Instructor Bio’s
Meet the AFLI Team: Experience, Expertise, and More
SWAHILI
Charles Bwenge
Dr. Charles Bwenge was a senior lecturer in the Department of Languages, Literatures, & Cultures, and the Center for African Studies, where he coordinated the Program in African Languages (PAL). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, his M.A. from the University of Exeter, and his B.A. from the University of Dar es Salaam. His research interests included sociolinguistics, language policy and development, discourse analysis, and language contact phenomena. Dr. Bwenge had expertise in Tanzania.
Antony Gitei Gathiru
Antony Gitei Gathiru is pursuing a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Florida. He holds an M.A. in Sustainable Development Practice and a graduate certificate in African Studies from UF, and a B.Sc. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Kenya. He teaches Swahili and cultural anthropology and has been an AFLI instructor since 2023.
Jessica K. Mushi
Jessica K. Mushi is a full-time Swahili Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Winston-Salem State University and a five-time AFLI instructor. She is also a certified ACUE Course Facilitator in Effective College Instruction.
WOLOF / FRENCH
Macodou Fall
Macodou graduated from Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar (Senegal) with a B.A. and an M.A. in English. He later completed an M.A. in African Studies at Ohio University. His research interests include Islam, Ajami literature, traditional religions, and popular culture in West Africa, with a focus on the Muridiyya Sufi Brotherhood. Macodou is fluent in Wolof, French, and English and has taught Wolof at Ohio University.
Abdoulaye Kane
Dr. Abdoulaye Kane is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam and specializes in transnational migration, diaspora studies, gender and development, with expertise in Senegal, France, Gambia, Mauritania, and Morocco.
Lamine Niang
Lamine is a Teaching Assistant at Penn State and a Ph.D. student in French and Francophone Studies at the University of Chicago. He has extensive experience teaching Wolof and French and coordinating study abroad programs in Senegal. His research interests include decoloniality, urban cultures, and secularism.
AFLI ASSISTANT
Godfred Agyapong
Godfred Agyapong is a Ph.D. student in Linguistics and an Akan language instructor at the University of Florida. His research focuses on Machine Learning for Endangered Languages and bridging NLP technologies with African languages.
Prospective Instructors
If you would like to teach with AFLI as a summer instructor, click the link to view languages offered, required qualifications, instructor responsibilities, and application requirements.
PAST INSTRUCTORS
Happiness Patrick Bulugu
Bulugu is a senior lecturer at Cornell University and has taught Swahili at all levels since 2012. She is an ACTFL-certified Swahili proficiency tester and has been teaching in the AFLI program since 2019.
Zoliswa O. Sidzumo Mali
Dr. Zoliswa “Zoli” Sidzumo Mali is Director of the African Language Program at Boston University and former president of ALTA. She teaches isiZulu and isiXhosa and consults on African language use in media.
Yaya B. Diatta
Yaya B. Diatta is a Ph.D. candidate in World Language Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has taught Wolof for three years.
Seydina Mouhamed Diouf
Seydina Mouhamed Diouf teaches French in South Carolina and previously taught Wolof at Columbia University.
Moses Mabayoje
Moses Mabayoje is a Yoruba professor at NYU and an ACTFL-certified OPI tester with extensive teaching and study abroad experience.
Mustapha Kofi Mohammed
Mustapha Kofi Mohammed earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Florida in 2022 and previously taught at the University of Ghana.
Beatrice Mkenda
Beatrice Mkenda is an associate professor of instruction at the University of Iowa, specializing in Swahili language pedagogy and African cultural studies.