Author Archives: Conseula Francis

AAST Faculty Respond to the Attack on Emanuel AME Church

On June 17, 2015 Mother Emanuel AME Church was the site of an act of vicious, racist terror.

We, along with our families, friends, and neighbors, are grieving, and we speak the names of those we’ve lost:

Cynthia Hurd

Rev. Clementa Pinckney

Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton

Tywanza Sanders

Ethel Lance

Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor

Susie Jackson

Rev. Daniel Simmons, Sr

Myra Thompson

As scholars of African American history, culture, and experiences, we remain committed to activist scholarship and we insist that #BlackLivesMatter. We believe that the wrongs of the past can be made right, but only if we are willing to confront those wrongs with courage and honesty. We stand with others in our community, including Governor Haley, in calling for the removal of the confederate flag from the statehouse grounds. We also, though, remind our community that this act alone will not dismantle the legacies of slavery Jim Crow that remain with us, including a segregated school system, significant income disparity, and police harassment and brutality.

We have been moved and encouraged by the show of support, sympathy, and unity in the days following the murders. We look forward to continued support and unity as we work for much needed change in this place we call home.

Position Announcement


The African American Studies Program at the College of Charleston is soliciting applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor position for the 2013-2014 academic year.  Area of specialization is open. The candidate must demonstrate the ability to teach Introduction to African American Studies, which is required of all minors and is a general education option at the College.  The teaching load is 3/3; demonstrated teaching ability and an active research agenda is required. A Ph.D. is required by August 15, 2013.

As a primary objective of the institution’s new strategic plan, the College of Charleston is building an African American Studies program as befits its unique location and the history of the Carolina Lowcountry.  Working with key institutional partners, including the Avery Research Center and the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program as well as the 20 affiliated faculty, and pending final approval, the program expects to launch a new major in African American Studies in Fall 2014 to accompany an existing and successful minor.

Candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, graduate transcripts, letters from three academic referees, and a short writing sample (no more than 20 pages) by April 15, 2013 to: Lauren Saulino, African American Studies, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424.


Summer 2012/Fall 2012 Courses

Summer 2012

Course Number Course Name Day(s) Time Term Professor
AAST 300 Barbados and the Black Atlantic STUDY ABROAD   Maymester Roneka Matheny
AAST 300 Caribbean Social Movements and Immigration STUDY ABROAD   Maymester Robert Chase
AAST 300 Black Bodies in Cinema and Television MTWRF 7:45-9:30 Summer II Patricia Williams-Lessane
AAST 300 Hip Hop: Evolution and Impact MTWRF 11:45-1:30 Summer II Roneka Matheny

 

Fall 2012

Course Number Course Name Day(s) Time Professor
AAST 200 Introduction of African American Studies TR 10:50-12:05 Roneka Matheny
AAST 200 Introduction of African American Studies MWF 9:00-9:50 Anthony Greene
AAST 300 Hip Hop: Evolution and Impact MW (Express 1) 4:00-6:45 Roneka Matheny
AAST 300 Race-Ethnic Relations MWF 10:00-10:50 Anthony Greene
AAST 300 History of Black Power in the 20th Century M 4:00-6:45 Robert Chase
FYSM 170 Red, White, and Black: Race and Citizenship MW 2:00-3:15 Roneka Matheny
ENGL 216 Introduction to African American Literature TR 12:15-1:30 Valerie Frazier
ENGL 359 Contemporary American Poetry TR 1:40-2:55 Julia Eichelberger
ENGL 364 Black Women Writers MWF 10:00-10:50 Conseula Francis
HIST 216 African American History to 1865 MWF 11:00-11:50 Bernard Powers
HIST 272 Pre-Colonial Africa TR 1:40-2:55 Assan Sarr
HONS 381 History of the Civil Rights Movement MWF 1:00-1:50 Jon Hale
RELS 298 Islam in America MWF 11:00-11:50 Katie Hladky
THTR 316 African American Theater TR 12:15-1:30 Joy Vandervort-Cobb

 

2011-2012 AAST Awards

Call for Nominations

The African American Studies Program is now accepting nominations for the 2011-2012 Awards Ceremony, which will take place on April 10, 6:30-8:00, at the Avery Research Center. The awards and their descriptions are below. 

African American Studies Student Service Award
This award recognizes the outstanding service of a CofC student to improve the campus or broader community with respect to issues around racial equality and social justice.

African American Studies Creative Expression Award
This award recognizes the active involvement and accomplishments of a CofC student in promoting African American cultural and/or artistic life.

