African Development Dissertation Workshop Program, 1997

Complete information on the workshops can be found at http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu
Direct general inquiries to iis@globetrotter.berkeley.edu

Approximately five-thousand African doctoral students are currently enrolled in U.S. and Canadian universities. Some two-thirds are studying development-related issues in the social, health, environment, or agricultural sciences, or in the humanities.

Studying in North America carries risks for African students which counter-balance positive factors of the training received. It is often difficult to obtain graduate training directly relevant to the research issues and development problems facing their countries. Furthermore, only a few universities have strong collections of African research materials, large numbers of Africa-oriented faculty, and collegial mechanisms which may help to refine students' research interests and to design conceptually and methodologically rigorous research projects that can be carried out in Africa. Often, African students find that while they have helped to internationalize their North American university campuses, their research projects may not involve field research on the continent of Africa.

To enhance the ongoing efforts of the Rockefeller Foundation to address this issue, the Institute of International Studies at the University of California at Berkeley was asked to initiate and organize a multi-campus African Development Dissertation Workshop Program in 1995-96. The program has now been expanded to include ten participating campuses in the U.S. and Canada for the 1996-97 academic year.

The dissertation workshops provide a venue for strengthening the individual dissertation projects and for interdisciplinary dialogue. They enable students working on these issues to engage in intensive discussions of their own and each others' projects. Efforts are also made to establish long-term linkages among the participants so they can remain in close contact with each other as their projects and careers progress.

Sub-Saharan African students currently enrolled in doctoral programs in social, behavioral, and agricultural, as well as other natural and biological sciences, in the U.S. and Canada are eligible to apply. Participants' expenses are fully covered by the organizing university and through a grant to the University of California at Berkeley from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Within established common parameters, the format of the workshops varies at each institution. In every case, the workshops are designed to enable the participants to engage with each others' projects, conceptually and methodologically refine their own, clarify the links between theory and evidence and seek connections among their projects. The workshops involve small groups (12 - 25) of advanced doctoral students and five or six faculty. Most of the workshops are held over a four to five day period at an off-campus facility. Several workshops may employ long-distance learning approaches.

Interested students are invited to apply directly to the host campus. The workshop topics for 1996 - 97 are noted below.

University of California, Berkeley (February 5-9, 1997): African Development: Prospects, Practices, and Policies

Brown University (April 22-25, 1997): Post-Liberalization Development Strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Johns Hopkins University (May, 1997): Health and Population Issues in Africa

Queen's University (May 2-6, 1997): Research for African Development: Equity, Security, and Sustainability

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (May 9-13, 1997): Challenges of Social and Ecological Sustainability in Africa

Université du Québec à Montréal (12-16 mai, 1997): Conceptualiser la recherche pour le développement: enjeux théoriques, méthodologiques et pratiques

Emory University (May 21-25, 1997): Health, Culture and Development

University of Wisconsin, Madison (June 8-20, 1997) Social and Biological Science for Agricultural Development

Complete descriptions, eligibility and application requirements can be found at http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu