MSU Tuesday Bulletin, 05/30/06

THE TUESDAY BULLETIN

Issue No. 1 Summer 2006 May 30, 2006

Weekly News from the AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 100 INTERNATIONAL CENTER

EAST LANSING MI 48824-1035

For back issues, see archive <http://africa.msu.edu>

BULLETIN CONTENTS

MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONFERENCES
JOBS

MSU ANNOUNCEMENTS

Summer FLAS Fellowships Still Available for the Study of African Languages

The African Studies Center is still accepting applications for the U.S. Department of Education's Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship to study an African language through the Summer Cooperative African Languages Institute (SCALI) at Indiana University-Bloomington. The fellowship pays for tuition, stipend, and occasionally for transportation. The SCALI program begins on June 18th and ends August 4th. For more details, please visit http://africa.msu.edu/scali.php. The online application and related guidelines for FLAS fellowships can also be accessed through the above URL. Fellowship funds will be awarded to qualified applicants on a first come, first serve basis. Please direct any questions to Dr. Yacob Fisseha, (517) 353-1700.

MSU-Compton Africa Peace Fellowship Competition

Michigan State University's African Studies Center (ASC) and Women and International Development (WID) Program are offering Compton Africa Peace Fellowships to graduate students from Sub-Saharan Africa to support their dissertation field research in Africa. This program is an element of the MSU African Higher Education Partnerships Initiative (AHEPI). These dissertation fellowship awards are made possible by a grant from the Compton Foundation through its Peace Fellowship Program for addressing peace, conflict resolution, and security in Africa.

The Compton Foundation's peace and security program focuses on a variety of activities and issue areas which include: reducing the threat from weapons of mass destruction; resolving and avoiding international and regional conflict; and broadening the definition of national security to include environmental and population aspects.

Students eligible for the Compton Africa Peace Fellowship Program at MSU must: 1) Be citizens of a nation in Sub-Saharan Africa and not be seeking citizenship or residency abroad; 2) Be enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Michigan State University; 3) Be candidates for the Ph.D. degree in any of a variety of disciplines, such as political science, sociology, anthropology, history, public policy, criminal justice, social work, communications, economics or agricultural economics, and law and pursuing an eligible research topic (see next section); 4) Provide evidence that all requirements for the Ph.D. degree (including comprehensive examinations and departmental approval of the dissertation proposal) will be completed except for the dissertation fieldwork and write-up by the time they plan to begin fieldwork with the Compton funding; and 5) Be pursuing a dissertation that requires fieldwork in Africa for a minimum of six months and a maximum of 12 months for collection of qualitative or quantitative data.

The Compton Foundation utilizes a broad definition of peace and security encompassing a number of cross- cutting issues, including peace building and conflict resolution. Students are eligible for pursuing research in fields such as political science, sociology, anthropology, history, public policy, criminal justice, social work, communications, economics or agricultural economics, and law. However, the applicant must make a clear and compelling case for his/her research having a direct bearing on peace, conflict, conflict resolution, or security issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. Research projects with cross-cutting themes related to environment and/or population issues are of particular interest; however, they must demonstrate a direct bearing on African peace, conflict, and security themes. The sponsors are especially eager to consider proposals on peace and security that also address issues of gender.

The MSU Compton Africa Peace Fellowship Program will consider applications in the following sub-fields if their direct bearing on the theme is clear: Peace, Democracy, and Civil Society Environment, Natural Resource Security, and Community Participation
Population and Refugees
Communication, Peace, and Security Labor and Industrial Conflict and Cooperation Peace, Security, and Conflict Resolution in African History Food and Economic Security

The awards are for up to $15,000 and are to be used solely to support field research in Sub-Saharan Africa. Two awards will be given in 2006 to MSU students. As part of the Compton activities, Fellows will participate in a directed readings program at MSU related to peace and security. Awards will be granted after a competitive review by an MSU committee of faculty in the African Studies Center and Women and International Development Program. The deadline is June 30, 2006, for awards beginning in the summer 2006. Applications are available at http://africa.msu.edu/compton.php and http://www.wid.msu.edu/forstudents/opportunities.htm. Completed application forms must be submitted by mail and e-mail to: MSU-Compton Fellowship Committee, c/o David Wiley, African Studies Center, 100 International Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1035; Tel: 517-353-1700;

Fax: 517-432-1209; E-mail: wiley@msu.edu.

Summer Course Announcement

EPI 890, Sec. 14, 3cr - Health & Healthcare in Africa

This course will be offered by Professor Gretchen Birbeck, Summer Session, M/W, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. First class meets June 5, 2006.

