Conferences

WARA Midwest Regional Conference on West Africa

The West African Research Association, and the African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are hosting a virtual conference that centers on West Africa, for scholars based in the Midwest regions of North America on July 26-27, 2022 (9am-4pm Central Time)

Symposium in Memory of Professor M. Crawford Young

Aili Tripp, Scott Straus, and Michael Schatzberg, in coordination with the African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are hosting an in-person symposium in memory of Professor M. Crawford Young at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, April 1-2, 2022.

 

 

Decolonizing African Studies

The workshop is open to all and brings together decoloniality scholars, Africanist students and academics (both African and non-African) from across disciplines, and university Area Studies administrators to explore and rethink the relationships among colonialism, decoloniality, and African Studies at UW-Madison and at universities around the world.

 

 

 

Everyday Politics of Life and Culture in Africa

A symposium celebrating the career of Professor Michael Schatzberg, featuring scholars influenced by his work.
October 13, 2018.

 

 

 

Jan Vansina Memorial Lecture

An annual Lecture to honor the legacy of Jan Vansina, one of the world’s foremost historians of Africa.
September 21-22, 2018.

 

 

 

Honoring Ancestors in Africa and Beyond: Arts and Actions

A multi-disciplinary Symposium exploring sensory aspects of specific African ways of honoring ancestors
April 6-7, 2018.

 

 

Cultures in Conflict: Navigating Cultural Difference in International Human Rights Reporting

A two-day conference designed to expand thinking and share solutions to some of the most pressing human rights reporting challenges, featuring award-winning human rights reporters and academics. Feb 9-10, 2018.

 

 

PLEASURE AND THE PLEASURABLE in Africa and the African Diaspora

A lively interrogation of an uncommon theme in the scholarly study of Africa and the African diaspora: pleasure
April 13-15, 2017

 

 

BIG STORIES + CLOSE (UP) Research: Health and Science in the African World

Exploring Health and science in the African world through conversations centered on objects, photographs, case studies, and sound
April 15 – 16, 2016

 

 

Early Maritime Cultures on the East African Coast

A conference to explore various aspects of East African maritime civilizations and culture
October 23-24, 2015

 

 

Towards African Cultural Studies

Embracing cultural studies as a promising field for renewal and transformation
May 1-2, 2015

 

 

 

Fiftieth Anniversary Alumni Symposium

Reflecting on the past, present, and future of the Department of African Languages and Literature
April 10, 2015

 

 

Oral Tradition and Pop Culture

A festschrift to celebrate Harold Scheub and 43 years of passionate and dedicated work
October 31, 2014

 

 

Postwar Empires in Africa

A symposium to examine the nature of post-1945 European empires across the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa
April 10-11, 2014

 

 

50 Forward: A Half-Century of African Studies at Wisconsin

Celebrating 50 years of African Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
April 20-22, 2012

 

 

Changing Course: Teaching African Languages at UW-Madison in the 21st Century

A symposium to examine African language learning in the 21st century
Octo­ber 12, 2012

 

 

The Peace Corps and Africa

A con­fer­ence to honor fifty years of vol­un­teer ser­vice and asses the impacts of the Peace Corps in Africa
March 24–26, 2011