29 July 2025
The traditional discipline of African Studies meets interdisciplinary diversity in the new Bachelor's degree program "African Languages, Media and Communication" offered by the universities in Mainz and Frankfurt. This collaborative program of the Rhine-Main Universities Alliance is a success story with an impact extending far beyond the region.
The continent of Africa with its 54 countries, some 1.4 billion inhabitants, and remarkable cultural diversity is home to more than 3,000 different ethnic groups and more than 2,000 actively spoken languages. From the Maghreb region in the north down to the tip of Southern Africa, a multitude of communities foster their own cultural traditions and rituals, forms of expression and narrative styles, musical genres and dance forms – all these preserved over centuries despite colonial suppression. The Bachelor’s degree program "African Languages, Media and Communication" provides a multifaceted approach and access to this wealth of languages and cultures of Africa. It is a joint program of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Goethe University Frankfurt and is a part of the Africa Studies Rhine-Main initiative, which also involves the Technical University of Darmstadt. Since 2016, this highly interdisciplinary network has been pooling the expertise in African Studies of all three universities of the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) alliance, with the Center for Interdisciplinary African Studies (ZIAF) at Goethe University Frankfurt acting as the hub of the cooperation.
Several years ago, Professor Nico Nassenstein of Mainz University and Professor Axel Fanego Palat of Goethe University Frankfurt began developing the new B.A. program "African Languages, Media and Communication," which they now jointly coordinate. Since its launch in the winter semester of 2021/2022, the highly interdisciplinary program has welcomed about 70 students each year. The curriculum combines African Studies with elements of Media and Communication Studies – an offering that is quite unique within the German higher education landscape. Graduates are thus qualified for a wide range of professional fields.
As part of the B.A. program, students are required to learn at least one African language, along with either a second African language or another language relevant to Africa. Furthermore, students engage with current topics and the latest research in African Studies, including the history of the discipline itself. At Mainz University, for instance, the Institute of African Studies was inaugurated as early as 1946, shortly after the university was reopened following World War II.
A project with a far-reaching impact
"We had the ideal opportunity back in 2021 to set this very focus within our field and in the joint degree program, thus strengthening the impact and visibility of African Studies in the Rhine-Main region and far beyond," says Professor Nico Nassenstein. He first came to JGU as a junior professor in 2017 and was appointed to a full professorship here at the Department of Anthropology and African Studies in 2023. Even before beginning his studies in Cologne, Nassenstein had set the course for his academic path – by choosing to do his community service in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During the 15 months he spent there, he not only learned two local languages but also developed a deep fascination for the people and cultures of the region. "When I later became a student of African Studies in Cologne, I realized that I had actually gained much more from this time than just language skills," he recalls.
Axel Fanego Palat joined Goethe University Frankfurt as Professor of African Studies in 2018. He too had already been fascinated by languages during his school years. "In the 1980s, Africa was very prominent in German popular culture and the African continent was firmly anchored on the map of public perception," he recalls. This interest led him to enroll in African Studies in Cologne. Later, he transferred to Lisbon, where he deepened his interest in Angola. Other stations along his path included California, Helsinki and, of course, repeated stays in Africa.
The biographies of both scholars reflect a consistent pattern of conducting research and gaining experience during extended stays in various African countries. On completing his community service in the Congo, for instance, Nico Nassenstein visited Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. In his doctoral dissertation, he wrote about a variety of the Kinyarwanda language as used in Southwestern Uganda, also considering the linguistic variations along the borders within Central Africa.
New opportunities for African Studies
Nassenstein and Fanego Palat view the establishment of the joint RMU degree program "African Languages, Media and Communication" as a well-used opportunity to collaboratively restructure the field of African Studies at both universities. Following the reorganization of higher education across Europe under the Bologna Process, it became necessary for the discipline of African Studies – as was the case for many other smaller subjects – to seek partnerships either within the same university or through regional collaborations. Both Fanego Palat and Nassenstein agree that the Rhine-Main Universities alliance has proven highly effective in this regard. "In every respect, we have a strong and direct line of communication and exchange,” emphasizes Nassenstein.
Collaboration in teaching naturally also benefits research. One example is a project currently realized in Angola, developed by Fanego Palat and Nassenstein together with two colleagues from Mainz and São Paulo. The project explores Angola's linguistic diversity, with a spotlight on how the Portuguese language is becoming increasingly dominant there, causing many African languages to gradually disappear. "Portuguese, as a European language, has long been entrenched in Angola," explains Fanego Palat. "There was extensive contact during the colonial period, reinforced by close ties with Brazil as early as the 19th century. Today, the rate at which African languages are vanishing is accelerating. Even for languages that are still relatively widely spoken, we are witnessing a phenomenon comparable to what happened in Germany with the decline of Low German after the Second World War."
Fascination with languages and knowledge
In comparison with their own time as students – prior to the Bologna Process – Nassenstein and Fanego Palat observe marked differences but also important continuities in the field of African Studies. "There is no doubt that Bologna has brought about many changes. But the core interest in African languages and in the countries and cultures of the continent is just as evident in our students today," says Nassenstein. "It's always fascinating for us to see how the 'African Languages, Media and Communication' program sparks our students' curiosity and to learn about intrinsic interests."
For the discipline of African Studies at the universities in Mainz and Frankfurt, it was a major advantage that a few years ago the two positions now held by Nassenstein and Fanego Palat were open to be redefined. This gave an immense boost – and a new sense of momentum – to African research in the Rhine-Main region in that both institutions coordinated their efforts. Without this, the Bologna Process would have led to the loss of a separate African Studies program in Frankfurt, as enrollment in the small, language-oriented degree program had been declining. Professor Axel Fanego Palat recalls: "We thus decided to change course. And it was the right moment to introduce new options, new topics, and new ideas." And Professor Nico Nassenstein adds: "Our new degree program gave our subject a specific shape that didn't yet exist in this form anywhere in Germany. This applies in particular to the introduction of a Media Studies focus, for the accreditation of which we had to fight long and hard."
The two professors are now more than satisfied with the results: "Many of our students also work for public broadcasters like SWR and ZDF and other media companies," says Nassenstein. He endorses the long tradition of working with different media at the JGU Department of Anthropology and African Studies. Two special collections maintained by the department exemplify this connection: the African Music Archives (AMA), which contains some 15,000 recordings, and the Jahn Library for African Literature, which houses publications in more than 90 languages. "These collections are quite unique and attract visiting researchers from all over the world," emphasizes Nassenstein.
Personal contact is key
The launch of the joint RMU Bachelor's degree program in the 2021/2022 winter semester coincided with the later phase of the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, courses began in various hybrid teaching formats, many of which are still in use today. However, the short geographical distance between Mainz and Frankfurt makes personal collaboration and exchange very easy. "We're always pleased to welcome students from Mainz here in Frankfurt – and, of course, the other way around," emphasizes Fanego Palat.
Language courses, in particular, benefit from face-to-face instruction. "We see that these courses are extremely motivating for our students," says Nassenstein. They work together in established groups over an extended period – around two years for the main language. The groups meet twice a week, which fosters a valuable sense of camaraderie and cooperation – a quality that defines the field of African Studies in Mainz and Frankfurt.
Text: Peter Thomas / Translation: JGU