The Center for African Studies sponsors a variety of collaborative interdisciplinary working groups. These thematic-oriented groups provide a forum for faculty and graduate students to pursue research and funding initiatives that cut across standard academic units. Group activities have also included symposia, mini-conferences, invited lectures, and fieldwork/methodology workshops.
- Africa Architecture Initiative
The Architecture Africa Initiative is a collaborative effort with the UF Center for African Studies and the College of Design Construction and Planning. The goals of the collaboration are: To promote African Architecture, whether located on the continent, or designed by architects ... - Arts in Africa Working Group
The works and ideas of young creatives seed the future of art. As critically demonstrated by “Back to the Future”—the 2021 Gwendolyn M. Carter Conference—artist resiliency is vulnerable in the “Post-Covid” era. Emerging artists’ dreams can thrive in the light ... - Africans in Europe Working Group
Africans in Europe Working Group will especially look at the last decade, a time of Europe’s extraordinary African refugee crises, within longer histories of African migrations and diasporas into Europe. Since 2010, there has been an explosion of a new ... - China in Africa Working Group
The China-Africa Working Group is an interdisciplinary research group focusing on the relationship and growing importance of China in Africa. The rationale for the group’s formation is to explore aspects of the China-Africa dynamic, and how African countries are being ... - Digital Africa Working Group
The overall aim of this new working group and initiative is to facilitate discussions of a critical and informed character on a broad range of issues related to what we call “Digital Africa”. While the reference to the “digital” implies ... - Health in Africa Working Group
This working group aims to highlight collaboration and innovation in the pursuit of global health in Africa by aligning with the CDC Global Health Strategy 2019-21. “The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aspires to create a world ... - Islam in Africa Working Group
Islam has had a historical presence in Africa for at least a millennium, and the continent is today home to many millions of Muslims. Muslims are the majority in at least ten African countries and a significant minority in a ... - Natural Resource Management in Africa
The Natural Resource Management in Africa Working Group is interested in the consequences of rapid change to ecosystems and human institutions. We study how communities interact with their environment and identify means to achieve their social and ecological goals. We are graduate ... - State & Institutions in Africa Working Group
The working group examines the role of formal and informal institutions in African political life. It is particularly interested in the effect of institutions on the relationship between the state and society. It examines to what extent the state is ...