Pondering African Futures Spring 2021 Research Conference Presented by The Center for African Studies at The University of Pittsburgh

The Critical Research on Africa Series offers a space for faculty and students to share their research projects on Africa and engage in critical discourse that improve understanding of the issues faced by the various countries in the continent and finding practical solutions. The series led by affiliated faculty aims to strengthen scholarly intellectual capacity, build community, collegiality, and offer opportunities for learning about our interdisciplinary research, and sharing feedback. The research topics organized around the Pondering African Futures theme include development, education, health, inequality, infrastructure, political systems, Science and Technology. Faculty who wish to participate in the series are encouraged to contact African Studies for scheduling of individual presentations. Annually, we host the Critical Research on Africa Conference as a culmination of the CRA Series that happen on a monthly basis throughout the year. We encourage participation at the conference from faculty, students and community who focus their research and practice on Africa related topics. Our 2021 annual spring conference was held virtually on May 13th and 14th. This document is a compilation of abstracts from the conference as well as is a record of the proceedings