Faculty conversations: James Pritchett
2009-09-08
James Pritchett, Director of MSU's African Studies Center
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James Pritchett, director of the African Studies Center at Michigan State University, believes the center can play a prominent role in helping the world solve its problems.
Ideas circulate the globe but can take on different meanings depending on the culture and context. For Pritchett and his colleagues within International Studies and Programs, it’s a matter of bridging those cultures that are vital.
"A set of ideas mean one thing here, but when they move to another place in the world, you have to figure out what is the cultural context here,' Pritchett said. "What are the set of ideas in which it’s enveloped, and how does its meaning change?"
Pritchett’s primary goal is to mobilize resources and bring students and professors together to study cultures.
"In a sense what we try and do is develop a sort of seamless engagement with the various cultures that we are focused on, so that students who come to MSU can have the experience of studying culture in the classroom," he said.
"They can engage with faculty members, they can engage with extracurricular activities on and around the campus, they can participate in study abroad programs that might have research, internships that bring them into contact with MSU professors who are doing cutting edge research on particular regional issues and African issues."
