Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons^™

Hindu Poetry And The Project Of An Inter-Spiritual Catholic Theology, Francis X. Clooney

Journal of Global Catholicism

This article engages the work of the Indian south Indian Tamil-language Vaiṣṇava poet saints known as the Alvārs. The article specifically focuses the First HundredHoly Linked verses of Poykai Ālvār to argue for inter-spiritual learning between Catholics and Hindus. The article concludes with personal reflections on this encounter within the context of the global Catholic Church

Overview And Acknowledgments, Mathew Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

An overview and introduction to the present issue on Inter-Spiritual Dialogue.

If You Want To Fly, Nandi Gayles '29

Black Studies Student Scholarship

My research explores the intersections of Sociology and Literature rooted in the unique gendered perspective of Blackness in the novels The Bluest Eye and Beloved by Toni Morrison. Morrison’s works are rooted in the authenticity of Blackness and being. She inherently studies human behavior and social interaction to communicate narratives that have often gone untold––those that center the Black experience. Morrison’s work is revolutionary as she intentionally wrote to disregard the white gaze. Her work is literature rooted in a sociological landscape that contributes to personal and social liberation of Black people. Using auto-theory as my methodology, this project places …

If You Want To Fly, Nandi Gayles '29

Sociology & Anthropology Student Scholarship

My research explores the intersections of Sociology and Literature rooted in the unique gendered perspective of Blackness in the novels The Bluest Eye and Beloved by Toni Morrison. Morrison’s works are rooted in the authenticity of Blackness and being. She inherently studies human behavior and social interaction to communicate narratives that have often gone untold––those that center the Black experience. Morrison’s work is revolutionary as she intentionally wrote to disregard the white gaze. Her work is literature rooted in a sociological landscape that contributes to personal and social liberation of Black people. Using auto-theory as my methodology, this project places …

Education Of Blacks In The South: A Redux And Revival, John A. Williams Iii, Aminah Crawford, Micayla Gooden, Virginia Redwine Johnson, Stephania Jackson, Salandra Grice-Johnson

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

James Anderson’s seminal text, Education of Blacks in the South,1 is a canonical work that uniquely articulated the educational environment of African Americans immediately, during, and after Reconstruction in the southern United States. Anderson evaluated the intellectual challenges that Black people faced in securing their human right to quality education, as well as the educational fortifications implemented by formerly enslaved Black individuals that laid the groundwork for the U.S. public education system we see today. In homage to this text, this study aims to examine the educational outcomes of Black students in K-12 classrooms using secondary data from the Office …

Enhancing Black Student Outcomes Through Ai And Micro-Credentials At Hbcus, Gloria George, Cheyrl Ensley, Max Ferguson, Adrienne Webber, Kala Burrell-Craft

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

This article employs a conceptual framework illustrated through institutional data from Grambling State University to examine how digital badges, micro-credentials, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools can enhance achievement, engagement, confidence, and persistence for Black students at a rural HBCU. As institutions increasingly adopt alternative credentialing frameworks, limited research explores how these innovations function within rural contexts or how they address longstanding disparities experienced by Black learners. Grounded in culturally responsive and equity-oriented frameworks, this study proposes a model for understanding how micro-credentials and AI-enabled learning environments can operate as mechanisms of empowerment, skill validation, and institutional transformation. The article advances …

An American Literature Classroom In The Twenty-First Century: Critical Race Theory, Deijb, Feminist Theory, And Universal Design For Learning, Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick, Amelia Wagers, Wendy Cartwright, Hope Zimmerman

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

By engaging in close reading and exploring the cultural purchase of literature in the undergraduate classroom, the authors consider the ethical implications in working with the novella Passing (1929) by Nella Larsen, the novel God Help the Child (2015) by Toni Morrison, and the poetry collection Urban Tumbleweed: Notes from a Tanka Diary (2013) by Harryette Mullen for twenty-first-century readers. The approach the authors take to relevant novels and poetry in American literature is informed by critical race theory (identity politics and intersectionality); the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging (DEIJB); feminist theory; and Universal Design for Learning …

A New Southern Strategy: Building A Policy Agenda To Improve Southern Education, Makiah Lyons, Terrence Wilson, Morgan Craven

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

Black students across the U.S. South are learning within school systems shaped by restrictive state laws and policies, diminished federal civil rights enforcement, and ongoing political hostility toward schools that support deep learning and sustain their identities. To move toward a brighter educational future for Black students, young people, families, teachers, advocates, and school leaders must be policy influencers from classrooms to Capitol buildings. This requires a collective understanding of a policy vision and a constant negotiation of the tension between justice and jubilee: how to influence meaningful change in hostile policy spaces now, while articulating a clear, bold vision …

Bridging The Skills Gap With Micro-Credentials To Strengthen Hbcu Graduate Competitiveness, Kiesha C. Pierre, Samuel Ivy

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

Historically, segregation and systemic inequities restricted African Americans’ access to higher education, prompting the establishment of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Currently, the dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, along with employer concerns about graduates’ workforce readiness, underscores the need for strategies to enhance graduate competitiveness. Micro-credentials have emerged as a promising approach amid the increasing popularity of non-degree credentials since the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 100 HBCUs, only 19 offer non-degree credentials, predominantly in the South. This study analyzes the use of micro-credentials across HBCUs and presents examples illustrating diverse methods of integrating competency-based micro-credentials into academic …

