- Home
- Course Listings
- Meet the Chair
- Faculty Office Hours
- Department Directory
- News/Events
- AFR Option
- AFR Minor
- Student Resources
300 Jay Street
Library Building 634 (L-634)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Email: AfricanAmerStudies
@citytech.cuny.edu
Phone: 718-260-5205
Department Directory
{{employee.Room_number}}
{{employee.Phone}}
{{employee.Room_number}}
{{employee.Phone}}
{{employee.Room_number}}
{{employee.Phone}}
{{employee.Room_number}}
{{employee.Phone}}
{{employee.First_name}} {{employee.Last_name}} - {{employee.Title}}
{{employee.Room_number}}
{{employee.Phone}}
{{employee.Room_number}}
{{employee.Phone}}
George Orwel's Bio
George Orwel, a member of the African American Studies adjunct faculty, teaches Introduction to African Art and Architecture, and has also taught courses in African Literature and History. An award-winning journalist and author, he has reported the news across three continents for over 20 years. He has conducted interviews with political and business leaders, including the past presidents of Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Prof. Orwel graduated from the University of Nairobi with a BA in Linguistics & Literature in 1992, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism with a Master’s Degree in journalism in 1996, and from the Brooklyn Law School with his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) in 2002. He also trained in global media law and policy at Oxford University in England.
He is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in art theory, philosophy and aesthetics at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (IDSVA). His current area of research is on phenomenology with special focus on Cezanne’s narrative art and Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of art. He’s the author of “Black Gold” (Wiley, 1996).
Donna Banks's Bio
Professor Banks is an alum of Howard University and completed her doctorate at the University of Barcelona where her research focused on identity and representation in the African Caribbean diaspora. Professor Banks takes a transnational approach in exploring the politics of belonging in contemporary cities and examines the ways marginalized populations interact within racialized and gendered spaces, navigate through them, and disrupt them thereby creating room for other voices and experiences. Professor Banks' work and teaching aims to aid in the current movement to decolonize our psychology, public spaces, and curriculum so that these better reflect their historical and current impact. Professor Banks is also the co-founder of two startups - d+c contemporary, an online boutique art gallery, and Reimagining DEIB, a company dedicated to uprooting inequity through meaningful, long-lasting changes applied to business practices and team-building.
George Orwel's Bio
Professor Fahiym Abdul-Wasi (Professor Wasi for short) teaches Hip-Hop Worldview, Early African American History and Modern African American History courses at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), and is a longtime journalist and higher education professional. In addition to writing for numerous publications such as Vibe and Variety, Professor Wasi's name gained recognition throughout his time at The Source Magazine, where he worked his way up the ladder from being a contributing writer in 2000, to becoming the Editor-in-Chief in 2005. In that time, he wrote cover stories on rappers like Jadakiss, Lil Kim, and Ludacris, and posed questions as a special guest panelist to Democratic presidential candidates at the 2004 presidential debate. When he left The Source in 2007, Professor Wasi became the music editor for the Hearst Corporation's lifestyle-gamer website, UGO.com (Underground Online). In April 2009, Professor Wasi's consulting company, Global Green Media LLC served as the co-organizer of the 3rd Annual State of the Black Student Summit at Florida A & M University, to discuss strategies on how hip-hop can “Renew America's Promise” during President Barack Obama's administration.
Jeannine Foster-McKelvia's Bio
Professor Foster is a theatre artist, director, playwright, and actor. She teaches Black Theatre and Folklore and, on occasion, Contemporary Black Writers and Early Black Writers. Her work has appeared or been performed at the Ensemble Theatre in Houston Texas, the Negro Ensemble Company, the Signature Theatre, Columbia Stages, Ensemble Studio Theatre (NYC), and the Kuntu Repertory Theatre, among other theatrical venues. She enjoys teaching and has participated in the City Tech First Year Learning Community since 2011. Her research interests include early African American Theatre and Performance and examining the images and roles of Black women in theatre and film. Prof. Foster-McKelvia holds a B.A. from Duquesne University and a M.F.A from Sarah Lawrence College. Additionally, she studied theatre with veteran Broadway and television director Ed Sherin and at the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab.