Launched in 2016 by the Barnard Center for Research on Women and the Department of Africana Studies, the Harlem Semester is an ambitious public humanities initiative that immerses students in the complexities of Harlem’s social, political, and intellectual histories, its leaders, its culture and its artists. Using Barnard College as a home base, the Harlem Semester integrates classroom learning with hands-on experiences, including master classes and archival research. Faculty co-teach courses with curators, archivists, administrators, and artists at such partner institutions as the Apollo Theater, the Harlem Stage, the National Black Theatre, the Romare Bearden Foundation, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
