Howard University Launches Journal of African Studies on Digital Howard
Howard University has launched the Howard University Journal of African Studies (HUJAS), a new peer‑reviewed academic journal hosted by the Center for African Studies (CfAS) and published through the Digital Howard Institutional Repository. The interdisciplinary journal advances research on Africa and the global African diaspora, with its inaugural issue spotlighting digital learning and research in African higher education.
Announcing the launch, Editor‑in‑Chief Dr. Mohamed S. Camara, Professor and Chair of the Department of African Studies, situated HUJAS within Howard’s current institutional momentum, noting that the journal debuts “as Howard University undergoes remarkable and promising changes, having just been ranked Top HBCU by Forbes, and having become a Research I institution.” He added that these recognitions reflect the University’s “steadfastness in the pursuit of world‑class education, training and student success…research and innovation; and remarkable global engagement and service.”
Camara explained that the idea for HUJAS originated in 2021 during preparations for the Virtual Pan‑African Symposium on “Digital Learning in Global Africa during and after the COVID‑19 pandemic,” from which the journal’s first six articles emerged. The symposium aimed to bring together scholars and policy experts “to critically reflect on the challenges and opportunities that the COVID‑19 pandemic has created for higher learning and research in Africa, the Caribbean, and the African American community,” while also exploring collaborative uses of digital technology across global African regions.
The journal’s development continued alongside major academic convenings hosted by the department, including the 2024 Howard University African Studies International Conference on “Global Africa in the Twenty‑First Century” and the 2025 conference on “African Knowledge and Languages,” which together drew hundreds of participants from across the United States, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.
“This issue of HUJAS comes out at a time when the field of African Studies continues to attract considerable attention, interest, and engagement around the world,” Camara wrote, pointing to growing connections between the African continent and its diaspora. He emphasized that HUJAS “represents a major contribution of Howard University in general and the Department of African Studies in particular to the renewed propulsion of African Studies and Research in the United States and around the world.”
Camara also acknowledged the critical role of the Editorial Board and graduate assistants Amartey Laryea and Dawit Muluneh, whose work helped make the journal possible. HUJAS complements CfAS’s broader research mission, alongside initiatives such as Howard on Africa in Brief and the Africa‑Related Dissertations Database, reinforcing Howard University’s historic leadership in African studies since the establishment of its graduate program in 1953.