Tuesday Bulletin for February 24th, 2009

Tuesday Bulletin for February 24th, 2009

Topics covered in this issue: Events | Announcements | Other Announcements | Conferences Events
Thursday, February 24, 2009

"Perspectives on African Democratization Since 1990," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Cheick Oumar Diarrah, Former Ambassador of Mali to the U.S., 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Thursday, March 5, 2009

"So You Want to Involve Communities? Approaches and Experiences of Community Natural Resources Management in Malawi," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Leo Zulu, Faculty, (Geography, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Thursday, March 12, 2009

SPRING BREAK, No Brown Bag
Thursday, March 19, 2009

"Livelihood and Urban Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia: Perspectives from Small and Big Towns," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Tegegne Gebre-Egziabher, Faculty (Geography, Addis Ababa University), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Announcements
Articulate - Undergraduate Journal - Call for Papers

SCOUT BANANA, in conjunction with Michigan State University's African Studies Center and Office of International Development, invite undergraduates to submit a manuscript to Articulate: Undergraduate Research Applied to International Development. Articulate is an undergraduate journal that publishes academic papers and writings (research papers, field work, interviews, etc.) on issues in international development, focusing primarily on African studies and healthcare issues. This journal focuses on relationships between development, healthcare, and the African continent. It is a forum for students to contribute to, as well as make, the debates in international development. Undergraduate students remain a vital, untapped force that can bring new ideas, perspectives, and concepts into the development dialogue.

Articulate is peer-reviewed by fellow undergraduate students and an appointed editorial board. Publication is based on relevance, quality, and originality. Submissions should be roughly 10-15 pages long, and formatted in the Chicago Manual of Style with 200-word abstract. In addition, the author's name, major, college, and university must appear on a separate cover sheet, with no reference to the author within the manuscript.

Potential topics, include, but are not limited to: a) The effectiveness of foreign aid, microfinance, and social enterprise in Africa; b) Intersections of gender, religion, ethnicity, and sexuality in Africa; c) Ethics and development in African countries; d) Historical analyses and case studies of healthcare programs in Africa; e) Politics of water and medicine in Africa; f) The role of African youth in development programs and projects; g) Effects of conflict and forced migration on healthcare and development.

In addition, Articulate is also seeking brief reflective essays on young peoples' experiences in Africa. Ideally, these pieces are 2-3 single-spaced pages and can take a variety of creative forms. These essays should explore how development work is from the perspective of a young person from the Global North, entering the Global South. Papers will be accepted until March 15, 2009 with an intended publication date during Spring 2009. For submissions or more information, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at articulate@scoutbanana.org. If you don't meet the criteria to submit papers, but still want to get your ideas published as a volunteer or researcher in the field, feel free to contact banana@scoutbanana.org to inquire. "Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles" Exhibit at the MSU Museum

"Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles" will be on display at the MSU Museum through August 20, 2009. Upcoming programs include:

Saturday, March 21, 2009 – 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m."STAMP, PAINT, CUT!" African Fabric Workshop for Children, MSU Museum Auditorium

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 – 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.International Book Club Meeting - "Monique and the Mango Rains. Two years with a Midwife in Mali," by Kris Holloway

(Sponsored by East Lansing Public Library)MSU Museum Main Gallery

Additional programs are planned in conjunction with the MSU Residential College in the Arts and Humanities. For details, go to http://www.museum.msu.edu. Fellowships for Dissertation Research & Completion

The Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change (GJEC) Program, in the Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen), is pleased to announce two new fellowships for MSU graduate students for the 2009-10 academic year. Generous funding provided by MSU's Graduate School has allowed for the development of three $10,000 fellowship opportunities in the following categories:

GJEC Dissertation Research FellowshipEligibility for Dissertation Research Fellowship: Ph.D. students at MSU who have completed all requirements for their degree with the exception of their dissertation research. Applicants must have dissertation projects that focus on the gender dimensions of environmental and/or agricultural change.GJEC Dissertation Completion FellowshipEligibility for Dissertation Completion Fellowship: Ph.D. students at MSU who have completed all requirements for their degree program including dissertation research. Applicants' dissertations must focus on gender or other social inequalities as they relate to environmental and/or agricultural change.Funding must be used during the 2009-10 academic year. Applications and complete details are available online at http://www.gjec.msu.edu/home.htm.

Submit completed application and supporting documents by April 17, 2009 to: Kate Patch, GenCen Specialist Advisor, Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change Program, c/o Center for Gender in Global Context, 206 International Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, E-mail: gencenad@msu.edu, Tel: 517-353-5040, Fax: 517-432-4845. Africa Past & Present Podcast

"Africa Past and Present" is a Podcast about history, culture, and politics in Africa hosted by Michigan State University historians Peter Alegi and Peter Limb. It is produced by MATRIX - The Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online at MSU (http://www.matrix.msu.edu). Listen and subscribe to the biweekly Podcast at: http://afripod.aodl.org/. Other Announcements
$25,000 Frederick Douglass Book Prize

The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition is pleased to announce the 2009 Frederick Douglass Book Prize, a $25,000 award for the most outstanding nonfiction book published in English in 2008 on the subject of slavery and/or abolition and antislavery movements. Publishers and authors are invited to submit books that meet these criteria. We are interested in all geographical areas and time periods. Please note, however, that works related to the Civil War are acceptable only if their primary focus relates to slavery or emancipation.

