| Viewing Single Post From: Blog and Media Roundup - Monday, June 29, 2009 | |
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| Michael | Jun 29 2009, 07:29 AM |
Michael
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Professor: Department to be 'world's greatest' By Neil Offen : The Herald-Sun noffen@heraldsun.com Jun 29, 2009 DURHAM -- A renowned Harvard scholar is coming to Duke University to chair its Department of African and African-American Studies and, he says, "make it the world's greatest department." And, adds professor J. Lorand Matory, he has been given the resources to do just that. "I had no reason to leave an institution with very, very strong anthropology and African studies department if I was not going to be given the resources to build the best department in the world," Matory said. "But Duke is a fantastic, nationally recognized university that also made me an offer I couldn't refuse." The scholar -- a Harvard graduate and a faculty member there since 1991 -- has been guaranteed 13 "full-time equivalent" professor positions for the department as single appointments in African and African-American studies. "But because those will be interdisciplinary positions, I hope that they will be hiring in economics or anthropology or other fields, which will give us the potential of 26 faculty members," Matory said. "We want to get the people who are the best in African and African-American studies but also the best in history, economics, sociology and other fields." African and African-American Studies, which only was elevated to departmental status at Duke in 2006 -- previously it had been a program -- has nine full-time faculty members. Duke's interdisciplinary traditions will be the greatest resource available to Matory at Duke, said George McLendon, the university's dean of the faculty. "He has already helped to recruit a leading historian from Harvard to Duke who will be joint between his department and history," McLendon said, "and will be working on recruiting leaders in the arts next year." Duke's interdisciplinary tradition was one of the major attractions that is bringing Matory to Durham, where he will assume his new post officially on Wednesday. "Duke is a capital of interdisciplinary education," he said. "All over the campus, there are reading groups from multiple departments, cross-departmental lectures, much cross-pollination. Harvard is more intra-disciplinary, and although there's been talk of creating more inter-disciplinary work, Duke has a much longer history of such conversations." Matory, who is a professor of anthropology and of African and African-American Studies at Harvard, is an expert on ethnic diversity in Black North America. He is writing a book on the history and experiences of Nigerians, Trinadadians, Ethiopians, black Indians, Louisiana Creoles and other ethnic groups that make up the black population of the United States. 1 comment(s) on this article. Submitted by Michael12 on 06/29/2009 @ 08:07 AM When will Duke establish a "World s greatest White Studies Program" after all Duke is a traditionally white university..Or is that not politically correct enough for everyone?.... Edit Post :: Delete Post :: Copyright 2009 :: :: Terms of Use :: Browse Local Coupons All Free StuffTravelFood & Drink - Italian restaurantsMattressesFurnitureVacuums Search Local Coupons View Sales Circulars Go to forums >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOW READ THE PRINT EDITION ONLINE!!! * * (7-day home subscription only) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Publications -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| Blog and Media Roundup - Monday, June 29, 2009 · DUKE LACROSSE - Liestoppers | |
6:23 PM Nov 29
