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The Field of African Studies
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The Field of African Studies
While a variety of disciplinary departments offer courses with African content, it is notable that there are now a number of interdisciplinary programs and departments devoted to African Studies. In the United States, the first African Studies programs were established at Northwestern University (1946) and Boston University (1953). A number of other large programs were started in the early 1960s at major research universities such as Michigan State, Wisconsin, UCLA, Indiana, and Ohio University (African Studies and the Undergraduate Curriculum, Patrica Alden, David Lloyd and Ahmed Samatar (eds.), Lynne Rienner, 1994). By the mid 1990s there were approximately 330 programs of African and Afro-American Studies in the United States (Directory of African and Afro-American Studies in the United States, African Studies Association, 1993). African Studies is as or more developed at institutions in other areas of the world. While the names of these organizations are too numerous to list, there are over 1,800 academic institutions, research bodies and international organizations involved in African Studies research in all parts of the world (International Directory of African Studies Research, 3rd Edition, Philip Baker (ed.), Hans Zell Publishers, 1994).
Prior to the establishment of African Studies as a recognized interdisciplinary field of study, some scholars encountered resistance from quarters of the academic establishment that perceived Africa to be lacking in history or otherwise unworthy of academic investigation. African Studies has grown to be a dynamic realm of inquiry that regularly contributes to the broader academic discourse. Africanist scholars have tested the validity of widely accepted notions in the African context. They also have developed new theories that have influenced thinking in other regional contexts. The burgeoning field of African Studies has spawned a number of academic journals, examples of which include: Africa, African Affairs, African Arts, African Journal of Ecology, African Languages and Cultures, Africa Today, African Studies Review, Cahiers d’Etudes Africaines, Canadian Journal of African Studies, Journal des Africanistes, Journal of African Economies, Journal of African History, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Journal of Modern African Studies, Journal of Southern African Studies, Research in African Literatures, and Review of African Political Economy.
Those disciplines contributing to African Studies may roughly be divided between the humanities (mainly history, literature, music, art and religion), the social sciences (anthropology, archeology, economics, education, geography, political science, sociology) and the physical sciences (physical geography, ecology, botany). In the United States, over a 1300 scholars from a broad array of disciplines meet each year at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association to present their research findings and debate key African issues. African Studies associations and societies also exist in a number of other countries (e.g., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom).
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