Eye on Africa
Eye on Africa has an exciting lineup of guests and speakers for this 2023/2024 academic year! More information will be available soon. In the meantime, consider nominating a speaker and catching up on the latest episodes.
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Search is on for ASC Director
Welcome back, Spartans! The MSU African Studies Center hopes you had a great summer! We are excited to hear what you did this summer! Please stop by the office (100 International Center) or email us (africa@msu.edu) to share any interesting updates!
We also want to share some news with you... We are looking for our newest Director! The successful applicant will replace our Interim Director, Dr. Leo Zulu. If you or someone you know might be interested please visit the MSU Careers posting.
Position Summary:
Michigan State University (MSU) invites applications for the position of Director for the African Studies Center (ASC). The ASC is a premier program with longstanding reputation and has made major contributions to MSU’s nationally and internationally known history of impactful engagement in Africa. The Center and the Director is expected to provide strong support for key cross-college Africa-focused initiatives administered in ISP including the Alliance for African Partnerships (https://aap.isp.msu.edu/) and the Tanzania Partnership Program (https://pscd.isp.msu.edu/programs/tanzania-partnership-program/). Other initiatives the Director is expected to support include an undergraduate major in Global and International Studies with an African Studies concentration and a minor in African Studies.
Apply to lead our team at the MSU African Studies Center!
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Capital Afrofest
September 2nd, 2023
Capital Afrofest returns to downtown Lansing on Saturday, September 2, 2023 at Grewal Hall (224 S. Washington Square) and 200 Block S. Washington Square. Capital Afrofest is dedicated to fostering representation, connection, and celebration of African culture within the Lansing community. See the Music Lineup featuring King Issac
COIL Faculty Fellows Program - Africa: Info Session Webinar
September 8th, 2023
In this webinar, learn more about COIL and our fellowship program, open to faculty or academic staff with teaching appointments from one of the following universities part of the Alliance for AfricanPartnership Consortium. Pioneered by the SUNY COIL Center, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is an educational methodology focused on fostering online intercultural teaching and learning experiences within universities in different countries. Any questions can be directed to Dr. Leticia Cherchiglia (leticia@msu.edu). See the flyer for more information
Malcolm and Ann Kerr Muslim Studies Community Lecture
September 19th, 2023
The Muslim Studies Program presents the 3rd Annual Malcolm and Ann Kerr Muslim Studies Community Lecture: Najah Bazzy, “Healing and Leading: An Interfaith Perspective” on Tuesday, September 19, 6:30pm at 115 International Center (hybrid, i.e. with an online option). Register for the event
Ubuntu Dialogues Gathering
September 25-29th, 2023
East Lansing, MI
The Gathering is the second of two culminating events of the project Ubuntu Dialogues, a 2019-2023 partnership between MSU and Stellenbosch University funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Consistent with the feedback received following the first event in October 2022 at Stellenbosch University, the MSU Gathering will feature robust interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and transcontinental dialogues and engagements among students, scholars, practitioners, artists, activists, funders, and community and university leaders from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Barbados, Canada, and across the U.S. It is organized under the theme Pause|Participate|Practice and imagined around the compelling need to ground the theory of Ubuntu and the concept of dialogue in practice. The Gathering will culminate in the launch of a transcontinental and multi-hub Institute of Ubuntu Thought and Practice (IUTP), which seeks to promote and actualize a vision of academia, of communities, of the world, and of human interaction built on Ubuntu.
African Activist Archive Project Last Call
The African Activist Archive Project has built a unique, free digital archive of almost 14,000 items created by activists during 50 years of anti-apartheid and Southern Africa solidarity organizing in the United States. We are now making a “last call” to former activists for materials we can borrow to digitize and add to this digital archive. If you kept leaflets and other documents, posters, buttons, or photographs from organizing from the 1950s through the 1990s – or can help us find other people who might have saved these historical objects – we are eager to hear from you! Visit the site or email Christine Root at rootc@msu.edu for more information
TPP Inaugurates Girls’ Dormitory at Milola Secondary School
The Tanzania Partnership Program (TPP) has officially inaugurated the girls’ dormitory at Milola Secondary School in the Lindi Municipal District of Tanzania. The dormitory complex, which combines housing with educational services focused on empowering students with useful life skills is the results of dedicated and collaborative efforts of several stakeholders including value-based philanthropist such as the Gerald and Karen Kolschowsky Foundation and the TAG Philanthropic Foundation, technical experts from the university partner institutions namely Michigan State University, University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) including Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), and Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Lindi municipal government, and the local community of Milola village. The inauguration was done with much fanfare and brought together various stakeholders committed to advancing girls’ education. Read the full story here
Volunteers Needed for Departments of Computer Science, Engineering and RS&GIS Research Study
Through October 2023
Michigan State University (MSU) Departments of Computer Science, Engineering and RS&GIS are looking for volunteers to participate in a research study titled, Physics-driven Modeling and Learning for Person ecognition at a Distance and Altitude. The objective of this research is to design, implement and evaluate a software system for face, whole-body and gait biometric recognition. Participants will receive a $50 prepaid visa card for a single session. See the flyer for more information
OISS Coffee Hour
Every Friday, 4-6pm EST
Spartan Rooms B&C International Center
Join the Office for International Students and Scholars for Coffee Hour, a free event where students, staff, faculty, and community members gather to connect over coffee each week. Different hosts offer educational programs, information on how to get involved on campus, and fun activities that change throughout the year.