In the era of AIDS and globalization, the health of Africans receives much attention in the American lay press, but the health of African peoples is determined by a complex array of social, economic, and cultural factors as well as infectious and environmental problems unique to the region. To begin to understand the state of health in Africa, it is necessary to examine determinants of health at the individual-level and place this in the broader context of regional economic, environmental health systems, and political realities. This course will provide an overview of the biomedical etiologies of disease in this region within this broader perspective. Open to all graduate students and undergraduates with senior status. For more information, e-mail Dr. Birbeck at: Gretchen.Birbeck@ht.msu.edu.

Fall Course Announcements

HST 830- Spectatorship and Consumerism, 1880s- Present. - Tuesday, 4:10-7:00pm, Rm 314 Morrill Hall

Using the prism of leisure and popular culture, this graduate seminar will explore aspects of the historiography and history of Africa from the dawn of the colonial period to the present. The class will examine how and why "spectacles of culture" and the rise of consumerism influenced the emergence of new forms of self-identification, consciousness, and the construction of social networks under both colonial and postcolonial conditions. Race, power, gender, ethnicity, and culture constitute critical themes in this course. Readings will focus on Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. For further details, contact Professor Peter Alegi at alegi@msu.edu or visit the MSU African History program at http://history.msu.edu/african_history.php.

SSC 490 -Issues in International Development

SSC 490 -Issues in International Development, meets Tu/Th, 3:00 - 4:20p.m. This course focuses on the dilemmas facing industrialized and developing nations in ending severe global inequalities and poverty. We will explore how these dilemmas are explained and the solutions offered to solve them. Special attention will be given to issues of the environment, external assistance, women, and grass-roots participation within the context of historical legacies and contemporary globalization.

This course meets the requirements of a senior-level capstone course for the Undergraduate Specialization in International Development. For further information, contact: Dr. Rob Glew at 353-4818; e-mail: glew@msu.edu for further information.

MC324b - Africa in International Affairs

This course will be offered by Professor Rita Kiki Edozie, Tu/Thur., 12:40-2:00p.m. The course will focus on US-Africa relations as well as normative international relations theory by examining the theories of realism, liberalism and the new globalisms against Africa's contemporary 'place' in international relations. In presenting case studies on the African Union and NEPAD, the course content will also cover 'Africa' as a dynamic region consisting of fifty-three diverse and sovereign independent nations with distinctive foreign policies that present challenges to a single continental policy.

As well, following the 'Africa' public affairs desks of international organizations, the course will address the Continent's political diversity by examining sub- regional and country case studies as diverse as the small- state post-conflict transitions of Liberia and Sierra Leone, transformations from conflict to peace in the Great Lakes Region (the DRC and Rwanda), change and hegemony in Africa's large states: Nigeria and South Africa, foreign policy transformation in Francophone Africa (Cote D'Ivoire), and the politics of ethno- religion, Islam and anti-terrorism in the Sudan.

For further details about this course contact Professor Rita Kiki Edozie, Political Science (JMC), e-mail: rkedozie@msu.edu; Phone: 432-5291.

ENG 823/991B - Postcolonialism/Postmodernism

This is a course about the culture that is being produced under conditions of globalization, viewed primarily from an African and North African, Asian, and diaspora perspective. Globalization and postmodernism appear differently when seen from a postcolonial point of view. The certainties of Jameson and Lyotard about its categories and definition are altered when read in Tangiers or Dakar. Yet the effects of globalization have left their marks on the cultures in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, casting into doubt western certainties over the culture of postmodernism. There are three aspects of its production to be considered: that of a culture shaped in Africa, yet with people looking to move abroad, to emigrate across the barriers of a fortress Europe and North America; a "postcolonial," "postmodern" culture produced in the west, and often looking back to the author's homeland; and a return to Africa, Asia, Latin America. This three part paradigm has a specific meaning for the culture of postmodernism and relations between the west and Africa, one that differs radically from the period of late colonialism and the early period of independence. The course will include a range of works of literature and of visual cultures, including film.

Contact Prof. Ken Harrow, English Dept., e-mail: harrow@msu.edu; Phone: 353-7243 for more information.

