For IU Indianapolis professor Leslie Etienne, the humanities are about understanding the world through a lens of arts and culture.
That’s part of what he’s hoping to accomplish as part of a new Indiana University initiative to study Black culture, arts and history. Called Black Humanities in the Midwest, the project is funded by the New York City-based Mellon Foundation and will bring seven Ph.D. graduates to IU to research and teach.
“This is for the curious,” said Etienne, who is also the founding director of the university’s Center for Africana Studies. “We’re calling all the curious.”
The investment in Black studies comes at a time when higher education broadly is moving away from talking about race. In response to federal and state pressures, IU closed its diversity, equity and inclusion offices across the university last year, including in Indianapolis.
For project manager Asia Abang, the initiative couldn’t come at a better time. She’s hopeful that the project will forge connections between IU scholars and community members.
“It brings me a lot of hope,” Abang said. “I think especially for the times that we are in now, it is even more pivotal and important.”
About the project
In addition to three research labs, the Black humanities project will create seven jobs for Ph.D. graduates, called postdoctoral fellows. All new hires eventually will be able to apply for tenure, a protected employment status.
Tenure is in high demand in higher ed, and research shows that people of color tend to have a harder time finding jobs in academia than their white counterparts.
To start, IU will hire three scholars to study and teach about race and sports, museum studies and public policy. While the sports and public policy fellows will be based out of Bloomington, the museum studies fellow will work in Indianapolis.
But unlike many research projects, which are typically prepared for other experts in the field, IU staff want to engage the community. Abang said staffers are planning a variety of in-person events to get people engaged and involved with the research. They’re also planning to launch a podcast which will feature interviews with community members and researchers.
“Sometimes academia can work in a silo, away from the community,” Abang said. “This project is the opportunity to engage some of the academic expertise looking at the discipline of Black studies, and also engage the lived expertise of people in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas.”
Etienne is hopeful that bringing in new experts in Black history, arts and culture will also lead to students becoming more interested in getting involved and learning more.
“Hopefully, (it is) bringing the wonderment of this great topic to the forefront of people’s minds,” he said.
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Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org, on most social media @clairerafford or on Signal 317-759-0429.
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