African Studies Program University of Washington

 

Please note: the African Studies Program has moved!  Our new office is downstairs from our old one in Thomson Hall, room 326. 

We are currently raising money for the Ottenberg-Winans Fund. This fund, established to honor the careers of Emeritus Professors Simon Ottenberg and Edgar W. Winans, will support University of Washington undergraduate and graduate student research in Africa and support students from universities in Africa who attend UW as part of various exchange programs.  We need to raise an additional $12,000 to convert the fund into a permanent endowment at the $25,000 level.  To make a contribution to the Ottenberg-Winans fund, please click here.

If you have questions or comments for the African Studies Program, please contact Cheryl Rudd, Program Assistant at 206-616-0998 or africa1@u.washington.edu.

                        Nancy Farwell
                        Chair, African Studies Program
                        Associate Professor, School of Social Work

African Studies Featured Event

No events for this quarter, please check back in January.

For more upcoming Africa-Related events, visit the Upcoming Events part of this website.

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African Studies Program News

The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) grant awarded to the African Studies Program in 2005 allowed for continued growth, innovation and development for the program during the 2006-2007 academic year. In September, a second course development workshop was held which facilitated discourse on Africa-related courses and experiential learning with faculty, staff and community members. In April, the African Studies Program held the Puget Sound Conference on Africa and the African Diaspora, hosting over 60 attendees including community members and students, faculty and staff from Puget Sound Universities. During the school year, graduate students researching Africa and the African Diaspora came together to discuss their work in a series of graduate student colloquia sponsored by the African Studies Program.

 

Study abroad programs to Africa have also been enhanced and several study abroad offerings led by African Studies affiliate faculty took place during the summer of 2007. Clark Speed led a CHID exploration seminar to Sierra Leone to study ethnographic methods and the cultural production of a rural-urban continuum. For the second year, Ylva Hernlund led a seminar group to examine living culture in West Africa. Ratnesh Nagda conducted a seminar on truth, reconciliation and peace-building in the new South Africa. Finally, Clarence Spigner led a seminar to England to study the African Diaspora and health issues.

 

During the 2007-08 school year, the African Studies Program will put on an event series showcasing popular culture and art in Africa, with the support of a Simpson Center Grant. Additionally, third year Swahili will be offered for the first time during the upcoming academic year.

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