Hazel Carby, chair of African-American studies, ignited a furor with her threatened resignation after University President Richard Levin's, GRD '74, comments.

New powers, new problems for Af-Am

The word "resignation" has two definitions, and both came into play earlier this month when Hazel Carby, frustrated with University President Richard Levin, GRD '74, decided that she had no choice but to resign her position as chair of African-American (Af-Am) studies at Yale. Except for what Levin called "an unfortunate misunderstanding," Carby would have had little reason to complain—her program was a week away from becoming a department.

On Sat., Feb. 5, during remarks at a dinner for Carby's counterpart at Harvard, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., CC '73, Levin said, "We have watched with interest and admiration, and a little jealousy, as you have followed in your mentor's footsteps—building an extraordinary program in Afro-American studies at Harvard." Some version of his words made it back to Carby, who was not in attendance. Compound-ed by rumors that Levin was trying to bring Gates (who he referred to as "Skip") to Yale to "take over," and a feeling that she had "waited very patiently for recognition as a department," Carby felt compelled to resign. The next day, President Levin sent a letter of apology trying to explain how both the standing of Carby's bid for departmental status and the intent of his statements at the dinner had been misunderstood.

Departmental status for Af-Am studies was already on the agenda for the Yale Corporation meeting the next week, but nobody had bothered to inform Carby. Robert Stepto, acting Af-Am studies chair this semester, was at least aware that the vote was coming up, although he had not been given a timeline. "She should have been informed," he said. "Perhaps she wasn't promptly told be-cause she is on leave [this spring]."

As for the remarks themselves, Calhoun Master William Sledge, who hosted the dinner, could not believe that anybody took offense. "The whole atmosphere was one of celebration," he said, and Levin's remarks were just part of praising a successful alum. "I didn't take it to be a summary judgment of Harvard's program." Levin explained in his letter that he was "putting Skip's efforts in the context of Yale's historic leadership," and Carby now firmly believes that Levin's "heart was in the right place." To Stepto, on the other hand, "The praise, however unintentionally, went beyond the obligatory to something more fulsome, as far as many were concerned."

Milestones, but miles to go

From PBS series to encyclopedic compilations, Harvard's Af-Am department has grabbed the spotlight for most of this decade. The irony is that—despite the fame of Harvard's program—some academics hold Yale's Af-Am studies program in higher esteem. Manning Marable, professor of history and political science and the director of the Institute for Research in Af-Am Studies at Columbia, comes from a school of thought that believes scholarship should be linked to real issues that impact black people's daily lives. "I believe very deeply that scholarship must be transformative, that you link scholarship with social change, and Harvard has a different approach," he said.

ANDREW HEID/YH About 20 students and faculty gathered on Tues., Feb. 22 at the Af-Am House to discuss the changing role and status of African-American studies at Yale.

Carby, in turn, attributed Harvard's popular acclaim to its different attitude toward public rela- tions. She is not jealous of Harvard's renown, especially now that Yale is providing her department with some publicity assistance. She said that at Harvard, fame pulls big-name professors out of the classroom and tends to inspire rumors such as those about Gates being recruited by Levin. "I don't know if that's really what we want," she said.

There is little doubt that Yale has assembled a very strong interdisciplinary program—aided recently by the tenure of political scientist Cathy Cohen and the hiring of sociologist Paul Gilroy—but the extent to which the Administration has helped or hindered this process is murkier. "What occurred with Hazel Carby was really the end of a long process that goes back over 30 years about how African-American studies was institutionalized and then marginalized at Yale University," Marable claimed. And while Carby did not criticize Levin, she added that he "came up to speed very quickly" after her threatened resignation. Yale College Dean Richard Brod-head, BR '68, GRD '72, felt that Levin was aware of the program's development. "There's been no neglect of the Af-Am studies department," he said. And Levin, in a letter to Af-Am studies faculty and graduate students, explained that since helping craft Yale's Af-Am Ph.D. program when he was dean of the graduate school he has "watched our program go from strength to strength."

