African Studies Center
Michigan State University 
WEEKLY BULLETIN 
November 1, 2016            Fall No. 9
Welcome to the African Studies Center's Newsletter and list of upcoming events, speaker presentations, tea times, conferences, jobs and other exciting opportunities.
  
Please feel free to visit our website for more information:
http://www.africa.isp.msu.edu
Alliance for African Partnership
To learn more about the Alliance for African Partnership,
Eye On Africa Speaker Series
To learn more about Eye on Africa, http://www.africa.isp.msu.edu 
Thursday, November 3,  2016 
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. -  Room 201 International Center 

"Lion Conservation Science Project in the Maasai Steppe Heartland." Eye on Africa with Bernard Kissui, Center Director, School for Field Studies, Tanzania.
Thursday, November 10,  2016 
12:00 - 1:30 p.m. -  Room 201 International Center 

"The Meditational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers (MISC) Model for Improving Quality of Caregiving, Caregiver Mental Health, Early Childhood Survival and Neurodevelopment in HIV-affected Children ." Eye on Africa with Michael Boivin, Faculty, Psychiatry, Neurology, and Opthamology, MSU.
Watch Past Episodes
http://eyeonafrica.matrix.msu.edu/ 
 
African Tea Times - Open to Everyone
An opportunity to learn about and share first-hand experiences on the African Continent
Learn, Share, Engage!
(427 N Shaw Lane, Room 303 International Center, East Lansing, MI)
November 3, 2016 

4:00 - 6:00 p.m. - 
Room 303 International Center 
Countries: Zambia & Zimbabwe
November 10, 2016 

4:00 - 6:00 p.m. - 
Room 303 International Center 
Countries: Egypt, Libya, and Morocco
MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
Social Media
Join Our Mailing List
Alliance for African Partnership
The Alliance for African Partnership will promote innovative approaches to collaborative research and partnership with African institutions to address emerging challenges in today's world.

The African Studies Center cordially invites you to a Meet and Greet featuring  African   Cultural Heritage and Museums.

Please join the us at Cowles House, Tuesday, November 15, 2016,  5:00 - 7:00 p.m., as we welcome new Africanist faculty and students to MSU. The event will also be an excellent opportunity to learn about the African exhibits currently on display from the MSU Museum

Please RSVP by November 10th to: Lisa Frugé (fruge@msu.edu) or Damaris Choti (chotid@msu.edu).

Rethinking Muslim Ethics: Beyond a theology of empire
MSU Muslim Studies Program
Thursday, November 10th, 7:00pm
International Center, Room 303

The MSU Muslim Studies Program is sponsoring a discussion of Muslim ethics with special guest speaker Ebrahim Moosa. Moosa is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame and the Kroc Institute for International Studies. He is considered a leading scholar of contemporary Muslim thought.  

African Studies Association Reception
Jointly sponsored by the African Studies Center and the Department of History
Saturday, December 3, 2016
6:30-8:30pm
 
Please join us for our annual reception during the African Studies Association's conference in Washington, DC. The reception will take place on Saturday, December 3rd, from 6:30-8:30pm, at Lebanese Taverna.
 
JOB POSTINGS & FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
 
Africa Public Opinion Analyst, U.S. Department of State, Office of Opinion Research Washington, DC
 
SALARY RANGE/GRADE: Based on skills and experience, GS-11 ($64,650 - $84,044), GS-12 ($77,490 to $100,736)
 
NATURE OF THE WORK: To offer perspectives tailored to U.S. foreign policy questions, we seek a seasoned, highly skilled survey researcher with a background in African social and political issues and solid experience analyzing, writing, and presenting on public opinion. We are an office of survey research and area specialists who design, analyze, and report international public opinion to senior U.S. policymakers.
 
QUALIFICATIONS: We're looking for someone who can design and oversee opinion research studies in Africa, with a proven track record of:
 
-         Developing objectives and plans for public opinion research;
-         Evaluating the capacity and quality of international and local survey research firms;
-         Writing survey questionnaires, evaluating sample plans, and evaluating the quality of data-collection plans;
-         Analyzing statistical relationships between public opinion and complex issues (such economics, democracy, violent conflict, extremism, migration and poverty,) across Africa;
-         Reporting results from such surveys by writing clear, concise assessments and interpretative opinion analyses;
-         Working closely with senior-level clients to ensure final results meet agreed upon goals.
 
