| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
THE TUESDAY BULLETIN
Issue No. 10, Spring 2000
March 21, 2000
Weekly News from the AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 100 INTERNATIONAL CENTER
EAST LANSING MI 48824-1035
For back issues, see archive <http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfricanStudies>
MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONFERENCES
March 23, Thursday
"What Have We Learned from 18 Years of Food Policy Reform in Mali?" African Studies Center Brown Bag with John Staatz, Faculty (Department of Agricultural Economics, MSU), 12 noon, Room 201, International Center.
March 30, Thursday
"Autobiographical Reflections on African Oral Literature," African Studies Center Brown Bag with Kwadwo Opoku-Agemang, Fulbright Scholar, Grand Valley State University (U of Cape Coast, Ghana), 12 noon, Room 201, International Center.
MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS
Graduate Specialization - International Development The Center for Advanced Studies in International Development (CASID) and the Women and International Development Program (WID) would like to encourage all students interested in the field of international development to consider enrolling in a graduate specialization in international development. Graduate specializations in international development are available as electives for students who are enrolled in master's and doctoral degree programs at Michigan State University. Offered by the College of Social Science, these specializations provide an opportunity for students to receive a comprehensive academic experience in the field of international development studies.
Students enrolled in a specialization must complete a concentration within international development such as; Gender and Health; Gender and Work; Rural Development; Environment and Development; Development Administration; Non-governmental Organizations in Development; or Politics in Development. Masters students complete two core courses and two courses from their concentration area. Half of the credits must come from outside their major. Doctoral students complete two core courses and four courses from within their concentration area. Half of the credits must come from outside of their major. For a complete listing of core and concentration courses, please refer to the CASID or WID website: http://www.isp.msu.edu/CASID/specializations/ grad_specialization.html; http://www.isp.msu.edu/WID/gsid.html. If you are interested in learning more about this specialization, please contact the CASID office at 353-5925. Brochures on this specialization are available at the CASID office at 306 Berkey Hall and the WID office at 202 International Center.
Newly Formed African/African Diaspora Program
Comparative Literatures and Cultures at Michigan State University is a theoretically driven MA program that challenges conventional boundaries of literary studies and seeks to open up new areas of critical analysis. With a developing focus on African and African- Diaspora literatures and cultures, the MA in comparative studies encourages interdisciplinary, post- colonial, and transcultural research. This MA program builds on the established Comparative Literature Program and MSU's strengths in African and African Diaspora Studies. Comparative Literature and Cultures also offers a curriculum that links African Studies, Women's Studies, Film Studies, American Studies, and the Health and Humanities.
The core of the program consists of four courses. These courses engage theories and literatures that relate broadly to the area of Africa and African Diaspora studies such as Creolite, hybridity, indigenism, border theory and race studies. In addition to the four core courses, students take eighteen credits in courses of their choice drawn from a wide array of disciplines and departments. The program provides students with a large degree of flexibility in designing their respective research agendas.
Faculty participate at all levels of teaching and advising in the programs. Graduate students in the Comparative Literature and Cultures program have the opportunity to study with nationally renowned faculty at MSU. Moreover, they will benefit from the resources available through the African Studies Center at Michigan State University. Through the African Studies Center, students can apply for FLAS language grants, which provide generous support to pursue the study of African languages. Affiliation with the ASC programs also allows graduate students to access funding that harmonizes with their studies.
For more information about the MA in Comparative Literatures and Cultures contact: Kenneth Harrow, Director, Comparative Literature, 319 Linton Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824 - 1044; Tel: (517) 332-0422; 353-7243; or email: harrow@msu.eduFor an application for admission into graduate study at MSU, write or call: Office of Admissions and Scholarships, 250 Administration Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824- 1046; Tel:(517) 355-8332.
OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Journal of International Women's Studies
The Journal of International Women's Studies (JIWS), a new on-line journal, seeks submissions for its May edition as well as subsequent editions. JIWS is an interdisciplinary publication featuring scholarly articles, poetry, narratives and book reviews exploring the relationship between feminist theory and activism. Submissions can be sent via e-mail to: womenctr@mcla.mass.edu (attention Diana Fox, Managing Editor), or by regular mail. Send three hard copies and microsoft compatible disk copy to Journal of International Women's Studies, Susan B. Anthony Women's Center, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 375 Church Street, North Adams, MA 01247; womenctr@mcla.mass.edu.Papers should be double spaced, with endnote format and citations appropriate to your discipline. For the May edition, please forward articles by April 1, 2000.The journal can be accessed via the Massachusetts College home page at: http://www.mcla.mass.edu/academics/sba_ womenctr/.
