New center to support African studies

The University will establish a center to support and promote the work of more than 120 faculty members engaged in scholarship related to Africa.

The African Studies Center (ASC), to launch in July, will provide additional support for teaching and research by organizing lectures, workshops, conferences and outreach events in addition to serving as the focal point for U-M faculty and students engaged in African studies on campus and in Africa. One of 17 centers for area and international studies at U-M under the umbrella of the International Institute, the ASC will serve as a resource for research and a platform for cross-cultural exchange.

The center will take advantage of its affiliation with U-M's 38-year-old Center for Afroamerican and African Studies (CAAS), which studies people of African descent. CAAS, considered one of the foremost centers for Afroamerican and African studies in the world, will continue to build on its long history of academic engagement with Africa.

"Working with CAAS and Africanists across the campus, we have laid the foundation for what promises to be one the country's strongest and most innovative programs dealing with Africa," says International Institute Director Mark Tessler. "Scores of U-M faculty members are teaching and doing research related to Africa, and the University also has numerous collaborative projects with African universities. The initiatives being launched in conjunction with President Coleman's trip to Ghana and South Africa will provide yet additional opportunities for engagement with the continent, and all of this will make Michigan a national leader in the field of African studies."

Kelly Askew, associate professor of Afroamerican and African studies and anthropology, will serve as interim director of the new center. Many other CAAS faculty also are expected to work with ASC, as will researchers disciplines including medicine, anthropology, education, music and economics.

The center plans to cooperate with the National Resource Center in African Studies at Michigan State University.

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