The successful applicant will have excellent communication skills as well as a commitment to the proper design, analysis, and reporting of public opinion for policymakers. Knowledge of political communication (including audience segmentation) and the ability to innovatively convey issues graphically or interactively are strongly desired.
 
This job is open to all U.S. citizens.
 
HOW TO APPLY: The application window closes November 4, 2016.  Apply through USAJOBS: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/454057800 
 
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact Matthew Kirwin at KirwinMF@state.gov.




Associate Professor, The Department of African and African Diaspora Studies and the Center for Women's and Gender Studies, the University of Texas at Austin.
 
The Department of African and African Diaspora Studies and the Center for Women's and Gender Studies invite applicants for a tenured position as Associate Professor to start Fall 2017 whose scholarship focuses on gender and/or sexuality in Sub-Saharan Africa and draws on critical theories in the intersectionality of race, gender, class, and sexuality. We are especially interested in candidates with the ability to engage comparative, regional, and/or African Diaspora approaches to their research on Sub-Saharan Africa while keeping gender and/or sexuality at the center of their work. We seek outstanding scholars with a strong background in one or more of a broad array of possible disciplines, including any of the Social Sciences, Humanities, Environmental Studies, Law, Science and Medicine, Health, Social Work, Communications, Education, Architecture, Public Affairs, and Fine Arts. Successful candidates must be committed to developing innovative undergraduate and graduate courses and programs across both units.
 
Qualifications:
The selected candidate must have a Ph.D. in hand and an established reputation of high quality research and scholarly production as well as a demonstrated record as an effective classroom teacher at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Duties include teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses, developing a strong research program, demonstrating research productivity, directing graduate research and exhibiting a commitment to service to the department and center, college, and university. Salary is competitive and is dependent upon qualifications and experience. Position funding is pending budgetary approval. Applicants from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups are especially encouraged to apply. Review of applicants will begin October 15, 2016, and continue until the position is filled.
 
Application Instructions:
We ask applicants to submit a current curriculum vita, a cover letter, 3 letters of reference, and one representative scholarly publication or writing sample via: https://apply.interfolio.com/38785
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
 
Alliance for African Partnership
Michigan State University
Request for Proposals

The Michigan State University Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) is inviting proposals for its initial partnership activities in 2017. 
 
As a university-wide initiative, AAP invites proposals from diverse disciplinary perspectives that support the pillars of Building Bridges, Transforming Institutions, and Transforming Lives, as well as the priority areas of:
  • Agri-food systems 
  • Water, energy and the environment
  • Youth employment
  • Education
  • Cultural heritage development
  • Health and nutrition
Successful proposals will be submitted by teams that include both MSU faculty and partners from African universities and/or organizations and should be designed to lay the foundation for longer duration and sustainable partnerships between MSU and African partners.
 
Grants awarded will range from $50,000 to $200,000 for projects to be carried out over an 18-month time frame, beginning between March 1 and June 1, 2017.
 
Proposals must be submitted by November 21, 2016, for consideration.
For additional information or to apply, please access the AAP call for proposals

Conferences and Calls for Papers
 
The Africana Studies Program at BGSU is proud to announce the 
19th Annual Student Research Conference:  
"Emerging Perspectives in Africana Studies"
Friday, February 24, 2017
 
We encourage undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines to participate. And we are asking faculty to help us identify student papers appropriate for submission/presentation. Panels will be held in the morning and afternoon, punctuated by a keynote luncheon.  
 
Proposal Deadline:   December 2, 2016
All proposals should include: name, institutional affiliation, paper title, abstract (300 words max), Faculty sponsor (for undergraduate students), and email address, and will be submitted to: http://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/africana_studies_conf/.


EDITOR'S NOTE
 
We want to feature you on our new website. 
 
The African Studies Center's new website will regularly feature the scholarship of MSU's Africanist community (Faculty, Alumni and Students).   Please share news of your publications, research, and awards with us so that we may keep the larger MSU community abreast of your achievements. Please forward the details to Tara Mock at mocktara@isp.msu.edu.