AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER - UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
 

MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 02/06/07

THE TUESDAY BULLETIN

Issue No. 4 Spring 2007
February 6, 2007

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 8, Thursday

"Future Directions in MSU Focus on Africa: Social Science Faculty Perspectives - I," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with MSU African Studies Center Faculty, 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.


February 14, Wednesday

"The Neuropsychological Effects of Cerebral Malaria in Ugandan Children: Missions of Healing and Broken Brains," Center for Ethics & Humanities in the Life Sciences Brown Bag with Michael Boivin, Faculty (Int'l Neurologic & Psychiatric Epidemiology Program, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room C-102 East Fee Hall.


February 15, Thursday

"Future Directions in the MSU Focus on Africa: Arts and Humanities Faculty Perspectives -II," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with MSU African Studies Center Faculty, 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.


February 16, Friday

"Tourism Development in Niger," CASID/WID Forum with Boulou Akano, (Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.


February 22, Thursday

"Workers Culture in Two Nations: South Africa and the United States," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with John Beck and Yvonne Lockwood, MSU Faculty (respectively Labor & Industrial Relations and Traditional Arts Program), 12:00 noon, MSU Museum Auditorium.


March 1, Thursday

"Recycling Traditions: Cooking Pots, Aluminum Casters, and the Making of a Modern African Diaspora, 1946-2006," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Emily Osborne, Faculty (University of Notre Dame), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.


March 8, Thursday

Spring Break


March 13-17, Tuesday - Saturday

African Culture Week and Gala. More details coming at a later date. MARK YOUR CALENDAR for the Gala which will be on Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 5:00 p.m. in the Pasant Theatre of the Wharton Center. Costs are: Gala only $10.00, (free for MSU Students), Dinner only is $7.00 (for everyone, including MSU students), Dinner + Gala is $15.00.


MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS

African Studies Center Application for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) for 2007-08 AY

The African Studies Center at MSU is now accepting on-line applications for FLAS fellowships for academic year 2007-08 and for the 2007 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. Up to date information and on-line application forms are available at: http://africa.msu.edu/FLAS/FLAS.htm.

Candidates must have completed application procedures by February 15, 2007. Related application materials are to be mailed to the Assistant Director of the African Studies Center, 100 International Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1035; Phone: (517) 353-1700; Fax: (517) 432-1209; e-mail: fisseha@msu.edu. In accordance with the Title VI centers' agreement of rotating summer course offerings under SCALI, African languages study in summer 2007 will be hosted by the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign. For details, please visit: http://www.afrst.uiuc.edu/SCALI07.htm for details.


2007 Compton Africa Peace Fellowships

Michigan State University's African Studies Center (ASC) and Women and International Development (WID) Program are offering Compton Africa Peace Fellowships to graduate students from Sub-Saharan Africa to support their dissertation field research in Africa. This program is an element of the MSU African Higher Education Partnerships Initiative (AHEPI). These dissertation fellowship awards are made possible by a grant from the Compton Foundation through its Peace Fellowship Program for addressing peace, conflict resolution, and security in Africa.

For Information on eligible research topics, eligibility requirements, and application forms please visit: http://www.wid.msu.edu/forstudents/opportunities.htm or http://africa.msu.edu/compton.php. Completed application forms must be submitted by mail and e-mail

to: MSU-Compton Fellowship Committee, c/o David
Wiley, African Studies Center, 100 International Center,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
48824-1035; Tel: 517-353-1700; Fax: 517-432-1209; e-

mail: wiley@msu.edu. The application deadline is March 16, 2007.


Explore Africa at MSU, June 17-23, 2007

Explore Africa at MSU is a residential program designed for academically talented high school students (entering grades 10, 11, and 12) who would like to become immersed in learning about the tremendous diversity found within the continent of Africa. This program is a cooperative venture by the African Studies Center and the Office of Gifted and Talented Education at MSU.

