The "Learn-About-Africa Week," which takes place Oct. 28 through Nov. 1, will feature film screenings, a fashion show, cultural workshops, trivia contests and an African marketplace that represent African scholarship, lifestyles, political issues and artifacts from throughout the continent.

"The Pan African Studies Department here at CSUN is a vibrant and integral component of the university community," said Tom Spencer-Walters, department chair. "Through classes, workshops and conferences, the department brings a strong multidisciplinary perspective into the university's curriculum and in the process, prepares a student body that will be competently equipped to function in a globalized world.

"The Learn-About-Africa Week is one such curricular attempt," he said. "It fills the knowledge gaps of students whose heritage is African and shares with the rest of the campus the cultural richness and variety of a continent that is often a distant speck in the sensibilities of many."

Highlights of the weeklong event include:

• Monday, Oct. 28 -- Welcome address by CSUN President Jolene Koester and an initial discussion at 1 p.m. in the Thousand Oaks Room of the University Student Union on the east side of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge. There will be a screening of a South African documentary at 6 p.m. in the Black House, 18348 Halsted St., followed by a discussion, "Everything You Wanted to Know About Africa, but Were Afraid to Ask."

• Tuesday, Oct 29 -- Los Angeles-based South African Consul Nontshukumo Phama will talk about "Africa's Legacies to the World" at 12:30 p.m. in the Northridge Center of the student union. Student teams will test their knowledge of the continent during "African Jeopardy" at 6 p.m. in the Black House.

• Wednesday, Oct. 30 -- Dr. Daphne Ntiri, chair of the College of Lifelong Learning at Wayne State University and an consultant with UNESCO, Stella Theodoulou, interim dean of CSUN's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and an expert on AIDS, and a team of AIDS researchers from Drew Medical School will take part in a panel discussion on "AIDS: The Enemy in our Midst" at 11 a.m. in the Grand Salon of the student union.

• Thursday, Oct. 31 -- Nigerian artist Chinze Anthony Ojobo and Debo Kotun, author of the best-seller "Abiku," will discuss their art from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Thousand Oaks Room of the student union. There also will be a screening of "Sankofa" and "Families Across the Sea" at 5 p.m. in the Black House, followed by a discussion.

• Friday, Nov. 1 -- African drumming and dance workshops, featuring First World Konnections and a traditional African feast, featuring cuisine from all over the African world as well as a fashion show, will take place from 5:30 to 10 p.m. in the Northridge Center in the student union.

"The whole week is designed to inform, encourage and support the diverse genius of the various African societies and we invite everyone to join us," said Bernardean Broadous, faculty advisor to the Pan African Council.

For more information or a complete list of the week's activities, call CSUN's Pan-African Studies Department at (818) 677-3311.

California State University, Northridge has more than 32,500 full- and part-time students and offers 59 bachelor's and 41 master's degrees as well as 28 education credential programs. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the third largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges recently said CSUN "stands as a model to other public urban institutions of higher education."