Word: afro-am
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...sees his own acceptance as something of a turning point in Afro-Am's fortunes. "My coming makes a difference, and that's not immodesty, but I did choose to come here--at least it gives the impression to others that one person has persuaded himself that the University has a commitment to Afro...
Some students and Faculty expressed concern last spring when Huggins accepted the appointment on the condition that the Faculty also tenure him in History. Huggins, however, insists that there is no mistaking his loyalty to Afro-Am, saying, "It's a natural possibility that people who would have a place in another Harvard department would accept a joint appointment...
Others seemed worried about Huggins' stated view that Afro-Am is not a discipline, but an area of study. "Conventional disciplines ususally entail a method and a technique, and are discrete and distinctive. In these terms, Afro-Am is not a discipline," Huggins says, adding, "It has a perspective but not a method--and it has the flexibility to incorporate different perspectives." He considers the department "an adminsitrative unit" and adds jokingly, "I've known departments in my day that have had no discipline, academic or otherwise...
Stepping into the middle of the controversy that has surrounded Afro-Am, Huggins views his role as more a builder than advocate. "I don't see my primary role here as political. I see myself as a scholar-academic whose job it is to construct a good, solid concentration for undergraduates--to maintain and manage a worthy concentration. I would like to be judged on the extent to which I do that." How will Huggins conduct himself in helping defuse the disputes that may arise, as they have so often in the past ten years? "If a complaint makes sense...
...full-time job," he says. Indeed, Huggins now confronts a chore that has proved remarkably difficult since Afro-Am's inception in 1969. In the ranks of senior faculty, he is joined only by Eileen Southern, professor of Afro-American Studies and Music and former chairman of the department, who resigned her post in June amid reports of discord. Rosovsky said last fall, "You've got to believe me when I say we tried--and we failed--" to attract scholars to the Afro-Am department. Since 1971, the number of concentrators has dropped about 75 per cent and course enrollment...