The Institute For Research On the African Diaspora In the Americas and the Caribbean

http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/IRADAC/

The Institute on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean, commonly referred to by its acronym IRADAC, was founded at City College (CCNY) and the Graduate Center (GC) of the City University of New York to strengthen the University’s capacity to address the African presence in the Americas through scholarly research and public programs for the betterment of the lay public as well as the academic community.

IRADAC’s mission is to foster understanding and critical interpretation of the history, development, conditions, status, and cultures of diverse peoples of African descent living in the various societies of the Western Hemisphere. IRADAC’s primary focus on the black experience in Canada and the United States, Central and South American, and the Caribbean does not preclude any region of the African Diaspora from the scope of its multidisciplinary scholarship and public programs.

The Institute will develop and facilitate the creation of a community of independent scholars at The City University of New York interested in the study of the African Diaspora. Furthermore, IRADAC will encourage interchange and communication with scholars in the field both nationally and internationally in order to conceptualize, critique, and reframe existing research on the African Diaspora as well as conduct and disseminate new research.

IRADAC will constitute and maintain a University-wide network of African Diaspora Studies departments, programs, centers, and other entities and serve as a resource and advocate for the teaching and study of the African Diaspora at the undergraduate and graduate as well as post-doctoral level across the campuses of the CUNY system.

IRADAC will inform and influence the formulation of public and academic policy, particularly with respect to education, through its research initiatives and public programs.

Africana Studies Group

Students formed the Africana Studies Group (ASG) in the fall of 2000, the goal being to provide an arena for ideas regarding the field and to establish an official concentration in Africana Studies at The Graduate Center. The ASG, by definition, is interdisciplinary and encourages input and participation from students and faculty from the various fields that help comprise Africana Studies. While the ASG periodically elects co-chairs, its structure is loose, based upon the needs of students and the evolving and competing articulations of Africana Studies.

Africana Studies Group Listserv

The ASG has a listserv which serves as a forum for all those interested in the scholarly pursuit of Africana Studies. The listserv posts ASG announcements and events and serves as a space for discussion. To subscribe, contact Lise Esdaile at:
weazie65@yahoo.com