Around 1.5 billion people live in 54 different nations across Africa, representing a diverse spectrum of cultures and linguistic groups. As a continent, it is an important actor in the global economy and climate change, and its literature and art are becoming more and more well-liked elsewhere. You will learn in-depth information about Africa in the African Studies bachelor's degree, from an internal viewpoint and with a critical eye for the exterior, sometimes Eurocentric approaches of Africa.

The study of African history, from the beginning until relatively recently, is emphasized throughout the curriculum. This will enable you to learn more about topics like the place of women in African society, the history of socioeconomic injustice and slavery, and the connection between the African diaspora and the Black Lives Matter movement. You can choose to study Africa as a continent, a collection of its regions, or a collection of its nations in our curriculum. By concentrating on one or more of the following areas in the second year of the program: sociolinguistics, literature, and art, or history and anthropology, you can customize the curriculum to fit your own interests.

The curriculum combines historical, cultural, geographic, economic, and political perspectives to provide students with the knowledge and research skills they need to study African-specific topics, as well as to prepare them for post-graduate work in a variety of fields.

Studying the Languages of Africa

Studying Africa via a linguistic lens can help you gain insight into both historical and contemporary societal events, such as migratory migrations, therefore language plays a vital part in the curriculum. You will study sociolinguistics and either learn Berber or Swahili. Millions of people in East Africa speak Swahili, one of the major languages. A minority language, Berber is spoken in Northern Africa and is connected to numerous African diaspora communities around the world. When researching the diaspora, its global impact, and its relationships with African home countries, knowledge of Berber will be especially useful.

Multi-Disciplinary Programs

Africa in World History, Africa and the Global Political Economy, Africa in the New Global International Relations, Africa and International Development, peace studies, and conflict resolution, as well as courses that acknowledge the diversity of culture, race, and ethnicity are just a few of the topics covered in the multidisciplinary African Studies. As a result, you will have experience working with people from other disciplines and communicating with them, which is a talent that is highly valued in the complicated world we live in today. You'll discover that people value your ability to analyze political and economic issues from a humanities viewpoint.