Hershini Young

Hershini Young is a Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. Her academic work intersects with themes of Black sociality, salvage, and transnational cultural practices.

• Education: Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies (University of California, Berkeley, 1999)

Her research focuses on shipwrecks, the Mediterranean, and forensic methodologies in her forthcoming book Receiving the Wreck: Black Sociality and the Materiality of Salvage. She has designed and taught courses such as Black Queer Literature/Film, African Queer Studies, and Diasporic Magic: Lit/Perf, covering both in-person and online (synchronous/hybrid) formats since 2020.

Professor Young's teaching spans undergraduate and graduate levels, emphasizing intersections of race, gender, and diasporic identity. Recent courses include:

• AFR 390: Black Studies Theory I (Fall 2025)
• AFR 370: Intimacy And Kinship (Fall 2025)
• WGS 335/AFR 340N: African Queer Studies (Fall 2024)
• AFR 330T: Diasporic Magic: Lit/Perf (Fall 2024)
• WGS 379S: Senior Seminar (Spring 2023)

Her academic contributions are grounded in critical race theory, queer theory, and interdisciplinary approaches to diasporic cultural production.