Events
The KASC Outreach Program seeks to promote the understanding of Africa by offering diverse services that help to increase knowledge about Africa.
UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING SYMPOSIUM
The inaugural installment of this new initiative will feature presentaions from early career researchers at the four institutions that collaborated for our recent Global Humanities Institute in Tanzania.
UPCOMING CONFERENCE
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected virtually every aspect of humanity and has focused attention of scholars and researchers from all fields on questions of public health and well-being. Accordingly, the 2022 meeting of MAAAS will bring together a variety of ideas and disciplines to explore the past, present, and future of public health and well-being in Global Africa in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ANNUALLY RECURRING EVENTS
GRADUATE RESEARCH WORKSHOP
Kansas African Studies Graduate Research workshop (GRW) is designed help graduate students make progress on their research. We welcome submissions from graduate students from any field and all stages in their research trajectories. After their presentations, graduate students will receive feedback about their paper from fellow students and KU faculty.
KU AFRICAN LANGUAGE FESTIVAL
Organized by the Department of African and African-American Studies (AAAS) and the Kansas African Studies Center (KASC), The KU African Language Festival is also supported by the KU School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, International Programs and many other units such as the Center for Global & International Studies, Office of Multicultural Affairs, International Programs, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. This event provides an opportunity to showcase language skills of students studying African languages at KU and engage with the KU and Lawrence/Kansas City communities.
LANGUAGE TABLES
Historically, we found our commitment to diversity to be a compass that enabled us to navigate through uncertain times. This guidance resulted in a variety of courses we have offered. Not only have they been rooted in traditional approaches but in innovative ones too, as shifting times offered new theories and methods. We have been quite strategic in diversifying our faculty hires, attracting the best and brightest new talent to enter the profession as well as seasoned veterans. These have been augmented by welcoming distinguished visiting professors, lecturers, and readers.
FOOD & FILM SERIES
Historically, we found our commitment to diversity to be a compass that enabled us to navigate through uncertain times. This guidance resulted in a variety of courses we have offered. Not only have they been rooted in traditional approaches but in innovative ones too, as shifting times offered new theories and methods. We have been quite strategic in diversifying our faculty hires, attracting the best and brightest new talent to enter the profession as well as seasoned veterans. These have been augmented by welcoming distinguished visiting professors, lecturers, and readers.
ANNUALLY RECURRING EVENTS
Book Talk Series
The Kansas African Studies Center (KASC) is excited to announce a new book talk series. This engaging series will feature renowned authors and scholars who specialize in African studies, providing a platform for in-depth discussions on their latest works. Each session will include a presentation by the author, followed by a Q&A session, allowing attendees to engage directly with the experts. This series aims to foster a deeper understanding of African cultures, histories, and contemporary issues, making it a valuable opportunity for students, faculty, and the community to expand their knowledge and perspectives. Join us for thought-provoking conversations and an enriching intellectual experience.
SELECT PAST EVENTS
RWANDA COMMEMORATION EVENTS
Throughout the month of April 2019 KASC & partners across KU and the Lawrence community hosted events to commemorate the victims and survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. This conflict resulted in the deaths of up to perhaps one million Rwandans. Rwanda’s own national commemoration and day of mourning, called Kwibuka, which translates as “remembrance,” is held annually on April 7th.
MAAAS CONFERENCE
The Mid-America Alliance for African Studies is an organization for the promotion of African Studies in mid-America. MAAAS seeks to encourage scholarship and teaching in African Studies regionally and sub-regionally through conferences, seminars, workshops, faculty and student exchanges and promotion of African language teaching, among other endeavors. MAAAS is open to all with an interest in scholarship and teaching within an African Studies focus!
STARTALK ACADEMY
The STARTALK Academy program is a four-week intensive summer day camp for 7th – 12th graders. Students learn the Kiswahili and Arabic language and culture through student-centered and performance-based activities and then participated in the STARTALK Academy Showcase at the end of the program to demonstrate their learned language skills.
ALL OTHER PAST EVENTS
Some of our recurring events include the Ujamaa series, Annual MAAAS Conference and the Graduate Research Workshops