African American Studies Outstanding Underclassman Award
This award recognizes outstanding performance by an underclassman in an AAST course at CofC.

Eligibility:  To be eligible for these Service and Creative Expression awards, students must have taken at least two courses at CofC that count toward the AAST minor.  To be eligible for the Outstanding Underclassman Award, students must have taken at least one course at CofC that counts for the AAST minor, and have fewer than 60 earned hours.

Students may self-nominate, or faculty/staff may submit nominations for candidates.  Nominated students will be asked to submit an unofficial transcript.  Nomination letters must include a detailed explanation of how the student specifically meets the award criteria.  A review committee will select the finalists and the awards will be presented at the AAST Graduation and Awards Ceremony.

Nominations can be emailed to Dr. Conseula Francis (francisc@cofc.edu) or dropped off at 9 Glebe Street with Lauren Saulino.  Please be sure to include the student’s name and the award the student is being nominated for.  Nominations are due by March 26.

 

2012 Black History Month Events

 Word, Shout, Song:
Lorenzo Dow Turner Connecting Communities through Language
Avery Research Center ~ Now until April
This semester the Avery Research Center features the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum’s exhibit on the life and work of linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner, Father of Gullah Studies. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

 Film: You Got To Move ~ Feb. 2 ~ 5:30 ~ Alumni Center, 86 Wentworth Street
You Got To Move is a documentary that follows people from communities in the South their various processes of becoming involved in social change. The event honors Bill Saunders, a former worker in a mattress factory who now runs a community radio station in Charleston, South Carolina, and was involved in creating a hospital workers’ organization at MUSC, which organized a 100-day-long hospital workers’ strike in 1969.

Brown Bag Lunch Discussion ~ Feb. 6 ~ 1:00 ~ 9 College Way Conference Room
Join us for a discussion of Danielle McGuire’s At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance.

Get to Know the AAST Faculty ~ Feb. 8 ~ 4:00 ~ Multicultural Center
Did you ever wonder what Dr. Powers named his new puppy? Or why Dr. Francis loves comic books? Or what Prof. Matheny’s favorite horror movie is? Come have some snacks, meet the African American Studies faculty, and kick off Black History Month.

Film: Woke Up Black ~ Feb. 9 ~ 6:00 ~ Avery Research Center
Woke Up Black focuses on five black youth, along with their struggles and triumphs as they start their journey into adulthood. The film places at its center the voices of Black youth– their ideas, attitudes and opinions that are often overlooked in today’s society.

 Brown Bag Lunch Discussion ~ Feb. 10 ~ 12:00 ~ Tate Center 132
Join Professors Jon Hale and Robert Chase for a discussion of the prison system and high school activism.

Lecture: African American Women, Sexual Violence, and the Jim Crow South
Feb. 16 ~ 6:30 ~ Alumni Center, 86 Wentworth Street
Danielle McGuire will deliver an Organization of American Historians Lecture based on the research for her book, At the Dark End of the Street. This is the third lecture in the 2011-2012 AAST Emerging Scholars Lecture Series.

 Struggles and Accomplishments of our African American Veterans
Feb. 17 ~ 6:00 ~ Patriots Point
A panel of scholars and veterans will discuss the experiences of African Americans in the military since WWII. A $10 donation is suggested.

Film: More than a Month ~ Feb. 19 ~ 4:00
Park Circle Film Society
More Than a Month is a feature documentary that follows Shukree Hassan Tilghman, an African-American filmmaker, on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month. Through this challenging, complex, and often comedic journey, the film explores what the treatment of history tells us about race and equality in “post-racial” America.

 Black History Trivia Bowl ~ Feb. 22 ~ 4:00 ~ MYBK 100
Come test your black history knowledge in a fun-filled competition. Bring a friend and play as a team.

 Lecture: Obama and the Place of Race ~ Feb. 23 ~ 4:00
Avery Research Center
Harry and Michelle Elam will examine four distinct “scenes” involving President Obama that illustrate the 21st century play of race and examine why and to what end race and ethnicity is performed in specific moments and places, especially when these moments have tremendous domestic and global impact.

Not Just in February Forum ~ Feb. 29 ~ 4:00 ~ Stern 201
Our final Black History Month event will be a panel discussion featuring faculty and staff talking about issues involving African Americans and race that we should all be thinking about long after February is over.

For more information on these events or the African American Studies Program, contact Dr. Conseula Francis at francisc@cofc.edu or 953-7738.