Poet, Educator, and Public Health Change Agent Joins AAAS Department

A community-accountable scholar, educator, and poet, LeConté Dill joined MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) on September 16, 2021, as an Associate Professor of Black Feminisms, Genders, and Sexualities Studies.  She has a commitment toward transdisciplinary research and is guided by Black Feminist epistemologies to listen to and show up for Black girls and other youth of color. Dr. Dill was born…

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Afrofantastic: Seeing the Impact of Black Speculation and Liberation in American Culture

What is Afrofuturism and why does it matter to our contemporary moment? In this presentation, Julian Chambliss, Professor of English, Core Faculty in the Consortium For Critical Diversity in Digital Age Research (CEDAR), and Val Berryman Curator of History at the MSU Museum, explores the manifestation of Black speculative practice.

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Award-Winning Author, Filmmaker, and Scholar Joins AAAS Department

A scholar, cultural critic, and award-winning author and documentary filmmaker, Trimiko Melancon joined MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) on September 13, 2021, as a Full Professor with tenure.   She brings with her an expertise in critical race, gender, Black feminist and sexualities studies; African American and American literary and cultural studies; African American and Black German studies; and race, media,…

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MI Diaries Receives NSF Grant to Support Its Expansion

The MI Diaries project, run by MSU’s Sociolinguistics Lab and led by College of Arts & Letters’ Assistant Professor of Linguistics Betsy Sneller and Associate Professor of Linguistics Suzanne Wagner, was awarded a $265,830 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support the expansion of the project over the next three years. Since MI Diaries first began in April…

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Gordon Henry Appointed to New Endowed Chair Position

An enrolled citizen/member of the White Earth Anishinaabe Nation, Gordon Henry has dedicated his writing, scholarship, and life to Indigenous tribal communities. In recognition of this work, he has been appointed the inaugural Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in North American Indian and Indigenous Literary Studies at Michigan State University. “Most everything associated with the Audrey and John Leslie…

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Humanities Commons Receives $971,000 Mellon Grant to Support Its Expansion

Humanities Commons, which is hosted and sustained by Michigan State University and led by Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Director of Digital Humanities for MSU’s College of Arts & Letters, was awarded a $971,000, 5-year grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a multi-year restructuring of its business model. An online open-source platform, Humanities Commons facilitates communication and collaboration among scholars…

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Critical Race Studies Artist-in-Residence Program Enters Its Fifth Year

MSU’s College of Arts & Letters’ Critical Race Studies Artist-in-Residence program is bringing two dynamic artists to campus for the 2021-2022 academic year to enrich the life of the greater Lansing community by cultivating diversity and facilitating practices of inclusion through art and design.  This year’s Critical Race Studies Artists-in-Residence are:  Dan Paz, visual artist  Elka Stevens, textile and mixed media artist  2021-2022 Critical Race Studies Artists-in-Residence Dan…

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HuMetricsHSS Initiative Receives $650,000 Mellon Grant

Michigan State University has received a $650,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to continue the work being done by the Humane Metrics for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HuMetricsHSS) initiative, an international partnership committed to establishing more humane indicators of excellence in academia with a particular focus on the humanities and social sciences.   The goal of the HuMetricsHSS initiative is to empower people at all levels…

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2021 Homecoming Event: Join us for Sweet & Greet

The College of Arts & Letters invites you to join us for our 2021 Homecoming event, Sweet & Greet 2021, on Friday, October 1, between 2-4 p.m. Visit our tent located at the Summer Circle Courtyard between Kresge Art Center and the MSU Auditorium. Enjoy Michigan-made treats and drinks and win items from the College with our raffle prize wheel while reconnecting…

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MSU to Collaborate with Comic Studies Society on Conferences and Scholarship 

Michigan State University and the Comics Studies Society (CSS) are pleased to announce the formation of an ongoing, multiyear collaboration that will begin with the 2022 CSS conference taking place on MSU’s campus. Future CSS conferences will return to MSU in 2025, 2028, and beyond.   Supported by MSU’s Department of English, the MSU College of Arts & Letters Office of the Dean, and MSU Libraries,…

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