Announcement

The start of the 2007-2008 academic year signifies an energizing period for the advancement of interdisciplinary scholarship and education on Africa at the Program of African Studies (PAS) and Northwestern University. Northwestern University will continue its longstanding commitment to African Studies by strengthening the major functional areas of African Studies at Northwestern focusing on: undergraduate education, graduate student training, the Herskovits Library, faculty research, visiting scholars, and events organized and hosted by PAS.

For the upcoming academic year, the Program of African Studies has partnered with Northwestern's Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies (BCICS), with BCICS assuming administrative and functional duties for former PAS sponsored research projects, including CDP, REACH, and ISITA,
as well as for supporting and promoting the growth of faculty research, visiting scholars, events, and programming. Additionally, David Schoenbrun, Professor of History has assumed the role of Director of Undergraduate Study and Karen Tranberg Hansen, Professor of Anthropology as the Director of Graduate Study to guide students in their pursuit of African scholarship at Northwestern. These changes reflect PAS and Northwestern's continued commitment to advance African scholarship at Northwestern University.

The Program of African Studies remains well-positioned to further advance the study of Africa at Northwestern and continues to be one of the world's preeminent institutions for the study of Africa. We look forward to an active and exciting academic year!

The pioneering anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits founded Northwestern University's Program of African Studies (PAS) in 1948, one of the earliest centers of its kind in the United States. The Program serves as a vital base for the world-class Africanist faculty, students, and professionals attracted to Northwestern and its renowned Herskovits Library of Africana Studies. PAS has achieved international prominence for its production of innovative scholarship, training of African specialists, and development of new ways of thinking about the African World.

Students at Northwestern have the opportunity to actively participate in one of the most active centers in the world for the study of Africa. Faculty in many disciplines teach and research the history of Africa, its diverse and unique cultures, and the economic development of its fifty countries. The interdisciplinary and cross-thematic nature of the teaching about Africa challenges students to examine Africa from perspectives of innovative scholarship.

PAS guides the study of Africa at Northwestern, engaging students and faculty in a wide variety of activities. The program hosts scholars and distinguished visitors form Africa and around the world , and sponsors talks, discussions, readings, films, and other events throughout the year. Besides working with other centers of African scholarship in the Chicago area, such as the University of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Art Institute of Chicago, the program also maintains close ties with scholars and other centers of African study around the world.