MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 12/04/07

The African Studies Center at MSU

Tuesday Bulletin for December 4th, 2007

Topics covered in this issue: Events | Announcements | Other Announcements | Conferences | Jobs
Events
Strategic Partnership Panel Report: South Africa

Thursday, December 6, 2007

African Studies Center Brown Bag talk with Adrian Blow, Denise Troutman, C. Kurt Dewhurst, Mark Kornbluh, Marsha MacDowell, Reitumetse Mabokela, and Tracy Dobson, MSU faculties who recently traveled to South Africa, 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Crisis in the Implementation of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Sudan Awareness and Support Group Special Brown Bag talk with Benaiah Yongo-Bure, Faculty (Kettering Univ., Flint, MI), 12:00 - 1:30 p.m., Room 201 International Center. The next Tuesday Bulletin will be published in the Spring 2008

Culture: Inimical to Management Style in the Ghanaian Public Sector?

Friday, December 7, 2007

CASID/WID Friday Forum with Josephine Ami Narh, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, 12:00 noon, Room 201 International Center. Announcements
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (Afrobarometer, MSU)

A full-time, fixed-term position for one year is available in the Department of Political Science and African Studies at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. The salary range is $30,000-$40,000.

The Afrobarometer Project in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University seeks a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow to analyze data and publish research reports on public opinion in African countries.

A Ph.D. in political science or related field (economics, so! ciology, social psychology) and proven experience in the use o! f advanc ed statistics is required. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are essential. Field experience in research or project management in one or more sub-Saharan African countries and fluency in either French or Portuguese is preferred. Knowledge of literatures on democratization and public opinion research is also preferred, along with experience at analyzing public opinion data. The Fellow will be responsible for (a) developing a program of research based on four rounds of existing Afrobarometer data across up to 20 countries (b) implementing the research program through a series of publications that will initially appear in the Afrobarobarometer Working Papers series, but which may subsequently be published elsewhere (c) assisting in the management of a large-scale public opinion data set and related tasks (d) participating in Afrobarometer conferences and workshops in the U.S. and Africa.

The fellowship begins August 15, 2008. The Fellow must be p! resent in East Lansing by this date and commit to full-time residence through July 15, 2009. The fellowship may be extended beyond one year subject to positive job performance and the outcome of an annual open competition. For further information on the Afrobarometer, see www.afrobarometer.org. On the Department of Political Science at MSU, see www.socialscience.msu.edu/degree/political_science. For African Studies see www.africa.msu.edu.

To be considered, applications must be received no later than February 15, 2008. Please submit hard copies of (a) a letter summarizing your research experience and interest in the position (b) a curriculum vitae (c) a brief professional writing sample and (d) the names and contact information (including telephone numbers) for three potential referees (do not request letters yourself). Please mail applications to Professor Michael Bratton, Director (MSU) Afrobarometer, Department of Political Science, 323 South Kedzie Hall, Michigan ! State University, East Lansing, MI, 48823. DO NOT SUBMIT APPLI! CATIONS VIA E-MAIL. Michigan State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. PHL 491/PHL 890 - Marxist Philosophy and the Africana World

Class will meet on Tuesdays, 4:10-7:00 p.m., 1 Morrill Hall, 3 credits. Professor John H. McClendon III, Director of African American and African Studies and Professor of Philosophy, will offer this special topics course. Graduate students needing 800 level credits may enroll under PHL 890.

The fact that Marxist philosophy emerged from the European context has stimulated dialogue and debate about it's applicability to the Africana world. This course addresses how various people of African descent have philosophically responded to the question of whether Marxism can serve as a viable philosophy of liberation. The class will follow a lecture discussion format with particular attention given to extensive discussions based on the readings of Kwame Nkrumah, C.L.R. James, Clau! dia Jones, Eugene C. Holmes, Angela Davis, Cedric J. Robinson and Cornel West. PHL 351 - African Philosophy

Tuesday/Thursday, 3:00-4:20 p.m., Instructor: John Otieno Ouko <oukojohn@msu.edu>. Course topics include: Definition and justification; epistemological, metaphysical, 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. Afrobarometer Visiting Scholar

Dr. Mattieu Hilgers from Belgium, is a Visiting Scholar in the African Studies Center working in the Department of Political Science with Professor Mike Bratton on the African public opinion surveys Afrobarometer project (http://www.afrobarometer.org/).

Dr. Hilgers conduc! ted his dissertation research in West Africa. NUR 402: International Health (on-line course)

3 credits, Instructor: Connie Currier. This course will provide a general understanding of factors/dynamics that affect the health of human populations and efforts to improve it. The course will address: 1) the cultural context of health and illness, 2) international health and population status, and 3) the role of international agencies in policy setting and program development. The course is open to graduate and undergraduate students, and nursing and non-nursing majors. For more information contact: Connie Currier at 432-1162; e-mail: currier3@msu.edu. African Studies Center Application for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) for 2008-09 AY

The African Studies Center at MSU is now accepting on-line applications for FLAS fellowships for academic year 2008-09 and for the 2008 Summer Cooperative African Language Institute (SCALI). The FLAS fellowship is funded by t! he U.S. Department of Education Title VI program for the study of African languages and non-language courses on Africa. Up to date information and on-line application forms are available at: http://africa.msu.edu/flas.php.

