Imagining Africa at the Center

Africanist scholars gather for the 59th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association

By Carnegie Corporation of New York December 5, 2016

“Coming to a conference like this helps me to sound out my ideas, and to build networks and collaborations that we can use to create more and better research for Africa,” said Naa Dodua Dodoo, summing up her participation at the 59th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA). A lecturer at the Regional Institute for Population Studies at the University of Ghana and a Carnegie Corporation of New York Fellow, Dodoo is one of 16 Carnegie Fellows who were awarded grants to the attend the meeting.

Imagining Africa at the Center: Bridging Scholarship, Policy, and Representation in Africa—held in Washington, D.C., December 1–3—brought together thousands of leading scholars and policy makers, as well as representatives from NGOs, the media, and other interested communities. Attendees came from across Africa and the world for an interdisciplinary exchange of the best in contemporary thinking and scholarship on Africa through panel discussions, events, and presentations. “For someone from Africa, like me,” observed Dodoo, “I think it’s important to build a critical mass of people in Africa working on Africa.”

Carnegie Corporation of New York Fellows presented on four panels:

Africa at the Center: Bridging Scholarship, Policy, and Representation in African Studies
Innovations and Transformations in Public Health Higher Education
The Impact of Climate Change on Development in Africa
Trends and Innovations in Local African Peacebuilding Research and Practice

Watch the Video Interviews: Why is it important to research and study your field in higher education in Africa?

About the African Studies Association

The African Studies Association encourages the production and dissemination of historical and contemporary knowledge about Africa. The ASA is based in the United States and aims to cultivate a better understanding of the continent, taking a holistic approach to its areas of focus. This includes all facets of Africa's political, economic, social, cultural, artistic, scientific, and environmental landscapes, to name a few. Our members include scholars, students, teachers, activists, development professionals, policymakers, and donors.