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MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 03/11/08





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Tuesday Bulletin for March 11th, 2008
Topics covered in this issue: Events | Announcements | Other Announcements | Fellowships | Conferences | Jobs
Events



The President's Malaria Initiative in Malawi Friday, March 14, 2008
CASID/WID Friday Forum with Dr. Rebecca Malouin, Faculty (Dept. of Pediatrics and Human Development, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.

Public lecture with Achille Mbembe
Monday, March 17, 2008
The African American and African Studies Program and the Department of English at MSU present a public lecture with Achille Mbembe, Professor of History and Political Science at Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, South Africa and Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Irvine. The lecture will be 4:30-6:00 p.m. at the MSU Union 2nd floor, Parlor C. Reception will follow. For additional information, contact Professor Aimé Ellis: aime@msu.edu.

Michigan-Africa Network of Activists (MANA) Friday, March 14, 2008
MANA seminar series on HIV/AIDS in Africa, presentation by Adrian Blow, Faculty (Marriage & Family Therapy, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 204 International Center. Contact Washington Mutatu at his e-mail: mutatuwa@msu.edu for more information.

The Aqua Clara Project
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
VIPP and the Greater Lansing Chapter United Nations Association-USA presentation by Dr. Robert McDonald, retired physicist and chemical engineer who had wide experience as Middle East/Africa Regional Manager for Dow Chemical Company. His observations left an indelible impression of the devastating role of contaminated water as the major cause of preventable illness and death among infants and children in the develop! ing worl d. Please RSVP to eubankw@msu.edu by March 10, 2008, if you want a sandwich and soft drink. The presentation is from 11:50 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Room 303 International Center.

Film series
"Amsterdam Diary" (Ghana)
Thursday, March 13, 2008 Shown at the Snyder-Phillips residential college theater, 7:30p.m. Written, produced and directed by Socrate Safo, one of Ghana's leading video producers.

Its message is clear: as a character in Back to Kotoka, another Amsterdam movie by Mr. Safo, puts it, "Europe is a jungle." Ghanaians tempted by the opportunities and conveniences of Europe's global modernity are better off staying at home.

Is Africa Still Being Looted?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Patrick Bond, Political Economist (Research Professor at the Univ. of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center.

Africa as Victim of Climate Change and Carbon Trading Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Formal African Studies Seminar with Patrick Bond, Political Economist (Research Professor at the Univ. of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa), 3:00 - 5:00 p.m., Room 303. Refreshments will be available.

Announcements


New Book on Ethiopia and Pre-Modern Africa Earnestine Jenkins, (MSU Ph.D., 1998), Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Memphis, has written a new book entitled: A Kingly Craft: Art and Leadership in Ethiopia: A Social History of Art and Visual Culture in Pre-Modern Africa. She treats painting and illuminated manuscripts in the 18th and 19th century, and the modifications of the Gondar tradition, with a focus on Shewa province in the center of the country and the figure of Sahle Selassie, father of Emperor Menilik. "It's quite a pioneering work, alongside her work! in African-American art and history," commented David Wiley, Director of the MSU African Studies Center. For more information about the book, e-mail: eljenkns@memphis.edu.

Research on Hyenas in Kenya
Congratulations to Professor Kay Holekamp (Department of Zoology, Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, & Behavior) and African Studies Center core faculty member for her research on hyenas in Kenya. Professor Holekamp's research was featured in the March 4, 2008 New York Times Science Section. Her work has been supported by NSF and is in cooperation with the Kenya Wildlife Service. See more on her research, teaching, and the hyenas of Kenya at: http://hyenas.zoology.msu.edu/.

MSU Students for Fair Trade Bash - April 8, 2008 This year's bash will be held April 8, 2008 from 6:30 – 10:30 p.m. in room 303 of the International Center.

Speakers include: Dean Cycon, Founder of Dean's Beans and supporter of the Coffeelands Landmines Victims' Trust; Michael Lundquist, Chief Executive Officer of the Polus Center for Social & Economic Development; Gail Catron, Fair Trade advocate and retailer, owner of new local 100% Fair Trade store, Kirabo; and Rebecca Meuninck, Ph.D. Student specializing in Gender, the Environment, and Fair Trade Coffee, MSU Department of Anthropology.

Please RSVP to Vice President Scott Dombrowski, e-mail: dombro38@msu.edu as soon as possible. Due to limited availability, those wishing to set up displays will be given tables on a first come basis. Please indicate a preference in your RSVP, as well as an individual and/or organization name. A donation of $25.00 or one Fair Trade item as a door prize is encouraged.

Other Announcements


Racism and Reconciliation Forum - Kalamazoo, MI "Racism in our Community: Seeing Ourselves in Both the Problem and the Solution," presentation by DeMarra Gardner, Change Agent Consulting. The lecture will end with a discussion on diversity and refreshments. Visit http://www.forumchurch.org/ and click on Forums for more information or call (269) 342-5852. The church address is: 2208 Winchell Ave., Kalamazoo, MI 49008.

World/Teach
Harvard University
The World/Teach organization is based at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. Following is information about the unique teaching opportunities offered by World/Teach in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Namibia. World/Teach offers several summer teaching opportunities lasting two months, directed at undergraduate students. Additionally, they offer numerous year-long teaching assignments for college graduates. Both offer complete immersion and hands-on education in the culture of the destination country that would prove invaluable to someone with an interest in the African continent. Please visit the following websites which provides information on the World/Teach African program:

Year long programs:
http://www.worldteach.org/programs/south_africa_year/ http://www.worldteach.org/programs/rwanda_year/ http://www.worldteach.org/programs/namibia_year/

Summer programs:
http://www.worldteach.org/programs/namibia_summer/ http://www.worldteach.org/programs/south_africa_summer/


Fellowships


African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowship The African Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellowships (ADDRF) is a new fellowship program designed to support doctoral students at African universities whose theses address issues relating to heath systems strengthening in Africa. One of these fellowships will support doctoral research that focuses on the broad field of sexuality research. The ADDRF will award a maximum of 16 fellowships in the first year.

These fellowships will be awarded to advanced doctoral students who are within two years of completing their doctoral thesis at an African university. Dissertation topics addressing health systems-related issues or sexuality from any disciplinary perspective are eligible for consideration. Potential applicants are welcome to send queries and applications to the following email address: addrf@aphrc.org. The deadline for applications is March 29, 2008.

Pre-Doctoral Fellow in African-New World Studies African-New World Studies Program at Florida International University seeks a Pre-Doctoral Fellow for the Academic year 2008-2009. Applicants must have finished their course work and already begun dissertation writing. They must be conducting or have conducted research on Africa or/and the African Diaspora. The successful applicant will come from either the social sciences or the humanities. S/he will be expected to teach the undergraduate course "Introduction to African Worlds" during one semester and one other course related to the candidates's expertise during the second semester. The pre-doctoral fellow is also expected to support the academic and outreach activities of the program. Salary will be determined according to accomplishments and experience. Please send a letter of application, a vitae, one writing sample of not more than 30 pages, and three sealed letters of recommendation by March 14, 2008 to Director, ANWS, Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Florida International University, African-New World Studies Program, 3000 NE 151 Street, AC1-162, North Miami, Florida 33181.

Conferences


African Languages & Globalization- Madison, WI The African Language Teachers Association (ALTA) 12th Annual Conference on African Languages and Globalization: Challenges, Expectations, and Possibilities will convene April 24-27, 2! 008 at t he Madison Concourse Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin. The conference will be in conjunction with the 11th Annual Conference of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL). Language-specific panels will be conducted in Swahili, Yorúbá, Zulu/Nguni. For details, please visit the ALTA website: http://lang.nalrc.wisc.edu/alta/ or the NCOLCTL website at: http://www.councilnet.org.

2008 Northeast Workshop on Southern Africa-CFP This is the first call for papers and participation for the Eighth Northeast Workshop on Southern Africa (NEWSA). Scholars from all disciplines who are currently working on southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) are encouraged to submit proposals. The committee also encourage the presentation of previously unpublished work, and submissions from graduate students and junior faculty in particular. The meeting will be held at the Bishop Booth Conference Center in Burlington, Vermont (US), October 17-19, 2008.

The deadline for paper and/or panel proposals, and to volunteer as a discussant, is March 14, 2008. Send proposals to Peter Alegi at: alegi@msu.edu. For further details and the latest updated information on the conference, see the NEWSA web site at https://segue.southwestern.edu/sites/greenmue.

Jobs


Amharic, Igbo, Swahili, Yoruba, and Zulu/Xhosa Instructors -- Summer 2008 - UCLA Pending sufficient course enrollments, the UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center seeks short-term instructors in introductory Amharic, Igbo, Swahili, Yoruba, and either Zulu or Xhosa for the Language Intensives in LA program during Summer Session 2008 (June 23 - August 15). Classes meet 8:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Monday through Friday. Job duties will include teaching, lesson planning, writing exams and quizzes, grading student work, arranging for guest speakers, and participating in field trips (some of which may take place outside of class time). Candidates must be available to participate in training sessions both before and during the Summer Session. Employment will be for the Summer Session only.Applicants should have teaching experience and a degree in a relevant discipline. (M.A. or other advanced degree preferred.) Experience with university students in the United States is a plus. Candidates should speak Amharic, Igbo, Swahili, Yoruba, Zulu or Xhosa at the Superior proficiency level or beyond, and also have strong English skills. Salary and title will be commensurate with experience and educational level. Applicants must have unrestricted permission to work in the United States. The application deadline is April 1, 2008.

Send letter of application, curriculum vita, two letters of recommendation, and teaching evaluations (if available) to: Dr. Katrina Daly Thompson, African Languages Coordinator, UCLA James S. Coleman, African Studies Center, Attn: Summer Sessions Instructor Search, 10244 Bunche Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1310.


from MSU African Studies Center <africa@msu.edu>

date Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 3:19 PM
subject Tuesday Bulletin for March 11th, 2008


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

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