Candidates must have completed application procedures by February 15, 2008. Related application materials are to be mailed to the Assistant Director of the African Studies Center, 100 International Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1035; Phone: (517) 353-1700; Fax: (517) 432-1209; e-mail: fisseha@msu.edu. Summer Cooperative African Language Institute (SCALI) 2008 will be hosted by the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. For details, please visit: http://africa.msu.edu/scali.php; or http://scali.afrst.uiuc.edu/ for details. Spring Course Announcements
Other Announcements
Documentary on Maroons of Brazil to Screen in South Afric! a township, February 25 to March 2, 2008

"Quilombo! Country ," the award-winning film about Brazilian villages founded by escaped slaves, will return to Africa after screening at festivals in Zanzibar, Durban and Lagos. The Aluta Film Festival, "South Africa's premier township cinema event," runs Monday, February 25th to Sunday March 2nd, 2008 in the bustling township of Galeshewe, just outside Kimberley.

If you can't make it to Galeshewe, find out how to see the film at http://www.guilombocountry.com. Journalists and educators may write to info@quilombofilm.com or call (212) 260-7540 in New York to receive a copy for review for publication or possible institutional purchase.

Following are more details about "Quilombo Country:" Brazil, once the world's largest slave colony, was brutal and deadly for millions of Africans. But many thousands escaped and rebelled, creating their own communities in Brazil's untamed hinterland. Largely unknown to the outside world, these communities! , known as quilombos, struggle today to preserve a rich heritage born of resistance to oppression.

"Quilombo Country" ("Quilombo" is an Angolan word meaning "encampment") provides the historical context in which these communities developed, as well as numerous examples of material culture, discussions of race, land and human rights, plus rare footage of festivals and ceremonies. "Quilombo Country" is narrated by Chuck D, the legendary poet, media commentator and front man of the hip hop band Public Enemy. Conferences
African Athena: Black Athena 20 Years On. November 6-8, 2008, Univ. of Warwick (CFP)

African Athena was Bernal's original title for Black Athena, his "infamous" work that has confronted the modern academy with some of the most challenging questions it has faced over the last twenty years. This interdisciplinary conference seeks neithe! r to demonize nor lionize Bernal's book, but to open dialo! gue on t he issues it has posed: can a myth of Afrocentrism ever be a useful narrative in contemporary culture? How do Africanizing and classicizing cultures interface and interpenetrate in the arts and lives of Africans, Europeans, Caribbeans and Americans? Does Black Athena offer new possibilities for comparison between African and Jewish diasporas, cultures and struggles? How do we deal with the difficult collusion of essentialist and poststructuralist discourses in "postcolonial" thought? These issues are only a point of departure. Confirmed keynote speakers include: Professors Martin Bernal, Paul Gilroy, Stephen Howe, Partha Mitter, Valentin Y. Mudimbe, Patrice Rankine and Robert J.C. Young.

This is a Call for Papers from scholars of African Studies, Black British Studies, African American Studies, of South Asia, of the Middle East, of classicists, philologists, anthropologists, sociologists, and any intellectual beyond these borders. Send proposals of up to 500 wor! ds by March 31 2008 to Dr. Daniel Orrells, Department of Classics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK.; Email: D.Orrells@warwick.ac.uk. Jobs
AFSC Country Representative - Burundi

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) strategic plan with its focus on peacebuilding and conflict prevention, led AFSC to select geographic priorities based on conflict and potential conflict. The AFSC International Programs further refinement of the strategic plan led to a focus on peacebuilding in the Great Lakes region through humanitarian assistance and recovery including reconciliation, trauma healing and advocacy. The Great Lakes region of Africa was selected as a key area of work because of AFSC's concern with the protracted war in the region and in particular the more than a decade of conflicts in Burundi. AFSC opened an office in Burundi in 2005.

The office works on peace and non-violence e! ducation as well as humanitarian assistance with partners thro! ughout t he country. In addition to direct aid, the program provides opportunities to program participants to develop strategies that may address recurring problems to be better prepared to address future adversity. The AFSC Country Representative will be based in Bujumbura, Burundi. S/he is expected to serve as representative of the organization in that country.

Country Representative will work closely with AFSC's programs in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo which will be supervised by the Deputy Regional Director. Reporting to the Deputy Regional Director for Africa, the Country Representative is responsible for the overall management, program direction, reporting, and stewardship of AFSC resources in Burundi. In the first year of the assignment 80 % of his/her time will be dedicated to program development and planning. She/he will ensure AFSC staff apply to their work the best approaches and methodologies. S/he is responsible for managing relationships with progr! am partners as well as assessing partners' ability and as necessary improving their capacity. The Country Representative in conjunction with the Deputy Regional Director manages contacts in Burundi with government ministries, UN agencies, and local and international NGOs. S/he directly supervises staff in Burundi.

The Representative is responsible for the stewardship and accounting of all AFSC resources in Burundi. Within the AFSC norm of collaborative decision making and mutual support, the Representative will function as part of a team, together with the Deputy Regional Director based in Kenya and the Regional Director based in South Africa and Philadelphia-based staff.

For more information and to apply, please visit the American Friends Service Committee's job openings webpage at http://www.AFSC.org/jobs. Select "Current Openings" and then "Country Representative, Burundi" for a complete job description. Submit your resume/! CV and cover letter through the online system. Contact jobs@af! sc.org w ith any questions.

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.

from MSU African Studies Center <africa@msu.edu> date Nov 29, 2007 4:02 PM
subject Tuesday Bulletin for December 4th, 2007

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