Participants will attend daily language classes in Swahili; participate in sessions on African literature; develop self-selected projects on African topics; participate in African music and dance, as well as assist an African chef in making a traditional dinner.

For registration or other information, contact John Metzler, (517) 353-1700; e-mail: metzler@msu.edu, url: http://www.msu.edu/gifted/exploreafrica/exploreafrica.htm. The application deadline is March 30, 2007.


OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Time and History
Wole Soyinka and the Drama of Existence - Request for articles for a special issue

For its special issue on the philosophical significance of Wole Soyinka's writing, the journal Philosophia Africana solicits relevant articles on any aspects of his versatile work.

Contributors may examine Soyinka's work in any genre - drama, poetry, fiction, occasional essays, or criticism - but analysis must focus on those themes with special appeal to an audience interested in philosophy. Relevant topics may address issues in one branch or several branches of the discipline, such as: aesthetic theories, philosophy of culture, ethics and morality, epistemology and metaphysics, or philosophy of religion. Other topics may address matters in Soyinka's cultural and social thought from the perspective of existentialism, political theory or activism, theories of tradition and change, or philosophy of history.

Send a title and an abstract (200 words or less) by March 30, 2007. Completed articles (7,000 words or less) are due by November 30, 2007. Submissions and inquiries can be sent by e-mail to: Dr. Peter Gratton, africana@condor.depaul.edu or posted to: The Editors, Philosophia Africana, Department of Philosophy, DePaul University, 2352 N. Clifton Ave, Suite 150, Chicago, IL 60614.

For detailed "Notes for Contributors" visit: http://condor.depaul.edu/africana/html/notes.html.


CONFERENCES

Int'l Conference on Ethiopian Development Studies (4th ICEDS) August 3-5, 2007, Western Michigan University

The WMU Center for African Development Policy Research (CADPR) announces the 4th International Conference on Ethiopian Development Studies (ICEDS) on the theme: "Challenges and Opportunities: Peace, Democracy, and Development in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa."

The Symposium is intended for academics, policy makers, investors and donors, and others interested in contemporary issues in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Each contributor is invited to submit the participation form, found at: http://homepages.wmich.edu/asefa/ (click on the 4th ICEDS Conference Announcement) and a one-page typed double-spaced copy of the proposal. Abstracts that do not include a completed "Participation Form" will be regarded as incomplete and will not be accepted.

Proposals on the following are invited: 1) Agriculture, Food Security, and Rural Development; 2) Education for Sustainable Development; 3) Regional Integration for Development; 4) Building Democratic Institutions of governance and civil society; 5) Health and HIV/AIDS Issues; 6) Private Sector, Entrepreneurship and Markets; 7) Science and Technology for Development; 8) US Policy on Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa; 9) Managing Ethnic, Clan, and Religious conflicts; 10) Peace building and Conflict Resolution; 11) Women and Development; 12) The Role of the Diaspora in Development; and 13) An open forum for political parties. Please send all abstracts or proposals by March 1, 2007, and completed papers by April 1, 2007 to: 4th International Conference on Ethiopian Development Studies (4th ICEDS), Attn: Professor Sisay Asefa, Center for African Development Policy Research (CADPR), Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49008, USA; Fax: (616) 387-0630 e-mail:
SISAY.ASEFA@WMICH.EDU.


Int'l Congress of the Somali Studies Association

The Somali Studies International Association (SSIA) will be holding its tenth international conference on the title, Somali Studies in the 21st Century: Local and Global Perspectives. The conference will be held in two parts. The first part will take place in Columbus, Ohio, and will be cosponsored by the Ohio State University Center for African Studies, Ohio University's Institute for the African Child and the Somali Studies International Association, August 16-18, 2007. The second part will be held in Djibouti, December 13-15, 2007. The Congress of the SSIA will be held on the campus of the Ohio State University. Participants will deliver scholarly papers; take part on discussion panels, in community fora and in activities celebrating Somali culture and tradition.

