Penn African Studies Newsletter, Spring'96

Comaroffs Featured in "Day with Africanist Scholars"

On Friday, March 29, Drs. Jean and John Comaroff of the Anthropology Department at the University of Chicago will spend the day at Penn discussing their work with graduate students and faculty. This event is designed to make a contribution to the intellectual life of the Penn community by providing graduate students from all disciplines with exposure to leading scholars in African Studies and facilitating intense engagement with people who have made significant theoretical contributions. It also provides insight into the professional process the evolution of empirical and theoretical interests and collaboration between scholars.
The day-long workshop was initiated in 1994 with a visit by anthropologist Jane Guyer from Northwestern University. In preparation for the workshop, graduate students and faculty divided Guyers work into thematic groupings, such as food production, taxation and gender to name a few, and organized discussion sessions around the themes. The individual sessions were designed to function as segments of a larger continuing discussion of an academic career. A faculty chairperson introduced each session. Graduate students made short presentations about Guyers work on each theme.
If you would like to take part in the upcoming event as a discussant or would like to help with its organization, please contact Wendi Haugh at 790-1990. In addition to Haugh, the day is organized by graduate students Catherine Bogosian, Claire Ignotawski and Molly Roth. Reprints of the Comaroffs' work will be made available to participants.

Penn Africanist Demographers Receive Rockefeller Grant
The Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania and the International Health Program at Johns Hopkins University are organizing a workshop to address the challenges of dissertation writing on Africa. The workshop is designed to enhance students research skills and expose students to current African research.
African doctoral students with at least one year in a relevant social science Ph. D. program in the US or Canada are eligible. The Rockefeller grant covers all expenses incurred by selected students for participating in the program. Application materials and inquiries should be directed to Dr. Antonio McDaniel (a.k.a. Tukufu Zuberi), Chairman, Population Studies Center/ ADDW, 3718 Locust Walk, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104. The application deadline is February 20, 1996.

What's New in African Studies...News Briefs
* South African Leaders Study at Penn
More than 30 recently elected and appointed South African government and business leaders were on the Penn campus for two weeks in January to participate in a leadership training short course at the Wharton School. The course was administered by the Emerging Economies Program headed by Dr. Brad Kogat and the Snider Entrepreneurial Center directed by Dr. Ian MacMillian. Two additional groups of South African leaders will come to Penn in the summer and again in the fall to participate in an identical course.

* Africa Fest
Penn African Students Association (PASA) will host Africa Fest February 28 through March 2. Wednesday evening, February 28, Ali Mazrui will give a keynote address to officially kick off the festivities. On Friday, participants can learn about current economic issues in Africa during a discussion on Africa in the World Economy in which students can express their ideas and concerns about African economies and their relationship to the rest of the world. Food and clothing vendors will also display their goods all day on Locust Walk. Friday night, PASA will sponsor a party. All are invited to come and dance to their favorite music from Africa and the Diaspora. Drumming and language workshops are scheduled for Saturday. For a grand finale, Africa Fest will end Saturday evening with a cultural show at the Annenberg Center. It will include performances of East and Central African dances, the South African Gumboot, poetry, fashion show, and skits about life in Africa. A live band will also play throughout the evening. Tickets cost $4.00 in advance and $5.00 at the door.
For the past two years, PASA has hosted Africa Day to educate the Penn community about different aspects of African life. This year, Africa Day has grown to Africa Fest. Over the years, PASAs membership has also grown from 25 to 175 to include students of African ancestry and others interested in Africa. PASAs president, Meha Patel, hopes to use this years Africa Fest as a stepping stone for Spring 1997 when PASA hosts the International African Students Association conference. For more information, please contact Nkem Nwuneli at nnwuneli@mail.sas or 382-7603; Falake Atewologun at atewolog@mail.sas or 243-0906.