The latest developments are just part of a history filled with moments of triumph and near-collapse. In 1969, Yale offered the first Ivy League Af-Am studies degree, and in 1978 it offered the first Master's degree. However, in the late '80s, the failure of the English department to tenure Gates, along with the departure of another current Harvard professor, Anthony Appiah, and the two-year leave of economist Gerald Jaynes, marked a difficult period for the small program. "We were some of the most visible, vibrant people," Jaynes said. "Morale was at one of the lowest points I've ever seen."

The program, however, soon came back under the leadership of Jaynes and Stepto. They brought in new faculty, bolstered morale, and established the Ph.D. program in 1994; in 1998, Af-Am studies was made distinct from African studies. But the decline that laid the groundwork for rebirth did not have to be that way. "If we had been a department," Jaynes said, "[Gates] would have been promoted."

Status and support

But waiting for departmental status—in cases where a program might ever hope for such a thing—is a necessary step, according to Brodhead. The criteria for such status, under the framework which took more than two years to formulate, are three-fold: a program must be well-established at Yale, it must have a strong background as an established discipline, and Yale must have a graduate program in the area. These standards were set forth in a letter from the Provost to the faculty announcing the new role for Af-Am studies. If the criteria sound uncannily well-suited for the ascent of Af-Am studies, it is with good reason. Carby explained that she was heavily involved throughout the process of crafting the framework, which relied on Af-Am studies as a "model." However, multiple faculty committees approved the plan.

KATHERINE ALDRICH/YH

A letter from the provost to the faculty explained that "departments combine a higher level of control over their own appointments with sharper boundaries on who can participate." For example, in interdisciplinary programs, cross-appointed and junior faculty are given much more of a voice than they would be in an established department. "A program at Yale is a fairly free-wheeling entity," Brodhead said. A department is "something that has come together over time." He said that although people may attach symbolic importance to departmental status, the program has also been a flexible and successful arrangement at Yale, such that departmental status is not appropriate for every interdisciplinary program.

With questions surrounding the viability of departmental status of other programs, consideration of the relationship between Af-Am studies and programs such as American studies and ethnicity, race and migration is needed. On one hand, it is possible for departments to, in the words of Professor Sean Wilentz, chair of American studies at Princeton, "balkanize," but too much may also get lumped under one heading. "I tend to not like throwing things together," Jaynes said. "But when you think things out, then I think that's good." The consensus is that Yale has arrived at a balance between the two extremes by keeping some fields of study integrated under certain umbrella programs and recognizing more established and well-defined programs like Af-Am studies with departmental status.

One of the biggest gains for a program moving to departmental status is the ability to hire and promote dedicated faculty. With the exception of American studies, joint appointments are required—which can lead to a program's desired faculty not being appointed because there is not enough interest from any department. Although Carby said that this has not happened and that dedicated appointments run somewhat contrary to the interdisciplinary nature of Af-Am studies, she feels the status can be used to push forward joint appointments.

The faculty is drafting five- and 10-year plans to figure out what pursuits will keep Yale Af-Am on the cutting-edge, and Matthew Jacobson, director of undergraduate studies (DUS) of American studies, thinks it is "an extraordinary moment." At a Black Student Alliance at Yale (BSAY) meeting on Tues., Feb. 22, the same day as the press conference announcing Af-Am studies' new status, Jacobson explained to the students in attendance that the willingness of the Administration to have faith in the department's growth "can only be good," but that its future implications remain to be seen. "I think the commitment is genuine," he said. "What exactly it will translate into down the road is hard to know."

COURTESY OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS Cathy Cohen (left) and Robert Stepto (right) represent the combination of rising talent and established scholars of Yale's African-American studies.

Timothy O'Meara, DC '00, an Af-Am studies major, hopes the new status will provide for classes that are more focused than regular surveys. "There are lots of things that are a little bit lacking," he said. BSAY co-coordinator Terrence Jones, BR '01, who has taken several courses in Af-Am studies, is polling students to get their input on what classes should be offered and what authors should be read.