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The Alliance for African Partnership, African Studies Center and Tanzania Partnership Program invite you to attend our Faculty Welcome Event at the Graduate Rooftop Rock Bar on September 7th at 4:00pm.
This is the perfect opportunity to network with other faculty currently involved with Africa on campus, or to be introduced to the various types of programing that we do with Africa at MSU, all while enjoying some light snacks and a view.
Please RSVP to let us know if you will join us.
We hope to see you there!
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Student Groups & Activities
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Chinese in Africa/Africans in China Research Network
Network dedicated to China-Africa engagements
CAAC Research Network
African Asian Curriculum
Curricula and programming for community colleges
aac.matrix.msu.edu
African Media Program
Database of audio-visual materials and education services
africanmedia.msu.edu
Archive of Malian Photography
Digitized collections of five important photographers in Mali
amp.matrix.msu.edu
Overcoming Apartheid
First-hand accounts of this important political movement
overcomingapartheid.msu.edu
Afripod
Podcast about African history, culture and politics
afripod.aodl.org
African Activist Archive Project 
Documents, photographs, artifacts, written and oral memories
africanactivist.msu.edu
African Online Digital Library
 Free universal access to cultural heritage materials
aodl.org
Africana Collection
African Studies at the MSU Library
libguides.lib.msu.edu/africa
Exploring Africa
High quality African resources for students and educators
exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu
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AFRICAN HISTORY, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY
HST 208
Fall 2023 | Tu-Th 2-3:50pm | Wonders Hall C215
Prof. Peter Alegi (alegi@msu.edu)
This course introduces undergraduates to African history, culture, and society since 1870. Major topics include: European colonialism; African independence movements and the struggle against apartheid; postcolonial identities; environmental justice; and globalization. Using biographies and multimedia sources, the course combines general trends and case studies of DR Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa to examine how race, ethnicity, power, culture, gender, and age shaped African people's past and present.
ECONOMIES OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
EC 414
Fall 2023 | Tue Thu: 6:00 PM-7:20 PM | North Kedzie N101
Prof. Leonidas Murembya (murembya@msu.edu)
EC414 (economics of sub-Saharan Africa) seeks to examine the economic conditions of African economies, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. This course also serves as an introduction to the tools and theories of development economics. The themes covered include the impact of slave trade and colonization on sub-Saharan Africa’s development; the sub-continent’s growth and structural transformation; poverty and inequality; the continent’s development financing (domestic saving, foreign direct investments, aid); capital flight; human capital investment; immigration and brain-drain; conflicts and policies for post-conflict recovery; gender and development; agricultural transformation and development; and others.
MASS COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC HEALTH
CAS 825
Fall 2023 | Tue: 3:00 PM-5:50 PM | Engineering Building 1202
Prof. Susan McFarlane-Alvarez (mcfar124@msu.edu)
Health communication campaigns in domestic and international contexts. Focus on principles of effective communication. This course addresses culture, global health, and communication. If students are interested, they should reach out directly to the instructor to confirm that they have a good sense of the course and the requirements.
RELIGION AND CULTURE
ANP 422
Fall 2023 | M W 12:40 – 2 PM | S133 Kedzie Hall
Prof. Mara Leichtman (maral@msu.edu)
This course explores anthropological approaches to the study of religion. We will review historical classics, master key theoretical frameworks, and critically examine important topics in the present-day body of literature. Half of the course will address case studies on religion and racial, ethnic and gender inequalities and empowerment through recent ethnographies. These will include Christian medical humanitarian missions that span the US Midwest and sub-Saharan Africa; second-generation immigrant women in the Islamic revival movement in “secular” Europe; and transnational African diasporic religious belonging in Trinidad. The other half of the course will focus on classical understandings of religion, including Durkheim, Weber, Marx, and both early and contemporary anthropologists. We will watch films and learn from class presentations. Students will also survey how religious practices have adapted to the age of Covid-19.
