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Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). Program of African Studies

 Organization

Biography

Northwestern University's Program of African Studies, founded in 1948, was the first program on Africa in the nation and the first multidisciplinary program at Northwestern. Developed by anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits to train a corps of scholars maintaining African interests across disciplinary lines, the Program grew to include core and associated faculty from such diverse disciplines as African-American studies, art history, history and literature of religions, law, management, medicine, music, and technology, as well as anthropology, history, political science, and sociology.

Following Herskovits' death in 1963, Gwendolen M. Carter, formerly of Smith College, became director of the Program in 1964. Assisted by Associate Director Ibrahim Abu-Lughod, Carter presided over considerable expansion of the Program and of African studies in general. At Carter's retirement in 1974, linguist Abraham Demoz became director, assisted by Assistant Director Fay A. Leary. In September 1980, political scientist John Paden became the director of the Program.

Founded with Carnegie Corporation funding, the Program has received support from a number of public and private sources outside the university, among them the Ford Foundation, the Office of Education, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Private benefactors have also been cultivated. Numerous special projects and seminars have been conducted by the Program, including a Ford Foundation funded project to study factors affecting national unity; summer institutes in Ghana and Ethiopia; Office of Education sponsored seminars for high school teachers; and a project, also sponsored by the Office of Education, to design curriculum for a basic course in African Studies.

African languages, which were not stressed in the Program's early years, became a major part of the curriculum in 1964 with the establishment of the Department of African Languages (later the Department of Linguistics). Supported by Office of Education Language and Area grants, this department has offered training in a wide range of African languages, including, at various times, Yoruba, Twi, Swahili, Hausa, Amharic, Akan, and Arabic.

The Program has long maintained close contact with Africa and with Africanists from around the world. Visiting professors and lecturers are traditional, the Monday Night Lecture Series, one of the Program's oldest activities, draws both the Northwestern community and the general public to hear prominent Africanists. In addition, the Program strongly encourages both students and faculty to do field work in Africa, often supporting such research with various fellowships and grants.

Found in 10 Collections and/or Records:

African Curriculum Project Records

 Collection
Identifier: 35/11
Abstract

The African Curriculum Project was carried out by Northwestern University’s Program of African Studies (PAS) at the request of and by contract with the U.S. Office of Education (Project No. 6-2863, Contract No. OEC-3-7-062863-1661). Collection contains administrative files, correspondence papers, syllabus materials, working papers, and bibliographies used to develop the African Curriculum Project.

Dates: 1965-1969

Records of the Anthropology Department

 Collection
Identifier: 11/3/2/4
Abstract

The Records of the Anthropology Department, filling five boxes, span the years 1964 to 1973. No records exist for the 1965-66 academic year. The bulk of the records fall between 1964 and 1969 and include, but are not limited to, annual reports, applications for graduate study or employment, budgets, correspondence, curriculum, department memos, faculty curriculum vitae, and materials relating to fellowships, the Program of African Studies, research proposals, and summer sessions.

Dates: 1964 - 1973; Other: Majority of material found within 1965 - 1969

Dennis Brutus Defense Committee, Records of the

 Collection
Identifier: 026
Abstract Dennis Brutus was a South African anti-apartheid activist, poet, and educator. The Dennis Brutus Defense Committee was formed in response to efforts by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service to deport him following the invalidation of his Rhodesian passport. When British Rhodesia became independent Zimbabwe, Brutus' passport was revoked. As a result, Brutus was technically rendered an illegal alien. The United States government began deportation proceedings against Brutus...
Dates: 1963 - 1983; Other: Majority of material found within 1982 - 1983

Gwendolen M. Carter, (1906-1990) Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 35/10
Abstract The Gwendolen M. Carter Papers chronicle Carter's career as a political scientist and Africanist from the 1930's through the 1970's (a small amount of earlier material is also included.) The bulk of the collection dates from approximately 1960 through approximately 1975. Carter's South African research interests and her activities as director of Northwestern University's Program of African Studies are especially well documented. The collection is divided into eight sections: Personal Papers;...
Dates: 1915-1991

Melville J. Herskovits (1895-1963) Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 35/6
Abstract Anthropologist Melville Jean Herskovits presided over the creation of the department of anthropology at Northwestern University in 1938. In 1961, Northwestern appointed Herskovits to the Chair of African Studies, the first such position in the United States. The Melville J. Herskovits Papers document Herskovits' career during a period of very rapid growth of both anthropology and African studies. The bulk of the collection consists of professional correspondence and manuscripts of...
Dates: 1906-1963

The Institute for Advanced Study and Research in the African Humanities Seminar Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 35/28
Abstract

The Institute for Advanced Study and Research in the African Humanities Seminar Papers records date between 1993 and 2000 and fill one and a half archival boxes. The papers were written by graduate students and professors. The theses of the papers are related to society, political, and culture in Africa.

Dates: 1993 - 2000

David Jolly Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 35/20

Records of The Linguistics Department

 Collection
Identifier: 11/3/18/3
Abstract The records of the Linguistics Department fill ten and one-half boxes, span the period 1963-2004, and are divided into ten different categories. The Department of linguistics grew rapidly during the second half of the twentieth century within the College of Arts and Sciences. From its origin, the department has focused its curricular offerings on applied linguistics, formal and computational linguistics, lexicography, and the languages of Africa. The administrative files of department chair...
Dates: 1963-2004

Program of African Studies Records

 Collection
Identifier: 35/13
Abstract Northwestern University's Program of African Studies, founded in 1948, was the first program on Africa in the nation and the first multidisciplinary program at Northwestern. Developed by anthropologist Melville J. Herskovits to train a corps of scholars maintaining African interests across disciplinary lines, the Program grew to include core and associated faculty from such diverse disciplines as African-American studies, art history, history and literature of religions, law, management,...
Dates: 1955-1991

Roland A. Young (1910-1977) Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 11/3/22/9
Abstract

The Roland A. Young papers fill thirty-five boxes and are arranged in nine subseries: biographical materials, education files, correspondence, teaching files, research files, professional organizations files, law practice files, speeches, and publications.

Dates: 1922-1977