PMA Ph.D. Candidate Rejoice Abutsa will moderate a panel called “Decolonizing Media Narratives on Africa” at 3pm on September 17, at the Africana Studies and Research Center. Attendees can also join virtually. The event is part of the Institute for African Development Colloquium Series and will feature Wunpini Mohammed, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication; j. Siguru Wahutu, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and African Studies; and Msia Kibona Clark, Associate Professor in the Department of African Studies, and Director of the Hip-Hop Studies Minor at Howard University.
“The panel fosters an intellectual space for engaging with ideas about Africa and its manifestations in and across media narratives,” said Abutsa. “The goal is to complicate and nuance our understanding of emerging and established media narratives, produced both within and outside the continent, but inevitably one that references Africa and Africans. Scholars will respond to questions on identity, representation, distribution, and the political economy of media productions, with a specific focus on how decolonization informs, shapes and can rewrite all of these conceptual frameworks.”
This colloquium presents a keynote presentation and panel that problematizes these harmful tropes about the continent while presenting alternative frames that complicate the reality of the 50+ countries in Africa. Key among topics to be explored in the keynote are the way that narratives around war and genocide in Africa are framed in news media. The panel will bring attention to the potential of African pop culture such as music, film and television to not only challenge stereotypes about the continent but also present the rich tapestry of African cultures. The colloquium will demonstrate how presenting nuanced and dignified narratives about the continent can connect Africa’s diaspora to their roots and ancestry.
Read more about the Institute for African Development Fall 2025 Colloquium Series.
