School of Languages and Area Studies (SLAS)
Press focus on Portsmouth's MA Francophone Africa
Wed, 26 Jan 2011 10:10:00 GMT
The pioneering Master's course in Francophone Africa features in a centre-page spread in today's Times.
Drawing attention to the MA's status as the first degree programme in Europe to focus exclusively on French-speaking Africa, journalist Simon Midgley outlines the course's attention to the history and contemporary relationships of the area with France, Islam and globalisation, and speaks to Tony Chafer, Professor of Contemporary French Area Studies, about the University's work in this area.
"In this university we have the largest concentration of expertise on Francophone Africa in the country," says Professor Chafer. "It is important in terms of the UK's foreign policy interests that we develop a better understanding of this increasingly important part of the world."
Francophone Africa is one of the specialist research areas of the university's Centre for European and International Studies Research (CEISR), the UK's largest research centre of its kind, which was rated top in the UK for research in European Studies in the 2008 UK Research Assessment Exercise.