Graduate Certificate Alum Chera Jo Watts graduated from UGA with the MA in Religion and Graduate Certificate in African American Studies in May 2022. Her thesis was directed by Dr. Carolyn Jones Medine, Director of the Institute for African American Studies and All Shall Be Well Professor of Religion. We invite you to read more below regarding her journey and experience in the Institute! What are your research interests and your plans following graduation? I enjoy learning from, reading, and writing about African American Buddhist practitioners. I initially came to this work through Alice Walker, and my network of teachers has greatly expanded over the years. As a decolonizing practitioner, I remain interested in and committed to practices which allow me to decolonize my mind, body, and spirit and to operate in the world from that orientation. It is a cumulative and ongoing practice with intersections in the fields of Womanist thought, Black feminism, decolonizing methodologies, American Buddhist Studies, and many more. As a person who occupies a white body, I find this work critical and urgent. Following my graduation from the MA program at UGA, I entered the doctoral program in the Department of Religion. During my doctoral studies, I simultaneously continue my role as the Graduate Assistant to the Institute for African American Studies, where I support the Director, Associate Director, students, and others through various projects, programs, and research. What was your favorite AFAM course and why? My favorite AFAM course was AFAM 7770, the teaching methodologies course for graduate certificate students preparing to teach African American Studies courses. Part teaching pedagogies and discussion, part intentional professional development, I found this course useful for my overall graduate career. Why should students consider a graduate certificate in AFAM? The Graduate Certificate in African American Studies allows students to explore the many scholars, artists, authors, and more operating outside what Toni Morrison calls the “master narrative” or what bell hooks labels imperialist white supremacist capitalist cishetero-patriarchy. Through this important work, students are better able to understand their society and their place within it, from the local, global, current, and historical perspectives. I strongly encourage folks interested in actively cultivating a decolonizing orientation in the world to consider this addition to their graduate program at UGA. It has greatly aided me in my own practice, and I remain grateful to the Institute for their kindness and support of my scholarship and development.
