Recognizing student scholarship at second annual symposium

On February 27, 2026, the Department of African American Studies hosted our second annual student symposium in the Memorial Union’s Tripp Commons, drawing scholars, students, and community members together for a full day of exchange on Black studies; the event centered research in the arts, activism, and theory.

The day showcased the interdisciplinary breadth of the African American studies field. “Pedagogies of Resistance and Possibility: Histories of Black Education” opened the symposium, followed by “Mapping Resistance and Reclaiming Space: Collective Action in Community”, featuring research fellows within The SoulFolk Collective. The afternoon continued with “Praxis of Protest” and closed with “Interdisciplinary Approaches to African American Studies Theory and Methods”. Between sessions, a poetry reading titled “Let the World Be a Black Poem” (named in honor of Amiri Baraka) illuminated work by two students, Teja and Emil, who were generously mentored by Professor Nate Marshall (UW-Madison, English Department). 

Our keynote address was delivered by Dr. Austin McCoy, assistant professor of U.S. and African American History at West Virginia University and author of Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age: The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made. A public scholar and academic, McCoy has used historical analysis to highlight contemporary questions of politics and culture in outlets including the Washington Post, CNN, and The Baffler.

This year marked the symposium’s first student awards program, with prizes given across undergraduate and graduate categories. Two selection committees evaluated submissions on the clarity of their research questions, methods, engagement with existing scholarship, quality of writing, and originality of approach.

Sophia Grigsby earned first place in the undergraduate category for her paper “Afrofemcentrism and Black Feminism”. Genesis Liriano took second place for “The Parallel History of Protest at UW-Madison: Looking Behind the Scenes of Administration”. In the graduate category, first place went to Ziyen Curtis for “To Dignify a Race: Black Teacher Associations and Black History Education from 1950–1959”, with second place was awarded to Sean Pauley for “Constructing Reparations: How Newspapers and Polls Shape Public Understanding”.

The symposium was organized by the department’s Programming Committee. Students prepared their projects under the mentorship of Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara, Professor Nate Marshall, Dr. Max Felker-Kantor, Dr. Sabrina Thomas, Dr. Andrene Wright-Johnson, Dr. Jessica Lee Stovall, Dr. Mosi Adesina Ifatunji, Dr. Brittney Edmonds, Dr. Anthony Black, and Professor Alexander Shashko. 

The Department of African American Studies will host our next student symposium in February 2027.