About the ASHE Research Lab
About the ASHE Research Lab
Ashe, or àṣẹ (ah-shay), is a Yoruba concept adopted by the African diaspora in the Americas. Ashe roughly translates to “so be it” or “it definitely shall be so” and refers to the power to make things happen and produce change. This power is at the heart of our research on Black gender, sexuality, health, and equity.
Ashe, or àṣẹ (ah-shay), is a Yoruba concept adopted by the African diaspora in the Americas. Ashe roughly translates to “so be it” or “it definitely shall be so” and refers to the power to make things happen and produce change. This power is at the heart of our research on Black gender, sexuality, health, and equity.
We are a sociology research lab housed in UMBC's Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health.
Mission
Mission
In the ASHE Lab, we generate Black Feminist sociological research that centers the diverse experiences of Black love relationships, sexuality, and gender in the U.S. Through our scholarship and unwavering commitment to racial and gender equity, we assert Black intimate life as a meaningful aspect of justice. We believe that Black people have the right to love, pleasure, and desire free from the ideological and material constraints imposed by oppression.
Vision
Vision
The ASHE Lab illuminates the vastness and power of Black love, pleasure, and connection. Our work offers transformative insights that redefine discourse around Black sexuality and gender for social science, public health, and lay communities. We envision and promote more expansive possibilities for Black sexual and romantic desire, health, and self-definition.
The ASHE Lab illuminates the vastness and power of Black love, pleasure, and connection. Our work offers transformative insights that redefine discourse around Black sexuality and gender for social science, public health, and lay communities. We envision and promote more expansive possibilities for Black sexual and romantic desire, health, and self-definition.