African Studies


The 2009-10 membership of this committee has not yet been finalized. Complete membership information for 2009-10 will be posted as soon as it becomes available.

Faculty of the Committee on African Studies


The Committee on African Studies is a multidisciplinary group of scholars appointed by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences to coordinate teaching and research on Africa within Harvard’s departments and faculties. It is primarily concerned with the planned development of African studies in the University as a whole. Since it is also the Committee’s goal to advance knowledge and understanding of African peoples throughout the University, it sponsors lectures, seminars, conferences, films, and exhibitions on Africa. Its non-credit Africa Seminar is open to all faculty members and students. The Committee offers summer grants for travel to Africa. Students can subscribe to a weekly e-mail listing of Harvard Africa events by writing to rbreen@fas.harvard.edu. For additional information on African studies at Harvard, consult the Committee’s website at www.fas.harvard.edu/~cafrica or email cafrica@fas.harvard.edu.

Students interested in pursuing a degree in African Studies should consult the African and African American Studies chapter in this catalog. That department also offers a number of courses on African topics and has an African language program, which teaches over ten languages.

The following FAS departments offer courses on Africa. A more detailed description of these courses may be found in this catalog under the appropriate department or committee.

Departments with Courses of Interest:



In addition to the departmental offerings in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, courses on Africa can also be found in the catalogs of the Schools of Public Health, Education, Law, Divinity, Business, and the Kennedy School of Government.