MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 09/29/09

"The New US Leadership on Global Food Security and Agricultural Development," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Julie Howard, Executive Director (Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, Washington, D.C. and African Studies Core Faculty), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Friday, October 2, 2009

"Environmental Change and New Ideas on Control Strategies for Sleeping Sickness in Kenya," CASID/GenCen Friday Forum with Joseph Messina, Faculty (Dept. of Geography, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Thursday, October 8, 2009

"African Podcasts, Posters, Publishing and Papers: New Treasures of MSU's Africa Involvement," African Studies interdisciplinary, interactive panel with MSU Professors, Peter Alegi (History), Ken Harrow (English), Joseph Lauer (Librarian), Peter Limb (Bibliographer), Gabriel Dotto, Director, (MSU Press), and Getahun Haile, graduate student (History), highlighting exciting new developments in MSU's engagement with Africa, 12:00 noon, 3rd Floor, Room 303 International Center. Friday, October 9, 2009

Third Annual Africanist Graduate Student Research Conference, focusing on the theme: "Africa's Challenges and Possibilities," two-day conference with Keynote Speaker: Dr. James A. Pritchett, Director (MSU African Studies Center), 6:30 p.m., 3rd Floor International Center, reception to follow. Please direct inquiries to: msuasgc@msu.edu. Thursday, October 15, 2009

"Donkeys: a Vital Animal to Africa's Development," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Charles Mackenzie, Faculty (Pathology, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Friday, October 16, 2009

"Dynamics of Sexual Violence as Weapons of War: Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Lyman Briggs College Speaker Series with Dr. Julia Van Rooyen, Gynecologic Surgeon and Fellow at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m., C102 Holmes Hall. Friday, October 16, 2009

"The Journey from MSU's Lyman Briggs College to the Congo: Advancing the Science and Practice of a Humanitarian Response to Violence and War," Lyman Briggs College Speaker Series with Dr. Michael Van Rooyen, Faculty (Harvard School of Public Health), 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Room C102 Holmes Hall. Tuesday, October 20, 2009

"Declarations of Dependence: Labor, Personhood, and Welfare in South Africa and Beyond," African Studies Center Special Lecture Series with Dr. James Ferguson, Chair and Professor, (Dept. of Anthropology, Stanford Univ.), 4:00 p.m., 3rd Floor, Room 303 International Center. Thursday, October 29, 2009

"Local Economic Development, Poverty Reduction and sustainable Livelihoods within Townships in South Africa. Myth or Reality?," African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Cecil Madell, Visiting Scholar, Univ. of Michigan-UMAPS program (Univ. of Cape Town, South Africa), 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m., Room 201 International Center. Thursday, October 29, 2009

"African Audiences from Hollywood to Nollywood," Annual ASA Presidential evening lecture with African Studies Association President, Dr. Charles Ambler, Faculty, History Department, University of Texas at el Paso, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Room 115 International Center. Reception to follow at 7:30 p.m. in Spartan Rooms B & C, Crossroads Food Court. Announcements
Open Mike – Stories Inspired by African Textiles

The MSU Museum invites the community to listen to a storytelling session on Sunday, October 11, 2009, 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., from the Michigan State University faculty about their work in Africa over the past few decades.

A number of beautiful textiles were collected by some of the 170 MSU African Studies faculty and their families while working in more than two dozen African countries. Some are bringing a textile and will tell a story about her or his experiences. You are also welcome to bring an African textile to display and speak about. Come celebrate MSU's special projects, scholarship and research in Africa at the MSU Museum's main gallery. Look for Threads of Change: The Transformation of West African Textiles exhibit. Refreshments will be provided. Spring 2010 Course Announcements

ACR 848 - (formerly RD 823) -Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Developing Countries

Instructor: John Kerr, Wed., 4:10 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

This course analyzes rural natural resource management in developing countries, focusing on the factors that lead to natural resource outcomes, e.g. conservation, productivity, and income distribution. The course begins with a look at how human and natural systems interact, then addresses a variety of issues that influence natural resource management including people's perceptions of the natural resource scarcity, poverty and population density, tenure security, property rights regimes, collective action and its determinants, and governance. It also examines policy tools for promoting conservation where benefits are off-site.

ENG 818 - The Decolonization of Black Cinema

Instructor: Ken Harrow

This course will track the parallel movements of African and of African American Cinema as they developed from their origins to contemporary times. The professor is particularly interested in ways in which these cinemas have related to their historical periods, where they can be said to have passed from initial stages of a colonized cinema to ones in which they have become, through struggle, decolonized. The relationship to the history of decolonization, both literally in Africa, and figuratively in the United States, can be calibrated in cinematic terms as black filmmakers have gradually taken possession of the camera and forged representations in opposition to dominant cinema's ideologies. In the end, the success of this trajectory toward some kind of liberation has also meant increasing integration into the dominant film industry, or the transformation into a popular mode that accommodates itself to commercial cinema. Thus the complexity of "decolonization" for a cultural mode of production, cinema, is to be seen in its relationship to the dominant ideological strains in each cinema's respective society.Tracking these parallel cinemas simultaneously will help the class discover how each cinema may be seen as having been influenced by the other, especially because the movements from colonized to decolonized, from "race" films to black cinema, were marked by a close convergence in historical patterns. Just as the Negritude movement was historically joined to the Harlem Renaissance, so too were the trajectories of black cinema marked by fascinating historical movements whose conjunctions included moments of cultural exchange and political collaboration. Study Abroad Programs in Africa - Info Meetings

