Maria Hamilton Abegunde

Assistant Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Affiliate, Gender Studies

Founding Director, The Graduate Mentoring Center (2014-2021)

• maehamil@indiana.edu
• (812) 855-0637
• Ballantine Hall 676

Research Interests
Trans- and inter-generational memory, trauma, and healing; the Middle Passage; contemplative practices; Yoruba orisa and egungun (ancestral) practices; poetry, poetics, and creative writing; mentoring underrepresented minority students; Brazil (Salvador and Itaparica); birth work, Black feminisms, and the arts as a vehicle for community transformation

Nana A. Amoah-Ramey

Assistant Professor, African American & African Diaspora Studies

Assistant Professor, African Studies Program

• namoa@indiana.edu
• Ballantine Hall 678

Research Interests
African American & African Diaspora Literature, African Popular Music and Cultures, Gender Roles

Stafford Berry

Director, African American Dance Company

Director, Atkins Living Learning Center

Professor of Practice, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Professor of Practice, Theater, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

• berryst@iu.edu
• 812-855-8079
• 275 N. Eagleson Ave., Suite 310

Research Interests
African-Rooted Dance and Theater

Rachal Burton

Visiting Assistant Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Visiting Assistant Professor, American Studies

• rachburt@iu.edu
• Ballantine Hall 553

Research Interests
african american literature; black cinema studies; black studies; black feminist theory; critical theory; gender studies; disability studies

Carolyn Calloway-Thomas

Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Director of Graduate Studies, African American and African Diaspora Studies

• calloway@indiana.edu
• (812) 855-0524
• Ballantine Hall 675

Olivia Ekeh

Visiting Assistant Professor

• oekeh@iu.edu
• Ballantine 650

Research Interests
20th century black history, black popular music, black feminist thought, black queer theory, pop culture, performance studies

Valerie Grim

Director of Undergraduate Studies, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

• vgrim@indiana.edu
• (812) 855-4726
• Ballantine Hall 648

Research Interests
African American history; agricultural history; black rural communities; the black family

Elena Guzman

Assistant Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies and Anthropology

• elguzman@indiana.edu
• Ballantine Hall 649

Randal Maurice Jelks

Ruth N. Halls Professor

Affiliate Professor, Religious Studies

Affiliate Professor, History

• rmjelks@iu.edu
• (812) 855-6432
• Ballantine Hall 677

Judith Rodriguez

Assistant Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Assistant Professor, Latino Studies

• jurodr@iu.edu
• Ballantine Hall 652

Research Interests: Afro-Latinx Studies; Literary Theory; Black Studies; Black Feminist Thought; Black Critical Theory; Performance Studies; Afro-Caribbean Philosophical Thought; Gender and Sexuality

Candis D. Smith

Lecturer, African American and African Diaspora Studies

• smith548@indiana.edu
• (812) 856-0217
• Ballantine Hall 651

James Strong

Director, IU Soul Revue

Visiting Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

• jamestro@indiana.edu
• 812-855-5828
• 275 N. Eagleson Ave., Suite 310

Research Interests
African American Music and Culture

Maisha Wester

Associate Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Associate Professor, American Studies

• mwester@indiana.edu
• (812) 855-2082
• Ballantine Hall 553

Research Interests
African American gothic literature; horror films

Jakobi Williams

Chair, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Ruth N. Halls Associate Professor

Associate Professor, Department of History

• jakowill@indiana.edu
• (812) 855-3903
• Ballantine Hall 644A

Research Interests
African American History, 20th Century United States History, Black Panther Party, Black Power/Civil Rights Movement, Social Justice Movements, Chicago Politics, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Raymond Wise

Professor of Practice, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Director, African American Choral Ensemble

Associate Director, African American Arts Institute

• wiser@indiana.edu
• (812) 855-4487
• Neal Marshall Black Culture Center, A310D

Phoebe Wolfskill

Associate Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Associate Professor, American Studies

• pwolfski@indiana.edu
• 812-855-5610
• Ballantine Hall 551

Research Interests
African American art history; the Harlem/Negro Renaissance and WPA art; race in American art; caricature, stereotype, and appropriation in art and visual culture