MIT’s African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) major recently celebrated its first graduate, Stacy Godfreey-Igwe ’22. AADS major was advised by Danielle Wood, who helped Godfreey-Igwe petition for a customized major in MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (SHASS). Wood also applied through SHASS to receive Institute approval to officially offer the major in AADS, which was approved in 2021. MIT undergraduates now have the option to pursue a major, minor, or concentration in AADS, and about 15 students are currently pursuing one of these options. The program collaborates with the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) to offer opportunities for students to gain credit toward AADS while studying abroad at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Wood recognizes that generations of scholars at MIT, including professors Michel DeGraff, Helen Elaine Lee, D. Fox Harrell, Kenneth Manning, Craig Steven Wilder, and Melissa Nobles, have contributed to the intellectual and pedagogical efforts of AADS.
MIT’s recently highlighted African and African Diaspora Studies major, advised by Danielle Wood, is making history with its first graduate. Stacy Godfreey-Igwe ’22 became the first student to graduate in AADS during Commencement 2022, and the MIT News celebrates this milestone. In addition to AADS, Godfreey-Igwe also majored in mechanical engineering and is now a fellow at the Science Technology Policy Institute in Washington.
As a child of Nigerian immigrants, Godfreey-Igwe has long been interested in her cultural and ethnic background. She initially came to MIT wanting to make a social impact through engineering and found that her cultural identity could be a way to do so. In 2020, she sought advice from Wood about pursuing a double major with mechanical engineering. At the time, a formal major in AADS did not exist, but Wood helped Godfreey-Igwe complete a petition for a customized major in MIT’s School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (SHASS). Inspired by Godfreey-Igwe’s request, Wood applied through SHASS to receive Institute approval to officially offer the major in AADS, and the request was approved in 2021.
MIT undergraduates now have the option to pursue a major, minor, or concentration in AADS, and the program collaborates with the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) to offer opportunities for students to gain credit toward AADS while studying abroad at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. About 15 MIT undergraduates are currently pursuing a concentration, minor, or major in AADS, and the program is expected to grow in the coming years.
According to Danielle Wood, the African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) major at MIT is built on the foundation of the preexisting minor and concentration, as well as the framework provided by other interdisciplinary majors. Wood took over as AADS faculty advisor after collaborating with D. Fox Harrell and Michel DeGraff to co-instruct the gateway course for the major, 24.912 (Black Matters: Introduction to Black Studies). Wood recognizes that generations of scholars at MIT, including professors Michel DeGraff, Helen Elaine Lee, D. Fox Harrell, Kenneth Manning, Craig Steven Wilder, and Melissa Nobles, have contributed to the intellectual and pedagogical efforts of AADS. She sees the AADS major as a culmination of their work and a representation of the collaboration between MIT’s schools and departments.
Don’t miss interesting posts on Famousbio
