Eying the future of African studies

The "Transcending Traditions Conference" focused on the connection between various African diaspora disciplines. Studying peoples of African descent in the 21st century has become an increasingly discussed topic in academia. Following in this trend, several distinguished academics from universities across the country joined in the discussion at the first annual "Transcending Traditions Conference," held on Thursday and Friday at the Penn Tower Hotel. Co-sponsored by the African Studies Center and the Afro-American Studies Program, the conference was a continuation of the dialogue about the future of African, Afro-American and African Diaspora Studies. A major aim of the conference, according to its organizers, was to expand the idea of the African diaspora geographically from what it is now -- West Africa, the Caribbean, some of Latin America and the United States -- to include what it could be in the future -- all of Spanish-speaking Latin America, East Africa, Asia, the South Pacific and more. Michael Hanchard, a panelist and professor of African-American Studies at Northwestern University, discussed "deterritorializing the studies of the African diaspora." Like others at the conference, he stated that dividing African, Afro-American and African Diaspora Studies was "a political and administrative decision" by academics. African Studies Center Director Tukufu Zuberi explained that "Transcending Traditions" was the first conference at Penn to specifically explore the connection among African Diaspora disciplines. "We never anticipated the quality of papers or the depth of papers that we have received. We never anticipated the level of critique or the level of expansion of what Africana studies is or what it can be," said Zuberi, who is also a Sociology professor. The conference consisted of four panels, which discussed topics ranging from history and culture to philosophy and spirituality. The scholars in each of these areas gave papers about their work in relation to the African diaspora. Topics of discussion included geography, Pan-Africanism, methodology, transnationalism and transatlantic migration. The conference featured noted academics from Penn, Brown, Columbia, Harvard, New York and Northwestern universities. The conference represents what many acknowledge to be cutting-edge efforts in establishing a graduate program in African Diaspora disciplines at Penn. Faculty members in these disciplines have submitted a proposal to the administration for the creation of a combined graduate program in African, Afro-American, and African Diaspora Studies. An official administrative decision is expected next fall. "I think this conference is a good first initiative for that program," said Edda Fields, a graduate student in the History Department. Participants in the conference also tried to put this type of academic study into the context of the new global economy. "It's the beginning of a dialogue that we've been having for 150 years," said Robin Kelley, a panel member and a History professor at NYU. "We are in a different place to think about the relationships among people in the black world and what future we can make." Some viewed this conference as part of an effort to promote social change and end racial oppression. "Getting the scholarship right, rethinking our paradigms, the way we theorize race, space, territoriality, gender -- by doing that we can start to develop new ways of thinking for social movements and struggle," Kelley added. "Who cares about the academy? I care about change, freedom and liberation."