The Office of African Studies is interdisciplinary in its hosting and promotion of research. Activities recently completed or ongoing include the compilation of materials for an annotated bibliography on African international relations (in conjunction with colleagues at University of South Carolina); the investigation of resources for refugees and displaced persons in Cairo, an assessment of the needs of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees in Cairo; a comparative analysis of female genital mutilation in Sudan, and a digest of Sudanese cultural diversity.

In addition to hosting the IV triennial meetings of the International Sudan Studies Association (June 1997), and the Sudanese Cultural Festival (September 1996), the Office of African Studies has also hosted workshops on issues pertaining to refugees, women, and children. Visiting fellows at African Studies have included scholars from Somalia, Sudan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Their projects have included studies of Eritrean women in Cairo, the displaced Sudanese, and Sudanese-Egyptian relations.