* 1996 World Conference on Literacy-
Improving Literacy, Changing Lives: Innovations and Interconnections for Development
During March 12-15, 1996, experts on literacy will gather in Philadelphia to address issues related to the improvement of global literacy amid dramatic political, economic and cultural changes, and to explore the innovations and interconnections in literacy for development. The conference is organized by Dr. Dan Wagner, Director, and Dr. Mohammed Maamouri, Associate Director, of Penns International Literacy Institute. Organizers of the 1996 World Conference on Literacy are expecting 300 participants from 25 countries around the world. Delegations from Botswana, Tunisia and Nigeria will represent the Literacy Training and Development Program for Africa. Other participants will also represent African countries.
The conference will address such topics as professional development, planning and policy development, politics and policy dimensions; issues of policy, gender, language, health, workplace, and inter-generational programs; R&D networks, evaluation and assessment, cooperation and mobilization, distance learning and technology. Invited keynote speakers include: Federico Mayor (Director-General UNESCO), Paulo Freire (Brazil), Edward Jaycox (World Bank), Ron Pugsley (US Department of Education), Thomas Sawyer (US House of Representatives), Jarl Bengtsson (OECD), Cigdem Kagitcibasi (Turkey), Marie Clay (New Zeland), Aklilu Habte (Ethiopia), Jeanne Chall (US), Brian Street (England).

* International Training and Research in Population and Health (ITRIPH)
The Population Studies Center has been awarded a grant to improve the capacity of African scientists to contribute to knowledge of issues of population change and health, and to enhance US research on the social and behavioral factors that influence these two issues. The emphasis for Africa is on determinants of fertility change on mortality and family structure.
Students and researchers from Uganda at Makerere University and from the Republic of South Africa will come to Penn for training, collaborative research and research apprenticeships. They will subsequently return to their host institutions for postgraduate research support. Specifically, the ITRIPH will provide 5 one-year traineeships at Penns Population Studies Center for students from South Africa or Makerere University, two short courses (each given at both collaborating institutions), assistance in development of courses at the two collaborating universities, and postgraduate support in each year.
Currently, a continent-wide course is being organized at Makerere University on the use of qualitative ethnographic methods and demographic research.

* Seminar on Pedagogy, Race and Gender
Faculty and graduate students are invited to participate in a new seminar which will bring together a variety of disciplines whose teaching and research engage in issues of race and gender. The vision of the seminar organizers is that participants will share responsibility for facilitating structured discussions about the challenges that recur across disciplines in teaching issues involving race and gender.
Faculty and graduate students will meet once a month for the next two semesters utilizing materials selected by participants in the seminar from a variety of disciplines. Following the first session, small groups of participants will be responsible for selecting readings and facilitating discussion, with support from the organizers.
For more information, please contact Susan Strum at ssturm@oyez.law.upenn.edu; Herman Beavers at hbeavers@english.upenn.edu; or Farah Griffin at fgriffin@english.upenn.edu.

* African Language Cultural Awareness Festival
At the end of last semester, Penn students studying African languages through the African Stud-
ies and Penn language Centers gathered with their instructors for an African Language Cultural Awareness Festival. They feasted on food from all over the African continent prepared by students and teachers and participated in a fashion show organized by Mrs. Angela Jengo, Mende instructor. Rev. Kobina Ofosu-Donkoh, Twi instructor, gave a thought-provoking talk on "Human Rights in African Indigenous Cultures." Lastly, language students made presentations in the languages which they are studying. A second African Language Cultural Awareness Festival will be scheduled for April 6th from 4 pm to 7 pm.

*What's New on the Web
The African Studies WWW Statistics on the number of uses during January were: 337, 150. For those who are interested in news and acheivements about electronic networking in Africa. the 1995 issues of Pan African Development Information Systems (PADIS) Newsletter [Ethiopia], is now available from Pen Web site, the URL is: http://www.sas.upenn.edu.African_Studies/Padis/menu_padnews.html.
Pen African Web site is now completely indexed and searchable. No more guessing on where to find specific information, the URL is: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/Search/AS-search.html.

* "Women for Women's Health" in Southern Africa
For the past six years, Penn's Nursing School has received a series of Rockefeller grants to conduct training projects in Southern and East Central African countries to improve the health and well being of women. The programs, Women for Womens Health, are directed by Profs. Joyce Thompson and Rose Kershbaumer, and currently are focused on Malawi. Needs assessments are underway in Zambia, Lesotho, Kenya, and Uganda to expand the program to these countries in 1996.
The initial project began in Malawi in 1990. It was aimed at reducing maternal death and promoting womens health under the WHO Safe Motherhood Initiative launched in 1987 and utilized the expertise of
three Malawian nurse-wives as trainers. Within four years, more than 45 registered nurse-midwives were trained and they, in turn, provided continuing education and support to more than 2,000 enrolled nurse-midwives, traditional birth attendants, and other village health workers and leaders. Most of the trainers are now continuing their efforts independently.
Work in 1996 is aimed at continuing training workshops and efforts to improve the health of women through nurse-midwife education and practice, and to target womens group leaders who will communicate
knowledge about Safe Motherhood to villages and other communities. These efforts are being coordinated by Malawian nurses in 24 health districts.

