Bachelor of Arts in African Languages and Cultures
Choosing African Studies means taking a leap off into the unknown and exploring new horizons. Nevertheless, many young people feel attracted by the African continent, its linguistic and cultural diversity, its role in world history and its participation in current global events.
What
Ghent University’s African Studies programme is unique in Belgium. Only at our university can you take the entire programme. Our study programme starts from an open, unbiased and critical view of the world. Some time ago, The Economist proclaimed Africa the ‘emerging continent’.
While in public opinion, Africa might still all too easily be considered synonymous to bad tidings, specialists see promising signs of revival. In economic terms, Africa is the fastest-growing continent. Politically speaking, more and more African countries are outgrowing their colonial legacy by developing new forms of democracy and better governance. The average standard of living is improving. Generally speaking, war and disease have also subsided.
It is obvious, however, that Africa still faces enormous challenges, cf. e.g. the uneven distribution of wealth and the ongoing fight against famine. African families are shrinking, but altogether Africa’s population is still growing fast. In combination with other sources of instability, this causes increasing emigration.
Africa, in other words, is coming to us and will continue to do so in the future. Expertise of the cultural, historical and linguistic uniqueness of our fellow citizens with an African background will therefore be a much-needed commodity in the West.
For whom
No specific prior knowledge is required, but since you will be studying languages that differ greatly from Western European languages, a flair for languages is a must. Not prior knowledge but motivation is important when opting for African Studies. You are interested in Africa, and you would like to learn more about languages and cultures that are highly different from what you already know. You are willing to take an unbiased and critical view and you are interested in an academic approach to the languages and cultures of Africa.
Structure
- Bachelor
The study programme is based on three cornerstones: African Languages, African Cultures, and Language, Culture and Society in Africa. The first year offers an introduction to the different themes. You take a number of general course units and you start with the study of African languages and cultures according to the three cornerstones. You start by learning one African language, Swahili, and you are introduced to African linguistics. You will become acquainted with the interaction between language, culture and society in Africa, and you will take introductory course units on anthropology, literature, geography and archaeology, and the history of Africa. In addition, we will introduce the methodological aspects of African Studies in a course unit on fieldwork.
The second year encompasses a further exploration of the three cornerstones mentioned above. In addition to Swahili, you will learn Lingála and you will take course units on Language and History, Language Documentation and Description, and Anthropology and Ethnography in Africa. You will deepen your knowledge on African literatures, and learn how to set to work with sources. The two-yearly course unit Africa: Current Affairs, Discourse and Imaging furthers your knowledge of the relationship between language, culture and society (two-yearly course units are taught alternately in the second or third year). In the second year, you choose a minor, i.e. a set of course units to complement your basic training. In the third year you will continue with this minor, with Lingála and the two-yearly course unit Anthropology of Visual and Material Cultures in Africa. You will come into contact with theories on multiculturalism and religion. In addition, you will have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of elective course units, such as Arabic and Afrikaans.
You finalize the third year with a research assignment that takes the form of a small dissertation, the so-called Bachelor’s paper. Tutoring notwithstanding, your ability to study independently will be called upon in this process. The third year also offers the opportunity of an ‘Africa Term’, during which you can spend one term at one our our African partner universities or at a European university with a strong African Studies Department.
- Master
Completion of the Bachelor’s programme gives access to the African Studies Master’s programme. This is a one-year English-taught programme with a strong focus on the unique academic expertise within African Studies. Language, History and Identity; Literature, Media and the Arts; and Conflict and Society are the three thematic and interdisciplinary course units. There are also discipline-specific course units (African Anthropology, History and Current Affairs, Literature, Linguistics, Archaeology) and a number of elective course units. By means of the Master’s dissertation on a topic of your choice, you integrate the academic skills that you have acquired during your study programme.
Labour Market
The African Studies programme does not lead towards a specific profession. Surveys among alumni show that most students find a job soon after graduation. Most of them actually apply their knowledge of Africa in their jobs. Our graduates end up in the integration and diversity sector, tourism, the socio-cultural sector, the business world, the government or foreign aid sector, and in academic research.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- The African Studies programme focuses on languages and cultures: You learn two African languages (Swahili and Lingála) and you are introduced to Africa’s high linguistic diversity. Through course units on anthropology, history and literature you will also immerse yourself in the continent’s rich cultural diversity. Gradually, you will come to understand the interaction between language, culture and society.You will also become acquainted with decolonial thinkers, providing you with the tools to frame current debates and developments in a knowledgeable and nuanced way.
