| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
BULLETIN CONTENTS
MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS AFRICAN FILM SERIES
January 15, Friday
Director Dani Kouyate's film Keita will feature in the SID International Film Series. The film parallels the quest of the legendary 13th Century Sundjata Keita to realize his heroic destiny with that of his distant descendant, a contemporary Burkinabe boy, Mabo Keita, to learn the meaning of his name. The director makes a passionate case for the continuity of "Afrocentric" education. The film showing is at 6:30 pm, Room 213, Berkey Hall.
MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS
FLAS Fellowships A) Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships for students interested in pursuing graduate degrees in African languages and area studies at MSU are available from the U.S. Department of Education, under Title VI of the Higher Education Act. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Application forms are available from the African Studies Center. The initial deadline is February 19, 1999, however, fellowships can be awarded any time after this date. Applications will be considered until March 27, 1999, although all fellowships may have been awarded by that date.
B) Intensive Amharic Summer 1999 Program will be held from June 21 to July 23, 1999 by the African Studies Center and the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages at Michigan State University. This five week Intensive Summer Program in Amharic will be preceded by a threeday gratis seminar on Ethiopia, June 1719. Three courses will be offered during the Institute: Elementary Amharic (AFR 151 & 152) and Intermediate Amharic (AFR 251 & 252), both 8 credits each, for 25 hours per week for five weeks; and Advanced Amharic (AFR 450), 6 credits, for 18 hours per week for five weeks.
A threeday seminar on Ethiopia for students, faculty, and members of the public with a special interest in Ethiopia will be offered June 1719, 1999. Lecturers will be drawn from across the nation and from Ethiopia, and will include more than 10 MSU faculty who have taught, worked, and conducted research in Ethiopia. Amharic Intensive Summer Program participants are expected to participate in this gratis workshop.
The Summer program will be directed by Prof. Grover
Hudson, Faculty, Department of Linguistics and Languages,
Michigan State University.
For further information, contact Dr. Yacob Fisseha,
Assistant Director, African Studies Center, 100 Center
for International Programs, Michigan State University,
East Lansing, MI 488241035; Phone: (517) 3531700; Fax:
(517) 4321209; or Email: fissehay@pilot.msu.edu.
C) The Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID) offers fellowships for the study of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hausa, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. Students who are studying other languages as part of their program in internationaldevelopment studies should contact the CASID office regarding their eligibility. Interested candidates may contact: Tom Carroll, CASID, 306 Berkey Hall; email: tom.carroll@ssc.msu.edu; telephone: 3535925; fax: 3534840. Application materials are due February 19, 1999.
D) The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) offers academic year and summer fellowships for the study of Portuguese, Spanish, and select Latin American indigenous languages. Interested candidates may contact: Professor Scott Whiteford, CLACS, 206 International Center; telephone: 3531690, fax: 353 7254. Application deadline is February 12, 1999.
Walker Hill Scholarship One Walker Hill International Scholarship will be awarded to an MSU doctoral graduate student. The approximate award is $1,500. For more information contact: Dr. Charles Gliozzo, International Studies and Programs, 207 International Center; telephone: 3552350. Application deadline is February 12, 1999.
Special Course Announcement Spring 1999 The Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID), Women and International Development (WID), and the Department of Sociology is offering "AudioVisual Perspectives on Gender and International Development." The goal of this course is to advance understanding of gender and development issues through analysis of audiovisual materials. The course code is SOC 496, 1 credit (additional credit possible with approval); meet Wednesdays 4:10 5:00 p.m., 118 Berkey Hall. For more information, contact instructors via email: Beth Dunford, dunfordb@pilot.msu.edu or Heather Holtzclaw, holtzcl1@pilot.msu.edu. To enroll, contact Tammy Dennany in the Sociology office, 316 Berkey Hall, 3556640. Open to all students.