Kwame Botwe-Asamoah, a native of Ghana, is teaching African Music and Dance at Penn this spring semester. Mr. Botwe-Asamoah holds a Masters Degree in History from Southern Connecticut State University and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Ohio University. In addition to teaching at Penn, he is a part-time faculty member in the African American Studies Department at Temple University. His course, African Music and Dance, has received an enthusiastic response from undergraduate students.

Dr. Alfred Kiema, is a visiting Fulbright Scholar from Universitie de Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, where he is a professor in the Department of Modern Languages. During his tenure at Penn, Dr. Kiema will be engaged in research for his project entitled Humour in Afro-American Folklore and Literature: From Slavery to Abolition. Dr. Kiema received a Doctorate in Anglophone Studies (Africa Literature) from the University of Montpellier in France.

Dr. Dan Izevbaye of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria is a guest professor in the Department of English for the spring semester. Prof. Izevbaye is teaching Anglophone African Literature - an advanced seminar for undergraduate majors.

Dr. Masipula Sithole, Department of Political Science at the University of Zimbabwe is a visiting scholar at Haverford College. For the spring semester, he is also teaching a course at Swarthmore College. He is scheduled to give two talks at Haverford on February 7 and February 21 and Peace Studies lectures at Swarthmore.

African Language News
This semester, Penns African Studies Center and the Penn Language Center are offering courses in two African languages, Yoruba and Swahili, and tutorials in eight languages, Fon, Bambara, Amharic, Chitonga, Shona, Mend, Wolof, and Twi. In the last issue of the Newsletter, four languages were introduced by language instructors. Three more are introduced in this issue. The remaining will be published in the next issue of the Newsletter.

AMHARIC by Yohannes Hailu
Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia spoken by fourteen million native Amharas and by approximately eighteen million of the other ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Besides its national importance, it has also gained recognition in the US since 1985. In the list of languages important for scientific research and national interest, the US Department of Education listed Amharic as one of the 169 critical languages.
Amharic belongs to the southern branch of Hemeto-Semitic languages which is also referred to as Afrasian. From the five branches of the Afrasian group, Amharic belongs to the southern peripheral Semitic family of languages. It originated from Geez (or Ethiopic) which was extensively used in north Ethiopia since the first millennium A.D. Among the languages related to Geez that are spoken in the central and northern highlands of Ethiopia include: North Ethiopic (Tigre, Tigrinya); Central Ethiopic (Amharic, Gurage, Argoba, Gafat Harari...etc.). The other branch of Afrasian spoken in Ethiopia is the Cushitic which includes among others: Oromo, Somali, Agew, Sidama, Afar, Kafa. Modern Amharic has a Cushitic substratum.

BAMBARA by Moussa Bamba
Bambara (known also as Bamana) is a Manding language of the Mande group of the Niger-Congo family. It is spoken by more than two million people in West Africa, mainly in Mali. In Mali (population estimated at 8,150.000 in 1990), Bambara is used as a lingua franca by most of the people and is important in education and the media.
The other important Manding languages are Maninka (spoken by three million people in Guinea, Mali and Ivory Coast) and Dyula (spoken by one million people in the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and parts of Mali and Ghana).
Historically, Bambara, Maninka, Dyula (and the other Manding languages) are supposed to have the same ancestor. This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that knowing one of the three languages Bambara, Maninka or Dyula enables you to have access to 80% of the lexicon of the two others.