Themes examined at the Ohio Congress include: *New Directions in Somali Historiography*The Somali Diaspora, Transnational Remittance, Business and Commerce *Islam and Social Identities *Somali Community Development and Capacity Building*The Experience of Somalis within the Horn of Africa *Global Security, Islam and Somali Society in the 21st Century*Governance, Civil Society, and Social Conflict *Historical and Contemporary Gender Identities*Environmental Degradation in Somalia Refugee Education, Cultural Barriers and Social Integration*Education and Economy in a Stateless Society*The Politics of the War on Terror and US. Foreign Policy on the Horn *The Role of Frontline States in Somali Affairs*Transnational Organizations [UN, IGAD, EU, AL] and the Somali Peace Process*The Role of Civil Society in the Somali Reconciliation and Institutional Building*Somali Language, Literature, Culture, Film and Arts*Colonialism and its Impact on the Somali Nation- State*Human Rights Issues *Somali Public Health: Reconstruction and Revitalization in the Aftermath of Warfare.

For additional information regarding the 10th SSIA-Ohio Congress, please contact: Ms. Laura Joseph at: cas@osu.edu; Dr. Abdinur Mohamud at:
abdulnuur@hotmail.com; or Prof. Abdi M. Kusow Kusow@oakland.edu' or write to: Center for African Studies, The Ohio State University, 314 Oxley Hall; 1712 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210; Tel: (614) 292-8169; Fax: (614) 292-4273; e-mail: ssia2007@osu.edu.

There will be a community development workshop to be held on the second day of the conference, Friday, August17, 2007. More information about the entire SSIA congress, including Call for Papers, may be found at http://www.somalistudies.org. The deadline for Abstract/Biosketch is February 28, 2007.


Sudan/ese in the Diaspora: Past and Present

The 26th Annual Sudan Studies Association Conference on the title stated above, will be held May 25-27, 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Theme: Sudanese communities are currently mushrooming in many places around the globe. The diasporas have impacted the home country, economically, politically and socially. Throughout history, Sudanese have lived in different places outside their country for various reasons. They lived as invaders and occupiers such as in ancient Egypt; as prisoners against their will and as material goods during the slave trade and moved to various places in the Middle East and beyond; as expatriates in oil-rich countries of Arabia and North Africa; as refugees and asylum-seekers from war-ravaged areas settling in many places in Europe, North America, Australia, and in many African countries; or as college students and professionals in many foreign countries. The sheer presence of these communities outside Sudan has raised and highlighted several cultural issues regarding citizenship and identity within their host countries as well as in their homeland. With the current political events in the Sudan, the role of the Sudanese diasporic communities should be examined critically not merely in terms of their political discourses and activism, but equally within the context of the global discourse about the Sudan.

The tradition of the SSA conference is to give priority in timing and prominence of presentation to papers that address the theme of the conference, but papers on other issues relating to Sudan are also welcome. Abstracts of proposed papers (150-200 words) should be received by April 2, 2007. Please send paper abstract to Dr. Benaiah Yongo-Bure, 2007 SSA Panel Organizer, Economics Department, Kettering University, 1700 Third Avenue, Flint, MI 48504; Tel: (810)762-9622, e-mail: byongo@kettering.edu.

Acceptance for presentation will depend on the quality of the abstract and the judgment of the program committee. Small stipends of $200 are available for assistance to a limited number of graduate students, and interested persons should contact SSA President Dr. Ali Dinar: aadinar@sas.upenn.edu. Registration forms and fees are available at the SSA website: http://www.sudanstudies.org and they should be sent to Dr. Richard Lobban, Sudan Studies Association, Rhode Island College, 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave., Providence, RI 02908.


Tuesday Bulletin, Spring 2007, No. 4

MSU African Studies Center <fruge@msu.edu>
Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:48:57 -0500




Page Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.

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