Faculty

Faculty

Maria Hamilton Abegunde

Maria Hamilton Abegunde

Assistant Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Affiliate, Gender Studies

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

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

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

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

Research Interests
African-Rooted Dance and Theater

Rachal Burton

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

Carolyn Calloway-Thomas

Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Director of Graduate Studies, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Olivia Ekeh

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

Valerie Grim

Director of Undergraduate Studies, African American and African Diaspora Studies

Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

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

Elena Guzman

Elena Guzman

Assistant Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies and Anthropology

  • elguzman@indiana.edu
  • Ballantine Hall 649
Randal Maurice Jelk

Randal Maurice Jelk

Ruth N. Halls Professor

Affiliate Professor, Religious Studies

Affiliate Professor, History

    Judith Rodriguez

    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

    James Strong

    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

    Maisha Wester

    Associate Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

    Associate Professor, American Studies

    Research Interests
    African American gothic literature; horror films

    Jakobi Williams

    Jakobi Williams

    Chair, African American and African Diaspora Studies

    Ruth N. Halls Associate Professor

    Associate Professor, Department of History

    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

    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

    Phoebe Wolfskill

    Associate Professor, African American and African Diaspora Studies

    Associate Professor, American Studies

    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