University of Wisconsin–Madison

Melanie Herzog presents at the National Gallery of Art

Last Saturday, April 5th, African American studies lecturer Melanie Herzog served as a moderator and presenter on the panel: “A Sense of Purpose and Integrity” at the National Gallery of Art’s Elizabeth Catlett exhibition. With an emphasis on artists’ encounters across cultural and geographical borders, socially engaged artistic practice, and intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, …

Dr. Brittney Edmonds on SNL101

The interdisciplinary lab group PoSH (Philosophy, Psychology, and Pedagogy of Satire and Humor) announces a special episode of SNL101, a podcast designed for educators who use Saturday Night Live (SNL) sketches as teaching tools. Hosted by Charisse L’Pree, Associate Professor of Communications at Syracuse University, and Luvell Anderson, Professor of Philosophy at the University of …

Dr. Ethelene Whitmire published in The New York Times

“As an African American scholar who has studied the Harlem Renaissance and the experiences of Black Americans living in Denmark, a country I’ve visited 18 times, I have been retracing Larsen’s footsteps in Copenhagen for the last two years.” — Dr. Ethelene Whitmire in “Looking for the Restless Soul of Nella Larsen in Copenhagen” Published …

The Division of the Arts calls for submissions

The Bolz Center for Arts Administration and the Division of the Arts have opened an opportunity for student entrepreneurs with an interest in the arts: Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2025. Each year, a talented panel of judges review proposals for creativity, innovation, potential success and added value to the …

Dr. Stovall wins Paul and Kate Farmer English Journal Writing Award

Dr. Jessica Lee Stovall has been awarded the Paul and Kate Farmer English Journal Writing Award for her article “Black Teachers’ Use of Liberatory Design to Promote Literacies of Healing” co-written with Lamar Timmons-Long, Thomas J. Rodney, and Taylor Hall. This award will be given at the NCTE Annual Convention. Read Dr. Stovall’s article here. …

Chair’s Letter — Fall 2024

To the African American Studies community, On behalf of our department, I welcome you to the first edition of our African American Studies newsletter, created to provide students, Alumni, and friends of the program with current happenings within our community here at UW-Madison. In this first edition, you’ll find a spotlight on Forrest Ashworth, a second-year …

Welcoming Dr. Jessica Lee Stovall

Dr. Stovall joined the Department of African American Studies as an Anna Julia Cooper Postdoctoral Fellow in the fall of 2023 after completing an M.A. in American Literature from Northwestern and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in Race, Inequality, and Language in Education, Curriculum and Teacher Education. Stovall graduated from UW-Madison in 2007 with her …

Graduate Student Interview: Forrest Ashworth

What previous experiences led you here to UW-Madison and into a Masters program in African American Studies? I received my undergraduate degree in Art History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There I became interested in conceptual sculpture, especially that displayed publicly, that adopts common objects, materials, and their methods of display. …