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The newly reconstituted African Studies Program at the
University of South Carolina is broadly based and multi-disciplinary. Housed in
the Walker Institute of International and Area Studies in the College of Arts
and Sciences, the program brings together faculty with interests in Africa not
only from numerous departments in that College but also those from Public
Health, Social Work, Business, Law, Education, and the Thomas Cooper Library, as
well as faculty from USC branch campuses.
One of the main goals of the program is to foster campus
and community interest in and awareness of issues related to Africa, especially
(but not exclusively) sub-Saharan Africa. To this end, the program sponsors
public lectures, colloquia, and symposia, and supports faculty and student
research on African topics, both in Africa and elsewhere. The program also
seeks to provide a forum for faculty and graduate students to present and
discuss their African research in multi-disciplinary seminars.
The program has also reestablished an African Studies minor
for undergraduate students. Students who opt for this minor can choose from an
array of Africa-related courses in history, geography, anthropology, English,
French, economics, political science, and religion, as well as language courses
in Swahili and Arabic. For the African Studies minor, students will do most of
their coursework on Africa south of the Sahara, but will also include one or two
courses on North Africa and the Middle East. This will give students the
opportunity to explore Africa from a variety of disciplines and perspectives,
although those who wish can also focus much of their studies on a particular
discipline or theme. Please go to the Minor in African Studies link below for
details.
We invite students with an interest in Africa, or questions
concerning Africa, to talk with the program coordinator, Dr. Ron Atkinson, or
any of the program’s faculty. |