The Indiana University System has announced plans to launch the Black Humanities in the Midwest (BHIM) Africana Studies Research Center, a new initiative to expand, deepen, and amplify scholarship on the histories, cultures, and intellectual traditions of Black and Africana diasporic communities across Indiana and the broader Midwest.
Jointly led by the department of African American and African diaspora studies at Indiana University Bloomington and the Center for Africana Studies & Culture at the system’s Indianapolis campus, BHIM will establish three applied Africana studies research labs across the system. Jakobi Williams and Randal Maurice Jelks of IU Bloomington and Leslie K. Etienne, Joseph L. Tucker Edmonds, and Lasana D. Kazembe of IU Indianapolis will serve as co-principal investigators.
In addition to its research labs, BHIM will also focus on recruiting and hiring seven new early-career scholars in Africana studies through a postdoctoral-to-tenure-track model. These scholars will participate in extensive research, professional development, and mentoring opportunities to prepare them for long-term faculty roles within the Indiana University System.
