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African American Studies: Home

Resources for researching African American culture and history.

What is African American Studies?

"African American studies are academic units that focus on the systematic investigation of people of African descent in their contacts with Europeans, their dispersal throughout the diaspora, and the subsequent institutionalization of racism and oppression as means of economic, political, and social subordination. From the outset, these studies had both an academic and a social mission."

Aldridge, Delores. "African American Studies." In K. Lomotey (Ed.) Encyclopedia of African American Education (2010). 

Consider Who You're Citing

Citation Justice is the idea of using citation to emphasize the voices of others. Researching is not a neutral act. We make conscious decisions on whose voices to include in our research and how we interact with the world around us affects how we research. As such, it is important to cite diverse voices in our bibliographies. Think about the following questions:

  • Who gets to create research?
  • Who gets to be written about?
  • How does who is telling our stories change our worldview?
  • What is the hidden cost of research?

To learn more, check out Cite Black Women, a movement that engages with social media "in order to push people to critically rethink the politics of knowledge productive by engaging in a radical praxis of citation that acknowledges and honors Black women's transnational intellectual production."

Brittney Yancy

Brittney Yancy

Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies Program Coordinator

brittney.yancy@ic.edu

Research Services and Information Literacy Librarian

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McKenna Jacquemet
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Research Services and Information Literacy Librarian
Faculty Librarian

Schewe Library
Illinois College
1101 West College Ave
Jacksonville, IL 62650
217.245.3117