An interdisciplinary symposium hosted by the Department of African American Studies, but open to any discipline, undergraduate or graduate, whose work centers or intersects with Black studies and Black people.
When: February 27, 2026
Where: UW-Madison Memorial Union, Tripp Commons
Project proposals due: December 10, 2025.
Projects will be selected by January 12, 2026.
Final project due by: January 30, 2026.
Participants will have the opportunity to work with faculty members prior to the Symposium to refine, edit, and receive mentoring on presentations.
Keynote Address
Dr. Austin McCoy
Dr. Austin McCoy is an assistant professor of U.S. and African American History at West Virginia University. He is the author of Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made, published by One Signal/Simon & Schuster in January 2026. He is also working on another book tentatively titled, The Quest for Democracy: Black Power, the New Left, and Progressive Politics in the Post-Industrial Midwest. His research and teaching focuses on African American history, politics, social movements, and hip-hop culture. McCoy is also a public scholar, using history to comment on contemporary issues related to politics and culture in numerous media outlets including Washington Post, CNN, and The Baffler.
Forthcoming January 27, 2026 (Simon & Schuster)
For fans of Dilla Time and The Chronicles of DOOM, a culturally connected celebration of the groundbreaking hip-hop group De La Soul, and how they changed the look, sound, and feel of Black America.
Music artists and trends come and go, but every once in a while, a moment arrives that genuinely changes everything. In 1988, De La Soul, three young men from Amityville, Long Island, did exactly that. Their always innovative work pulled inspiration from artists of the past and popularized cutting-edge music sampling techniques to blend jazz, R&B, and rap as they created a sound unlike any the world had heard before.
But the De La Soul experience didn’t end there. These weren’t just musicians—they were game-changers in so many ways. From the way they dressed, to the words they spoke, to the day-glo colors of their breakout 3 Feet and Rising, De La Soul rejected convention, refused to be talked back into the box, and left the door open for everyone behind them.
Now, in Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age, West Virginia University history professor Austin McCoy explores how De La Soul not only defined a new era of hip-hop, but also American and Black culture at the same time. Through his eyes, ears, and well-studied recall of ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s America, McCoy takes us on a journey through the world this innovative musical act made.
One of the few hip-hop groups of their era to stay together long term, De La Soul lived astonishing highs and lows, from forming the Native Tongues collective to influential fights with their publishers to assert the artist’s right to control their creations. And after a lifetime left out of music’s digital revolution, in 2023 they finally hit streaming services just as it lost founding member David Jolicoeur too soon to see his work reach a brand-new generation of fans.
Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age will connect with DLS fans, ‘80s babies, and students of the rap game alike, in a beautifully rendered and deeply researched tome that places this group atop the pedestal it deserves.
Questions?
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