Our Philosophical Statement & Mission
Justice requires, amongst other things, a sufficient "scale of reflection"; the limitation of which, is not the beginning, but the extension of injustice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed this "sufficiency" as a preliminary ethics and a universal principle:" injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere." If we are to be revolutionary in our thinking, we shall have to create the grounds upon which all may experience historical reflection as a universal replenishing power. African American Studies, if it is to vitalize the landscape of historical thinking, must do so without protection. It must offer itself to be examined on the terms of its existence and necessity; against the insurgencies of irresponsible historical memory. If we address ourselves as Dr.King implored, we shall find ourselves more than an academic discipline, but a way of thinking, which has sustained the best in humankind in the worst of times.
Our Mission
We intend, through the enterprises of pedagogy and public policy, to offer perspectives on and gain experience in the enveloping drama of American civilization. Our courses cover disciplines from philosophy to histories of eastern religions; literature, to art, to the histories of science in social change. Our aim is not to reconcile the tentacles of a multivarious heritage, but to reveal them as already reconciled and formative.
Our method is not intended to show either a hierarchy of cultural reference, nor a merely hoped for equality, but to bring into display the riches hues of the confluence of influences, which sustains an underlying cultural equilibrium; the shifts and patterns of which has not only permeated, but already shaped our most intimate self conceptions.
In policy terms we intend to integrate experiences within our student community, between faculty and those communities, and between both of these and the world. To these ends we have increased contact time between students and faculty. We have created links with technology companies through internships and study programs. We are developing study abroad programs in the Caribbean and South Africa. We are acquiring historical archives on slavery, colonialism, and historical personalities, such as Paul Robeson. In addition, we have created an institute for skills enhancement for K-12 teachers, and in conjunction with the Office of Minority Students Affairs, we have designed a new curriculum for an Emerging Scholars Program for incoming students not yet acclimated to the university environment.
According to these lights we have placed the student at the heart of our vision, in light of which therefore, who cannot share the vision cannot share the future.
