Message from the Chair

Dear Colleagues and Students,

Welcome to the Department of African Studies at Howard University. In this department, a faculty comprised of renowned experts in their respective fields provide world-class education and training to students from around the world. African Studies is a multidisciplinary, synergistic field that involves well-articulated course work, field and archival research, study abroad and the cultivation of global citizenship with a view to steadily producing, sharing, and implementing cutting-edge knowledge of African affairs in global contexts.

The Department offers B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees. It also offers General Education courses as well as undergraduate minors to students from the different schools and colleges of the University. The graduate curriculum encompasses a robust interdisciplinary core and three tracks: Development & Public Policy; Africa in World Affairs; and Language, Culture and Development.

Our vision is to be the place for advancing Africa-centered teaching, learning, research, and global-citizen engagement. To that effect, the Department has intensified its outreach aimed at developing partnerships with major African stakeholders. These include universities and research institutions, philanthropic foundations and reputable business organizations, nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations that are shaping the future of Africa and strengthening her standing in world affairs. The partnerships will contribute to the furtherance of the academic achievements of our students and the professional development of our faculty.

I thank you for visiting our website and encourage you to contact our main office for further information.

Sincerely,

Mohamed Camara, Ph.D

Dr. Mohamed Camara is the author of several books and numerous peer-reviewed articles on Africa's political history; media and society; religion and philosophy; military and politics, and intra-African foreign relations. Prior to joining the faculty at Howard, Dr. Camara taught at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in Florida, where he served as Director of the McNair Scholars Program, Speaker of the Faculty Senate, and Associate Vice President for Academics. In 2008, Dr. Camara was voted Outstanding Researcher of the Year in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. He received Embry-Riddle’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 2009. Dr. Camara previously worked as a Lecturer and Associate Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Conakry, Guinea; a journalist for National Radio Television Network of Guinea; a correspondent for Radio France International; a speechwriter for the Press Bureau of the Presidency of the Republic of Guinea; and the President of the University Press of Conakry. He earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in History on a Fulbright Scholarship. Dr. Camara’s current research interest centers on health and human security in the countries of the Mano River Union in the wake of the 2014-2015 Ebola crisis.