Africa Rising: The Role of Intellectuals?

Featuring:

Poster Session

Student Presentations

Invited Speakers

Climate change, land and

economic policy discussion

Guest Speakers:

Mary Thompson (University of South Carolina)

Tom Bassett (UIUC and SDEP)

Emmanuel Nuesiri (UIUC and SDEP)

Paul T. Zeleza (Loyola Marymount)

Anta Sane (Howard University, Washington DC)

Teresa Barnes (UIUC)

Africa’s long walk towards self-reliance has been a subject of on-going debate since the advent of political independence. African intellectuals within Africa itself and especially in the African Diaspora have been both the critics of past political practices in the continent and the recipients of such criticisms for their complicity in the mismanagement of state affairs. Others are criticized for their inaction in the face of deteriorating, instead of improving, socio-economic conditions (For series of biting criticisms on African intellectuals, see African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development (2005), edited by Thandika Mkandawire; Zed Books). Where do we, as African intellectuals in the mid-west, stand in this defining debate?

Event Schedule forthcoming. To view the forum flyer please click here.