Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies

10/19/2026

Tomorrow, Tuesday October 20: Mongane Wally Serote, South Africa's National Poet Laureate, will speak at ISU in Normal, IL!

10/12/2026

"Their Relics and Ours: Value, Proof, and Personhood along Early Atlantic Routes" - an Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa - ISITA works-in-progress presentation tomorrow (10/13) by Lexie Cook, Assistant Professor, Spanish & Portuguese, Northwestern University

09/17/2026

We’re ready for GLOW! Graduate students, come up to 5 East and see some treasures!

09/10/2026

ACROSS BORDERS: Innovative Perspectives in Cameroon Scholarship. Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Access the zoom link here: https://africa.wisc.edu/africa-at-noon/

08/07/2026

"In this 15-minute short documentary produced by the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, Buffett Dissertation Fellow [and recent NU Anthropology PhD] Craig Stevens shares his research leveraging technologies like virtual reality and photogrammetry to allow African communities to meaningfully contribute to the interpretation and curation of their globally dispersed artifacts and cultural objects."

In this 15-minute short documentary produced by the Roberta Buffett...

06/04/2026

On Tuesday we hosted an engaging talk by Dr. Reginold Royston, author of "Pan African Futurism: Ghana and the Paradox of Technology for Development," followed by a conversation with Drs. Sally A. Nuamah and Dotun Ayobade. Our space was filled with music and a lively Q&A!

04/30/2026

Northwestern's Department of Anthropology, together with the Program of African Studies and the Herskovits Library, will host a reception on May 5 at 3:30 here at the Herskovits. This reception is timed to occur in conjunction with an historical visit to NU by a delegation from the Kenyan Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation. Refreshments will be served.

04/17/2026

Some photos from last night's wonderful and inspiring talk by artist-in-residence Abraham Oghobase...

04/16/2026

Today at 5:30pm, artist Abraham Oghobase will give a talk in the Herskovits on his work based on his research in our archival photograph collections. Join us (in our newly refurbished presentation space) for what promises to be a fascinating journey! Presented by the Black Arts Consortium and Northwestern Art History.

03/03/2026

Our Research Grant is now accepting applications! Each year we award one or more grants, up to a total of $3,000, open to all fields of study supported by the collections of the Herskovits Library of African Studies. Grants will be awarded to reimburse expenses for transportation, accommodations, and meals for one or more on-site visits to Northwestern University Libraries. Applications due April 17. For full details, visit: https://www.library.northwestern.edu/libraries-collections/distinctive-special-collections/herskovits-library/research-grant.html