Helena Hicks Emancipation School: Lawrence Jackson

Description

Lawrence Jackson, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and history at Johns Hopkins University, will give an "Introduction to African American Studies" as part of the Helena Hicks Emancipation School.

Jackson's lecture provides an opening to foundational ideas in the study of African American life, culture, politics, and history in the U.S. and the Caribbean. African American studies is a multi-disciplinary field of study that includes history, social sciences, literature, and the arts. This academic discipline is often taught under parallel terms emphasizing related geographies and identifying concepts: Black studies, Afro-American studies, Africana studies, pan-African studies and African diaspora studies. Unlike every other modern academic discipline in the college, African American studies was founded because of a social and political revolution.

About the series:

Honoring Baltimore's living legend Helena Hicks, who as a Morgan State University student led the 1955 sit-in movement at Read's Drugstore, the Fall 2021 Helena Hicks Emancipation School lecture series features 40-minute presentations from the Johns Hopkins faculty. These lectures are digests of standing courses, manicured for the event. The mini-courses present the main hypothesis or research question, a pithy literature review explaining key readings from the syllabus, definitions of specialist terms, and a window into the unique archives or data. At the conclusion of the lectures, the experts will field questions from the audience. Registered participants of all three mini-courses will receive a certificate of completion from the Johns Hopkins University Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts: Helena Hicks Emancipation School.

Upcoming speakers:

• Nov. 18: Minkah Makalani, associate professor of history and director of the Center for Africana Studies, "Worlds of Hip-Hop"
• Dec. 16: Vesla Weaver, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of political science and sociology, "Race and Inequality in the U.S."