The Future Of African And African Diaspora Studies
For long, there have been calls to reassess the state of African studies in the 21st century, in a bid to make it relevant with the latest scholarly advancements. The Africa Institute in Sharjah recently took on this mandate and hosted the Global Africa conference to tackle this subject.
For a long time, lots of scholars with a focus on African and African diaspora studies were more interested in exploring the facts behind a pre-colonial continent. The interest was in uncovering the cultures and past interactions of various communities over the ages. While this was necessary and it remains to be a field with lots of attention, there was a need for a paradigm shift in the 21st century. It was natural that after digging into the roots of the African people, there was the need to focus on their recent past, present, and future.
The increased necessity of this shift has been witnessed over the past decades as more scholars focus on new paradigms of studies. Instead of being focused on pre-colonial Africa, scholarly attention is currently on the post-colonial state of the continent. A particular focus has been on the current crisis that Africa faces as a time of increased globalization and vast migrations by its people. The pursuit of greener pastures by Africans in failing states has consequently been met with strict anti-migration policies in Europe and North America.
Overly, these new conditions for African and its people has necessitated a new line of thinking, research, studies, and teaching on what the present and future holds. While most problems with the continent arise from poor governance, there are lots of other aspects that have equally attracted scholarly interests. These include issues on age, gender, race, sexuality, and feminist studies, areas that have primarily been influenced by black diasporic intellectuals. As a new school of thought is formed, the Africa Institute in Sharjah has come out as a dedicated institute for enhancing these studies.
The focus on engaging with the current and future of African and African diaspora studies has been the distinguishing aspect of the Africa Institute. This institute has opened its doors to postgraduate students to learn and be equipped with the knowledge to take on the new path of post-colonial African studies. In a bid to propel these developments, the Africa Institute in Sharjah has placed lots of attention in its outreach endeavors.
Primarily, these outreach efforts have been by hosting events that attract the general public as well as scholars from across the globe. Recently, the institute hosted the Global Africa conference that sought to foster a conversation on what the lies ahead for African and African diaspora studies. This conference was unique as it offered scholars specialized in different disciplines, a platform for understanding major transformations in their fields. It was, therefore, an event where not only new ideas were aired, but a foundation was established for exploring new scholarly frontiers.
Summary
The Africa Institute of Sharjah is leading the path in exploring new interests in African and African diaspora studies. Earlier in the year, the institute hosted the Global Africa conference calling on papers that appraised the past, present, and future of post-colonial Africa studies.
For a long time, lots of scholars with a focus on African and African diaspora studies were more interested in exploring the facts behind a pre-colonial continent. The interest was in uncovering the cultures and past interactions of various communities over the ages. While this was necessary and it remains to be a field with lots of attention, there was a need for a paradigm shift in the 21st century. It was natural that after digging into the roots of the African people, there was the need to focus on their recent past, present, and future.
The increased necessity of this shift has been witnessed over the past decades as more scholars focus on new paradigms of studies. Instead of being focused on pre-colonial Africa, scholarly attention is currently on the post-colonial state of the continent. A particular focus has been on the current crisis that Africa faces as a time of increased globalization and vast migrations by its people. The pursuit of greener pastures by Africans in failing states has consequently been met with strict anti-migration policies in Europe and North America.
Overly, these new conditions for African and its people has necessitated a new line of thinking, research, studies, and teaching on what the present and future holds. While most problems with the continent arise from poor governance, there are lots of other aspects that have equally attracted scholarly interests. These include issues on age, gender, race, sexuality, and feminist studies, areas that have primarily been influenced by black diasporic intellectuals. As a new school of thought is formed, the Africa Institute in Sharjah has come out as a dedicated institute for enhancing these studies.
The focus on engaging with the current and future of African and African diaspora studies has been the distinguishing aspect of the Africa Institute. This institute has opened its doors to postgraduate students to learn and be equipped with the knowledge to take on the new path of post-colonial African studies. In a bid to propel these developments, the Africa Institute in Sharjah has placed lots of attention in its outreach endeavors.
Primarily, these outreach efforts have been by hosting events that attract the general public as well as scholars from across the globe. Recently, the institute hosted the Global Africa conference that sought to foster a conversation on what the lies ahead for African and African diaspora studies. This conference was unique as it offered scholars specialized in different disciplines, a platform for understanding major transformations in their fields. It was, therefore, an event where not only new ideas were aired, but a foundation was established for exploring new scholarly frontiers.
Summary
The Africa Institute of Sharjah is leading the path in exploring new interests in African and African diaspora studies. Earlier in the year, the institute hosted the Global Africa conference calling on papers that appraised the past, present, and future of post-colonial Africa studies.
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