Perspective on Africa
The Center for African Studies promotes a positive vision
Archived article from Feb 2, 2001
By Amy Vames
Although the Internet and other communications technologies have expanded the ability of the world's peoples to learn about and understand each other better than ever before, the huge continent of Africa remains cloaked in myths and misconceptions, say the leaders of Rutgers' Center for African Studies.
Many Westerners still view Africa as a barbarous, savage place, a continent mired in "premodern" ways and rife with poverty. In addition, many consider Africa to be homogeneous, despite the 54 distinct countries and thousands of languages -- 500 in Nigeria alone -- that make it an extraordinarily diverse continent.
"While we can't shy away from such problems as human rights abuses and AIDS in Africa, the Center for African Studies is working to promote the positive aspects of the continent," says Richard Schroeder, the center's director and an associate professor of geography. "Part of our mission is to break down stereotypes and myths about Africa. The center is trying to explore and expose the fundamental changes that are taking place there." For example, Africa's urban areas possess an "amazing vitality and culture," he says, and important scientific work is being done all over Africa.
Closer to home, Schroeder points out, are the large African expatriate communities in the United States, many in New Jersey. There are thousands of Ghanaians in Orange and sizable enclaves of Sierra Leoneans, Liberians and Nigerians, as well, in the Garden State. One of the center's goals is to reach out to those communities and not only help them retain their cultural identities but encourage an appreciation of those cultures by non-Africans.
"The university is drawing in significant numbers of students from these communities," says Carolyn Brown, an associate professor of history who will take over as director of the center this summer. "This helps create a stronger constituency for curriculum and programming around Africa."
It was with these goals and concerns in mind that the Center for African Studies was born at Rutgers in 1999 with a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). Its founding was an important element of the university's strategic plan and the international studies academic growth area, which called for new initiatives to enhance diversity and intercultural understanding.
Another major impetus to start the center came from the selection of Rutgers in 1996 as the new home of the African Studies Association (ASA), the world's largest professional organization of Africanists, scholars specializing in the study of a particular aspect of Africa, such as its geography, history or culture.
Brown says the ASA's move to Rutgers helped the university gain credibility as a leading center of African studies. "The ASA was crucial in helping us define our role as a center," she maintains.
Indeed, the role of African studies centers has changed dramatically since the 1960s and '70s, notes Schroeder. During the Cold War, the federal government funded the establishment of African studies centers at universities in an effort to educate students about African language and culture. It was hoped these graduates would go on to Foreign Service work in Africa, providing intelligence to the government about the continent.
With the demise of the Cold War, African studies centers now seek to advance knowledge about the continent and its inhabitants, not for national security purposes, but to promote cultural understanding and appreciation for diversity.
In less than two years of operation, Rutgers' Center for African Studies has initiated a wide range of activities and programming devoted to meeting those post-Cold War goals and raised nearly half a million dollars in grants. A major program is "Africa Across the Curriculum," which encourages Rutgers faculty to develop new courses with exclusively African content or to enhance existing courses with new modules devoted to Africa. For example, a course on world mythology originally didn't include any reference to African mythology; thanks to funding from the center, it now does. In addition, 11 new courses and course modules have been funded through the program.
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