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The Department of African American Studies (AAS) at Syracuse University is a leading Africana studies department in the United States.〔http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Dec96/blackstudies.jkg.html〕 It is located at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is a prominent independent department at Syracuse University that has had a long history of activism and scholarship in Black and Pan African Studies. The Department supports an external community based unit that is a part of the department and has played a central role in shaping culture and arts in the Syracuse city community - Community Folk Art Center (CFAC). It has also supported the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) in the past. These are both independent units that were housed or founded by the department〔Mugo, Micere, "Message from the Chair", ''Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter'', 2007-2008.〕 The department also houses the award-winning library, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. It currently oversees the internationally recognized university wide initiative "Africa Initiative". Its other projects include the nationally recognized "Paris Noir" and the Ford Foundation Environmental Justice and Gender Project.〔 It has had a long history of activism within the university, surrounding community, and abroad through its strong international network. The AAS department has housed many renowned scholars in African, Afro-Caribbean, African-American, Afro-Latin American, and Afro-European studies. ==History== The AAS department was created in the spirit of revolutionary thinking.〔''Pan African Studies Newsletter'', "history", Department of African American studies, Syracuse University, 2004, p. 1.〕 Syracuse students were among the first in the United States to rebel against institutionalized injustices in education in the 1960s.〔Davis, Barbara Sheklin, ''Syracuse African Americans''. Arcadia Publishing. 2006〕 When Ernie Davis became the first Black football player to win the Heisman trophy in 1961, it was a major landmark for progress for African Americans in higher education.〔("JBHE Chronology of Major Landmarks in the Progress of African Americans in Higher Education" ), ''The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education'', 2006.〕 Syracuse alumnus Joe Biden noted in a tribute speech in 2011, that Ernie Davis "gave a whole group of people hope".〔Wes Cheng, ("Friends, Teammates Honor Anniversary of Ernie Davis Winning Heisman" ). ''The Juice'', December 10, 2011.〕 Subsequently, racial discord in the football program began to be highlighted, which resulted in an increase in racial tension.〔 This tension began in 1969 when a group known as the "Syracuse 8" highlighted the discrimination they faced in football by coach Floyd "Ben" Schwartzwalder. By the opening pre-game of the season, tensions were so high that they resulted in a confrontation between nearly 100 policemen and at least 400 students at the football stadium at Syracuse University.〔〔("The 'Syracuse 8,' A Commitment For Change" ), African American Registry, April 9, 1970.〕 Due to increasing racial tension and in response to the civil rights movement, in 1968, Black students at Syracuse University staged a protest outside of S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, demanding that the university offer Black Studies classes that highlighted and included the intellectual, historical and cultural contributions of African Americans.〔Powell, Karla, "A Look Back through Our struggles", ''Pan African Studies at Syracuse University Newsletter'', Special -Edition, 2004/2005.〕 The administration at Syracuse University subsequently began to make concessions by offering Black Studies classes as an elective.〔John Robert Greene, Syracuse University: (Eggers Years ), 1998, p. 98.〕 African American Studies (AAS) began as a program in 1972 and then became a department as part of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1979.〔〔Davis, Deborah R. ''Black Students' Perceptions: the complexity of persistence to graduation at an American University'', NY: Peter Lang Publishing, 2004, 2007.〕 The 1960s student protests also resulted in an Afro-American Cultural center and marked the beginning of the MLK library collection.〔 The first conference on Critical Issues in Afro-American and African Studies was held at Syracuse University in 1976.〔''The Yale Journal of Law and Liberation'', Vol. 1, p. 92, 1992.〕 During the 1980s, Syracuse students again advocated the administration to widen the pool of African American faculty applicants, hire a department chairperson and in order to increase the staff in the AAS department.〔Davis, "Black Students' Perceptions" (2004, 2007), p. 15.〕 The department has stayed without a chair and other key positions for more than a year. Members of the Syracuse African-American Students Association (SAS) were at the forefront of this movement.〔Davis, ''Black Students' Perceptions'' (2004, 2007), p. 16.〕 In 1989, 120 SAS member students confronted Chancellor Melvin Eggers at a round table meeting in order to air their grievances. The group's efforts led to a 400-student protest in 1990 led by SAS President Quentin Stith. The students also advocated for a program that allowed all students (not just those of African-American descent) to learn about the contribution of African Americans in American history.〔 The students were concerned with preserving Black identity and saw their dedication towards African studies as a collective struggle.〔 Throughout the 1980s, students continued to play an active role on the university campus. It has now grown into a national and international renowned program that explores linkages between Africa and the African Diaspora. It continues to pioneer revolutionary thinking in its projects, programs, and academics. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Department of African American Studies – Syracuse University」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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