MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 04/13/04

Issue No. 13 Spring 2004
April 13, 2004

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
STUDY ABROAD
AFRICAN CULTURE WEEK SCHEDULE

EVENTS

April 13, Tuesday

"Documenting Apartheid: 30 Years of Looking at South Africa," African Studies Center Special seminar with Peter Davis, Filmmaker (field of social and political documentary), 12:00 noon, Room 201, International Center.

April 14 - 17, Wed. - Sat.

African Culture Week: "The Continuum of Great Tradition" (See full schedule at the end of the bulletin or visit: www.msu.edu/asu).

April 15, Thursday

"Policy and African Development Needs: Do they Converge?" African Studies Center Brown Bag with Mr. Joseph Kahiigwa, Minister Counselor, (Uganda Embassy, Washington, DC), 12:00 noon, Room 201, International Center.

April 16, Friday

"Federal Programs for Funding International Higher-Education Partnerships," CASID-WID forum with David Wiley, Professor of Sociology and Director of the African Studies Center and Christine Root, Specialist in International Studies and Programs (MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 201, International Center.

April 22, Thursday

"African Refugees and Displaced Persons," African Studies Center Brown Bag with Barry Stein, Faculty (Political Science, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 201, International Center.

April 29, Thursday

"The African Fish Eagle: Developing a Biosentinel Model to Study Environmental Pollution in Africa's Great Lakes Region," African Studies Center Brown Bag with Wilson Rumbeiha, Faculty (Veterinary Clinical Toxicology, Dept. of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation), 12:00 noon, Room 201, International Center.

MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS

MSU Coach to Take Part in July Safari to Africa

John L. Smith, the Spartans' head football coach will get the opportunity to ascend 19,341 feet to the top of Africa's tallest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Coach Smith will host an 11-day trip to Kenya and Tanzania this summer. The adventure is sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association and will take place July 8- 18, 2004. Despite the magnitude of his safari adventure, Coach Smith remains humble about it.

Reprint from portions of an article from the State News, 3/22/04

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Special Opportunities for Teachers of LCTL

CARLA is pleased to offer two special professional development opportunities for LCTL teachers this summer: teacher stipends and a free summer institute on developing proficiency assessments.

LCTL teachers (K-16) are invited to apply for a $600 teacher stipend to attend one of the CARLA summer institutes for language teachers. The stipends are provided by the European Studies Consortium and the Institute for Global Studies, both National Resource Centers at the University of Minnesota. Applications are due by April 26, 2004, and scholarship recipients will be announced by May 10, 2004.

The CARLA summer institutes will be held during the weeks of July 26-30, August 2-6, and August 9-13, 2004. The institutes offered this year are:

Content-Based Language Teaching with Technology - NEW!; Proficiency-Oriented Language Instruction & Assessment (POLIA);
Basics of Second Language Acquisition for Teachers; Developing Materials for Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs);
Maximizing Study Abroad: Strategies for Language and Culture Learning;
Developing Assessments for the Second Language Classroom; Meeting the Challenges of Immersion Education; Immersion 101: An Introduction to Immersion Teaching; Technology in the Second Language Classroom; Culture as the Core in the Second Language Classroom and; A Practical Course in Styles- and Strategies-Based Instruction

Find detailed information about each of the CARLA summer institutes on the CARLA website at: http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/.

The stipends are intended to support the participation of LCTL teachers in the CARLA summer institute program and to defray part of the expense of travel and accommodations not covered by the institute fee. The stipends are made possible by Title VI funding from the U.S. Department of Education's National Resource Center program. More information and application materials can be found on the CARLA website at: http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/2004/scholarships .html

CARLA is also pleased to announce a new free summer institute, just for LCTL teachers.

