MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 02/01/05
THE TUESDAY BULLETIN
Issue No. 4, Spring 2005
February 1, 2005
Weekly News from the AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 100 INTERNATIONAL CENTER
EAST LANSING MI 48824-1035
For back issues, see archive <http://africa.msu.edu>
BULLETIN CONTENTS
EVENTS
MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONFERENCES
EVENTS
February 3, Thursday
"Education and Training in the Context of a Global Labor Market; Who Gains and Who
Loses? The Case of Zimbabwe," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Visiting
Scholar, Albert Natsa, Faculty (University of Zimbabwe), 12:00 noon, Room 201,
International Center.
February 10, Thursday
"Challenges Faced by Zimbabwean Universities," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk
with Visiting Scholar, Jairos Makunde, University Registrar (Chinhoyi University of
Technology, Zimbabwe), 12:00 noon, Room 201, International Center.
February 17, Thursday
"The Season of Courtship in Ethiopia-United States Relations," African Studies Center
Brown Bag with Negussay Ayele, Visiting Professor at UCLA (Native of Ethiopia), 12:00
noon, Room 201, International Center.
February 23, Wednesday
"The Tenofovir Trials in Nigeria: Agency, Knowledge and Science," MSU Center for Ethics
Brown Bag talk with Kristin Peterson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology (MSU) and
DuBois-Mandela-Rodney post-doctoral fellow in the Center for Afroamerican and African
Studies at the University of Michigan, 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m., Room C102 E. Fee
Hall(Patenge Room).
MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS
African Studies Center Application for Foreign
Language and Area Studies (FLAS) 2005-06
The African Studies Center at MSU is now accepting
on-line applications for FLAS fellowships for academic
year 2005-06 and for the 2005 Summer Cooperative
African Language Institute (SCALI). The FLAS
fellowship is funded by the U.S. Department of
Education Title VI program for the study of African
languages and non-language courses on Africa.
Detailed information on the fellowship, and on-line
application guidelines and forms are available on the
Center's website: http://africa.msu.edu/. Applicants who
can not access the on-line forms can either use the
printable PDF files available at the bottom of the
application form webpage or contact the African Studies
Center at (517) 353-1700; or e-mail: africa@msu.edu.
The deadline for submitting applications to the Center is
February 18, 2005. In accordance with the Title VI
centers' agreement of rotating summer course offerings
under SCALI, African languages study in summer 2005
will be hosted by Indiana University-Bloomington. For
more information visit the following website:
http://www.indiana.edu/afrist/scali1.html.
New York Times Interview of MSU Alum
In October of 2004, an article was written in the science
section of the New York times regarding Terese Hart,
Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Congo.
The Times interviewed Mrs. Hart regarding some of the
animals she and her husband, John Hart has long tracked
in the eastern Congo. A portion of the interview is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/12/science/earth/12
conv.html?ex=1098579456&ei=1&en=1dd5ab46d6bd
7fd8.
The African Studies Center has copies of the full
interview available. If interested, please contact Lisa
Fruge' at (517) 353-1700.
African Books Collective in North America at MSU
In January of 2004, Michigan State University Press
began its first full year as the sole distributor for African
Books Collective titles in North America. African
Books Collective (ABC), founded, owned, and governed
by African publishers, is an organization of 100
independent and autonomous African publishers from 18
African countries. Underwritten by NGOs and
international philanthropic organizations, this not-for-
profit consortium is designed to strengthen indigenous
African publishing and increase the visibility of and
accessibility to the rich and largely untapped resources
in scholarship and literature from the African continent.
Since signing this historic agreement on the island of
Zanzibar on 4 July 2002, Michigan State University
Press, in close collaboration with African Books
Collective, Oxford, has been working to increase the
visibility and sales of books representing some of the
finest new writing and research to come from the
continent of Africa a treasure trove that includes
literature, research in the social sciences, history, art,
and children's books. During the first six months of this
new partnership, the Press introduced more that 1,500
new African titles to heretofore untapped North
American markets. (For a listing of new titles available
from ABC, visit the web site at:
http://www.msupress.msu.edu; or call the MSU Press at:
(517) 355-9543.
Film course, Second half of Spring semester 2005
Two-credit Film Course, March 17-April 28, 2005
AL 492: "Remembering the Past, Celebrating the
Present: Perspectives on South Africa @10." The world
is celebrating South Africa for its 10 years of one of the
most extraordinary and relatively peaceful transitions
from racial injustice to democratic rule. The MSU
African Studies faculty proposes a two-credit course on
South African film and video to expose MSU
undergraduates to the rich history and vibrant present of
South Africa. Built with two key South African visitors
and several faculty experts on South Africa and its
media, the seven-session course will begin after MSU's
spring break. For more information contact David
Wiley or John Metzler in the MSU African Studies
Center; phone: 353-1700.
Soweto Gospel Choir - MSU Wharton Center
The 32-member Soweto Gospel choir will share their
vibrant and colorful culture of South Africa on Sunday,
February 20, 2005 at 4:00 p.m.
The choir along with thrilling drummers and dancers
offer a musical cornucopia of traditional African gospel
and modern western spirituals sung in six of Soweto's
11 languages. Please visit the Soweto Gospel Choir's
web-site at: http://www.sowetogospelchoir.com/
The African Studies Center will have a limited number
of tickets available soon (the first 50 sold are the very
best seats). Ticket cost is $16.50. Contact Lisa Frugé
at the African Studies Center to reserve your tickets.
