This blog is organized and managed by interning contributors at the Griot Institute for the Study of Black Lives and Cultures at Bucknell University. The Griot blog provides student interns creative freedom to write the stories they choose without the length restrictions of a newsletter. While our Griot Institute contact list will receive condensed newsletters with announcements, this blog gives readers the unique opportunity to become more closely involved with student projects and campus events. Here, supporters of the Griot Institute have unlimited access to all our latest stories, interviews, and projects so you can stay connected with all things related to Black lives and cultures at Bucknell.
We hope you enjoy all our interns have to offer!
The Griot is a central figure in numerous West African cultures. Historically, the Griot held many functions within society as a community historian, cultural critic, indigenous artist, collective spokesperson, and storyteller. Borrowing from this rich tradition, the Bucknell Griot employs the figure to symbolize the Institute’s interdisciplinary academic and creative exploration of the arts, literatures, and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora.