African Consortium and Ghana Exchange

The African Consortium

In 2004, the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society established an African Consortium which includes, in addition to Columbia University, the Universities of Cape Town (South Africa), Ghana, Ibadan (Nigeria) and Nairobi (Kenya). Inaugurated through a series of bilateral contracts, the consortium has conducted a series of pilot courses and strategic policy discussions on the basis of which it is now developing a program of language-based socio-cultural studies.

In addition to regular visits by prominent African and Africanist scholars and intellectuals, such as Professor Kofi Anyidoho and prize-winning writer Antjie Krog, the Consortium includes a student exchange program with the University of Ghana.

The Ghana Exchange Program

The Institute for Comparative Literature and Society invites applications for its exchange program with the University of Ghana, Legon. The exchange, with an accompanying grant of $3,000, is open both to undergraduate and graduate students and offers Columbia students an opportunity to visit Ghana and work directly with scholars at the University of Ghana. It will introduce them to the academic culture of Ghana and allow them to build professional contacts while pursuing language study, and/or work on new or continuing research. Students will also have opportunities to attend conferences and workshops both within the University and at other institutions in Ghana. The exchange will be open again for the 2009/2010 academic year, offering students the opportunity to return to continue research already begun. A travel grant is being negotiated. We will be accepting one-page proposals and transcripts submitted by October 1, 2009. 

Decisions will be made known before the end of the Fall 2009 semester. As of now, we are able to entertain proposals from all of our affiliated departments (Anthropology, Architecture, Art History and Archaeology, Classics, East Asian Languages and Cultures, English, French and Romance Philology, Germanic Languages, History, Italian, Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Religion, Slavic Languages, and Spanish and Portuguese). 

For further information send email to the Director of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, at icls@columbia.edu.