Faculty, Alum Co-Led APSA Sponsored Africa Workshop

Professor Beth Whitaker and her colleagues John Clark (Florida International University), Pamela Mbabazi (Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda), and Kennedy Mkutu (United States International University, Kenya) co-led the 2015 American Political Science Association Africa Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 20-31, 2015. Centered around the theme of “Conflict and Political Violence,” the workshop was designed to deepen participants’ knowledge of current academic debates within the field of political science about the sources, dynamics, and management of conflict. Twenty-six early career academics from 15 African countries and the United States were selected from more than 180 applicants to participate in the workshop and present their own research. Professor Jason Giersch led two methods workshops as part of the program, and UNC Charlotte political science alum Kevin Greene (now a Ph.D. student at Michigan State) was among the participants. The workshop ended with a public symposium on “Avoiding the Resource Curse in Kenya,” for which the keynote speaker was Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, a political scientist who is currently a member of the Kenyan Senate (and also happens to be the father of Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyang’o).