Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

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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
214 Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States through both semesters of the seminar: Professor James suggested that shortening this seminar to one academic term might have helped to alleviate this problem.For their part,the students interviewed attested to the benefits of the experience and noted that the lectures of the guest speakers were wellattended (these events were apparently open to the public). The outreach component mentioned in the Consortium’s proposal to Ford seemed moderately successful at Wisconsin. Specifically, interviews with three of the guest speakers in the seminar were conducted and broadcast through the Madison affiliate of Wisconsin Public Radio. In terms of overall impact, other facets of the Ford initiative at the University of Wisconsin may well prove to have a greater long-term effect than the year-long seminar. Faculty members mentioned the benefits of the release-time and research and travel funds that were distributed (both to faculty and some graduate students) under the auspices of the Ford grant. A number of faculty members were particularly grateful for the opportunity to employ graduate students as research assistants, a use of the Ford funds that provided support to both faculty and students simultaneously. Unlike most of the other institutions visited in this review, Wisconsin committed a sizable portion of its Ford funding to building a significant collection of audiovisual materials designed to support both research and teaching in the Afro-American Studies department. Perhaps the most notable purchase in this regard was the large number of compact disks covering the areas of jazz, blues, hip hop, and rap—”African American musical modernism,” as one member of the department termed it. This same faculty member noted that there needs to be some regular supervision of the collection as well as a listening room to facilitate its use. Nonetheless, faculty and students have already begun to draw upon the materials in their teaching and research projects. A collection of videotaped films relating to African American Studies has also been purchased using Ford funds. Ford funds have also played a role in the building of an exceedingly ambitious and elaborate African American art Web site. Developed under the auspices of Professor Frieda Tesfageorgis, this project involves scanning images of hundreds of art works. The pedagogical benefits of having such material readilyavailableviatheInternetwouldbeconsiderable.ProfessorTesfageorgisnoted
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A 25th anniversary retrospective of
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Copyright © 1985, 1990, 1994, 2000
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Table of Contents Acknowledgments P
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Preface The Ford Foundation is prim
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The American University in Crisis a
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The Huggins Report Contents Preface
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African American Studies from Imple
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Three Essays: Black Studies in the
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Preface to the Harris, Hine, McKay
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Black Studies: An Overview Darlene
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professional scholars engaged in re
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Funding Change: Introduction to the
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Evaluation of Ford-Funded African A
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Introduction Beginning in fiscal ye
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General Assessments Beginning in fi
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PART FOUR A Changing Political Cont
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Page 255 and 256: Contributors Farah Jasmine Griffin
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Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

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