African Studies Center: Lydie Moudileno

Dr. Lydie E. Moudileno, associate professor of Romance languages, has succeeded Dr. Lee V. Cassanelli, associate professor of history, as director of the African Studies Center (ASC) at Penn.

Dr. Moudileno received her Ph.D. in French literature from the University of California, Berkley in 1994. Her field of study is Francophone literatures, with a primary focus on contemporary Caribbean and African novels. She is the author of L’Écrivain antillais au miroir de sa littérature: mises en scène et mise en abyme du roman antillais (Editions Kathala, 1997). She has published several articles exploring issues of creolization and postcolonial identity in the works of Maryse Condé, Henri Lopes, and Sony Labou Tansi. She is currently working on figures of foreign black characters in literature and film from Africa and the diaspora.

ASC is a National Resource Center for Africa, and its activities are funded in part by a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Center—in room 647 Williams Hall—offers undergraduate students major and minor degrees in African Studies. Penn graduate students may earn a certificate in African Studies. Several African languages, including Igbo, Swahili, Twi, Wolof and Zulu, are taught through the Center in collaboration with the Penn Language Center. ASC coordinates a wide range of course offerings in anthropology, history, literature, politics, religion and sociology. Faculty and staff share a commitment to a broad, integrated approach to the study of African people, their institutions and the wider world where they now reside. The geographic interests of Penn Africanists span the continent—including Francophone and Islamic countries—and extend to the African diaspora throughout the world. The Center actively participates in outreach events hosting workshops throughout the year and visiting K-12 schools.              

For further information on ASC’s programming call (215) 898-6971 or visit the Center’s website at www.africa.upenn.edu.