Duquesne University's Center for African Studies is hosting events from March 12-14 which will explore student and faculty connections to Africa. All events begin at 4:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. On Tuesday, March 12, in the Pappert Lecture Hall at the campus' Bayer Learning Center, Emory University professor Dr. Dianne Diakite will speak on "Mother Symbol and Africana Women's Religious Practices of Peacebuilding." Responses from different perspectives will be offered by law professor Dr. Susan C. Hascall and English professor Dr. Emad Mirmotahari.
On Wednesday, March 13, in the Seifert Suite of the Duquesne Union, three Duquesne professors will discuss how their work in Africa has "enriched their research, teaching and scholarship", according to Dr. Gerald Boodoo, director of the Center for African Studies. Dr. Anne Marie Hansen worked in Tanzania; Dr. Lisa Lopez Levers, in Botswana; and Dr. Rodney Hopson, in Namibia.
On Thursday, March 14, in Room 611 of Fisher Hall, Duquesne students who have traveled to Africa will share their experiences.
Duquesne is the only university of the Spiritan order in the world, and Dr. Boodoo said one of the early founders of the order, Father Liebermann, was a pioneer in African missionary work. Of some 900 Spiritans, almost 800-850 are African, mostly from Nigeria, according to Boodoo.
Dr. Boodoo said there's a growing recognition in many fields that "Africa is one of the new frontiers as we look to the future, so how we engage and position ourselves in relation to Africa could benefit both Africa and us."