SHONA by Amson Sibanda
Shona is a language from the Bantu family which is spoken in Zimbabwe. It is the mother tongue of 75% of the people of Zimbabwe. There are a multiplicity of Shona dialects and sub-dialects, the major groups being:
Karanga: spoken by the Karanga people who live mostly in Masvingo province and large parts of the Midlands provinces.
Zezuru:spoken by the Zezuru people who live in the capital, Harare and in most parts of the surrounding Mashonaland provinces.
Manyika: spoken by the Manyika people who reside in the Manicaland province.
It is these three major dialects that form the group known as the central dialects around which Standard Shona is based. Standard Shona is the language that is taught in most of Zimbabwes schools. Most people in Zimbabwe use their original dialects whenever they are speaking, but express themselves in Standard Shona when writing.
In addition to these major dialects, there are:
Ndau:spoken by the Ndau people who reside in some parts of Manicaland province, especially around the Chipinge area. Ndau speakers also extend to Mozambique.
Korekore: spoken by the Korekore people who reside to the north-west of the Zeruru area, up to the Zambian border.
Kalanga: spoken by the Kalanga people who inhabit the western parts of the country and Kalanga speakers extend to Botswana. The Kalanga were cut off from the main concentration of the Shona people by the invading Ndebele. Their speech shows considerable differences from that of the Shona people. Kalanga is, for instance, the only dialect to have the l sound; the rest of the Shona dialects have r only.

Opportinities in Africa: Internships, Summer Programs,
Fellowships, and Employment

* Summer 1996 Joint Intensive Advanced
Hausa/ Yoruba and Swahili Study Abroad
The Group Study Abroad (GPA) Intensive Programs in Hausa/ Yoruba and Swahili are eight-week programs involving four to six hours of daily intensive language instruction. Hausa/ Yoruba instruction will commence on June 28 and end August 17. The Swahili program runs from June 19 to August 14. The funding provides 1) air transportation from New York City to either Lagos or Dar-es-Salaam and return; 2) local program-related transportation in Nigeria or Tanzania; 3) maintenance for housing and food; 4) educational materials; 5) and non-emergency health care.
All eligible and interested applicants are encouraged to apply no later than February 10, 1996 for the Hausa/ Yoruba Program or February 14, 1996 for the Swahili program. Application forms can be obtained from the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania or directly from host institutions: Hausa/ Yoruba- Dr. Catherine VerEecke, Center for African Studies, University of Florida, 427 Grinter Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611-5560; (p) 352-392-2183; Swahili- Dr. Ann Biersteker Council on African Studies, P. O. Box 208206, New Haven, CT 06520; (p) 203-432-3436.

* World Bank Summer Employment Program
The World Banks Summer Employment Program (SEP) is seeking students in the following fields: economics, finance, human resource development (public health, education, nutrition, and population), social sciences (anthropology and sociology), environment, private sector development, statistics, and other related fields. The Bank pays a monthly salary and will provide a travel allowance.
SEP participants can start as early as May and complete their duties by September 30. A commitment of a minimum of four weeks is expected. Requests for applications can be made electronically by sending a request to <program@worldbank.org> or by sending a snail request to Summer Employment Program, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20433. Since the Bank cannot transmit the application electronically, include a snail address. ALL APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY FEBRUARY 29, 1995.

* Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS)
Fellowships for Summer 1996
The Center for African Studies at the Ohio State University expects to make summer fellowship awards under the FLAS (Title IV) program to graduate and professional school students for intensive study of African languages. Summer awards are expected to be $1,500 each and tuition remission.
Awards are available for applicants proposing to study Arabic, Hausa, Swahili, Yoruba, or Zulu. All applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents. The deadline for receipt of applications for summer fellowships is March 29, 1996. Completed applications and inquiries should be directed to Sharon Subreenduth, The Ohio State University, Center for African Studies, 314 Oxley Hall, 1712 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1219; by phone 614-292-8169; by fax at 614-292-4273; or by e-mail at <Subreenduth.2@osu.edu>. The listing of which African languages will be taught this summer and where is available in the African Studies Center.

* Brown University Study Abroad in Tanzania
Brown University offers a study abroad program in Tanzania beginning with intensive Kiswahili instruction course, followed by the regular University of Dar es Salaam academic year from October to May.
Applications are due by February 15. For more information, contact: Office of International Programs, Brown University, Box 1973, Rhode Island Hall, Room 106, Providence, Rhode Island 02912; by phone at 401-863-3555; or by fax at 401-863-3311.

