African Diaspora and the Atlantic World Research Circle African Diaspora and the Atlantic World Research Circle The African Diaspora and the Atlantic World Research Circle was originally funded as the African Diaspora Cluster. It explores the dispersion of African peoples from their original homelands, not only within the continent of Africa, but also worldwide — to places such as the United States, Europe, the Caribbean and South America. In the past, African Diaspora research emphasized mainly the study of Africans who dispersed from the continent, and very rarely looked at dispersal within the continent. This cluster bridges these two categories to provide a global context to the study of African peoples. It looks at different historical waves of dispersals and studies their catalytic factors and directions of movement. It explores how the connections between the African and African diasporic communities reflect the dynamics of their forced or voluntary migration; their interactions and relations with other societies and/or among each other; and the adaptation, reproduction and transformation of African cultural, social institutions and expressive forms. This interdisciplinary approach to studying the global African world is a logical extension of UW-Madison’s strong African-American Studies Department, African Languages and Literature Department, and African Studies Program, as well as a host of other international and cultural study programs. The cluster’s wide-ranging areas of study include geography, history, literature, medicine, art, music, dance, education, political science and sociology.