MSU Africana Libraries Newsletter The Africana Libraries
Newsletter has been published for April/July/October
1998. If you would like to receive a copy, contact
Joseph Lauer, Africana Library, MSU, 100 Library, East
Lansing, MI 488241048; Telephone: (517) 4322218; Fax:
(517) 4321445; email: lauer@pilot.msu.edu.
African Media Workshop "Using Film and Video to
Teach about the African Environment," is the title
of the workshop scheduled for February 46, 1999 at
MSU.
This workshop aims to enhance social science, natural science, and humanities undergraduate courses that teach about the African environment, by encouraging the use of film and video images that are accurate representations of Africans and Africa and that challenge the conventional concept of the African environment.
Registration is free, however there is a small fee to cover materials, breaks and an African meal. Inquiries about the workshop should be directed to: Ms. Tama HamiltonWray, Coordinator, African Media Program; Phone: (517) 4320057 or email: AfrMedia@pilot.msu.edu.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers There is a newsletter for the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer's of West Michigan. This newsletter is established to help returned volunteers network locally and nationally, to continue volunteering with local and international service projects, and to promote global education and understanding in West Michigan. For information on how to receive the newsletter, write: RPCV's of West Michigan, c/o Sue Celadilla, 6640 Estate Dr, Byron Center, MI 49315.
Summer Cooperative African Language Institute (S.C.A.L.I.) at Yale University, Summer 1999 The 1999 (SCALI) will take place at the Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The institute will support the instruction of a number of African languages. Opening day of the Institute is June 21 through August 13. Following are a list of universities and the proposed language to be offered:
University - Proposed Language Berkeley/Stanford - Swahili II, III, or Gikuyu Boston U - Setswana I or II UCLA - Hausa Illinois - language not determined Indiana - language not determined Wisconsin - Yoruba II or III Yale - Zulu, Swahili I (nonFLAS)
Language Study Offered at Other Institutions (nonSCALI):
* 1999 Intensive Summer Institute in Amharic at Michigan State University, June 21 July 23, 1999.
* UCLA: Swahili I, June 28Aug 29, 1999. Web address: http//www.summer.ucla.edu/calender/1999.htm
* Indiana: Swahili II, May 12 June 16, 1999. Twi I, May 12 June 17. Contact: Ani Hawkinson. Email: akhawkin@indiana.edu; telephone: (812) 8557666.
* Penn: Swahili I, May 18 June 25. Contact: Lynette Loose. Email:lloose@sas.upenn.edu; telephone: (215) 8983883 or Alwiya Omar, Email: asomar@babel.ling.upenn.edu; telephone: (215) 8984299.
* Penn: Kiswahili GPA: http//ccat.sas.upenn.edu/afl/gpa.html
* Penn: Summer 99 at Penn (Kiswahili): http//www.ccat.sas.upenn.edu/afl/summer99.html
* Columbia: Wolof, May 24 July 2. Http//www.columbia.edu/cu/ssp.summer
* Florida: Yoruba Summer Group Projects Abroad, June 12 August 10; and Twi I, May 10 June 18 and June 18 August 6. For information on either program, contact: Paul Kotey, E mail: pkotey@aall.ufl.edu; Telephone: (352) 3927015; web: http//222.africa.ufl.edu
For further information, please contact: Wiebe K. Boer, Coordinator, SCALI, Yale University, 493 College St, New Haven, CT 06511; Email: cal44@pantheon.yale.edu; telephone: (203) 787 0696; Fax: (203) 4325963 (attention: African Studies) or contact: Prof. Frank O. Arasanyin, Program Director, SCALI, African American Studies Program, Yale University, 493 College St, New Haven, CT 06511; Telephone: (203) 4321166, Fax1: (203) 4322102 (Attn: AfricanAmerican Studies); Fax2: (203) 4325963 (Attn: African Studies).
The MSU African Media Program (AMP) African Film
Series
All showings will be held from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.,
Room 201, International Center. Films are being presented
in an effort to offer workshop participants a selection
of some of the most effective films for teaching about
the African environment. Discussion will take place,
and review forms will be presented after each showing.
