Whether in the form of roundtables, lectures, film series, symposia, or workshops, African Studies’ programming brings together students, faculty, researchers, and practitioners from units within IU and the world beyond.
Event Programming
ASP Colloquium Series
ASP Colloquium Series allows IU faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars to present topics relating to Africa. This event happens in the fall and spring terms, with six to nine colloquiums per term.
ASP Pathways Series
The ASP Pathways series is focused on providing graduate and undergrad students career-focused mentoring, networking, and professionalization experiences. Events range from workshopping of various skills, bringing in guest speakers from a range of professions -including IU alumni, discussing internship opportunities, arranging sessions led by the Walter Center for Career Achievement, Peace Corp Prep, and more. We regularly seek feedback from student participants to make sure Pathways is relevant and timely, meeting student needs.
Contemporary Africa Seminar Speaker Series
The AFRI-A 731 seminars are offered on a different topic each spring semester. They are also our primary venue for presentations by national and international scholars. These guest lectures are open to the wider African studies community and the public.
African Languages Tea Time
Our language instructors and their students serve tea and snacks while introducing curious passersby to one of six African languages. These are scheduled for both the fall and spring semesters, on Thursdays in the GISB atrium. Dates for each language are announced at the beginning of every term.
African Languages Festival
African languages students perform songs, dances, and skits demonstrating what they have learned in their courses. Festivals are held during the fall and spring semesters and are open to the public with food and fun for all.
Special events
Each semester, we offer a rich calendar of events including film screenings, lectures, performances and more – all of which are free and open to the public. Please check our calendar regularly, as well as follow us on Instagram and Facebook to find out the latest events not to be missed!
Taste of Africa
In this presentation, you will get a taste of six of the seven African languages that are taught at Indiana University. These languages are Akan, Bamana, IsiZulu, Kinyarwanda, KiSwahili, and Yoruba. You will get information on what countries these languages are spoken from the west, east, and central Africa, and the number of speakers that speak each language. You will learn greetings and introductions in KiSwahili and IsiZulu, singing and dancing in Kinyarwanda and Bamana, drumming in Yoruba, and traditional clothing in Akan.