“All Change Is Not Progress”: Examining Concerns About The Education System Using Harry Potter, Renee Richardson

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

Despite various scholars critically engaging with the Harry Potter book and movie series, the analysis of the learning and educational environments within the series remains woefully limited. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix provides a look into the fictional world of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the specific experiences of the students and teachers during a hostile takeover of the campus. This essay analyzes the portrayal of the educational system in this entry of the series and compares it to the real-world urban educational environment in the US. Using a case study approach, this critique …

Revisionist Policies And Practices: How Black Faculty Members Combat Pedagogy And Research Challenges At A Pwi, Larry J. Walker, Amanda Wilkerson, Lisa Jones

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

This autoethnographic study critically examines faculty well-being and leadership within a predominantly White institution (PWI) amidst intensifying curricular restrictions and perceived challenges to academic freedom. Guided by fugitive pedagogy, it investigates how faculty mobilize historically situated covert-overt strategies to preserve rigorous, culturally and civically relevant learning while mitigating psychosocial strain. Utilizing reflective memos and artifacts (2022–2025) from course design, mentoring, and departmental leadership, analytic vignettes trace three tensions: (a) compliance versus intellectual honesty; (b) productivity metrics versus humane pacing; and (c) risk management versus scholarly courage. Findings reveal quiet innovations, protected dialogue protocols, the erasure of special topics in diversity, …

Contributor Bios

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

Guest Editor’S Foreward, Marlon James

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

Editor's Pen (Special Issue—Summer 2026), Ronald E. Goodwin

The Griot - Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc.

No abstract provided.

His 127 Microhistories: A Lens Into The Past — Apartheid In South Africa Syllabus, Marta Millar

Open Educational Resources

The microhistory course introduces students to the study of history by exploring a particular event, individual, or issue, and its legacy. Students will read both primary source documents and modern texts to examine how the topic under consideration was shaped by, and in turn shaped contemporary culture.

This syllabus is for a course focusing on the history of apartheid in South Africa. Students will analyze the political, social, economic, and cultural aspects of the apartheid era. This includes understanding how segregationist policies developed in South Africa, what political transformations led to the implementation of the apartheid system, how different policies …

Front Matter Volume 2 No. 2, Editors Note

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This is yet another issue of the Zamani journal which takes on varied debates and discussions of historical importance through the contributions to the issue. As we embark on volume three of the new journal’s series, this volume carries six articles, varied in scope but interesting in terms of contribution and relevance to historical synthesis. As editors, we hope that the articles contained here will be of interest to a wider audience of not only historians but also of allied disciplines, practitioners and the general readership. As we publish this volume, we also note the advantage of expanding the scope …

Crises In The Nigerian Defence Sector In The Post-Civil War Period, Hussaini Jibrin

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

History has it that post-war period in any country in the world appeared to be with many challenges of re-planning the defence system. It involves the reconstruction of pre-war institutions that are destroyed during the war for onward growth and development. Contrary to this tradition, this article explores that, in 1970 while Nigerians were celebrating about the end of the Nigerian civil war, fresh crises emerged in the country’s defence sector. Thus, General Yakubu Gowon’s government redirected its focus on addressing the crises. The crises are numerous, however, this article dwells on four only. These are demobilization exercise in the …

Performance Of Buffer Zones In Tanzania: A Case Of Maswa Game Reserve, 1950s-2010s, James Benedict Kuboja

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

National parks as core protected areas are universally regarded as the most important wildlife conservancies as they are protecting pristine nature or untouched wilderness. For this reason, global conservationists, with the assistance of colonial governments, introduced buffer zones in a bid to protect important protected areas from poaching and habitat destruction. Despite the promulgation of these buffer zones from the 1950s, scholars have not exhaustively evaluated their effectiveness in the conservation of wildlife resources within core protected areas and wildlife ecosystems at large. Using the case of Maswa Game Reserve in the Serengeti Mara Ecosystem, this article argues that internal …

Historicising Nyerere’S Presidency In The Nyakyusa Mythical Narratives, Ignas Fedeo

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Julius K Nyerere, the founding President of Tanzania, held office from 1962 to 1985. Much has been written about Nyerere's presidency, with the literature generally falling into two categories: strong advocacy for his decisions, actions, and ideas, and pointed criticism against him. Using narrative and new historicism theories, this article examines the recreation of the history of Nyerere’s presidency in local narratives, specifically Nyakyusa myths. The myths were collected using the oral history interviews from Kyela and Busokelo districts in Tanzania. The Nyakyusa believe that Nyerere was endowed with immense mystical powers, some of which embedded in his stick and …

Śaṅkha-Dvīpa And The Swahili Littoral: Reconstructing India–East Africa Contacts Before The Common Era, Narendra Vijayasimha

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article is the first focused attempt to explore India–East Africa relationships in the Bronze Age and early Iron Age, approximately two to three millennia before the Common Era (3000–300 BCE) from a puranic perspective. While extensive scholarship exists on medieval and later Indo–African exchanges, the pre-Common Era period has remained underexplored. Drawing on Purāṇic cosmographies, Greco-Roman geographical accounts, African archaeology, and Indian Ocean trade studies, this research reconstructs possible networks of contact facilitated by monsoon navigation and long-distance exchange. Methodologically, the article integrates textual exegesis, comparative cosmography, and archaeological correlation. The findings suggest that Indian conceptions of Śaṅkha-dvīpa reflect …