* Educators for Africa Program: Visiting Professors and Administrators for South Africa
The International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH) invites applications from American professors and administrators who wish to spend an academic year in South Africa as visiting professional volunteers. Successful candidates will be teaching at some of the historically disadvantaged Technikons (Polytechnic).
Applications are due February 28. For information, contact IFESH, Chair of the Selection Committee, Educators for Africa Program, International Foundation for Education and Self-Help, 5040 Shea Blvd. #260, Phoenix, Arizona 85254-4610; by phone at 602-443-1800; or by fax at 602-443-1824.

* Sub-Saharan Africa Dissertation Internship Awards 1995-1996
The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a program of competitive awards to enable African doctoral students enrolled in universities in the US and Canada to undertake supervised dissertation research in Africa in association with a local university or research institution. Priority will be given to research topics in agriculture, environment, education, health, life sciences, and population.
March 1, 1996 is the application deadline. Applications and inquiries should be directed to African Dissertation Internships, The Rockefeller Foundation, 420 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10018-2702 or P.O. Box 47543, Nairobi, Kenya. The awards are intended to cover the costs of conducting research in the field and might include: international travel, living expenses in Africa, local transportation, and costs related to research and analysis.

* Resident Humanities Fellowship Program
UCLA Institute for the Study of Gender in Africa
The James Coleman African Studies Center, in coordination with The Center for the Study of Women, invites applications for fellowships for 1996-1997 in three priority research areas: (1) development of multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding questions of gender in Africa, including the use of such resources as historical linguistics, archaeology, ethno-archaeology, oral tradition, folklore, and art history; (2) the examination of the historical dimension of gender dynamics in Africas early and precolonial past; (3) the study of the culture of gender, in all its myriad of meanings and concepts.
Inquiries and completed applications should be addressed to: Muadi Mukenge, African Studies Center, 10244 Bunche Hall, UCLA, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1310. March 15 is the application deadline.

* World Horizons Summer Programs
For the summer of 1996, World Horizons will continue building an extension of the Tloweng Primary School in Gaborone, Botswana and to work at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve. American and Canadian high school and college student volunteers will be involved in clearing trails, helping with the environmental teaching programs for children, guiding tours to see animals in their natural environment, and building barriers for the prevention of erosion within the reserve. In addition, volunteers in each program are required to do individual internship project.
For more information please write or call: World Horizons International, P.O. Box 662, Bethlehem, CT 06751, (203) 266-5874, (800) 262-5874.

* Environmental Studies Program at Africa
University in Mutare, Zimbabwe
Beginning the fall semester of 1996, Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe will open an Environmental Studies Program. Eligible students may go for one semester (fall only) of for a full academic year (with the option of extending into the summer to complete a research project). Program highlights include a three-day intensive pre-departure orientation on Kalamazoos campus in mid-August, on-site orientation upon arrival in Mutare, direct enrollment in the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, housing in dorms with African students, Shona language and culture instruction, and an individualized cultural research project (evaluated by local academic staff and designed to fit the students academic needs and interests).
For more information, contact: by mail at Kalamazoo College, 1200 Academy St., Kalamazoo, MI 49006; by phone (616) 377-7133; by fax at (616) 373-7400; or by e-mail at clp@kzoo.edu.

* Africa Science-based Development Career
Awards 1995-6
The Rockefeller Foundation now invites applications for career development awards from alumni of the Africa Dissertation Internship Awards (ADIA) programs, as well as from current ADIA holders who expect to defend their dissertations in the near future. African scholars who received their doctoral dissertations after December 31, 1989, with support from other Rockefeller Foundation programs, are also eligible.
The are no application deadlines. First-stage applications, comprising a concepts paper, resume, and covering letter with the applicants complete contact information, should be sent to: Program Manager, African SBD Career Awards, The Rockefeller Foundation, P.O. Box 47543, Nairobi, Kenya; by telephone at (254 2) 228061; by fax at (254 2) 218840; or by e-mail at rockefeller-nbo@cgnet.com.

if you have any... questions, comments, complaints, suggestions, or submissions for the Newsletter, please direct them to Edda Fields in the African Studies Center, 642 Williams Hall, 898-6971 or by e-mail at fieldse@mail.sas.upenn.edu.

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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