Developing Proficiency-Based Assessments in Less Commonly Taught Languages
June 21 - 25, 2004

In this institute, participants will examine the ACTFL Guidelines and how they are implemented in second/foreign language assessment. Participants will use resources from CARLA's Virtual Assessment Center and explore test development templates as they learn to apply the ACTFL guidelines to develop proficiency- based assessment using web-based resources. Instructed by Dr. Deniz G"k‡ora, Assessment Coordinator at CARLA.

There will be NO cost for instruction or materials, but applications must be accepted by May 7, 2004 (extended deadline). For more information visit:: http://www.carla.umn.edu/institutes/2004/lctlassessme nts.html

CONFERENCES

2nd Annual Towards an Africa Without Borders Call for Papers

The 2nd Annual Towards an Africa Without Borders Conference Transformation and Action will be held on October 8-10, 2004 at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Wisconsin, US.

The organizing committee for TAWB II invites papers and colloquia from activists and scholars on the topic of TRANSFORMATION and GUIDEPOSTS in Africa and Diaspora. The vision for TAWB II is to host a forum for a discussion leading to ACTION that will be centered on (but not limited to) the following core questions:

1. How do those of us working for change in Africa and its Diaspora imagine Transformation? How has progress/advancement been identified historically? What are some existing examples of guideposts? What has been achieved?
   
   
2. The Ties that Bind - In what ways do the issues that Africans face differ from the issues that African- Americans face in achieving goals towards 'progress'? Which issues are shared? How can we build a common platform and on what issues should it be based?
   
   
3. How 'Pan' is Pan-Africanism? Is Pan-Africanism inclusive of Northern Africa?
   
   
4. How has African feminism fared in Pan-Africanist theory and action?
5. Fanon, Nkrumah, Carbral and the cause for African independence: What is the future of African radical theory?
   
   
6. Progress in fighting the AIDS pandemic: What are the issues? What has been achieved? What more needs to be done?
   
   
7. Africa and the War on Terror: Whose war? Whose terrorists?
   
   
8. Africa via Haiti: 200 years between empires?
   
   
9. Refugees and immigration: What role for Pan- Africanism?

The above questions meant to raise discussion leading to action may also be narrowed to topics relevant to Pan- Africanism.

Abstracts should be limited to 250 words, and should include the author's name, title, affiliation, and full address (including telephone, fax, and e-mail). If abstracts are submitted by e-mail, attachments should be in Microsoft Word (.doc). The deadline for abstract submission is May 10th, 2004. (If you are sending in your abstract from outside the United States, please consider your country's visa application turn around and adjust the deadline accordingly).

The abstracts can be sent to the following address: Towards an Africa without Borders, Department of African Languages and Literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1414 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53715 or to the following e-mail addresses: mwngugi@wisc.edu or jwmagua@wisc.edu. For additional information, please contact Mukoma Wa Ngugi at or 608-262-8462 or visit the website at http

STUDY ABROAD

Ghana Study Abroad for Students and Non-students

The Ghana Study Abroad Program runs from April 30 - May 10, 2004. The program in Ghana is offered through Florida Atlantic University.

Students will explore trends and dynamics of African social, political, economic and cultural systems as they impact on gender and women's lives from a cross- cultural perspective. Myths and stereotypes about Africa and its peoples will be deconstructed. Topics include health, environment, communications and the media, performance and storytelling, gender based violence, history, and education. The course will combine classroom instruction, field visits, and workshop sessions that provide students with hands on experience with the local culture. Scheduled meetings with the course instructor will be arranged to discuss progress on student projects. A limited number of scholarships are available. Deadline is April 15, 2004.

To enroll or for additional details please contact Tania Tucker-Kraus at trtucker@fau.edu or call (561) 297- 3227.

There is also a possibility of internships with NGOs working on women related issues, such as gender based violence or women in politics, etc. after completion of the program. Contact Dr. Josephine Beoku-Betts at beokubetts@fau.edu for more information and to arrange the internship.

African Culture Week 2004
(Schedule of events)

The Continuum of Great Tradition
(April 14 - 17, 2004)

Visit www.msu.edu/asu for more information

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

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