If you have any questions, or would like to arrange
to view and critique other films held by the AMP, contact
the AMP at AfrMedia@pilot.msu.edu or call 432-0057.
January 12, Tuesday "Healers of Ghana." This video explores the traditional medical practices of the Bono people of central Ghana and how their healers are cooperating with "Western" practitioners, using herbs and spiritualism to improve healthcare delivery in rural areas. The video features vibrant dance and possession ceremonies, set against the backdrop of Bono villages and the central Ghanian countryside.
"Guardian of Africa: The Tsetse Fly." The
African tsetse fly carries the lethal human disease,
sleeping sickness (Trypanosomia) as well as the cattle
equivalent, nagana. However, while nagana is lethal
to cattle, African wildlife are immune to it. Cattle
herders have stayed clear of the tsetse areas in eastern
and southern Africa, leaving wild animals undisturbed.
However, in times of severe drought cattle are faced
with the real threat of starvation if they remain on
the parched savannah, tsestsefree areas.á This
video illustrates how these facts combine, in Kenya's
southern Rift Valley, to create a new dilemma: if the
cattle move to the lush woodlands they will become
infected; if they remain on the savannah they will
starve; and in areas where "modern" science
has cleared the area of tsetse flies the wildlife has
disappeared as cattle farmers and cultivators have
taken over the land.
January 13, Wednesday "Zimbabwe: Talking Stones." This video traces the story of the incredible development of contemporary Zimbabwean stone sculpture from its humble beginning in the early 1950s through its zenith as an internationally celebrated art form. In addition to providing a detailed history of these developments, the film interrogates the asserted relationship between contemporary Zimbabwean sculpture and traditional spiritual and cultural values, perceptions and beliefs.
"Yabba Soope: the Path of the Ancestors (Art and Death in Africa)." This video depicts the socialcultural intersection of music, dance, and masks among five ethnic groups (Mossi, Nuna, Winiama, Bwa and Bobo) in Burkina Faso. The film interrogates the relationship between art/performance and the tripartite nexus of the spiritual world (dominated by protective ancestors), the physical environment (rain, soil, crops, cattle, wild animals/hunting and disease), and the everyday world of human and community existence.
January 19, Tuesday "Politics Do Not a Banquet Make." The theme of this film is set by a quote from a former Ethiopian soldier, "You can't eat politics like you can eat bread." Through interviews with a wide variety of individuals (peasant farmers, urban unemployed, soldiers, and senior government officials) set against the backdrop of rural and urban life in contemporary Ethiopia, this film investigates the relationship between food production/ distribution/ hunger and politics in the recent historyof this important African country.
"The Poverty Complex." This video addresses a complexity of issues and topics related to international development: food security/famine/hunger, poverty, structural adjustment, endemic and epidemic diseases/health care, gender roles/relationships, environmental degradation, and representations of the third world.
January 20, Wednesday "The Desert and the Deep Blue Sea." This video looks at the pressure being placed on Banc d'Arguin National Park (Mauritania) to allow commercial fishing on its grounds. This step could prove disastrous to both the wildlife and the local fishers.
"Zimbabwe: Tourism Along the Zambezi River." This video looks at the impact of tourism on the people and environment of the region around Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. The program focuses on the economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits and liabilities arising from the expansion of and growing dependence on tourism..
"Baabu Banza: Nothing Goes to Waste (Niger)." This program shows the amazing industry and inventiveness with which Niamey's garbage dumps are gleaned. We observe among the many resurrected objects here, the amazing uses to which old tires are put.
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 16:41:27 -0500 From: MSU African Studies Center <beckum@pilot.msu.edu> (by way of MSU African Studies Center <beckum@pilot.msu.edu>) (by way of MSU African Studies Center <beckum@pilot.msu.edu>) Subject: Tuesday Bulletin No. 1
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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