Fellowship Program

The Fellowship Program is at the heart of the activities of the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute. Started in 1975 as the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, the Institute has annually appointed scholars who conduct individual research for a period of one to two semesters in a wide variety of fields related to African and African American Studies. With a record of supporting nearly 700 Fellows since its founding, the Institute has arguably done more in its short existence to ensure the scholarly development of African and African American Studies than any other pre-doctoral or post-doctoral program in the United States.

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Fellows work in a range of fields and interests, including art and art history, Afro-Latin American research, design and the history of design, education, hiphop, African studies, the African diaspora, African American studies, literature, and creative writing.

Many former Fellows became major figures in the field, including George Frederickson (Stanford University), Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (Harvard University), Nellie McKay (University of Wisconsin), Nell Irvin Painter (Princeton University), Arnold Rampersad (Stanford University), and Cornel West (Princeton University). Additionally, numerous scholars who came to the Institute as junior faculty members are now senior scholars in academic departments throughout the United States, and in Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Latin America, and several African countries.

A residential appointment at the Du Bois Institute offers considerable benefits to any scholar. We provide office space, use of a research assistant, and Fellows have full access to the extensive research and library resources of Harvard University. The Institute also houses the Image of the Black in Western Art archive and library, and a small reference library which is open to unlimited use during a Fellows’ term of appointment.

At the Du Bois Research Institute, scholars may pursue their research while interacting with other visiting scholars working at Harvard University. Fellows are expected to participate in a number of activities, including Fellows’ Workshops and, importantly, the weekly colloquium. Chaired by the Institute's Director, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the colloquia  offer Fellows the opportunity to share their work with Institute colleagues, Harvard faculty, graduate students, and others. Colloquia also allow Harvard faculty and visitors to present work in progress, and we have hosted presentations by Wole Soyinka, A. Leon Higginbotham, Ira Berlin, Orlando Patterson, Jamaica Kincaid, Hazel V. Carby, Zadie Smith, and many others.

The colloquia occur Wednesdays during the academic year and take place in the Hiphop Archive & Research Institute on the second floor of the Hutchins Center. Each presentation lasts approximately an hour, followed by open discussion. Media facilities and staffing are available and Fellows are encouraged to take advantage of the media resources for their presentations. The Harvard community and the surrounding Cambridge and Boston communities are invited and are welcome to bring a lunch. Attendance is required of all Institute Fellows.

Du Bois Fellows also have the opportunity to meet scholars from other Harvard Fellows Programs, such as the Kennedy School of Government, the Center for International Affairs, the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life, the Center for the Study of World Religions, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Humanities Center, the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, the Loeb Fellows of the Graduate School of Design, and the Nieman Foundation.

Administration

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Alphonse Fletcher University Professor
Director, Hutchins Center for African & African American Research
Faculty Director, W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute
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Abby Wolf

Executive Director, Hutchins Center for African & African American Research
Krishna Lewis

Krishna Lewis

Administrative Director, W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute

2023-2024 Fellows

Gbemisola Abiola

Gbemisola Abiola

2023-2024
Dorothy Porter & Charles Harris Wesley Fellow

Gbemisola Abiola is an Anthropologist, having recently received her doctorate from Harvard University. She conducted a comparative ethnographic study of how...

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Bindman

David Bindman

2023-2024
Image of the Black Archive & Library Fellow

David Bindman is Emeritus Durning-Lawrence Professor of the History of Art at University College London. Author of many distinguished...

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Charity Clay

Charity Clay

Spring 2024
UNCF Mellon Fellow

Dr. Charity Clay is a Critical Race Sociologist of the African Diaspora. She is an Associate Professor in the sociology department at Xavier University of...

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Ana Paula Cruz

Ana Paula Cruz

2023-2024
Mark Claster Mamolen Fellow

Ana Paula Cruz earned her PhD in History from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). She is a member of the 2021 class of the Mark...

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Gregg Hecimovich

Gregg Hecimovich

2023-2024
Hutchins Family Fellow

Gregg Hecimovich is Professor of English at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. He is the author of five books and edited volumes, including ...

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DaMaris B. Hill

DaMaris B. Hill

2023-2024
Hutchins Family Fellow

DaMaris B. Hill is a poet and creative scholar.  She is Professor in the Department of English, Creative Writing Program, at the University of Kentucky....

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Gavaza Maluleke

Gavaza Maluleke

Fall 2023
Mandela Fellow

Gavaza Maluleke is a lecturer in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her research interests are in digital activism,...

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James McNally

James McNally

2023-2024
Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellow

James G. McNally is a cultural historian, rap critic, and co-ideator of Spotify’s UK rap podcast Decode, which won two gold medals each at the 2022...

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Jak Peake

Jak Peake

Spring 2024
Stuart Hall Fellow

Jak Peake is a Senior Lecturer in Literature in the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies at the University of Essex. He is a scholar of...

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Michael Rain

Michael Rain

2023-2024
Safra-Hutchins Fellow

Michael Rain leverages storytelling and technology to expand the world’s perception of diverse communities. He is the founder of ENODI, a media and...

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Shana Redmond

Shana Redmond

Fall 2023
Hutchins Family Fellow

An interdisciplinary humanist and multi-genre writer, Shana L. Redmond (she/her) thinks and creates at the intersection of music, identity, and power. Dr...

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Carla Ribeiro

Carla Ribeiro

2023-2024
CAPES Fellow

Carla Ribeiro is a doctoral student at the University of Sao Paulo in social anthropology. With a background in museum studies, her main research...

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Britt Rusert

Britt Rusert

2023-2024
Hutchins Family Fellow

Britt Rusert is an interdisciplinary scholar of race, science, and visual culture in the long nineteenth century and Professor in the W. E. B. Du Bois...

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Suraj Yengde

Suraj Yengde

Spring 2024 - Fall 2024
Hutchins Fellow

Dr. Suraj Yengde is completing his doctorate at the Faculty of History, University of Oxford. He is the author of the bestseller, Caste Matters (...

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