Baba Adou was born and raised in Mauritania. He earned a BA (Maîtrise) in English from the University of Nouakchott and an MA in Global and International Studies from the University of Kansas, which he attended as a Fulbright Scholar. He is a 4th-year Ph.D. student in the UF Department of Political Science. His research […]
Center for African Studies Summer Pre-dissertation Research Awards The Center for African Studies is pleased to announce that it will again offer a limited number of pre-dissertation research awards to UF doctoral students for summer 2025. Grants of up to $1,000 per individual from the Jeanne & Hunt Davis fund, the Madelyn M. Lockhart fund, and the CAS Alumni & Faculty fund will […]
Salafism and Political Order in Africa Violent Islamic extremism is affecting a growing number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In some, jihadi Salafi organizations have established home bases and turned into permanent security challengers. However, other countries have managed to prevent the formation or curb the spread of homegrown jihadi Salafi organizations. In this book, […]
Congratulations to Dr. Marit Østebø, recently named a 2021-2024 Term Professor at University of Florida. These three-year professorships were created by UF to recognize faculty who have established a distinguished record of research and scholarship that is expected to lead to continuing distinction in their field.
The Program in African Languages (PAL) is one of the Center for African Studies’ central components in its mission to work with the rest of the University in promoting Africa-related studies on the campus and beyond. In addition to undergraduate education, the CAS promotes and supports graduate studies as essential part for the development of a continuing […]
Read more "Introducing Dr. Rose Lugano as Programs in African Languages Coordinator"
We are now a few days into the Fall semester. I’d like to extend a welcome to the new and returning members of the UF Center for African Studies community. I hope you have had a restful, healthy, and enjoyable summer and are ready for the semester ahead. If you haven’t gotten a chance to […]
Jessica Casimir-Vadeboncoeur (Sociology) will be joining the University of North Carolina Asheville as a University Fellow for Faculty Diversity in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology.
Read more "CAS Grad Student to Join University of North Carolina Asheville as University Fellow"
David Rifkind will join the UF faculty July 1 as Director of the School of Architecture after 14 years at Florida International University. Trained as an architect and as an architectural historian, David studies urbanism and architecture in Ethiopia from the late nineteenth century to the present. His current book project, Modern Ethiopia: Architecture, Urbanism, and […]
Have you checked out our YouTube Channel lately? Be sure to take a look–we’ve uploaded additional talks by recent speakers incl. Cheikh Thiam, Katherine Luongo, Alex Thurston, & Folashade Soulé. You can also view recently uploaded videos from Achebe | Baldwin @ 40! Watch our videos now & subscribe! UF Center for African Studies YouTube […]
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this year’s Distinguished Lecture in African Archaeology will be postponed until Fall 2021.
Read more "Distinguished Lecture in African Archaeology – Postponed until Fall 2021!"
Apply Now Apply now to join the Center for African Studies team as an Undergraduate TA for the Global Health Institute (GHI)! GHI is a four-day virtual program in global health for high school students. Undergrad TAs will assist program instructors & work directly with students learning about global health with a focus on Africa. […]
Read more "Be An Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for Global Health Institute!"
The UF Center for African Studies condemns any form of violence, discrimination, stereotyping, and hate. We express solidarity and reaffirm our support for our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander students, faculty, staff, and broader community.
