African Futures Seminar Series

Annual Theme

Governance, Peace, and Moral Authority in a Changing Africa

Series Overview

The African Futures Seminar Series (AFSS) is a three-year interdisciplinary initiative (2026–2029) led by faculty from Boston College’s African and African Diaspora Studies (AADS), Department of Political Science, Department of History, and Department of Sociology. The series addresses a persistent gap in U.S. liberal arts education: the limited presence of sustained, Africa-centered scholarly programming that foregrounds African perspectives while engaging major global and comparative debates. At a moment when Africa’s role in a multipolar world is increasingly central to questions of governance, peace, climate change, migration, and global justice, AFSS responds to an urgent pedagogical and intellectual need. It will establish a permanent, institutionally embedded seminar platform that brings together research, teaching, student engagement, and public scholarship.

Over three academic years, AFSS will be organized around a coherent thematic progression: Year One (2026–2027) focuses on Governance, Peace, and Moral Authority in a Changing Africa, including Africa in a multipolar world, alternative political economy models, technology and political change, and faith-based approaches to peacebuilding; Year Two (2027–2028) centers on Identity, Inclusion, and Social Transformation, with seminars on women in politics and peace, youth and democratic futures, migration and diaspora dynamics, and culture, language, and power; and Year Three (2028–2029) examines Institutions, Conflict Resolution, and Africa’s Long-Term Futures, addressing conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction, regional institutions, climate change and resource politics, and rethinking the African state. This progression moves from immediate political and moral challenges to deeper questions of identity, institutions, and long-term governance.

FALL SERIES

Seminar 1

Africa in a Multipolar World: Strategic Autonomy and Global Realignment

November 5, 2026 | 5 PM | Devlin 110

Guest Speaker: Michelle Ndiaye

Seminar 2

Beyond Neoliberalism: Alternative Political Economy Models in Africa

December 3, 2026 | 12 PM | Remote

Guest Speaker: Blessings Chinsinga

SPRING SERIES

Seminar 3

Technology, Power, and Political Transformation

February 25, 2027 | Time TBD | Remote

Guest Speaker: TBD

Seminar 4

Faith, Moral Authority, and Peacebuilding in Africa

March 25, 2027 | Time TBD | In person

Guest Speaker: TBD

Registration required. Please register here to attend.

Full details available on our website.