Intersections between African American Diaspora Studies and Philanthropic Studies

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

In this roundtable, the first black graduates of the first Ph.D. program in the emerging field of philanthropic studies, professors, and a currently matriculating doctoral student at the first School of Philanthropy share their perspectives on intersections between their field and African American (Diaspora) Studies. Philanthropic studies is a liberal-arts based interdisciplinary field that places philanthropy, defined as voluntary action intended for the public good, at the center of inquiry as a social phenomenon. The field applies theoretical foundations and methodologies from the humanities and the social sciences to large questions about the rationales and motivations for pro-social behavior and voluntary institutions in historical and contemporary contexts. We first consider scholarly perspectives related to the study of philanthropy. These perspectives have sometimes cast philanthropic action as a mode of empowerment. Alternately, philanthropy is sometimes described as a tool of oppression used within black communities. We will also consider epistemological connections between Philanthropic Studies and African Diaspora Studies. In particular, we concentrate on formations of black voluntary action across time and location utilizing scholarship that recognizes a wide variety of activities including club women, associational life, social movements, nonprofit organizations and non-governmental organizations, philanthropic foundations, civil society, charitable giving, activism, volunteering, and social welfare. This roundtable will place these two fields into conversation with each other to strengthen and expand critical inquiry into Black life, history, and culture.

Sub Unit

• 103rd Meeting and Conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History

Chair

• Tyrone McKinley Freeman, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Discussants

• Una Osili, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

• Angela Logan, University of Notre Dame

• Kim Williams-Pulfer, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

• Tiara Dungy, Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy