Oriental Studies – African Studies

Full-time, first-cycle studies in Polish and second-cycle studies in English.

The Faculty of Oriental Studies – African Studies has a strongly interdisciplinary character, although the leading discipline is the study of culture and religion. The unique didactic programme is delivered exclusively by the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Warsaw, which boasts more than 90 years of experience in teaching about Oriental/African cultures and languages, including Hausa, Swahili and Amharic, which has been confirmed by the creation of the unique major in Oriental Studies – African Studies. The didactic programme is based on many years of experience and practice in teaching and researching issues concerning African languages and cultures. The lecturers are specialists – in most cases the only ones in Poland – in issues related to this geographical and cultural area, conducting advanced scientific research supported by numerous publications in both Polish and foreign language publications. Language classes are taught by native-speakers. In addition, in order to improve their qualifications and language skills, students have the opportunity to apply for a language or research internship in selected African countries.

The acquired knowledge will enable the Graduate of Oriental Studies – African Studies to correctly navigate in the sphere of general issues concerning the theory and practice of African cultures and languages. The graduate will understand the diversity of cultures and civilisations, which will enable him/her to participate in the process of intercultural understanding and cooperation. He/she will gain a foundation for theoretical reflection on African cultures and languages. He/she will be able to analyse basic phenomena concerning selected African cultures, and the tool for analysing these phenomena will be for the Graduate a good linguistic background and a methodological background in cultural and religious studies, linguistics, philosophy, history, literary studies and art science.

The graduate will be ready to work in cultural dissemination institutions, the media, editorial offices and public administration. Increasing economic contacts with Africa mean that the labour market needs experts with knowledge of the languages and cultural and social realities of the countries in the region. Political and diplomatic contacts with African countries require the employment of language and cultural specialists, which the graduates of the Oriental Studies – African Studies course are. In addition, the Graduate will be prepared to undertake second-cycle studies.

The tradition of African studies at the University of Warsaw dates back to the 1950s, when Stefan Strelcyn (1918-1981), a student of the French Semitist Marcel Cohen, became the head of the newly established Department of Semitic Studies. The first programme of studies included courses in Hebrew and two and gain methodological skills needed to conduct research in a broad area of cultural and linguistic studies. Since October 2022, a new second-cycle programme in English will be available, offering primary and advanced language courses in one of the available African languages, as well as courses in Ethiopian languages, Ge’ez and Amharic; with time, Hausa and Swahili were added to the syllabus. In 1977, Joanna Mantei-Niecko, contemporary issues relating to literatures, cultural linguistics, codes and communication, African African cultural popular one of the first graduates of Semitic studies, founded the Chair of African Languages and Cultures as a centre for interdisciplinary area studies, with three regional sections dedicated to West Africa, the Horn of Africa, and East Africa.

In addition to intensive language courses in Amharic, Hausa, and Swahili, the Chair focuses on social, cultural, linguistic, historical, and literary studies. The Chair offers a first­ cycle programme in African studies. Next to learning one of the African languages, students are introduced to African geography, history, art, anthropology, linguistics, and current social issues. Graduates acquire the competence to understand and interpret a range of cultural topics of the chosen region and mass culture, along with instruction in modern methods of academic research.

The members of staff conduct research in the following disciplines: linguistics, literature, history, religions, and ethnology, publishing their findings in the Studies in African Languages and Cultures journal published since 1984. The staff are qualified to lead projects within their research areas and to supervise doctoral theses. The Chair is subsumed into the university programme for PhD students who may choose to write their thesis either in African linguistics or African literature.

The Chair has been co-operating with academic institutions in Europe and Africa. It has bilateral agreements on student exchange and teaching staff mobility within the Erasmus scheme, and has signed memoranda of co-operation with Bayero University, Kana, Nigeria, University of Dar­es-Salaam, Tanzania, and with Mekelle University, Ethiopia.

The Chair of African Languages and Cultures Conducts Research in the Following Fields:

• African literature
• African manuscripts and the Ajami writings
• Typological features of African languages
• Lexicography of African languages (Swahili, Hausa)
• Language and culture: lexical semantics and cognitive models
• Nonverbal communication
• Film in Africa and its social context
• Oral tradition of African cultures
• Islam in West Africa
• Ethnic and national identity in Africa

For more detailed information on the study programme and the course, please visit: www.afrykanistyka.uw.edu.pl