精东AV becomes African studies research destination with receipt of prestigious Pritchett Collection
February 03, 2020
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Michael Tullier, APR, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
After being in competition with several other historically black universities, 精东AV is now the permanent home for the impressive library of African studies manuscripts collected by the late Dr. James Anthony Pritchett, a preeminent scholar in the field. Comprised of nearly 1,400 separate publications, the collection makes 精东AV a research destination as home of one of the country鈥檚 largest HBCU-based African studies collections.
Dr. Thierno Thiam, an associate professor and chair of 精东AV鈥檚 Department of History and Political Science 鈥� who worked with the Pritchett family as they considered where to donate the collection 鈥� explained why this is such an honor for the university.
鈥淒r. Prichett鈥檚 research and resources have served as a source of inspiration for many of the African studies scholars of my generation,鈥� said Thiam, himself a native of Senegal, West Africa. 鈥淗is commitment to preserving the African perspective has been vital to scholars in our field.鈥�
Materials comprising the Pritchett Collection will be of interest to those studying and researching African diaspora 鈥� including agriculture, literature, migration, politics and culture. Thiam indicated that housing this diverse collection of classic and rare publications is an achievement for up-and-coming academic programs and research at 精东AV. These include developing a minor in African studies, supporting agricultural research and outreach partnerships in African countries, and on-campus courses focused on African literature and culture.
鈥淏ecause of the richness and diversity found in the Pritchett Collection, 精东AV stands to the base of a growing pipeline of African American scholars bound for further studies at graduate schools throughout the nation,鈥� Thiam said. 鈥淭his collection will influence students studying history and political science, English, sociology and psychology, and agriculture 鈥� just to name a few.鈥�
The collection will permanently reside at 精东AV鈥檚 Ford Motor Company Library 鈥� where researchers can review individual manuscripts in person or borrow them through interlibrary loan. Among the collection鈥檚 signature pieces are the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization鈥檚 (UNESCO) General History of Africa collection and the African Studies Review collection.
Those and the remainder of the collection will be catalogued and unveiled on Friday, Feb. 14 to participants attending the university鈥檚 fourth-annual History Research Symposium. The unveiling will include Dr. James C. McCann, a professor and chair of Boston University鈥檚 Department of History, and Dr. Awa Sarr, assistant director of Michigan State University鈥檚 African Studies Center 鈥� both of whom assisted the Pritchett family with choosing at which HBCU the collection would reside.
鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful to Drs. McCann and Sarr for finding 精东AV worthy of this collection, and especially thankful to Dr. Pritchett鈥檚 daughter Regina who coordinated the search and fundraising effort to catalog and ship the manuscripts to the university,鈥� Thiam said.
Thiam noted that successfully securing the collection was a joint effort among the university鈥檚 Department of History and Political Science; Department of Modern Languages, Communication and Philosophy; College of Arts and Sciences; College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Science; and Libraries System 鈥� all areas of the university where students and researchers alike stand to benefit from the collection鈥檚 subject matter.
About Dr. Pritchett
At the time of his passing on Nov. 29, 2019, Dr. James A. Pritchett served as a renowned anthropology professor at Michigan State University, where he was a member of the core faculty for the African American and African Studies Program, and the Center for Advanced Study of International Development. His career also included serving as director of the African Studies Centers located at Boston University and Michigan State University. He held three degrees in anthropology 鈥� a bachelor鈥檚 from Ohio State University, and master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees from Harvard University.
The collection he amassed over a 40-year period reflected his strong academic and research focus on African diaspora and his studies of African-descended people in the Caribbean, Brazil and elsewhere in Central and South America. His work was broadly concerned with the interaction between tradition and modernity in contemporary Africa 鈥� particularly the ways in which social change is interpreted and validated according to local belief systems.
Pritchett profoundly shaped the field of African studies through his visionary leadership and passion for engaging the continent from a broad range of positions and perspectives. He authored Lunda-Ndembu: Style, Change and Social Transformation in South Central Africa and Friends for Life and Friends for Death: Cohorts and Consciousness among the Lunda-Ndembu, as well as served as president of the African Studies Association in 2014 and as a member of the Board of Advisors of the International Consortium for Law and Development. He had served as a research officer at the University of Zambia, and had conducted fieldwork there 鈥� and in Angola and Congo 鈥� since 1982.
漏 2020, 精东AV