Program in African Studies

Director

Daniel I. Rubenstein

Executive Committee

Jeanne Altmann, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Kwame Anthony Appiah, Philosophy, University Center for Human Values

Andre Benhaim, French and Italian

Anne Case, Woodrow Wilson School

Andrew P. Dobson, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Simon Gikandi, English

Emmanuel H. Kreike, History

Evan Lieberman, Politics

Mahiri Mwita, Comparative Literature

James McDougall, History

Tullis C. Onstott, Geosciences

S. George H. Philander, Geosciences

Daniel I. Rubenstein, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Aissata Sidikou-Morton, French and Italian

Burton H. Singer, Woodrow Wilson School

Winston O. Soboyejo, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Helen Tilley, History

John R. Willis, Near Eastern Studies

Jennifer Widner, Politics, Woodrow Wilson School

Sits with Committee

Nancy Pressman Levy

 

African studies at the graduate level are pursued as an integral part of an individual’s Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) course of study, although the Ph.D. is granted in a regular academic department. While meeting departmental requirements, a student is encouraged to take courses on Africa in other departments.

An interdepartmental committee oversees and assists in formulating plans for the development of African studies at the graduate level. It makes recommendations for the allocation of funds for fellowships, and for priorities and planning in library acquisitions. It advises departments and programs in regard to ways in which graduate offerings in African studies can be improved and coordinated. It also serves as an informal focal point for advising graduate students, stimulating interdisciplinary interest in the University community, and apprising the outside world of the University’s interest and resources in African studies.

Pertinent Courses in Allied Departments

Anthropology

501, 502 Proseminar in Anthropology

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

521 Tropical Ecology

Economics

562 Economic Development I

French and Italian

528 World Literature in French

History

509 Introduction to the Historical Study of Underdevelopment: The Atlantic System Since 1500

515 Modern African History

Near Eastern Studies

561, 562 Studies in Modern Arab History

564 Islamic Africa Before 1900: Problems in Social and Cultural History

565 The Arabic Literature of Islamic Africa

Politics

522 Politics and Modernization

534 Near Eastern and North African Politics

559 Problems in International Politics

Woodrow Wilson School

561 The Comparative Political Economy of Development

562b Economic Analysis of Development: Basic