African Studies holds workshop

As a mark of its continuous expansion, the University's African Studies Program hosted the African Studies Consortium's third annual workshop Friday, entitled "Circulations in African Culture." More than 20 distinguished professors and graduate students gathered in Bodek Lounge for four panels and a roundtable discussion. The speakers hailed from universities around the country, including Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore and Haverford colleges, Penn, and Columbia, Temple and Johns Hopkins universities. The scholars presented research papers on a wide variety of issues, focusing on themes such as the reflection of imagery and values in African popular culture, and the development of a world perspective of Africa. Offering a wide spectrum of views, the panel speakers concentrated on contemporary African issues. Lectures ranged in topic from the portrayal of violence in Franco-African literature to the effects of arms sales on African economies. "[The workshop was] designed to be an intellectual interchange at all levels to create a critical mass of knowledge and interest in Africanist issues on Penn's campus," according to Sandra Barnes, director of the University's African Studies Program and chief organizer of the consortium. She added that the number of presenters this year was larger than ever before and the addition of the roundtable discussion section indicates a growing interest in African Studies at the University. "We can understand these [African] cultures in terms of our own everyday lives, and thus genuinely accept them," Barnes explained. The workshop was funded by the African Studies Consortium -- which includes Penn, Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore. This funding was matched by the National Resource Center in African Studies.