EAD 813 - Education and Development

This course will be offered by Professor David Plank, Tu., 12:40-3:30p.m. Open to MA or Ph.D. students. May be taken for Teacher Education credit as TE 813. This course examines the role of education in the process of economic, social, and political development. It begins with the "public" character of schooling, and with the claim that providing educational opportunities for all is a responsibility of the State. This claim is increasingly subject to challenge, on both practical and ideological grounds, and the class explores these challenges in the first part of the course. In the second part of the course, the class will address the specific policy issues associated with expanding access and enhancing quality at different levels of the education system, including the teacher training system. In the concluding section of the course, the class will look to the future, and consider the prospects for expanding and improving educational opportunities in developing countries in the new century. This course will be especially valuable for students who are planning careers in educational development, whether in national planning agencies or in international agencies, including the World Bank and the United Nations, or for students who expect to conduct research in these areas. For further details about this course, contact: Professor David Plank at 355-3691; e-mail: dnplank@msu.edu.

ANP 491, Sec. 012, Anthropology of the Middle East

Tu & Th 1:00-2:20 pm, Union Building (location may change). This course provides a critical examination of the anthropological literature of the Middle East, which is defined here to include the Arab World, Israel, Iran, and Turkey. Major areas of research are reviewed and analyzed, introducing students to the variety of cultural traditions, religions, and ethnicities in the Middle East. Several book-length ethnographies and one novel will be read, in addition to various articles and chapters. Case studies include peasants and development in Egypt, Islamic politics in Turkey, neo-tribalism in Iraq, gender and modernity in Lebanon, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and colonialism and the Algerian diaspora in France, among other geographic and thematic areas. A further goal of this course is to provide students with the conceptual tools necessary to evaluate reports and news about the region, and to understand the subjectivity and bias that often permeates these reports. We will also visit the Arab American National Museum and the newly constructed Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, watch films, and learn from guest speakers. Seminar participants will create, through research papers, their own accounts of the Middle East. For details, contact Professor Mara Leichtman at 432-7048, e-mail: mara.leichtman@ssc.msu.edu.

Graduate Students Awarded US Dept. of Education Title VI FLAS Fellowships, 2006-2007:

Anne C. Axel

Fisheries & Wildlife [Advanced Malagasy]

Kirsten E. Bakken - Linguistics [Advanced Arabic]

Tracy L. Beedy

Crop & Soil Sciences [Beginning Chewa/Nyanja]

Leslie A. Hadfield - History [Advanced Xhosa

Matthew F. Kirwin

Political Science [Intermediate Arabic]

Sandra J. Schmidt

Teacher Education [Advanced Chewa/Nyanja]

Marcy M. Hessling

Anthropology [Beginning Yoruba]

Stephanie A. White - CARRS [Beginning Mandingo]

Jill E. Kelly - History [Beginning Zulu]

Jenni A. Fetters

Political Science [Beginning Zulu]

Graduate Students Awarded Title VI Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Awards (of circa $35,000):

Marita Eibl

Anthropology, for research in Tanzania

Steve Backman

Education, for research in Lesotho

Alternate:
Anne Axel - Fisheries & Wildlife, for

research in Madagascar

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The African Children's Choir, E. Lansing, June 23rd

The African Children's Choir will perform at the Peoples Church, 200 W. Grand River Ave., East Lansing, MI. on June 23, 2006, 7:00 p.m. This internationally acclaimed group brings the hopes of innocent children in Africa to life through their music. A free will offering will be taken. Please visit www.africanchildrenschoir.com for details about the group.

Discussion on Dem. Republic of Congo, E. Lansing There will be an informal discussion on the violence in Eastern DRC with Rev. Eale Bosale from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday, June 5, 2006, 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m., Edgewood United Church of God, 469 N. Hagadorn Rd., East Lansing, MI 48823; Tel: (517) 332-8693.

Rev. Eale Bosale has a B.A. in History and Social Science and a B.A. in Sociology. He received his Master of Divinity degree from the Nairobi International School of Theology, Nairobi, Kenya. He is currently pursuing a Doctoral degree in Theological Ethics at the University of South Africa in Pretoria.

This is a brown bag luncheon with coffee provided.

Human Rights Delegation for Young Leaders to Rwanda

Global Youth Connect, an international human rights organization, is pleased to announce that they are currently recruiting young leaders (ages 18-25) to participate in human rights delegation to Rwanda during the winter of 2007. Human rights delegations are a unique, first-hand opportunity to cross cultural boundaries and learn about the daily reality of human rights as experienced in a complex and increasingly globalized world.

The Rwanda Program runs from December 29-January 15, 2007. Participants will learn more about the current situation in Rwanda, connect with young Rwandans, and get involved in collaborative projects aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation. A particular focus of this delegation will be to examine the roots of the 1994 genocide and learn how this legacy of violence has impacted the country and its people, particularly Rwandan youth. Participants will examine issues of truth, justice and reconciliation in the context of post- conflict Rwanda and what is needed to strengthen local institutions and programs dedicated to promoting a culture of respect for human rights.

