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Dr. Elischer Publishes New Book

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, […]

Introducing Dr. Rose Lugano as Programs in African Languages Coordinator

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 […]

CAS Welcomes Dr. David Rifkind to UF

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 […]

CAS Highlights Book Releases

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 […]

Spring & Summer 2021 CAS Conference Registration Awards – Due Mar. 8

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 […]

Fall 2020 Message from the Director

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 […]

UF Center for Arts, Migration and Entrepreneurship (CAME)

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 […]

Happy Retirement

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 […]

Message from the Director

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 […]

Congratulations to all students graduating this semester!

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 […]

Ben Soares Receives Luce Award

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 […]

UF Receives Simon Award

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 […]

Please join us in welcoming the Spring 2018 Center for African Studies Undergraduate Student Ambassadors!

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 […]

Join Us for the Center for African Studies 2018 Gwendolen M. Carter Conference

“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. […]

ISITA Welcomes New Director

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

Congratulations!

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 […]

Message from the Director

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 Fall Reception 2017

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

Exhibit Opening: Bob Campbell’s photographs of Dian Fossey’s Karisoke Research Center, 1968-1972

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

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) […]

Message from the Director

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 […]

Graduate Student – Summer Plans

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 […]

UF and SWAC/OECD Sign MoU

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 […]

CAS in Washington, DC 

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. […]

CAS Welcomes Visiting Scholars from University of Dar es Salaam

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 […]

Message from the Director

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 2016

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: […]