African Studies Abroad: Meaning and Impact of America’s Burgeoning Export Industry

Abstract

American education operates as an export industry, as indicated by the proliferation of American study abroad programs in Africa and the influx of Africans seeking degrees from American universities. In this article, we have used statistics (from the Institute for International Education (IIE)’s Open Doors and NAFSA/SECUSSA) compiled to track this educational exchange and estimate economic investments made by students and their host institutions into the socio-geographical areas in which the programs take place. These statistics, coupled with the authors’ experiences in directing study abroad programs, suggest the urgency of adopting more equitable models of reciprocity. Commensurate with our desire to see more American students engaged in African studies at home and abroad, we further emphasize the need for a re-invigoration and deployment of the concept of “capacity building” to achieve such ideals. This entails examining the economics of exchanges, but also reconsidering the social and intellectual impacts of the ways in which study abroad programs are conceived and implemented.