African Futures Seminar Series

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. 

Annual Theme

Governance, Peace, and Moral Authority in a Changing Africa 

Seminar Series Convener 

Mesfin Woldegebriel, PhD, is an Adjunct Professor of African Politics and Development at Boston College. His teaching and research focus on African politics, state-building, conflict, development, and Africa’s changing role in international politics. He is the founding convener of the African Futures Seminar Series. 

Event Speakers