CULTURAL ASPECTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE
HM 838
Fall 2023 | Online Asynchronous
Prof. Constance Currier (currier3@msu.edu)
Prof. Heatherlun Uphold (upholdhe@msu.edu)
Cultural concepts that shape health and illness. Major issues and trends in global health. Cultural and socioeconomic factors related to work with diverse populations. Applications for public health practice.
GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA
GEO 338
Fall 2023 | Tuesday & Thursday 10:20 – 11:40am | Giltner Hall 275
Prof. Leo Zulu (zulu@msu.edu)
This course explores the physical and human geographies of the African continent south of the Sahara, and geographic approaches to understanding social, cultural, economic, and society-environment relationships that help to explain Africa and its peoples. Historical patterns and context will also be discussed. Topics that will be examined include Africa’s culture, history, African contributions to the world, political evolution, population and migration, globalization, environmental issues and natural resources management, economic development, and politic and governance. Topical and current issues in Africa will also be discussed throughout the semester, and groups of students will have the opportunity to explore them deeper by focusing on a country of their choice in the preparation of a original country research paper.
ANALYSIS OF FOOD SYSTEM ORGANIZATION
AFRE 841
Fall 2023 | Tu-Th 8:30-9:50am | Ag Hall 48
Prof. Thomas Reardon (reardon@msu.edu)
The course features economic and food industry/agribusiness management analysis of the food system’s structure (e.g., industrial organization, including consolidation, clustering, networks, and supply chains), conduct (e.g., coordination such as via contracts and standards, organization of procurement systems and marketing systems), and performance (e.g., effects on access, cost, quality, and safety of food for consumers and inclusion or exclusion of small farmers). Applications are mainly in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, with comparisons with the U.S. and Europe. Applications are made to food security and development policies and programs. Additional emphasis on skills building in understanding the "march of the literature" in these themes and using that understanding in writing and presenting (from the literature and the student’s own) papers for the class.
SPORT AND SOCIETY IN AFRICAN HISTORY
HST 830
Spring 2024 | Monday 4:10-7:00pm | Old Horticulture 355
Prof. Peter Alegi (alegi@msu.edu)
This graduate seminar examines how and why African sports shaped, and were shaped by, power relations, economic interests, cultural values, and gender dynamics. In this first two-thirds of the semester, the course will engage with the fast-growing humanities and social science scholarship on soccer (football), running, tennis, wrestling, and other Olympic sports. Major topics include: sports, imperialism, and political liberation; sports and social identities; postcolonial athletic migration; bodies and sexuality; and global capitalist sport. In the final part of the semester, students will complete an original research paper.
INTEGRATING AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES INTO TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN
MI 488
Friday 10:20 AM-1:10 PM | Wonders Hall C215
Prof. Susan Wyche (spwyche@msu.edu)
Prof. Jonathan Choti (chotijon@msu.edu)
A Mozilla-funded course merging HCI/UX with African studies. Apply the human-centered design (HCD) process to address global challenges like resource exploitation, food production, misinformation, and youth unemployment. Develop high-quality prototype designs and gain a global understanding of technology use and design. Note: This course is funded by the Mozilla Foundation. Student teams will have a $500 budget, receive lunch (occasionally), and participate in an end-of-semester reception.
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Center Funding Opportunities
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Curriculum Development Grants ($3,000 summer stipends): to support faculty interested in developing a new course or seminar related to Africa or revising an extant course or seminar to include at least 25% of Africa content.
Curriculum Enhancement Grants ($1,000): for purchase of Africa related curricular materials, payment of guest speakers.
Conference Travel Grants ($1,000): to support Africanist Faculty for domestic conference expenses.
Special Programming Grants (amount varies): to bring a guest speaker; host a panel discussion; plan a social event etc.
Strategic Partnership Grants (amount varies): to strengthen strategic partnerships with universities and other institutions of higher education and research in Africa. (a 20% matching funds from applicants' deans or department chairpersons is required).
Global IDEAS: Global Innovations in Development, Engagement, and Scholarship curates external funding opportunities for international research from a comprehensive suite of sources, along with our knowledge of the donor landscape. These opportunities are compiled in one weekly email newsletter, available only to MSU faculty, staff and students.
EXTERNAL OPPORTUNITY:
Open Funding: Research Development Fellowship 2023/24
The Africa Research Excellence Fund, AREF
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