Welcome To The Department Of African Studies & Linguistics (ASL)

African Studies offers a full academic programme, concentrated at the graduate level but also including some undergraduate courses. Typically, our students are interested in critical, interdisciplinary, Africa-focused scholarship. They are interested in thinking outside of the frameworks of an inherited set of knowledge projects. Moreover, they are interested in taking seriously the critical and intellectual traditions of the global south.

Linguistics considers language in all its diversity and also pays attention to other forms of meaning-making, such as through images and sound, through movement and space. Linguistics is not necessarily about learning new languages (although this is encouraged as well); rather, we study everything about language and meaning, including the fundamental components that make up every language, and the cognitive relationship between language and the brain. The courses that we offer interrogate Euro-centric theories of language critically and seek to offer southern, African-centred perspectives on questions of language and communication.

More information about our vision & mission, staff, academic programme and research centres & chairs can be found in the menu above.

ASL/CAS Upcoming Events

Books and Journals

https://www.soufflesmonde.com/posts/le-probleme-du-colonialisme-assimilation-difference-et-theorie-decoloniale-en-afrique

Predicament

Departmental Notice Board

  • Research Support Opportunity- The Harry Frank Guggenheim Fellowship 2027

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    HFG

    The ๐‡๐š๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐…๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ค ๐†๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ž๐ง๐ก๐ž๐ข๐ฆ ๐…๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ• ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ is offering: โ€ข $10,000 ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘’๐‘™๐‘‘๐‘ค๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘˜ ๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก โ€ข ๐‘€๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘  โ€ข ๐‘…๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘โ„Ž ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” โ€ข ๐ผ๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘“๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘–๐‘ โ€ข ๐‘Š๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘๐‘™๐‘–๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก For researchers investigating violence and its impact across Africa, this fellowship offers more than funding. It provides a pathway to influence policy, contribute evidence-based solutions, and strengthen scholarly impact. Proposals may come from the social and natural sciences or allied disciplines, focusing on: โ€ข ๐‘พ๐’‚๐’“ โ€ข ๐‘ช๐’“๐’Š๐’Ž๐’†, โ€ข ๐‘ป๐’†๐’“๐’“๐’๐’“๐’Š๐’”๐’Ž, โ€ข ๐‘ญ๐’‚๐’Ž๐’Š๐’๐’š & ๐‘ฐ๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’Ž๐’‚๐’•๐’†-๐‘ท๐’‚๐’“๐’•๐’๐’†๐’“ ๐‘ฝ๐’Š๐’๐’๐’†๐’๐’„๐’†, โ€ข ๐‘ช๐’๐’Š๐’Ž๐’‚๐’•๐’† ๐‘ฐ๐’๐’”๐’•๐’‚๐’ƒ๐’Š๐’๐’Š๐’•๐’š & ๐‘น๐’†๐’”๐’๐’–๐’“๐’„๐’† ๐‘ช๐’๐’Ž๐’‘๐’†๐’•๐’Š๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’, โ€ข ๐‘น๐’‚๐’„๐’Š๐’‚๐’, ๐‘ฌ๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’Š๐’„ & ๐‘น๐’†๐’๐’Š๐’ˆ๐’Š๐’๐’–๐’” ๐‘ช๐’๐’๐’‡๐’๐’Š๐’„๐’• โ€ข ๐‘ท๐’๐’๐’Š๐’•๐’Š๐’„๐’‚๐’ ๐‘ฌ๐’™๐’•๐’“๐’†๐’Ž๐’Š๐’”๐’Ž & ๐‘ต๐’‚๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’๐’‚๐’๐’Š๐’”๐’Ž ๐€๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ž๐š๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ž: ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐œ๐ก ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ• Let's continue sharing opportunities that empower African researchers and strengthen knowledge production on the continentโ€ผ๏ธ HUMA - Institute for Humanities in Africa Horman Chitonge Helen Macdonald Divine Fuh Nikiwe Solomon, PhD Francis Nyamnjoh Frank Matose Shannon Morreira Shose Kessi African Studies Association Faculty of Humanities Nelson Mandela University Ruchi Chaturvedi Aditi Hunma