Autobiographies of African Women Immigrants
The editors of a book dealing with African women and immigration to the United States have issued a call for autobiographical essays. The book seeks to present engaging personal narratives of African women in the United States to create a platform for discussion and reflection on issues affecting African women immigrants. A book on African women immigrants is considered to be very timely as there recently has been an increasing number of African immigrants to the United States. The 1990 census estimated that there were about 405,000 African immigrants in the US and by 1998 that number had climbed to approximately 645,000. Every year, about 15,000 African adults immigrate to the US, and nearly 88% of that number have at least a high school education. The per capita income of African immigrants is $20,000 higher than most immigrant groups. Whilst African immigrants contribute to the US economy as professors, lawyers, scientists, taxi cab drivers, etc., there is no collection of essays on the experiences of these immigrants.
The editors hope that by publishing autobiographical essays by African women immigrants, the scholarship on immigration will be greatly advanced. At the same time, these first-person narratives will bring the voices of African women into a conversation about their experiences as "new Americans."As they write about their immigrant experiences, their insights on class, gender, race, identity, and resilience and resistance in America, will illustrate the joys and strains of life in the US. The book is intended to appeal to a diverse range of readers, including researchers, teachers, scholars and others interested in reading about the experiences of African women. The editors, Enku Gelaye, Rebecca Laumann, Azeb Lemma and Sohini Sinha, are currently talking to some publishers who have shown an interest in this project. African woman immigrants who would like to submit an essay for consideration, should contact Rebecca Laumann at:dodzit@hotmail.com.
Special Issue of Women's Studies Quarterly
For a special issue on technology and women, Women's Studies Quarterly invites submissions that focus on information and biological technologies, with emphasis on questions of gender discrepancies, technological determinism, and potential for progressive social change. The editor, Lee Quinby, seeks essays, perspective pieces, poetry, art work, bibliography, filmography, syllabi, book reviews, and other works that explore whether the new technologies advance or impede women's equality around the world.
Given current discrepancies between the pervasive use of technology by multinational corporations on the one hand and uneven global development on the other, feminist analysis of the impact of these new technologies is vital. How might we assess the uses of technology in schools, medicine, surveillance systems, and economic forces of globalization? How does technology shape women's experiences and daily life: how does it affect the body, the workplace, and home? What is technology's "hold"---especially with respect to notions of "progress" and its future implications--and how do women use, resist, and shape ideas about their relationship to technology? What role can women play in shaping an increasingly technology-driven work force? How do the new technologies figure into the history of women's role as inventors of technology, broadly defined as a tool, as well as resistors of oppressive technologies? What pedagogical strategies help alter the current gender gap that maintains a male- dominated hold on advanced technology? What are the most effective ways to extend high-tech access to women and minorities? This issue will investigate such questions, with particular interest in developing women's studies curricula that focus on national and international concerns.
The issue is slated for publication in fall/winter 2001. The deadline for submission is June 1, 2000. Contributions should be no longer than 20 double- spaced pages. Please submit a disk and three hard copies of essays to Lee Quinby, Caroline Werner Gannett Professor of the Humanities, Rochester Institute of Technology, 92 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623. Queries should be sent to the above address or e-mailed to:leequinby@aol.com. For more information on the journal, visit: http:// www.feministpress.org.
CONFERENCES
Ethnic and Religious Conflict
"Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Cross-Cultural Perspective" is the focus of a conference at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio May 18-19, 2000. This conference seeks to understand the fundamental underpinnings and social implications of inter and intra- group conflict by applying a comparative interdisciplinary and interregional analytical approach. Participants will seek to determine if there are common denominators across the different conflicts. By contributing to the understanding of conflict, it is hoped that management, resolution and prevention of conflict will be more effective.
The Ohio University Center for International Studies extends an invitation to graduate students to participate in this interdisciplinary conference. Graduate students from any college or university are welcome, but those from Midwestern institutions are particularly encouraged. Submissions from all interested students are welcomed. Short abstracts, not exceeding one page (single spaced) are due March 31, 2000. For more information, contact:Polly Sandenburgh, Interethnic and Religious Conflict Conference, Ohio University, Center for International Studies, Burson House, Athens, OH45701 by March 31, 2000. Tel:(740) 593-1842; Fax:(740) 593-1837.
Role of the African Youth
The 12th Annual All-African Students' Conference will take place May 26-29, 1999 at the University of Toronto, Ontario. The theme will be "The Role of the African Youth on the Continent and in the Diaspora in the 21st Century."Participants are encouraged to address the following subtopics: Politics, Spirituality/ Religion, Gender, Technology, Diaspora, Family, Economics, Youth, Culture, Health, Education and Reparations. Deadlines for submission are March 20, 2000 for abstracts and April 3, 2000 for full papers. All presenters are reminded that all topics must be addressed from a youth perspective. Participants interested in presentation are encouraged to contact the AASC 2000 through email at: aasc@yorku.ca. Abstracts may also befaxed to:(416) 736-5732 or mailed to:Ismael Musah Montana, Local Coordinator, The 12 Annual All-African Students' Conference, c/o African Studies Program, 217 Founders College, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3 Canada.
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Message-Id: <4.2.0.58.20000317165210.00a15ba0@pilot.msu.edu> Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2000 16:52:36 -0500 From: MSU African Studies Center <beckum@msu.edu> Subject: Tuesday Bulletin No. 10