Stanford University, Department of African and African American Studies, records, 1968-2023
Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Stanford University, Department of African and African American Studies, records
- Dates:
- 1968-2023
- Creators:
- Stanford University. Program in African and African American Studies
- Extent:
- 34.25 Linear Feet and 330.2 megabyte(s)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Stanford University, Department of African and African American Studies, records (SC1484). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection consists of records, course materials, publications, photographs, and audiovisual materials relating to the Program in African and African American Studies at Stanford University, which became the Department of African and African American Studies in January 2024 after 55 years on campus as an interdisciplinary program. Addenda ARCH-2024-136 was transferred in the summer of 2024; this additional material was organized and described by students Alana Okonkwo and Josie Amoo under the guidance of University Archives staff.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Department of African and African American Studies (AAAS), first established as an interdisciplinary Stanford program in 1969, was the first ethnic studies program developed at Stanford University and the first African and African American Studies program at a private institution in the United States.
AAAS promotes an understanding of how history informs the present and inspires an engagement with the past in order to collectively dream a more just and equitable future. AAAS faculty, staff, and students value the interrelated nature of the personal and the political and aim to create a community that allows for intellectual and personal flourishing. The program's interdisciplinarity equips students with the tools to produce revolutionary scholarship, question all assumptions and norms, and confront the power imbalances of our social reality.
Departmentalized in October 2023 by the Board of Trustees following over 55 years of advocacy by Stanford students, staff, and faculty, Stanford's Department of African and African American Studies opened in January 2024 and currently offers three tracks—African Studies, African American Studies, and Global Black Diaspora Studies—providing undergraduates with a comprehensive understanding of the field of Black Studies.
- Acquisition information:
- Transfers, 2019 and 2024.
- Physical location:
- Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged three business days in advance. For more information on paging collections, see the department's website: https://library.stanford.edu/libraries/special-collections.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-13 11:50:22 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Materials are open for research use, with the exception of Addenda ARCH-2026-136 Sub-series 1, which contains departmental records that are restricted until 2038. Only Officers of the University and the faculty and administration of the Department of African American Studies may access this material in the meantime. Audio-visual materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
- Terms of access:
-
While Stanford University is the owner of the physical and/or digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Except materials in the public domain, any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the rightsholders, heir(s), or assigns. For more information, see: https://library.stanford.edu/special-collections-policies.
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], Stanford University, Department of African and African American Studies, records (SC1484). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
- Location of this collection:
-
Stanford University Archives, Green Library557 Escondido MallStanford, CA 94305-6064, US
- Contact:
- (650) 725-1022