Nominations for books published in 2008 will be accepted beginning in January 2009. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2009. To receive instructions on how to submit a book, please contact the Gilder Lehrman Center, MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, at 34 Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511-8936, fax (203) 432-6943, or e-mail to gilder.lehrman.center@yale.edu. Summer Internship Program in Namibia

Augsburg College has space available on their summer study abroad program based in Windhoek, Namibia. The program is entitled, "Social Change and Development in Southern Africa." In this program, students will partake in a substantive internship (minimum of 200 hours) and enroll in "The Development Process: Southern Africa" course. This program is unique in its experiential nature and integrates solid academic work with real-life experiences. Students learn directly from local people involved in some of the most important issues of our time. The program is scheduled for June 1-August 9, 2009. The deadline for application is April 1, 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.augsburg.edu/global/spa/summernam.html.

Students interested in a longer term experience should ask about the "Nation-Building, Globalization and Decolonizing the Mind" program that runs each fall and spring in Southern Africa.

Please direct all questions or concerns to globaled@augsburg.edu or call: 1-800-299-8889. New MSc Degree - Univ. of Edinburgh

The Centre of African Studies, the University of Edinburgh, announces their new MSc in Africa and International Development.

Focusing specifically on Africa, this new Master's program is open to students and professionals looking to develop a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of international development and how they play out in an African context. It draws on the Center's long-standing reputation as a global hub for the study of African and builds on the University of Edinburgh's cross disciplinary expertise on development. See: http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/taught_programmes/msc_african_and_international_development for full details. Conferences
Building Professional Pathways for New Americans

Building Professional Pathways for New Americans: The National Conference on Refugee Professional Recertification will be held June 22-24, 2009 at the Kellogg Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI June 22-24, 2009.

Foreign-trained educators, physicians, nurses, engineers and other professionals arriving in the United States as refugees find it difficult, expensive and time-consuming to obtain the qualifications required to practice their profession. They receive limited financial assistance and advice from resettlement agencies mandated to help them achieve self-sufficiency in only a few months. In a time of economic crisis their situation – and the task of those who work with them – is extremely challenging. RefugeeWorks is the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement's training and technical assistance arm for employment and self-sufficiency activities. A national conference convened by RefugeeWorks will discuss the many issues related to professional retraining, job-seeking and recertification for refugees in the United States. Participants will include resettlement personnel, refugees, employment specialists, educators, employers and others who work with refugee professionals.

Sessions will cover the following topics: Post-secondary Retraining Programs; Partnerships across Sectors; Policies, Laws and Reforms; Success Stories. In addition, roundtable discussions will take place on the following topics: the long-term view of integration; what happens between arrival and recertification; refugees' professional expectations; cultural orientation; the effects of the economic situation; and psychological counseling for refugees.

Paper presenters are welcome to participate in these groups and roundtables. A Michigan-focused job fair for employers and refugee professionals will follow in Detroit on June 24, 2009. Individual paper abstracts should be limited to 200 words and sent to Linda Rabben at Lrabben@lirs.org. Proposals for five additional sessions and roundtables, as well as information inquiries, should also be sent to Ms. Rabben as soon as possible; please include the names and contact information for all confirmed and potential participants. The deadline for papers and abstracts is March 5, 2009. Workshop on Elections and Democracy: Exchanging African & Comparative Perspectives -Accra, Ghana

The American Political Science Association (APSA) and the Institute for African Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon is pleased to announce a call for applications from individuals who would like to participate in a June 21-July 10, 2009 "Workshop on Elections and Democracy: Exchanging African and Comparative Perspectives." The Workshop will be held at the facilities of the Institute for African Studies in Accra, Ghana. The organizers, with a grant secured from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a private philanthropy in the United States, will cover all the costs of participation (travel, lodging, meals, daily stipend, materials) for up to 23 qualified applicants (20 African, 3 U.S.). The working language of the workshop is English. Professional fluency in English is absolutely required.

The workshop leaders are Dr. Daniel A. Smith (Department of Political Science, University of Florida, USA), Dr. Kevin S. Fridy (Department of Political Science, University of Tampa, USA), Dr. Beatrix Allah-Mensah (Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Ghana), and Dr. Ukoha Ukiwo (Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria).

Program announcements, Application Form, and more information about the workshop can be found online at the APSA Africa Workshops project website, www.apsanet.org/africaworkshops. The application deadline is March 27, 2009.

The workshop is targeted principally at university and college faculty in the social sciences residing in Africa, who have completed their Ph.D. and are in the early stages of their academic career. Up to three U.S. advanced Ph.D. students will also be accepted.

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

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