Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States 213
a diverse range of fields were involved in the project, there was a determination
made at the outset to emphasize the public policy implications of
the research under consideration. Along these lines, another aim of the
project was to facilitate links between scholars in “cultural and historical
studies” and those “in the quantitative and policy-oriented social sciences.”
(African American Studies units at each participating university, with the
exception of Carnegie Mellon, had previously received Ford grants.)
The first seminar was “Black Women’s Seminar: Culture, History, Social
Policy,” directed by Stanlie James at the University of Wisconsin in
1996–97. The second seminar was “African American Urban Studies: Culture,
Work, Social Policy”; it was directed by Joe W. Trotter, Jr. and convened
in 1997–98 at Carnegie Mellon. The theme of the culminating conference
at the University of Michigan in 1998–99 was “Black Agenda for the
Twenty-First Century.” Note that, with the help of the Ford Foundation in
the spring of 1995, Michigan State University had hosted a conference on
“Comparative History of Black People in the Diaspora.” Although this
event at Michigan State preceded the particular Ford project under review,
it clearly shaped the decision to focus in the 1996–99 cycle on the other
schools in the Midwest Consortium and should be viewed as a key part of
the Consortium’s overall agenda.
Because our site visit was to the University of Wisconsin, most of the
following comments will be drawn from information gathered at that institution.
At Wisconsin, the Ford seminar had an important, though hardly
the most significant, impact on the field. The seminar was targeted primarily
to students with academic course credit earned for participation.
Twelve guest speakers were brought in and the seminar readings and assignments
were shaped around these presentations. One advantage of this
approach was the role that it played in supporting the graduate curriculum
in the Afro-American Studies department. However, its student focus had
some drawbacks as well.
Perhaps the most serious drawback, according to Professor James, was
that this year-long seminar occasionally ended up in conflict with the competing
demands of the students’academic programs—especially for the graduate
students involved.As a result, not all of the students were able to carry on