Team Project Grant
Grand Challenges: Africa Through Language and Area Studies (ATLAS)
Africa Through Language and Area Studies (ATLAS)
News
Events
March 31-April 1 2026
ATLAS Annual Conference
H.J. Patterson Hall, Rooms 2124 & 2130
University of Maryland, College Park Campus
Summary
The Africa Through Language and Area Studies (ATLAS) serves as a nexus for the study of African languages, history, contemporary issues, and research at the University of Maryland with the goal of increasing the understanding of the African continent and its growing global influence. Through a website that acts as a virtual hub, ATLAS seeks to centralize all courses, events, and student groups that focus on Africa and the African diaspora, as well as showcase relevant research and scholarship throughout campus. The website is intended to be a platform where the campus community can come together to find and share information encompassing all UMD activities related to African studies.
ATLAS also hosts a monthly speaker series and an annual conference on the study of Africa and its diaspora, bringing together interested faculty, staff, and students and attracting African thought leaders and scholars to engage with the UMD community. By celebrating the diversity and contributions of the many UMD faculty and students working on topics related to Africa, ATLAS seeks to reduce disparities in representation, increase the prominence of African and African American topics of study, encourage more scholarship on Africa, and foster community across different departments and fields of study.
PI Miranda Abadir
Second Language Acquisition, National Foreign Language Center
ARHU
Matthew Thomann
Associate Professor, Anthropology
BSOS
Connie DiJohnson
Second Language Acquisition (SLA), National Foreign Language Center
ARHU