The Department of African Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seeks excellent applicants for our graduate programs. We are especially interested in minority students with a strong background in African and diaspora studies who are interested in learning interdisciplinary research methods with our diverse and engaging faculty. We offer MA and PhD programs in African cultural studies, and a terminal MA in language pedagogy. Applications are due 15 November for enrollment in August 2017.
For more than fifty years, the Department of African Cultural Studies* has been one of the preeminent programs for the study of African cultural expression. In the past few years, the department has expanded its faculty, course offerings, and graduate opportunities in film, literature, music, critical theory, diaspora studies, new media, drama, and critical applied linguistics.
Our mission is to provide research and teaching in the languages and expressive cultures of Africa and Africans around the world. This includes work on both graduate and undergraduate levels, and emphasizes the development and application of analytical, linguistic, and methodological tools that will enable students to work effectively and imaginatively across regions, languages, cultural forms, methodologies, and disciplines.
Admitted applicants are typically offered teaching assistantships in either literary/cultural studies courses or to teach an African language; such assistantships cover tuition and fees and include a modest stipend.
We are particularly seeking applicants whose research interests intersect with those of our faculty and who are able to do graduate-level coursework and research in English. Speakers of all languages are encouraged to apply; at the moment we have a principal need for speakers of Arabic, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba, and Zulu who might serve as language teaching assistants.
More information about the department, its programs, and the application process is available at http://african.wisc.edu/programs
* formerly African Languages & Literatures