The African Studies Center at Boston University
A Historical Sketch

James McCann Former Director

Dedicating the Adelaide Cromwell Suite (seminar room and Outreach Library) on February 11, 2000 stimulated a discussion within the community about the history of the ASC, its foundation, and early years. Why was it founded, who were the key players, and how did it evolve from its early roots as a purely graduate program to study a then still-colonial Africa? I have always had a nascent interest in these issues and have tried over my many years at the African Studies Center (to piece together scraps of documentary evidence (there is surprisingly little) and shards of personal memories from people like Dan McCall, Adelaide Cromwell, Elizabeth Colson, George Bond, George Lewis, and Edouard Bustin. Dan McCall himself has been working for several years on a collection of ASC memories from those associated with it over the last half century.The overall goals and current programs described on this website move us in new and creative ways that build on the Center's 56 year history.

James McCann
November 2007