Welcome to Four-Minute Lectures.  All semester, we will be bringing in professors you know and love to deliver Four-Minute micro-lectures for the betterment of our minds.  They will encompass a wide variety of topics and departments.

This week’s Four-Minute Lecture is with R. Todd Ruppert Associate Professor of International Studies and Associate Professor of History Stephen Volz. Volz is the director of the International Studies program, and an historian who specializes in African History,  more specifically the cultural and political interactions between Africa and other regions of the world. Here, he explains why studying Africa is important, especially in the context of a liberal arts education.

Watch the lecture after the jump!