UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER

 

WEST AFRICAN RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

 

Contemporary Islam in West Africa:

Senegal in Perspective

A summer institute for college and university faculty

15-29 June 2003

West African Research Center

Dakar, Senegal

Program statement: As a contribution to the urgent need to increase American understanding of the Muslim world, the West African Research Association is offering this intensive two-week summer institute for college and university faculty. The institute will be based at the West African Research Center in Dakar, Senegal, and its focus will be on this important West African Muslim country noted for its stability, social harmony, and working democracy. The institute is intended for faculty who wish to enhance and develop either teaching or research related to the issue of Islam in Africa. To the extent possible, the Institute director and the staff of WARC will help participants pursue individual interests in making research contacts or developing teaching materials.

Tentative Schedule and Itinerary: In order to provide as broad a perspective as possible on the various facets of contemporary Islam in Senegal, participants will be offered a series of lectures, seminars and discussion sessions at WARC, with both Senegalese academics and with various religious leaders and activists. They will also travel to religious sites and to "ordinary" non-urban centers outside of Dakar to examine the practice of Islam in everyday Senegalese life. An initial three days of lectures in Dakar is planned, followed by a trip to the holy city of Touba (center of the Mouride Sufi order) and to the historical city of St. Louis. Week Two will include further seminars and talks in Dakar, as well as a two day trip to other sites, including a non-urban setting. We will conclude with a day in a pleasant beach resort in Sali-Portudal.

Costs: The cost per participant is $2,500. This fee will include the full cost of the seminar sessions at WARC (all lectures and seminars); fourteen days of single-occupancy hotel accommodations; all local transportation costs; breakfasts, lunches, and approximately one half of the evening meals; and all local and in-country transportation. Participants will be responsible for their own airfare to and from Dakar; bar, telephone and other incidental hotel expenses; and occasional evening meals.

The Institute Director will be Dr. Leonardo A. Villalón, director of the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida and current President of the West African Research Association. Prof. Villalón is a Political Scientist with extensive teaching and research experience in Senegal. He speaks both French and Wolof, and is the author of Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick (Cambridge UP, 1995).

Application: Participation in the seminar will be limited to 12. For more information or an application form please contact WARA at adamkis@africa.ufl.edu. A $500 deposit is required to reserve a space upon notification of acceptance to the institute. This deposit will be non-refundable after 15 April 2003. The balance of $2,000 must be paid before the start of the institute. A detailed program will be sent to all participants in early May.

Application Form

 


Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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