 One of Columbia H&SS's newest working group aims to facilitate cross-disciplinary discussion between historians and health and social science researchers specializing in African American populations. The choice of subject matter is important for two reasons. African American populations are distinct from other U.S. population groups in that continuing processes of social differentiation (including discrimination) place them in the position of cultural "others." At the same time, black native-born Americans are not immigrants, and thus have a history which confounds attempts to place them and immigrants under the same analytical rubric of "race." Of course, the parallels and relationships between black Americans and immigrant populations are myriad and instructive, and significant attention, too, will be given to the health conditions and identity formations of black immigrants in particular.
To explore these issues, and to promote dialogue between historians and the many health and social science researchers who take an historical perspective to minority health, the working group is organizing a speaker series. Future plans may include a conference and an edited volume. The group is led by Samuel Roberts, who is jointly appointed in the history and sociomedical sciences departments at Columbia, and who specializes in African-American history. Core participants also include Debbie Barrington (Cohort 3 Scholar) and Naa Oyo Kwate (Sociomedical sciences).
Recent Events:
|