Despite apparent consensus on this problem, there was no agreement on the cause. "Hopefully, as time goes on, my classes will reflect the full range of my interests," history and African-American studies Professor Jennifer Baszile said, but she did not attribute homogeneity to a lack of tenure or the size of the program.

Carby feels further development is needed in the non-North American aspects of Af-Am studies, an attribute emphasized by Levin and others when speaking about the department. This perspective provides a well-rounded view of the African-American experience. But she stressed that the final decisions would be up to the full faculty, "like any other department."

Professor William Foltz, DUS of African studies, wants a greater focus on social science. "I think we've got a pretty good African-American studies program here already," he said. "One of the ways it can develop is by putting greater emphasis on the social sciences." Stepto had similar thoughts. "What we hope to do behind this most immediately, is to make the social science component event stronger and to carry on in African-American history," he said. "Also, it seems that the time is ripe to reintroduce African-Americanists in the creative arts." Reaching out

To what extent are the fate of black communities and African-American studies programs linked? Jones and others can't help but feel their own treatment at the hands of the Administration parallels that of the program. "It's just kind of indicative of the way students on campus kind of perceive their relationship with their administration," he said. "There's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of wrongs that characterize our being here." Among the examples he cited were the lack of increase in the number of black students or in funding for the Af-Am House, recent restrictions on Af-Am House parties, and the lack of recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. "Even though today was a victory," he said, "it seems like there are a lot of battles to be fought."

As for the specific complaints, Brodhead thinks that they are only partially valid. "Students are right that there's more to do, but that's not to say that nothing is being done," he said. "Last spring's appointment of Pamela George as assistant dean of Yale College and director of the Afro-American Cultural Center was a very strong appointment." Brodhead added, "Yale College is aggressive in seeking out the strongest African-American candidates for admission. The cultural center does indeed need work, and an alumni committee was formed this year to help raise funds. Yale has worked very aggressively to recruit top African-American faculty, with successes that can be seen in a number of departments, not just in African-American studies." However, beyond these concrete matters, other issues of perception exist.

Nadia Jones, ES '00, a political science and Af-Am studies major, was once told by an "upper-class black man" that the latter major would undermine the accomplishments of the former. She thinks that every black student ought to take classes in the department and try to get to know the African-American studies faculty, "if not just for academic reasons...at least as an acknowledgement of recognizing one another's position and struggle in a predominantly white bastion of `academic excellence.'" Aisha Gayle, BK '02, complained of such pressure to take classes in the department. "I am interested in the subject, but I just have other interests," she said.

Stepto and Carby were taken aback by students' attempts to make such connections between race and the department. "I don't think you should reduce a sphere of knowledge to bodies," Carby said. Foltz thinks that there is a line to be observed. "If the social attraction produces a greater commitment to knowledge, it is to be welcomed warmly," he said. "However, the social should not be allowed to crowd out the academic or confine it."

But, community involvement, long present at Columbia, has been left out of the academic program at Yale. Carby pointed to a recent grant to develop a class to go into the community as well as run a lecture series. "There is room for scholars in African-American studies to do more in New Haven," Stepto said. "New Haven is a unique field of scholarly inquiry and of social interaction." Francoise Hamlin, GRD '03, a graduate student in Af-Am studies, echoed these sentiments. "If you're planning to be self-critical in your scholarship you can't divorce the two," she said. "I personally want my audience to be more than just academics."

O'Meara, who is white, explained that reactions vary when he tells people his major. "They're surprised, and they sometimes wonder why I would do that," he said. "I think there's some sort of appreciation shown by people of color."

Identification of some sort between the program and students , for better or for worse, is what led to its creation and what will continue to drive change. "The nature of what's intellectually interesting is always changing," Brodhead said. "Do I think things would be as good as they are now without students' efforts? No."

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