(As of January 28th, there are only eight available.)
Tickets are also available through the Wharton Center
Box Office. Call 1-800-WHARTON or (517) 432-2000.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Understanding Africa - Black History Month Event
The International Institute of Flint, located at 515
Stevens Street, Flint, Michigan 48502, will host the
following presentations on Thursday, February 17, 2005,
from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
- "Africa and the U.S.: A Global Historical
Perspective," seminar by Professor David S. Wiley,
Director of the African Studies Center at Michigan State
University;
- Ceremonial Objects of Africa by John Henry,
Director, Flint Institute of Arts with assistance from
Bank One;
- A Taste of African Cuisine , and;
- "A Day in the Life of Africa." A video preview of the
documentary.
This event is free and open to the public. For more
information, please call (810) 762-3169. Co-sponsored
by U/M-Flint; Office of Educational Opportunity
Initiatives and Dept. of Africana Studies; Association of
Eritreans and their Friends in Michigan (AEFM); and
Flint Institute of Arts and Flint International Institute.
Intensive Yoruba in Nigeria - 2005 Fulbright-Hays
Group Projects Abroad, June 17-August 9, 2005
An Intensive Advanced Yoruba Group Projects Abroad
(Yoruba GPA) for summer 2005 is planned for Nigeria,
pending approval of the grant proposal submitted to the
U.S. Department of Education (USDE). The course will
be directed by Dr. Akin?ndé Ak?nyem? of the
Department of African and Asian Languages and
Literatures, University of Florida in Gainesville.
Participants must be US citizens, or permanent residents
and be junior/senior/graduate students in an institution
of higher education and have had at least two years of
Yoruba language instruction a the university level. The
selection committee will conduct oral proficiency
interviews in Yoruba over the telephone in order to
make their final selection.
To apply, please complete the Yoruba GPA application
(see website); a 1-2 page written statement detailing
academic background and experience, as well as
academic and career goals prompting the need for
intensive study of Yoruba. Three letters of reference are
also required (one from your most recent Yoruba
instructor), as well as official academic transcripts from
all institutions of higher learning attended. Send
materials by February 15, 2005 to: Dr. Akintunde
Ak?nyem?, Program Director, University of Florida, 470
Grinter Hall, PO Box 115565, Gainesville, FL 32611-
5565; Tel: (352) 392-7082; e-mail:
akinyemi@aall.ufl.edu; web site:
http://web.africa.ufl.edu/academic/2005YorubaGPA.h
tml..
International Development Journal - Articles Needed
Women for Women International, a non-profit,
humanitarian organization, seeks submissions for the
autumn 2005 edition of its bi-annual academic journal,
Critical Half, about economic, social, and political
issues as they relate to women in international
development and post-conflict societies. The journal is
intended as a venue for debate among professionals and
practitioners, addressing issues from various viewpoints.
This issue of the journal will focus on the manifestation
of social exclusion during and after conflict, with
special attention to gender issues. It is important to
understand the role that gender plays in social exclusion
and the effect that it has on women. Articles on the
following topics and questions are welcome:
- Overview of social exclusion; the relevance and
importance of the term, and its gendered implications
for understanding the processes that limit access to
opportunities, resources, and participation;
- Discussion of social exclusion as it affects the
individual, the community, and/or the country in conflict
and/or post-conflict situations;
- Identification of some of the gender-specific issues
that are experienced in conflict and/or post-conflict
contexts that increase risks of social exclusion;
- A discussion of indicators designed to assess and
understand the manifestation of exclusion during
conflict and/or post-conflict situations;
- How to design programs and projects, particularly in
post-conflict settings, that are aimed at expanding social
inclusion and participation in areas such as governance,
decision-making, and resource allocation, and the
importance of gender in these approaches;
- An analysis of successful cases in which cycles of
social exclusion are broken in specific issue areas after
conflict in particular, papers that address case studies
in countries where Women for Women International
operate: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq,
Kosovo, Nigeria, and Rwanda, although examples from
other countries are also acceptable (Papers should
incorporate a discussion of gender in their analysis.)
Articles should provide at least one example of a
country's experience that demonstrates the writer's
argument. Papers should incorporate a theoretical
framework where possible and a discussion of its
practical implications. Dual submission of opposing
articles is encouraged. Articles must contain appropriate
citations. Articles should be 2,000-2,500 words long.
Submission deadline is April 15, 2005. Articles should
be sent by e-mail. Additional submission guidelines and
past issues of the journal and this call for papers are
available at http://www.womenforwomen.org.
CONFERENCES
Challenging the Genius Within Conference
Challenging the Genius Within: "Excellent Education
for African Children" is the theme for the Conference to
be held September 16 - 18, 2005, in Chicago, Illinois.
The committee invites contributions from academics,
teacher educators, and master educators involved in the
active promotion of excellent education for children of
African descent. This conference is designed to define
and create institutions and curricula that provide
educational excellence for African children.
Topics relevant to the conference theme include, but are
not limited to: 1) African centered curriculum; 2)
Excellent teaching strategies in math, reading, social
science, and science; and 3) Hands-on demonstrations of
classroom lessons. For more information on attending
and/or presenting at the conference, visit
http://www.sankofapublishing.com. Contact
information: Sankofa Publishing Company, 3863
Waverly Hills Road, Lansing, MI 48917; Tel: (517)
484-0428; or (517) 214-3553; Fax: (775) 239-2042; e-
mail: sshule2@aol.com.
Page Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.