MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 11/13/07

The African Studies Center at MSU

Tuesday Bulletin for November 13th, 2007

Can Foreign Aid End World Poverty?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

International Education Week presentation by William Easterly, Faculty(Economics, New York University) and Co-director of NYU's Development Research Institute, 3:00pm, Room 303 International Center. Wildlife Conservation in the Congo Forest Basin

Thursday, November 15, 2007

African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Lisa Korte, Graduating Phd Student (Zoology, MSU), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Thanksgiving Holiday

Thursday, November 22, 2007

N! o Brown Bag
Strengthening Civil Society in Techiman, Ghana: An International Collaboration to Build the Nkwantananso Cultural Center Kiki

Thursday, November 29, 2007

African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Rob Glew, Faculty (Anthropology, MSU) and Ray Silverman, Faculty (Art History, Univ. of Michigan), 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Crisis in the Implementation of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

African Studies Center Special Brown Bag talk with Benaiah Yongo-Bure, Faculty (Kettering Univ., Flint, MI), 12:00 - 1:30 p.m., Room 201 International Center. Announcements
Free Resource for Teaching About South Africa

South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid, Building Democracy is an exciting new resource for teaching about South Africa. Explore interviews, videos, and other new res! ources about South Africa at: http://www.overcomingapartheid.m! su.edu. MSU's MATRIX, African Studies Center, and Department of History recently launched the online resource about the struggle for democracy in South Africa in the second half of the 20th century.

The Overcoming Apartheid website contains: - Eight narrative units; - Essays about selected topics; - First-person accounts from 50 people-40 hours of videotaped interviews; - Multimedia resources about key events in the anti-apartheid struggle; - Educational activities; - Recommended readings and videos.

The site was created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information, write to: apartheid.matrix@matrix.msu.edu; or phone (517) 355-9300. Spring Course Announcement

PHL351 "African Philosophy," Tuesday/Thursday, 3:00-4:20 p.m., Instructor: John Otieno Ouko <oukojohn@msu.edu>.

Course topics include: Definition and justification; epistemological, m! etaphysical, and ethical issues in African Philosophy; the "rationality" debate; and connections among African, African American and feminist philosophies. For more information, call the Department of Philosophy at 355-4490. Study Abroad Info Meetings for Study in Africa Summer 2008

Below are the study abroad locations, program title, semester, and time and place of meetings. New meetings are scheduled all the time. Check the study abroad website for details at: http://studyabroad.msu.edu/calendar.html#Info.

Location: South Africa; Program: Expressive Arts, Cultural Heritage, and Museum Studies in South Africa; Meeting: November 26, 2007, 4:30 p.m., at MSU Museum- 2nd Floor Conference Room.

Location: Madagascar, Program: An Island Apart: Cultural and Natural Resources of Madagascar; Meeting: January 28, 2008, 5:00 p.m. in Room 205 Natural Science Bldg.

Location: Mali; Program: Ethics and Development; Meeting! : Januar y 30, 2008, 4:00 p.m. at MSU Museum Auditorium.
Other Announcements UTAFITI Journal - The Univ. of Dar es Salaam

UTAFITI is a journal of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the University of Dar es Salaam, devoted to articles and research information on Tanzania and East Africa primarily, and on development in the Third World and elsewhere in general. Their subject is to explain what take place in their environment, why and how, the achievements and problems in various development efforts, and research efforts into possible problem-solving alternatives. UTAFITI cuts across disciplinary boundaries, and in not bound by the narrow confines of disciplines.

The Editorial Board invites papers for publication in the next issues for Vol. 7, No. 2 of December 2006 and Vol. 8, No. 1 & 2 of 2007. For further information and submission of articles, please contact: Chief Editor, UTAFITI Journal, Faculty of! Arts and Social Sciences, University of Dar es Salaam, P.O. Box 35051, Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA; Tel: +255-22-2410500-8 Ext. 2039; Fax: +255-22-2410212; e-mail: utafiti@udsm.ac.tz; or resepub@udsm.ac.tz. Fellowships
Aluka Award for Innovative Teaching, 2008

The Aluka Digital Library is a broad and diverse collection of materials about African history, culture, and botany relevant to disciplines such as global politics, economics, archaeology, anthropology, architecture and preservation, ecology, history, and human rights. Aluka aspires to enrich teaching and research by making valuable primary and supporting materials about Africa available to students, faculty, and researchers. The Aluka Award for Innovative Teaching recognizes instructional uses of the digital library that enrich teaching about or related to Africa.

All graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty in any discipline are eligibl! e to apply. Applicants must teach an accredited undergraduate ! or gradu ate course. There will be six awards of US $2000. The award is unrestricted and may be used toward any academic- or research-based expense, including books, supplies, equipment, or travel. The deadline for submissions is January 25, 2008.

Complete details about the program are provided at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/news/20071001.jsp, along with a downloadable pdf version of the proposal guidelines. General questions may be directed to info@aluka.org. To learn more about Aluka or access the digital library, please visit http://www.aluka.org.

Aluka is currently available to more than 3,800 institutions worldwide. You should already have access to Aluka through your institution's library until 31 December 2007. Please contact your campus library, check JSTOR's list of participants, or contact Aluka directly at library_relations@aluka.org to determine the status of your access to th! e digital library. Conferences
African Studies Association of the UK- Sept. 2008

'The Presence of the Past? Africa in the 21st Century', African Studies Association of the UK Biennial Conference, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, 11-13 September 2008. The ASAUK Conference always seeks to facilitate discussions between Africanist scholars who ordinarily would have few opportunities to talk, despite working on similar themes, either because they are working on different geographical areas or within different academic disciplines.

The conference aims to bring together Africanists from all over the world and from various disciplines to discuss the past and current developments in Africa and African Studies. The conference organisers would particularly welcome postgraduate presentations on their current or recently completed research.

Papers are invited on all themes relating to the con! tinent, inclusive of time, period and space parameters as well! as inte rdisciplinary perspectives. Though not seeking to limit contributions on new areas of research, themes of particular interest include Popular Culture and Cultural Production; African Urban Culture, Social Movements and Popular Culture; Contesting Local Knowledge; Mining and African Development; Contesting the State: Africa and the International Financial Institutions; The African Diaspora; Childhood and Youth; Human Rights and Citizenship; Colonialism, Rural Transformation and African Resistance; Gender and African Development; The African Union and African Security; Conflict and Conflict Resolution; Africa and the Challenge of the Developmental State; The Land Question; Africa and Globalisation; Education and Development; Politics and Democratic Renewal; and Africa 200 Years after the Abolition of Atlantic Slavery.

Please send proposals for panels of three papers, or abstracts for individual papers, of up to 250 words by 11 January 2008 to Emma Kelly: eakelly1@uclan.a! c.uk or via the ASAUK website: http://www.asauk.net.

Please send an abstract with title of proposed paper, on disc or as an e-mail attachment, listing name, organisation, contact address, telephone and email address. All papers should be presented in English and all paper presenters will need to register for the conference and pay the registration fee. Please address all abstracts and enquiries to: Emma Kelly, Conference Officer, Conference and Events Management Office, University of Central Lancashire, Foster Room 10, Preston PR1 2HE, UK; Tel: +44 (0) 1772 892654; Fax: +44 (0) 1772 892977; e-mail: eakelly1@uclan.ac.uk. Jobs
African Languages & Literature - UNC

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has officially reopened its search for an Assistant Professor of African Languages and Literature.

The Department of African and Afro-American Studies in th! e College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Caro! lina at Chapel Hill invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor position in West African languages and literature effective July 1, 2008. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in African languages and literature or related field, native or near-native fluency in a West African language, and a demonstrated ability to teach one or more West African languages (with a strong preference for Wolof) at all levels. The successful candidate will be expected to assume responsibility for coordinating the department's African language program and maintain a strong commitment to scholarship. The department's web address is http://www.unc.edu/depts/afriafam/.

Submit cover letter and resume by December 15, 2007 to Michael Lambert, Chair, African Languages Search Committee, Department of African and Afro-American Studies, CB #3395, 109 Battle Hall, UNC-CH, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3395. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

For more information, visit the African Studies Center Website. Please submit information on Africa-related events or news seven to ten days in advance of publication. Send to the African Studies Center, 100 Center for International Programs, Michigan State University. Telephone: (517) 353-1700; Fax: (517) 432-1209; E-mail: africa@msu.edu.

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