ............................................................................ Page 88 Academic Courses ........................................................................ Page 9-12 2020 Concentrators ................................................................ Page 21 AAS Faculty Fall 2019 Courses .......................................................................Page 9 2020 Senior Prizes & Winners ............................................. Page 43 Core Faculty ....................................................................................... Page 65 By The Numbers Spring 2020 Courses .............................................................. Page 11 Undergraduate Reflection ..................................................... Page 45 Associated Faculty ............................................................................ Page 77 AAS Facts & Figures ......................................................................... Page 91 Study Abroad Opportunities ................................................. Page 47 Faculty Emeritus ............................................................................... Page 79 Undergraduate Funding Opportunities .............................. Page 48 Fellows & Visiting Faculty ............................................................... Page 80 AAS Graduate Studies Overview............................................................................................. Page 49 AAS Faculty-Graduate Seminar ..................................................... Page 51 2020 Graduate Certificate Recipients ......................................... Page 53 Graduate Reflection ................................................................ Page 55 Page 3 aas.princeton.eduaas.princeton.edu About African American Studies Page 4 Our Staff ABOUT AFRICAN Anthony Gibbons Jr., AMERICAN STUDIES Communications & Media Specialist Jana Johnson, Department Assistant This academic unit has grown from a program to a center to a department. Today the department holds many of the most prolific Elio Lleo, and notable African American Studies scholars in the world. Technical Support Specialist The Department of African American Studies at Princeton University provides an exciting and innovative model for teaching and research about African descended people, with a central April Peters, focus on their experiences in the United States. We embody this mission in a curriculum that Manager, Finance & Administration reflects the complex interplay between the political, economic, and cultural forces
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