Initiatives

ARC’s mission is reflected through a range of initiatives that represent the development of Africana scholarship across age range, academic level, and the diaspora.

We support undergraduate development through African School, which is run by Penn State undergraduate students for primarily elementary and middle school youth, and the Undergraduate Research Symposium, the acknowledgment of excellent Africana research papers written by Penn State undergraduate students and nominated by Penn State faculty.

The Black Graduate Research Forum, a brown bag series sponsored by ARC, Black Graduate Student Association, and Paul Robeson Cultural, is an outlet for PSU’s Black graduate students to refine their presentation skills and continued development of their research.

Two new ARC programs focus on post-graduate development—the Humanities Dissertation Fellowship and the Emerging Scholars Speakers Series/Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programs—while the annual lecture series were developed to share with the Penn State community the scholarly work of noted Africanist and African Americanist civil rights activists.

Finally, two special initiatives have been ongoing since 2002 (Breaking the Silence) and 2003 (Recognizing Pennsylvania Black Artists). Africana scholarship is emphasized in different ways. The focus of Breaking the Silence is on furthering scholarship and outreach on dismantling modern day forms of slavery. In contrast, Recognizing Pennsylvania Black Artist, bringing in internationally renowned Pennsylvania Black artists, is used to increase cultural diversity and comfort at Penn State and in surrounding communities, while providing to students exposure to role models and masters at the apex of their craft. Long-term goals of both projects are to institutionalize Africana scholarship through conferences, the production of manuscripts, the possible emergence of resident scholars, the creation of archives, and course development.