Global Youth Connect invite interested young leaders to apply. They are looking for participants who are between the ages of 18-25, possess U.S. citizenship or residency, or are studying full-time at a U.S. college or university. Most importantly, applicants should wish to expand their knowledge and understanding of human rights and social justice.

The deadline to receive applications is June 23, 2006, at 5:00 p.m. EST. The Program Fee is $1,795. Tips on how to fund this trip are listed on the website. For more information on program details, costs, and how to apply, please visit: www.globalyouthconnect.org/participate.

CONFERENCES

5th Annual Hawaii International Conference Call for Papers/Abstracts/Submissions

Sponsored by Asia-Pacific Research Institute of Peking University, University of Louisville - Center for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods.

The 5th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities will be held from January 12 (Friday) to January 15 (Monday), 2007 at the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii. The conference will provide many opportunities for academicians and professionals from arts and humanities related fields to interact with members inside and outside their own particular disciplines. Cross- disciplinary submissions with other fields are welcome. Performing artists (live dance, theater, and music) interested in displaying their talents will be accommodated whenever possible.

All areas of Arts and Humanities are invited, which include: Anthropology; American Studies; Archeology; Architecture; Art; Art History; Dance; English; Ethnic Studies; Film; Folklore; Graphic Design; History; Landscape Architecture; Languages; Literature; Linguistics; Music; Performing Arts; Philosophy; Postcolonial Identities; Religion; Second Language Studies; Speech/Communication; Theatre; Visual Arts; Other Areas of Arts and Humanities and; Cross- disciplinary areas of the above, related to each other or other areas.

The Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities encourages the following types of papers/abstracts/submissions for any of the listed areas: Research Papers - Completed papers; Abstracts - Abstracts of completed or proposed research; Student Papers - Research by students; Work-in-Progress Reports or Proposals for future projects and/or; Reports on issues related to teaching.

For detailed information about submissions see: http://www.hichumanities.org/cfp_artshumanities.htm Submitting a Proposal

Please note that there is a limit of two contributed submissions per lead author. Submission deadline is August 23, 2006. Email questions to humanities@hichumanities.org.

JOBS

Director, Ctr for Black Culture - West Virginia Univ.

West Virginia University (WVU) seeks applications for the position of Director of the Center for Black Culture. The University's goal is to have someone in place by July 1, 2006.

The Director of the WVU Center for Black Culture is responsible for developing a variety of educational and social programs that fulfill the mission of the Center, that impact student learning and student development, and that enhance the educational experience for students. Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

1. leading the Center staff in its goals toward enhanced recruitment and retention of Black students;
2. providing educational, social, and cultural support for WVU through mentoring, tutoring, professional development, encouraging student input, and various outreach components;
3. planning and implementing educational programs,

lectures, exhibits, and social activities for students that enhance, explain, explore, and promote Black cultures and the African World experience;

4. working closely with campus departments to coordinate a community-wide (both campus and City of Morgantown) approach to support the diverse needs of WVU's Black student population and to promote respect for diversity, different cultures, and world views.

The CBC Director will articulate a vision of the Center through strategic planning and program assessment that reflect the goals of the WVU Student Affairs strategic plan and the University strategic plan which can be accessed electronically at http://www.wvu.edu. For programs and information on the Center, go to http://www.wvu.edu/cbcr/. The committee encourages applications from individuals who have 5 to 7 years of administrative, budgetary, and supervisory experience, preferably within a cultural center and/or an educational setting; excellent interpersonal and communication skills; demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with others; demonstrated interest and/or experience in strategies that facilitate student success; and a deep commitment to the power of education and the importance of cultural diversity. A masters degree is required; doctorate preferred. Salary based on qualifications and relevant experiences. Review of applications will begin May 1, 2006 and continue until the position is filled. Please submit a letter of application which addresses experiences relative to the four (4) specific responsibilities outlined above and then elaborate your vision and strategy for one of those responsibilities. Include a current vita and contact information for three professional references. Electronic applications are appropriate and may be sent to rudy.almasy@mail.wvu.edu. The mailing address is: Rudolph Almasy, Associate Dean, Chair, CBC Director Search Committee, WVU - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, PO Box 6286, Morgantown, WV 26506-6286. WVU is an Equal Opportunity Affirm/Action Employer.

Tuesday Bulletin, Summer 2006, No. 1

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