New visions for Africa

by Nicole Findlay

Last week, the Institute of African Studies held its inaugural conference Africa: New Visions in a time of Global Crisis. Although officially founded in 2008, the institute was celebrating the attainment of a milestone 40 years in the making. 

Since the 1960s, Carleton has seen a rise in scholars in a range of disciplines including sociology/anthropology, English, history, political science, geography, and art and culture whose research focuses on Africa.

According to Blair Rutherford, director, Institute of African Studies, it was a triumvirate that culminated in the inception of the Institute of African Studies. The first was a marked increase in interest among students in the wider-world and in finding ways to contribute to the improvement of the world, in human rights issues, international development and peace building initiatives. Rather than relying on portrayals in the media, pop culture for information on the continent, they are interested in scholarly research pertaining to the divergent cultures, economics, and politics.
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A second factor is the increased immigration from African countries or students with African ancestry attending university.
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Finally, Ottawa itself is a hotbed of expertise due to the number of educational institutions with scholars studying Africa, along with the city’s embassies, headquarters of NGOs, community groups and government agencies. The Institute of Africa Studies provides a hub through which interdisciplinary collaborations can be generated and supported.
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The conference, entitled Africa: New Visions in a time of Global Crisis focused on how the global economic downturn is affecting African nations. Many countries lack a social safety net to help cushion the blow of the recession, and this is further compounded by dwindling funds being sent back to families from the African diaspora. 

Rutherford hopes that conference attendees will move beyond “Afro-pessimism”, a term he refers to as a tendency to throw one’s hands up in despair over seemingly intractable problems, and instead develop greater understanding of the complex and heterogeneous dynamics shaping daily life in the continent.