The Africa Institute Appoints Advisory Board and Professors-at-Large

The Africa Institute, Global Studies University, Sharjah, announces its Advisory Board and Professors-at-Large, comprising internationally renowned scholars and leaders in their fields. This distinguished cohort will play a pivotal role in shaping the institute’s strategic vision and fostering excellence in the study of Africa and its diaspora.

The Advisory Board members bring together extensive experience from top-tier institutions such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Nelson Mandela University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Their collective expertise spans African studies, comparative literature, history, and English literature, ensuring a comprehensive approach to academic guidance and innovation.

Advisory Board Members:

• Ousseina D. Alidou, Distinguished Professor of Humane Letters in the School of Arts and Science, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, U.S.A
• Naminata Diabate, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Cornell University, USA
• Mamadou Diouf, Leitner Professor of African Studies, Columbia University, USA
• Pamela Maseko, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa
• Eve M. Troutt Powell, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Dagmawi Woubshet, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Associate Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives, Howard University, USA

Simultaneously, the institute introduces its Professors-at-Large, a cadre of globally recognized intellectuals from institutions such as Brown University, Stellenbosch University, and Addis Ababa University. They will contribute through periodic engagements in teaching, seminars, and collaborative research endeavors.

Professors-at-Large:

• Barrymore Anthony Bogues, Asa Messer Professor of Humanities and Africana Studies, Brown University, USA
• Margo Natalie Crawford, Department Chair and Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Matthew S. Hopper, Professor of History, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA
• Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, Professor and South African National Research Foundation’s Research Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma; Director of the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ), Stellenbosch University, South Africa
• Fouad Makki, Director of the Polson Institute for Global Development; Associate Professor in the Department of Global Development, Cornell University, USA
• Moges Yigezu Woube, Associate Professor of Linguistics, Department of Linguistics and Philology, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
• Munther Younes, Reis Senior Lecturer in Arabic Language and Linguistics; Director of the Arabic program in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, USA

Together, they embody The Africa Institute’s commitment to advancing scholarly discourse, fostering international collaboration, and promoting a deeper understanding of Africa’s rich cultural heritage and global impact.

Detailed profiles of the Advisory Board and Professors-at-Large can be explored on our website.