STUDY

Established in 2018, The Africa Institute, Global Studies University (GSU), Sharjah, UAE is an interdisciplinary academic institute dedicated to the study, research, and documentation of Africa, its people, and its cultures; its complex past, present and future; and its manifold connections with the wider world. The institute is conceived as a research-based think-tank and a postgraduate studies institution, which aims to train a new generation of critical thinkers in African and African diaspora studies.

The Africa Institute is now integrated into the newly established Global Studies University (GSU) to form one of the networks of semi-independent institutes and colleges, each concentrating on different regions of the world. The aim of these globally oriented institutions is to focus on postgraduate studies, research, and documentation of histories, cultures, and peoples that constitute different regions of the world. The next entity to be officially established in 2024 is The Asia Institute, College of Asian Studies. Preparations are also underway to launch additional colleges and institutes that will focus on the regions of Oceania, Europe, and the Americas in the next few years.

Offering both master’s and Ph.D. programs in Global Studies with an intellectual focus on African and African diaspora studies, The Africa Institute aims to be a model center of excellence that engages with as well as shapes new paradigms of thought in ways that will ensure Africa’s place at the forefront of the academy for years to come. As the only institution of its kind located in the Gulf—the historical nexus of African-Arab cultural and material exchange— The Africa Institute is uniquely positioned to expand understanding of African and African diaspora studies as a global enterprise.