"When you see an older woman dancing, don't ask why. Dance, too." - SIS Proverb
Spelman Independent Scholars
About the Program
A two-semester independent, interdisciplinary, and intergenerational learning experience open to students across all majors. The goal of Spelman Independent Scholars (SIS) is to enhance students' critical writing and thinking skills. It also allows students the opportunity to share research and grow in griot knowledge.
In addition to learning sessions with the SIS faculty mentor, students are exposed to lectures by guest scholars, including gerontologists, oral historians, museum curators, and physician-researchers. Through one-on-one independent student relationships and class seminars, the unique yearlong program allows and entrusts students to solicit, understand and archive stories of African-American women elders. A global component of SIS has included oral history research in Accra, Ghana; Benin, West Africa; and Kingston, Jamaica. "You have asked me to talk about my life. You have given me joy." - Judia Mae Ferrell to SIS.
Honoring the Legacy of Gloria Wade-Gayles, Ph.D.
Gloria Wade-Gayles, Ph.D., served as a faculty member from 1983 to 2026, teaching in the English Department (1983–1998) and the Psychology Department (2001–2026).
A Message From Our Director: Spelman College Grieves the Tragedy on Sapelo Island
With people all around the nation and the world, we grieve this tragedy on the island of Sapelo we so dearly love. Young Scholars in SIS were introduced to Sapelo Island by Dr. Virginia Davis Floyd, Scholar of Traditional Knowledge in SIS Oral History. The SIS Archive is enriched with pictures and videos of our research on the island. I am sharing one of our most special pictures that includes Cornelia Bailey, who was known as a griot, a storyteller, and the historian of Sapelo Island. We invite you to experience SIS research, documents, and videos housed in the archive.
Century Conversations: Dorothy Mae Walker and the SIS Anthology, Vol. 3
Young scholars in SIS Oral History interviewed centenarian Dorothy Mae Walker, aunt of Dr. Dorian Brown Crosby, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, at her home in Atlanta. The interview will be published in the third volume of the SIS Anthology.
Training Researchers and Developing Oral Historians
"If our institutions are going to create critical thinkers, we must impress upon students the connections between the past, present and future,” Gloria Wade-Gayles, Ph.D., founding director of the SIS Oral History Project, said. Every present moment is influenced by past moments. The past gives us informed direction as we move to the future."
"When you see an older woman dancing, don't ask why. Dance, too." - SIS Proverb
Their Memories, Our Treasures
The SIS Oral History Project has produced two student-reported and edited anthologies: “Their Memories, Our Treasure: Conversations with African American Women," with a third on the way as the independent study program, founded in August 2001, enters its second decade.