Welcome Receptions
The African Studies Center held a welcome reception for its students, fellows, and faculty on September 5, 2014. Held at its premises at 232 Bay State Road, the reception was a lively affair with more than 50 people attending. Prof. Timothy Longman, the director of the center, welcomed the guests and gave a brief overview of the center’s plans for the new academic year.
The African Studies Center, founded in 1953, is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutes for the scholarly study of Africa and African languages in the country. Now part of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, the center is the social and academic heart of the African studies community at BU and throughout Boston.
The Institute for the Study of Muslim Societies & Civilizations also held a welcome reception and launch meeting on September 10, 2014. Held at the main premises of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, of which it is now part, the meeting attracted faculty associated with the institute from across the Boston University campus. Prof. Betty Anderson, the director of the institute, detailed the plans for the institute and led a discussion on priority activities for the institute in the new academic year. The discussion was followed by a reception.
The institute acts as an interdisciplinary meeting point for scholars and researchers in diverse fields—ranging from anthropology, history, religion, politics, literature, language, and the arts—across the regions in which Muslims live—from the Americas to Europe, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia.