Department of African Studies at Howard University

03/27/2026

This recent article, “‘…No Man’s Land…’: Eno Barony’s navigation of Ghana’s male-dominated rap scene,” published in Global Hip Hop Studies, showcases the dynamic scholarship emerging from graduate students in Howard University’s Department of African Studies. In the study, Yaw M. Asare and Amartey Laryea analyze how Ghanaian rapper Eno Barony uses her music to challenge gender norms and assert her place in a male-dominated industry, drawing on themes of identity, power, and representation .

Authored by doctoral scholars with interdisciplinary research interests spanning cultural studies, governance, and hip hop studies, the article highlights how contemporary African artists engage history, culture, and gender to reshape creative spaces.

Read article here:https://cfas.howard.edu/sites/cfas.howard.edu/files/2026-03/EnoBarony_by_YawAsare-and-AmarteyLaryea.pdf

03/27/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Plummer on the amazing work she is doing as Executive Director of Howard’s Center for Women, Gender, and Global Leadership 👏🏾

Dr. Anita Plummer is the newest executive director of Howard's Center for Women, Gender, and Global Leadership and is continuing the center’s commitment to developing the next generation of Black women and Black feminist conscience leaders.

10/06/2025

The Department of African Studies invites the community to join us in honoring the extraordinary life and legacy of Dr. Mbye Cham by contributing to the Dr. Mbye Cham Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Help us reach our goal to create and sustain a scholarship in Dr. Cham’s name, ensuring that his dedication to education and to Africa’s rich intellectual traditions continues to impact future generations of Howard students.

🔗 Make your contribution today:

Join me and make a gift to the Baboucar Mbye Cham Memorial Scholarship Fundraising Campaign!

10/06/2025

The Department of African Studies at Howard University gathered yesterday to honor the life and legacy of our late colleague, mentor, and friend, Dr. Mbye Cham.

We invite you to watch the video of the memorial program celebrating Dr. Cham’s life and contributions to the field and to our Howard community:
🎥 https://www.youtube.com/live/BH5CpYIaZ_8?si=ohw4NBajrH27XNjm

May his memory continue to guide and uplift us.

Please join us as we honor the remarkable life and legacy of Professor Mbye Cham.Sunday, October 5, 202510:00 AM – 5:00 PMHoward University – Armour J. Black...

09/17/2025

The public memorial for Dr. Mbye Cham will be held at Howard University on October 5, 2025. If you would like to submit a tribute, please submit that tribute here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5R8TdIfbyp93b6y2gHQdSYOO8Zk2Lqx9FIq8T9OwRqUHTdg/viewform?usp=preview

09/09/2025

Join us for:
HERITAGE WITHOUT BORDERS:
HBCUs, U.S. Africa Policy, African Diaspora & the Global Black Experience

September 22
UNCF Building, 1805 7th Street NW, 7th floor
Doors Open at 2:30 PM

Register: http://bit.ly/hbcuafricandiasporaforum

09/08/2025

We would like to share Howard University’s official announcement of the passing of Dr. Mbye Cham. Dr. Cham was a beloved colleague, and a mentor to many students, faculty, and artists around the world.

Dr. Cham dedicated more than four decades of service to the Department, serving as Chair for nearly 10 years. He was also the founding Director of the Center for African Studies at Howard University. An internationally recognized scholar, critic, and theorist, Dr. Cham made profound contributions to the field of African Cinema and to African Studies.

His exemplary scholarship, leadership, and commitment to academic excellence have left an indelible mark on the Department, the Center, and the University. His passing represents a profound loss to the Howard University community.

We extend our deepest condolences to Dr. Cham’s family, friends, colleagues, students, and the wider academic community. A memorial in his honor is being planned, and further details will be announced in due course.

May his gentle soul rest in peace.

https://mailchi.mp/5bd165ffbb06/howard-university-mourns-the-passing-of-professor-mbye-cham?e=7eec7ae371n

A renowned scholar and a prolific author, his work centered on African and Third World cinema, modern African literature, and African development. He was the author and editor of several influential books and essays, and his expertise led him to serve on prestigious film festival juries and as a con...

04/10/2025

For high school students in the DMV: year 2 of the African Studies Summer Leadership Institute at Howard University. It is a free program that introduces student to African Studies and Howard University

https://africanstudies.howard.edu/african-studies-summer-leadership-institute

04/01/2025

12/10/2024

The latest issue of CODESRIA Bulletin Online (No. 14, Dec 2024) is now available. This edition features an insightful article by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, ‘Thandika Mkandawire and the African Intellectual Decolonisation Movement,’ from his keynote address at the New Directions in African Political Economy conference, The Africa Institute (Sharjah, UAE, Nov 14–16, 2024).
Explore the legacy of Thandika Mkandawire and the critical role of intellectual decolonisation in Africa.
🖱️ Read more: https://journals.codesria.org/index.php/codesriabulletin/article/view/5845

10/30/2024

New book publication: Re-envisioning the African and American Academies by Dr. Paul Zeleza
https://cfas.howard.edu/sites/cfas.howard.edu/files/2024-10/Book-Re-envisioning-the-African-and-American-Academies.pdf