Exploring Africa


Explore the cultural complexities of contemporary African societies through the complementary lenses of anthropology and international studies.

Photo of College Connections faculty for Exploring Africa, Stephen Wooten. College Connections Faculty: Stephen Wooten

Stephen R. Wooten is a sociocultural anthropologist whose research interests include: political economy and ecology, local food systems and expressive culture. Dr. Wooten has been conducting ethnographic field research in Mali since 1992 and has recently begun a study of urban agriculture in Eugene. His research publications include: “Colonial Administration and the Ethnography of the Family in the French Soudan” in Cahiers d’etudes africaines, “Antelope Headdresses and Champion Farmers: Negotiating Meaning and Identity through the Bamana Ciwara Complex” in African Arts and “Losing Ground: Gender Relations, Commercial Horticulture and Threats to Local Plant Diversity in Rural Mali” in an edited volume entitled: Women and Plants: Gender Relations in Biodiversity Management and Conservation. His book The Art of Livelihood: Creating Expressive Agri-Culture in Rural Mali explores the creativity of rural Bamana people. Dr. Wooten has been at UO since 2001.

Contact: swooten@uoregon.edu

FIG Assistant: Taylor King

Hello Exploring Africa FIG! My name is Taylor King and I will be your FIG Assistant for the Fall 2016 term. I am an International Studies major with Business and African Studies minors. My passion for Africa was first sparked through a trip to Uganda in 2013. Since then, I have been blessed to travel to four East African countries, spending about a year between them all. At the UO, I am actively apart of the Swahili program and the DEMA West African Dance group. Apart from my activities and interest around Africa, I enjoy photography, singing and spending time with friends and family. I am so excited that you have chosen to be apart of this FIG and I look forward to meeting you and the fall and getting to know your story. Please feel free to contact me before school starts if you have any questions. My email is: tmk@uoregon.edu

Summer Assignment:

For the fall please complete the FIG Summer Assignment:

Read “Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali” by Kris Holloway

Week of Welcome:

Our FIG will meet on Friday, September 23rd at 10 AM in Columbia 150! Please arrive around 10 minutes early, as we will be moving to another location shortly after 10!

Are you looking for future classes related to your FIG?

The courses below are related to the focus of your FIG and are a great way to keep exploring the subject matter that you dove into your first term at the UO. Many of these courses satisfy general education requirements.

  • INTL 101: Intro to International Issues
  • INTL 250: Value Systems with Cross-Cultural Perspective
  • HUM 215: Intro to African Studies
  • HIST 325: Precolonial Africa
  • ANTH 311: Anthropology of Globalization
  • BIO 410: HIV/AIDS in Africa