‘Untapped potential’: Rice partners with area universities in new African and African American Studies consortium
Feb. 19 panel on local history to kick off collaboration
HOUSTON – (Feb. 2, 2021) – Rice University and its Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) have partnered with the University of Houston, Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University to form a new collaboration committed to African and African American Studies scholarship.
The Southeastern Texas African and African American Studies Consortium will take advantage of the four institutions’ geographic proximity — as well as Houston’s rich history — to pool intellectual resources and continue elevating the field of African and African American Studies (AAAS). This collaborative effort, which is jointly housed between the partner universities, comes at a time when the field is undergoing expansion and investment nationwide.
“It's untapped potential,” said CAAAS director Anthony Pinn, Rice’s Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities, of the robust community of AAAS scholars in Houston. “It’s a unique development for us; we've not done anything like this before.”
The Southeastern Texas African and African American Studies Consortium will host its first event Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m., a panel discussion on “The History of African and African American Studies in Southeastern Texas.” Panelists will include Nicole Waligora-Davis, associate professor of English at Rice, and historian Gerald Horne from the University of Houston.
Rice launched its Center for African and African American Studies in 2019, expanding on the previous African Studies minor, developing an introductory course and creating a new graduate certificate program within its first year. The new minor remains a collaborative track between the schools of Humanities and Social Sciences.
“There's a lot that we can do to capture this moment, and I think there's a tremendous amount of potential here,” Pinn said. “There’s a lot for us to learn from each other but I think there's also a lot that we can accomplish together.”
WHAT: “The History of African and African American Studies in Southeastern Texas” panel discussion hosted by the Southeastern Texas African and African American Studies Consortium.
WHEN: Feb. 19, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Online; register at caaas.rice.edu/consortium-event.
WHO: Gerald Horne, Moores Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston: "The Second Counter-Revolution: Texas Slavery and Jim Crow and the Roots of U.S. Fascism"
Melanye Price, Endowed Professor of Political Science and director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for Race and Justice at Prairie View A&M University: "Building African American Studies at HBCUs"
Nicole Waligora-Davis, associate professor of English and steering committee member of the Center for African and African American Studies at Rice University: "Black Matters: Shaping the Future of Black Studies at Rice"
Cary D. Wintz, Distinguished Professor of History and director of the history master’s degree program at Texas Southern University: "African American History, Houston and Texas Southern University”
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This news release can be found online at news.rice.edu.
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