The Center for African Studies highlights new book releases by our very own faculty members: Terje Østebø, Marit Østebø, Adrienne Strong and Luise White. Islam, Ethnicity, and Conflict in Ethiopia, The Bale Insurgency, 1963-1970 by Terje Østebø Village Gone Viral, Understanding the Spread of Policy Models in a Digital Age by Marit Tolo Østebø Documenting […]
Due March 15, 2021 The Center for African Studies is pleased to announce that it will again offer a limited number of pre-dissertation research awards to UF doctoral students for summer 2021. Grants of up to $1,000 per individual from the Jeanne & Hunt Davis fund, the Madelyn M. Lockhart fund, and the CAS Alumni & Faculty fund […]
Read more "Center for African Studies Summer Pre-dissertation Research Awards"
Apply Now! Under the Center’s US Department of Education Title VI NRC grant with supplemental support from UF Office of Research, the Center for African Studies typically has available annual travel awards for participation in academic conferences to present research related to Africa. Given continued restrictions on travel due to Covid-19, for Spring and Summer […]
Read more "Spring & Summer 2021 CAS Conference Registration Awards – Due Mar. 8"
Welcome back! The Center for African Studies has another busy year ahead despite our mostly remote operation. It’s a hard time to be apart when we typically begin the Fall semester with excited reunions, in-person orientations for new students and faculty, and charged discussions of recent research and travel. This summer was very different. Most […]
In 2018 the University of Florida created its moonshot initiatives to address society’s “most urgent problems while redefining the role of a land-grant university for the 21st century.” UF identified and included migration as one of the great challenges and opportunities. The world is shifting quickly and, specifically in Florida, the population is growing rapidly […]
Read more "UF Center for Arts, Migration and Entrepreneurship (CAME)"
Dr. Peter Schmidt is professor of anthropology and a former director of the Center for African Studies. He has conducted archaeological research in Tanzania, Eritrea, Kenya, Ethiopia, and throughout eastern Africa. His work has a strong focus on facilitating community archaeology in the regions he conducts research. His publications include: “Hardcore Ethnography: Interrogating the Intersection of […]
A quick note to wish everyone a wonderful summer. It’s been quite a year here at UF. We weathered hurricanes and white-nationalist rallies, only to end the year with a bungled graduation ceremony. Goings-on at CAS have been much more successful, and inclusive. Building on hard-work of graduate program assistant Riley Ravary, we welcomed our […]
Jesse B. Borden Department: School for Natural Resources and Environment Thesis Title: “Ecological Disturbances and Canopy Communities”Ann Lee Grimstad Department: History Dissertation Title: “Zanzibar: the Nine Hour Revolution”Erik Timmons Department: Anthropology Dissertation Title: “Hip-Hop Life and Livelihood in Nairobi, Kenya.” Jacqueline Allegra Curnick Department: MDP Field Practicum: “Environmental health and justice in Alaska and Documentary: Pulling […]
Read more "Congratulations to all students graduating this semester!"
Beginning in 2018, Benjamin Soares will direct a three-year multi-disciplinary project, “Islam and Africa in Global Context,” funded through a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Initiative on Religion in International Affairs to the University of Florida. The project will be carried out by the Center for Global Islamic Studies in conjunction with the Center […]
Anna Mwaba (Political Science) has accepted a one-year Lecturer position in Government at Smith College starting Fall 2018. We welcome Raeann Meyerhoff to the Center for African Studies! She will be acting as the new Travel Specialist for the Center. CAS News Bulletin- Week of April 9, 2018
Dr. Nancy Hunt has been announced as a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. Congratulations! Her project, “Ideation as History: Dream Collectors and Picture Archives from Post-1968 Urban Congo” seeks to join images and words to dreaming in the ex-Belgian Congo. Her approach uses both history and anthropology to consider how text-image links to Congo’s postwar period. She will […]
Read more "Dr. Nancy Hunt Announced 2018 Guggenheim Fellow."
Gainesville, FL – March 13, 2018- NAFSA, the Association of International Educators, announced today that the University of Florida has been selected as one of five institutions to receive the 2018 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization. The award will be formally presented during International Education Week on November 13 in Washington D.C. UF […]
Morgan Ungrady Carli Snyder Moustapha Hoyeck Elisabeth Rios-Brooks Melody MullallyAmbassadors will play an active role in undergraduate recruitment and outreach initiatives. Students chosen for the position were selected for their commitment to African Studies, academic excellence, communication skills, and intercultural competency.The Center will be hosting an induction ceremony Tuesday February 27 at 4pm in 471 […]
“Text Meets Image & Image Meets Text: Sequences & Assemblages out of Africa & Congo” February 8-10, 2018 A critical public forum about contemporary African arts and their curation and politics. The conference celebrates one Congolese street artist’s comic archive, now held by UF, aiming toward the first Papa Mfumu’eto exhibitions in Gainesville and beyond. […]
Read more "Join Us for the Center for African Studies 2018 Gwendolen M. Carter Conference"
Northwestern University has appointed political scientist Zekeria Ahmed Salem, as director of the Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa (ISITA). Zekeria was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Florida from 2010-11. More information on his appointment and current research can be found here. CAS News Bulletin- Week of January 15, 2018
