Du Bois Institute names fellows

Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of Harvard’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research and chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies, has announced the appointment of 12 new institute fellows for the 2002-03 academic year.

“We are particularly delighted with the selection of this group of fellows. They represent the cutting edge of scholarship in the field of African-American studies,” said Gates. “The breadth of their work – from philosophy, history, and English to economics, theater, and music – is reflective of how the institute supports and embraces the interdisciplinary nature of African-American studies. My colleagues and I look forward to following the evolution of their research during their year of study at Harvard and, just as important, we look forward to the contributions that they will make to Harvard’s broader intellectual life.”

Since its creation in 1975, the Du Bois Institute has annually appointed scholars who conduct individual research for a period of up to one academic year in a variety of fields within African and African-American studies. The institute accepts established and emerging scholars from both the humanities and social sciences. Fellows conduct their research by using resources from Harvard’s extensive library system as well as from the institute’s research projects, including the African Art Database, the Image of the Black in Western Art Research Project and Photo Archive, the Timbuktu Library Project, the African AIDS Initiative International, and the Working Group on Environmental Justice. Du Bois Fellows also participate in the varied activities of the institute including public conferences, lectures, readings, and forums.

The 2002-03 Du Bois Fellows and their research projects are as follows:

Marcellus Blount, associate professor of English and comparative literature, Columbia University, “Listening for My Name: African American Men and the Politics of Intimacy.”

Frances Smith Foster, Charles Howard Candler professor of English and Women’s Studies, Emory University, “Afro-Protestant Interpretations of Marriage, Family, and Sex.”

Malick Walid Ghachem, Ph.D. candidate, Harvard Law School, “Sovereignty and Slavery in the Age of Revolution: Haitian Variations on a Metropolitan Theme.”

Cassandra Jackson, assistant professor of English, Northeastern University, “Between Us: Mulatto Figures in 19th Century American Fiction.”

Teodoros Kiros, visiting assistant professor of philosophy, Emerson College, “Zara Yacob: On the Rationality of the Heart.”

Glenn C. Loury, professor of economics, Boston University, “Colorblind Affirmative Action: The Costs of Transparency.”

Bernth Lindfors, professor of English and African literatures, University of Texas, “Ira Aldridge’s Theatrical Career in Europe: 1852-1867.”

Sarah-Jane Mathieu, assistant professor of history, Princeton University, “Jim Crow Rides This Train: Race, Railroads, and Transnational Radicalism in Canada, 1870-1955.”

Cherise Smith, Ph.D. candidate, Stanford University, “Adrian Piper, Eleanor Antin, and Anna Deveare Smith: Ethnic, Gender, and Racial Performance.”

Ryan Smith, assistant professor of sociology, Rutgers University, “Color-tocracy at Work: Racial and Ethnic Authority Hierarchies in Organizations.”

Ibrahim Sundiata, professor and chair of history, Howard University, “Brothers and Strangers: African Americans, Africans, and the Specter of Slavery, 1914-1940.”

Mark Warren, associate professor of sociology, Fordham University, “White Americans Against Racism.”