Africana Studies / Rites and Reason Theatre

Our Students

The work of our graduate students drives us forward. Learn about their research.

Fall 2023 Cohort

Fall 2020 Cohort

Fall 2019 Cohort

Fall 2018 Cohort

Program Alumni

  • An image of the Department logo, the Me-We, on a red background.

    Bedour Alagraa

    Assistant Professor of Black Political and Social Theory, University of Texas at Austin
  • An image of the Department logo, the Me-We, on a red background.

    Felicia Bishop-Denaud

    Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Cincinnati
  • An image of Amanda Boston smiling in a red dress.

    Amanda T. Boston

    Assistant Professor in Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh
  • An image of Warren Harding smiling outdoors.

    Warren Harding

    Program Alumni, Assistant Professor English, General Literature and Rhetoric, Binghampton University
  • A decorative image of the Africana's logo, the Me-We, on a red background.

    Lydia Kelow-Bennett

    Assistant Professor of Afro-American & African Studies, University of Michigan
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    Kristen J. Maye

    Clara Willis Phillips Assistant Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College
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    N'Kosi Oates

    Graduate Student, Curator for Black Arts and Culture, Instruction Librarian, and Assistant Professor
  • A black and white image of Watufani Poe. He wears suspenders and a bowtie.

    Watufani M. Poe

    Postdoctoral Fellow 2021-2022, Amherst College Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Incoming Assistant Professor of Black Queer Feminist Knowledges, University of Pittsburgh School of Education, Program Alumni
  • An image of Michael Sewer standing in front of a bookcase wearing a suit.

    Michael Sawyer

    Assistant Professor of Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies and the Department of English, Colorado College
  • An image of Hadiya Sewer smiling outdoors.

    Hadiya Sewer

    Africana philosopher, art collector, and conscious business advisor based out of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
  • An image of Nicosia smiling.

    Nicosia Shakes

    Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies, University of California, Merced
  • An image of the Department logo, the Me-We, on a red background.

    D'Ondre Swails

    Assistant Professor in History and Global Black Studies at Clemson University
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    Britt Threatt

    Graduate Student, Assistant Professor of English, Sewanee
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    Melanie White

    Assistant Professor of Afro-Caribbean Studies in the Department of African American Studies and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Georgetown University
  • An image of Shamara Wyllie Alhassan smiling in front of Churchill House.

    Shamara Wyllie Alhassan

    Assistant Professor of Black Experience in the Americas, Arizona State University