- Building bridges: Multidisciplinarity and multiperspectivism. In addition to the African Studies core course units, you will choose a minor with a broadening and/or professionally oriented focus, or with a focus on advanced studies. We offer a choice between Arabic and Islamic Studies, Archaeology, Literature, Economics and Business Management, Globalization and Diversity, Political and Social Sciences, or Education. You acquire the skills necessary for creative and problem-solving thought and action.
- Internationalization at home and abroad is one of our programme’s key aspects. The so-called ‘Africa term’ is an excellent opportunity for acquiring fieldwork experience abroad, and is structurally embedded in the curriculum. You spend a term abroad, either at one of our African partner universities or at a European university. Naturally, our fully English-taught Master’s curriculum in great part realizes our programme’s Internationalization@Home component. This is further enhanced by frequent international guest lecturers and guest speakers. All of the above contributes to a honing of your linguistic and social competencies.
- Talent development: By balancing practice-oriented course units with course units on research and methodology, and leaving room for choices based on personal interests, our curriculum stimulates talent development. You learn to assume a critical and academic attitude.
- Broad career perspectives: Our alumni combine advanced knowledge of their discipline with a solid methodological skills set, which opens up broad career perspectives. The English-taught Master’s programme is a further asset on the national and international labour market.
Strengths
- The African Studies programme boasts a dedicated team of lecturers, who combine their teaching practice with conducting internationally acclaimed research. Teaching assistants often have a unique connection to the work field and the language(s) they teach. Lecturers often use new media and active teaching forms in their classes. Additionally, we stimulate immediate and intensive personal contact between our lecturers and our students. We coach and closely monitor our students throughout their entire study trajectory.
- From the first year onwards, you are given internationalization opportunities by participating in summer schools in Africa on a voluntary basis. Additionally, you become acquainted with speakers from the African diaspora in Belgium. In the third year, the so-called ‘Africa Semester’ makes possible longer stays abroad at one of our international partner universities (in Tanzania, Kenia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Ethiopia, Namibia, Senegal, Mozambique, Uganda, or at a European university). During your stay abroad, we also encourage you to conduct fieldwork.
- The programme brings together a broad range of insights and perspectives. In so doing, we capitalize on our students’ diverse talents and interests, and stimulate multiperspectivism and talent development. You can tailor your curriculum according to your own interests.
- Our study programme boasts strong ties between research and education, and teaches our students how to create new academic knowledge. The curriculum stimulates critical thought, specialization and knowledge creation.
- The African Studies programme – with its Africa Term, fieldwork, minors and English-taught Master’s curriculum – offers broad career perspectives, and prepares you for positions in the (inter)national public and private sector. The knowledge of specific languages and cultures combined with broad academic skills form a preparation for the labour market or advanced studies that not many other programmes offer.
- Benchmarking: Compared with other Africa-courses abroad, we can boast a sharp insight in our curriculum. We continually work to integrate good practices into our programme.
Challenges
- Stakeholder involvement in striving for excellent education, involvement of our students, alumni and the professional field deserves increased stimulation. We want to achieve this by (1) introducing prospective students with alumni, by (2) continuously encouraging students to participate in meetings, surveys and focus groups, and by (3) keeping in touch with the local and international professional field to keep in tune with the labour market.
- Good communication: The quality and the quantity of student influx needs to be maintained, and improved where possible. For that purpose, we already avail ourselves of promotional yet correct information during study information days (SID-ins) or other information days, in brochures, on websites and on social media, in web and open classes, lecture series, and classes for a secondary school audience. We want to reach yet a bigger group of young adults to emphasize the impact and importance of African Studies and put our programme in the picture.
- We want to prepare our students even better for their future careers. We have taken initiative in that regard, and statistics show that most of our students find a job without any problems. Still, we think it’s important to connect the expertise of our students to potential employers.
- We want to pay more attention to the flow of students between the Bachelor’s programme in African Languages and Cultures, and English master in African Studies.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.