This semester students in two Global and Historical Studies classes at Butler University studied Africa and its place in the world. In so doing they began to develop a number of “areas of concern” they felt they needed to understand more fully. These included issues in history, philosophy, demographics, business, politics, government, and military, to name a few. Although all of the students know they cannot learn everything about Africa (or any other nation), based upon a brief study, they believed it would be worthwhile to go more deeply into the topic and to share their findings online.

The result is this website which was created by the students. They learned more about Africa by conducting their research and working on this project. Moreover, they hope their work would create a source of academically sound information for others to use. Therefore, the students present this work for your consideration.

While the students worked hard on this website, the site itself could never have been produced without the guidance and ongoing assistance of two librarians from Irwin Library at Butler University. Amanda Starkel and Franny Gaede were essential to the success of the project. They helped students understand how to secure academically sound information and how to follow the protocols for proper documentation and online citation. Furthermore, they were the essential advisers on website design issues. Without them, the project could not have been possible.

We hope you will find this site to be useful in your own efforts to better understand Africa and its place in the world.

Dr. James Keating
English Department
Butler University
Indianapolis, IN

Header Image: Left: Pendant Mask: Iyoba (by T. L. Miles, 2006, CC BY), Center-Left: Igbo Woman (byEkhaya2000, 2014, CC BY-SA), Center-Right: Ship House (by Lephilippe, 2007, CC BY-SA), Right: The Harpist (by Melvin Baker, 2006, CC BY).