SOUTH AFRICA

Cross-cultural Teaching Abroad in South Africa

Summer 2010

Thursday, October 8, 2009

5:30 pm - 133D Erickson

MADAGASCAR

Paradise in Peril? Exploring Madagascar's Biodiversity Crisis

Summer 2010

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

5:30 pm - 338 Natural Resources

Direct inquiries to Chris Barden, Office of Study Abroad, 109 International Center, (517) 432-8785; or e-mail: barden@msu.edu. GenCen Internship Applications for Spring 2010

The Center for Gender in Global Context offers internship coordination for undergraduate and graduate students interested in issues of gender related to social justice, community development, health, domestic violence, and/or environmental health and justice. Students are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to gain hands on experience interning with organizations working on these issues, while receiving MSU credit. More information and a downloadable application form can be found at http://www.giec.msu.edu/internship.htm. Electronic submissions are encouraged. The submission deadline is November 1, 2009. Students interested in international internships should contact the GenCen Internship Coordinator, Marisa Rinkus, at gencenic@msu.edu as soon as possible to discuss programs and specific deadlines. Africa Past and Present Podcast

Africa Past and Present -- the podcast about African history, culture, and politics -- is now available at: http://afripod.aodl.org.

Africa Past and Present is 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 http://matrix.msu.edu. Other Announcements
SCALI 2010 Announcement

The Summer Cooperative African Language Institute (SCALI) 2010 program will be hosted by Michigan State University from June 14, 2010 to August 6, 2010. A student who attends SCALI, can possibly finish his/her language requirement for Specialization in African Studies, in a year. To view requirements from last year's SCALI program, visit http://africa.msu.edu/scali/. Updated information for 2010 will be available after December 15, 2009. South African Scholar to Speak in Ann Arbor, MI

Keith Gottschalk, from the University of the Western Cape and a Fulbright scholar at Oakland University, will speak Saturday, October 24, 2009, 1420 Hill Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. on the topic: Justice, Peace and Reconciliation in South Africa: Perspectives from an Anti-Apartheid Activist.

This event is sponsored by Michigan Friends Center, and Ann Arbor Friends (Quaker) group. $10.00 suggested donation. For information contact Professor Kubicek at: kubicek@oakland.edu. Conferences
26th Annual World Food Day Teleconference

The 2009 World Food Day Teleconference will take place on Friday, October 16, 2009, 12-3:00p.m. The topic: "Global Food Crisis:Opportunities, Responsibilities, and Solutions," will consider the impact of the financial crisis on those living in poverty, the responsibilities of the rest of the world and the solutions that are emerging. Three experts from different backgrounds working on these issues will exchange views on the 26th annual teleconference.

For additional information on the World Food Day Teleconference or other World Food Day resources and event planning ideas, please contact Patricia Young, National Coordinator at: patricia.young@fao.org. Visit http://www.worldfooddayusa.org for information on World Food Day. Jobs
KiSwahili Assistant Professor - Univ. of Kansas

The University of Kansas, Department of African & African-American Studies is seeking an Assistant Professor, tenure-track position to begin as early as August 18, 2010. Requirements are: Ph.D. or ABD in a relevant field of African Studies expected by start date of appointment; teaching experience in a relevant field; native or near-native proficiency in KiSwahili; demonstrated ability to teach oral and written language skills; familiarity with and ability to teach at a basic level in African Studies; strong commitment to quality scholarship; potential for research productivity and grant activity. Familiarity with East African cultures; educational background in language teaching; experience with language coordination; ability to teach languages for professional schools; technological capabilities for classroom, website development; experience in KiSwahili outreach; familiarity with other African languages/linguistics; and familiarity with proficiency testing is preferred. For a complete announcement and to apply online, go to https://jobs.ku.edu and search for position 00001660.For additional information, e-mail lisah@ku.edu. Initial review of applications begins on October 30, 2009 until no longer needed. EO/AAE. Department of History - Univ. of Florida

The Department of History at the University of Florida is seeking to hire a tenure-track assistant professor who is an historian of Francophone sub-Saharan Africa. Regional specialization and time period are open. The position will begin in August 2010 and applicants must have been awarded their Ph.D. by then. UF's Department of History has forty faculty members, over 100 graduate students, and an established graduate program in African history.

The UF Center for African Studies http://www.africa.ufl.edu is a federally-funded Title VI National Resource Center, which draws on some 100 affiliated faculty to create campus-wide graduate and undergraduate interdisciplinary programs related to Africa.

The University of Florida is a comprehensive public research university encompassing virtually all academic and professional disciplines, and is a member of the Association of American Universities.Please send letter of application, a curriculum vitae, and three letters of recommendation to: Luise White, Chair, Francophone Africa Search Committee – PS # 00025355, Department of History, University of Florida, PO Box 117320, Gainesville, FL 32611-7320; e-mail: lswhite@ufl.edu. The application deadline is December 15, 2009.

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