Department of African Cultural Studies

Today we celebrated our graduating students—their hard work, their resilience, and the paths they’ve shaped during their time here.

Surrounded by the faculty, staff, alumni, families, and friends who have supported them along the way, we marked not just an ending, but the beginning of what comes next. Congratulations, graduates—you will be missed, and you will be remembered. 🎓🦡

🎬✨ Last week, the annual African Languages Film Festival brought stories, languages, and cultures to life at UW-Madison. Hosted by the Department of African Cultural Studies, the festival celebrated the creativity and talent of students working in Arabic, Swahili, Yoruba, Hausa, and Sierra Leonean Creole.

From powerful storytelling to vibrant cultural expression, each short film highlighted the beauty of African languages and the importance of student voices in fostering cross-cultural understanding. 🌍🎥

Thank you to everyone who joined us for an inspiring evening of community, creativity, and cinema.

Behind every student studying African cultures, languages, and creative expression is a moment that made it possible.

A research opportunity. A trip abroad. A chance to present their work. A scholarship that opened the door.

At UW–Madison, students in African Cultural Studies engage in bold, interdisciplinary research—working across African literature, film, language, and cultural traditions. Their work expands knowledge of the continent and deepens how we understand culture, history, and global connection.

Through the Aliko Songolo Student Research Award Fund—established in honor of Professor Emeritus Aliko Songolo and his lasting impact on our community—students are able to pursue these transformative summer research opportunities.

From now until 5:00 p.m. CDT tomorrow, your gift directly supports these opportunities. Every contribution helps expand access to hands-on research and ensures that African perspectives continue to shape and inspire future scholarship.

If it matters to you, we invite you to be part of it.

Give at the link in our bio or visit: https://dayofthebadger.org/campaign/african-cultural-studies/

A highlight from this spring—Professor Samuel England hosted a student Q&A last month with comedian Mo Amer after his show at the Union. 🎤

🌿 Forest Imaginaries and Environmental Entanglements: A Conversation between Ainehi Edoro-Glines and Kirk Sides
📍A Room Of One’s Own Bookstore (2717 Atwood Avenue, Madison, WI 53704)
🗓 March 5, 2026 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
📚 In-person event

A Room of One’s Own will welcome UW-Madison Professors Ainehi Edoro-Glines and Kirk B. Sides in celebration of their newly released academic works. They will be in conversation about their new books, “Forest Imaginaries: How African Novels Think” and “Environmental Entanglements: African Literature’s Ecological Imaginary.”

From mythic forests and radical imagination to ecological forms that shape African literary histories, this discussion explores how storytelling reimagines worlds — past, present, and future.

Afrobeats, soccer, migration, storytelling, and ocean worlds. 🌍

African Cultural Studies at UW-Madison is bringing culture, creativity, and global conversations to you—fully online this summer.

📅 Multiple sessions | 💻 Fully online | 🎓 Comm B, Humanities & Literature options available
Open to all majors
Learn more at african.wisc.edu/courses

UWSummer

Dr. Laura Tanna, who received her doctorate in African Languages and Literature from UW-Madison 45 years ago—before the department became African Cultural Studies—recently appeared on the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica podcast “Jamaican Oral Narratives of African Heritage.” Reflecting on her academic roots, she noted the pivotal role of the UW-Madison Department of African Cultural Studies in shaping her ethnographic and literary research:

“UW-Madison really supported my work in African languages and literature,” Dr. Tanna reflected in the podcast. “They created a department of African Languages and Literature… we had people from Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana… it was just wonderful.”

Listen to the podcast: go.wisc.edu/2a3fv8

Earlier this summer, Harry Kiiru, Ph.D. candidate in African Cultural Studies at UW-Madison, was featured in the PBS documentary Why Race Matters.

In the episode, Harry discusses identity, history, and belonging within the Black community with host Angela Fitzgerald and guest speaker Naman Siad. Drawing from his research on Sub-Saharan African immigrants in the United States, Harry highlights how Blackness, Africanness, and migration intersect to shape cultural transformation and racial identity in the American context.

Watch the full episode here: https://pbswisconsin.org/webisode/why-race-matters/black-vs-african-american-identity/video/

We're excited to welcome four outstanding scholars to our graduate community this year:

📚 Laila Eissa joins us from Egypt. She earned her MA in Second Language Teaching at Utah State University and brings expertise in second language acquisition, Arabic literature, and Egyptian cinema.

🥁 Saheed Ganiyu brings his experience as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant in Yoruba. His research explores the socio-political, historical, and economic significance of the African music genre Fuji.

🎥 Faakor Nutakor joins us from Ghana with extensive experience in film, theatre, and cultural production. Her doctoral research focuses on gender studies, postcolonial cinema, and cultural narratives in African media.

💬 Eric Wafula, originally from Kenya, earned his MA in Applied English Linguistics here at UW-Madison. A former Fulbright scholar at Yale, his work engages with language and cultural exchange.

Please join us in welcoming Laila, Saheed, Faakor, and Eric to the department! 🎉