Mission Statement

The Center for African Studies' main objectives are to improve the education and the current teaching curriculum regarding the subject of Africa.

Did you know that the continent of Africa is one of the least taught about of the world's geographical areas?

Education on the subject of Africa is a wonderful opportunity to expose people to Africa’s many different countries, cultures, geography, languages, food and so much more. Africa has 54 countries, over 1,000 languages, and a growing population of 797 million people.

Did you know that the teaching curriculum about Africa is often blurred by stereotypes?

These stereotypes can be found in the minds of students before they have encountered the subject of Africa in school. But the stereotypes can also be found in the teaching materials that are used in classrooms.

What stereotypes of Africa do you have? A very common stereotype that many people believe is that the majority of African people are primitive. Maybe the photo and information listed below will open your mind to the reality of African people.

Picture of the bustling African city Cairo at night

“Is this the future face of Africa? Teeming with 20 million people, Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is Africa's largest city. Long thought of as a rural continent, the rest of Africa is quickly catching up. The United Nations predicts that by 2020 half of Africa's predicted population of 1.3 billion people will be city-dwellers, with most of the change occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.” pbs.org

Did you know that the Outreach Program can help?

When people are exposed to the information that the Outreach Program teaches about Africa, they may be very surprised. There will be much that they simply didn't know about the people of Africa and their many cultures. There may also be information that they thought they knew, but it was merely a stereotype or generalization.