On Friday January 12, the Center for African Studies celebrated the unveiling of the Historical Marker located on Grinter Lawn. The event began with songs by Pazeni Africa Choir, as well as lectures by Brenda Chalfin (Director, Center for African Studies), David Richardson (Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences), Leonardo Villalon (Dean, UF International […]
Read more "Center for African Studies Historical Marker Dedication"
Graduate Student News Anna Mwaba (Political Science) just successfully defended her dissertation, “Monitoring Elections in Africa: Investigating the Role of Regional Actors.” Congratulations Anna on your successful defense! Mandisa Haarhoff (English Literature) has been hired as a lecturer in the Department of English Literature at the University of Cape Town. She notes that she will be the first […]
Wishing CAS friends, faculty, students and affiliates happy holidays and best wishes for the new year. The Spring Semester schedule is already filling-up. Mark your calendars for the 2017 Carter Conference “TEXT meets IMAGE | IMAGE meets TEXT: SEQUENCES & ASSEMBLAGES OUT OF AFRICA & CONGO” scheduled for February 8-10. Fallou Ngom, winner of the […]
CAS is pleased to announce a new bi-weekly bulletin funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education with support from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “African Business Update” is dedicated to providing curated reporting on business in select African countries. A preview of the African Business Update is viewable […]
The CAS Fall Reception was this Saturday at Ustler Hall. We want to thank all who attended to celebrate another year of African Studies at UF. Following the opening remarks from Director Brenda Chalfin, guests enjoyed food, drinks, and dancing to the music of DJ Dada. CAS News Bulletin- Week of September 25, 2017
Welcome from Director for the Center for Global Islamic Studies Dear Colleagues, I am very pleased to become the new director of Center for Global Islamic Studies (CGS) and work to develop the center and programming about Islam and Muslim societies at the University of Florida. I would also like to take this opportunity to […]
Read more "Welcome from Director for the Center for Global Islamic Studies"
Bob Campbell is best known for his famous photos of Dian Fossey’s research on the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. His work was published in National Geographic, popularizing the conservation of mountain gorillas in the 1970s. This exhibit uses photos focusing on Dian Fossey’s gorilla conservation work at Karisoke Research Center, curated from the University of […]
2017-2018 FLAS Fellows and CAS Research Assistants Congratulations to all Center for African Studies Research Assistants and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellows for this school year! Swahili FLAS Fellows include Jesse Borden (Ecology), Aaron Ellrich (Anthropology), Joshua Martin (Linguistics), Ciara McLaren (Political Science), and Benjamin Lowe (Ecology). Akan FLAS Fellows include Max Gelber (MDP) […]
Read more "2017-2018 FLAS Fellows and CAS Research Assistants"
Welcome Back from Director Brenda Chalfin Dear CAS Students, Faculty, Friends and Affiliates: Welcome Back to Campus! As the 2017-18 Academic Year takes off we look forward to your involvement in Center programs and activities. Mark your calendars. Our first Baraza is scheduled for Friday, September 8 with Xolela Mangcu from the University of Cape Town. The […]
Allegra, Jacqueline – MDP program and Certificate in African Studies – Field Practicum: Environmental Health in the Artic- a documentary film, Anchorage, Alaska Borden, Jesse – 1st year MSc student (SNRE) and FLAS Fellow through CAS – conducting research in forest canopies around Gainesville from May-June. In June, he will be surveying a forest’s canopy in a small tropical […]
SWAC/OECD Secretariat signs a memorandum of understanding w/UF On 4 April, the SWAC/OECD Secretariat hosted the Sahel Research Group of the University of Florida to celebrate the new memorandum of understanding between the two organisations. Leonardo A. Villalón, Dean of the International Center and Co-ordinator of the Sahel Research Group at the University of Florida […]
As part of a Coalition for International Education initiative to promote the Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs, Center for Latin American Studies Director, Dr. Philip J. Williams, and Center for African Studies Director, Dr. Brenda Chalfin, traveled to Washington DC to meet with congressional staff of Senator Marco Rubio, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and Rep. […]
Please join us in welcoming Paschal Charles Mdukula and Paul Japhet, two Visiting Scholars from Tanzania attached to the UF Center for African Studies as part of the Center’s longstanding University of Dar es Salaam – UF Exchange Program. Paschal Charles Mdukula is an Assistant Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Dar es Salaam, with a research […]
Read more "CAS Welcomes Visiting Scholars from University of Dar es Salaam"
Dear CAS Students, Faculty and Friends: Welcome back to campus and best wishes for the New Year! I’m in Ghana where I witnessed the inauguration of incoming President, Nana Akuffo-Addo! Very exciting! There’s already a lot going on at the Center too although the semester’s just begun. Mark your calendars: The Covering Africa initiative co-sponsored […]
UF ASA PARTY The Center for African Studies invites UF faculty, students, alumni, and friends to join us at Duke’s Counter (3000 Connecticut Ave NW) on Friday December 2nd from 9pm – midnight. We will have some tables reserved but still plan on taking over the place Gator style!See you there! UF SCHEDULE AT ASA Session Times Thurs. Dec. 1: […]
The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems was established after USAID awarded the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) a five-year renewable $49 million grant to engage in agricultural research and capacity building as part of the US Government’s global hunger and food security initiative. There are 24 Feed the Future […]