What is the VèVè A. Clark Institute for Engaged Scholars of African American Studies?
The Clark Institute prepares a cadre of scholars majoring (or intending to major) in the discipline of African American Studies to meet the rigor and intellectual demands of top graduate programs, professional schools, and postgraduate careers. The program is open to students who have declared (or intend to declare) the African American Studies major and who have at least two years remaining in their undergraduate career at UC Berkeley.
About VèVè A. Clark
VèVè Amasasa Clark, born December 14, 1944, joined the ancestors December 1, 2007. Raised in Queens, New York, Clark received her bachelor’s came to the University of California, Berkeley, as a graduate student and completed her Ph.D. in French and ethnology in 1983. After earning tenure at Tufts University, Clark returned to UC Berkeley in 1991 as an associate professor in the Department of African American Studies (AAS). Clark’s scholarship, teaching, and service—indeed her entire intellectual acumen and arsenal—reflect her passionate commitment to the field of African American and African diaspora studies, a discipline that she in no uncertain terms both fashioned and elevated. Fluent in French, Spanish and Creole, conversant in Wolof, and with training in literstudies and anthropology, Clark embodied interdisciplinarity well in advance of its present popularity; her work was at the vanguard of our most consequential scholarly currents.
She was most passionate about African and Caribbean literatures, Afro-Caribbean folklore, African diasporic theater, African American dance history, and critical pedagogy. Clark often spoke of infrastructure as a means to dismantle institutional barriers and foster social justice through the academy. Effectively, she has left her telling signature on a variety of existing institutions at Berkeley and beyond, including the forging of the doctoral program in African American and African Diaspora Studies at UC Berkeley, one of few such programs in the nation. Moreover, she was instrumental in creating other significant organizations, including the Haitian Studies Association, for which she served as founding member of its board of directors. Her enthusiasm for her research subjects translated seamlessly into the classroom, where she taught some of the department’s most popular courses, including Marasa: Caribbean Literatures by Women, The Negritude Movement in French African/Caribbean Literatures, African Women Writers, and Introduction to the University.
How To Apply
A complete application consists of:
This informational form:
- A one-page (single-spaced) personal statement. Please discuss how your academic interests relate to the field of African American Studies, and why you are interested in the VèVè A. Clark Institute.
- A five-page (double-spaced) writing sample from your college-level coursework
- An electronic copy of your unofficial transcript from Bear Facts (transfer students, please provide scanned copies of transcripts from all of your previous college-level coursework or mail hard copies to: 660 Social Sciences Building, MC 2572, Berkeley, Ca 94720-2572, Attn: Lindsey Villarreal)
Please submit all materials electronically to: veveclarkinstitute@berkeley.edu. Applications for Fall due August 1.
What is Required of Clark Scholars?
Scholars are required to:
- Attend weekly workshops as well as monthly cohort meetings.
- Participate in the annual St. Claire Drake Forum in Spring.
What are the Goals for the Clark Scholars?
- To understand the structure and function of a research university and how knowledge is generated;
- To be knowledgeable of and conversant with the African American Studies canon;
- To graduate in four years or less;
- To demonstrate intellectual leadership within the classroom and across the university;
- To foster and contribute to a spirit of generosity and collaboration in the African American Studies community.
What are the benefits of being a Clark Scholar?
- Priority enrollment in African American Studies courses;
- Academic mentorship from faculty;
- Priority access to academic advising with the African American Studies Undergraduate Advisor;
- Cultivating intellectual ideas and areas of research;
- Access to a distinguished alumni network of scholars and professionals;
- Placement in internship programs and community service projects.