The Newsletter of The Institute of African Studies at Columbia University, Winter 1999

7/28/2019 The Newsletter of The Institute of African Studies at Columbia University, Winter 1999

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1A F R I C A O N C A M P U S W I N T E R 1 9 9 9

In this context, the end of apartheid calls

on us to re-think the configuration of the

area called Africa in a double sense.There needs to be a problematization o

the current meaning of Africa in "African

Studies" -- as the study of the areabetween the Sahara and the Limpopo. As

such studies accumulate, they will

generate new comparative knowledge,both re-thinking the notion that theSahara and the Limpopo constitute

epistemological boundaries, and recasting

their epistemological significance.

It is my hope that this multiple challenge

will both set the agenda of the Institute oAfrican Studies at Columbia University

over the next decade and inaugurate a

period of more fruitful cross-boundarycollaboration, both institutional and

epistemological.

The new millennium marks a turning point for Africain a double sense. Globally, Africa enters the post-Cold War age; regionally, it enters the post-apartheidage. Both transitions present a challenge to thepursuit of what has come to be known as "African

Studies" in North America.

Just as the end of the Cold War has brought down

the Berlin Wall, so it is likely to bring downepistemological walls built around areas of study.

The boundaries of area studies will become more

porous. Their study will be historicized as we cease

to take geographical boundaries for granted: thecenter of gravity of academic work will shift as it

balances an emphasis on locales with a more

comparative and in-depth focus on themes. The

more they reflect a common historical experience,the less areas will cease to connote boundaries o

knowledge.

THE END OF APARTHEID

CALLS ON US TO RE-THINK THE

CONFIGURATION OF THE AREA CALLED

AFRICA IN A DOUBLE SENSE.

Mahmood Mamdani, Director of IAS

AAFFRRIICCAA OONNCCAAMMPPUUSSWinter 1999, Volume 11, No.1

The Newsletter of The Institute of African Studies at Columbia University

Letter from the Director

F E A T U R E D I N T H I S I S S U E

Symposiumon Franz Fanon: Dying Colonialism, Forty Years On page 5

Spring 2000 Tuesday Lunchtime Schedule page 6

African Languages at Columbia University page 7

Teacher Training & Outreach: Africa and Its Environment page 12


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Mahmood Mamdani

Director

Nigel Gibson

Assistant Director

Marlyse Rand

Administrative

Assistant

Paulette Young

Outreach Coordinator

Joe Caruso

Librarian

Ngozi AmuProgram Assistant

Angela Ndinga-

Muvumba

Program Assistant

Yaya Fanusie

Work-Study

Nebiat Woldemichael

Work-Study

AFRICA ON CAMPUS

Editor and Layout

Designer

Angela Ndinga-

Muvumba

Reporter

Ngozi Amu

Call for SubmissionsAfrica On Campus invites

readers to submit articles on

African Studies or Affairs.

Those interested shouldplease call the Institute at:

212-854-4633or email us at:

[email protected]

WWWWHEN IT COMES TOHEN IT COMES TOHEN IT COMES TOHEN IT COMES TO

MARGINALIZATIONMARGINALIZATIONMARGINALIZATIONMARGINALIZATION,,,, THETHETHETHE

QUESTION IS WHO ISQUESTION IS WHO ISQUESTION IS WHO ISQUESTION IS WHO IS

MARGINALIZING WHOM AMARGINALIZING WHOM AMARGINALIZING WHOM AMARGINALIZING WHOM ANDNDNDND

WHO CARESWHO CARESWHO CARESWHO CARES????

IssuesIssuesIssuesIssues

Debates in African StudiesDebates in African StudiesDebates in African StudiesDebates in African StudiesAt a seminar sponsored by the Institute of African Studies, attended

by faculty from many of Columbia's departments and schools, Mohamed

Mbodj argued that debates in African history were at a point where it is

difficult to see whether they are moving forward or backward. To initiate anew seriesDebates in African Studies, to which we encourage you to

respond, we have reproduced some of Professor Mbodjs comments.

Remarking that the similarity to old ideas is more like "background noise,"

Mbodj claimed that overarching themes, such as recolonization and

marginalization, are being refashioned not simply in terms of identity and

otherness but also in terms ofself-representation. For instance,

is domination by the West only

comprehensible in terms of

colonization or evenmodernization? Of course not

because Africans have at leastsome agency to invent their own selves. When it comes to marginalization,

the question is who is marginalizing whom and who cares? Africa still

operates within categories that are not fully appropriated and are sometimesdenied by Africans. It seems also that such categories have a life of their own,

so to speak, so much that even if one assumes that ethnic groups, for example,

do not exist, the category is so powerful that it ends up defining research.

The influence of subaltern and postcolonial studies, Mbodj

continued, has proved to be a corrective to the domination of determiningcategories, deconstructing them and refocusing our attention on the historyof specificities. Rather than searching for "authentic" categories, subaltern

and postcolonial studies have directed our attention to questions of

articulation and agency. One can do the same with the idea of "popularculture," asking questions like "whose culture is it," "where is it tapped

from," and "what is the process of establishing something as pervasive as

'popular culture'? One finds that popular culture is also a vertical

phenomenon, coming through history. Something that seems to be lost canbe retrieved as popular culture. Perhaps reflecting on this idea, we can ask

whether there is anything that can be called "African knowledge"?

S T A F FS T A F FS T A F FS T A F F


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Philippe Wamba

AAAA N N O U N C I N GN N O U N C I N GN N O U N C I N GN N O U N C I N G

The Sawyer SeThe Sawyer SeThe Sawyer SeThe Sawyer Seminarminarminarminar

Workshops 2000Workshops 2000Workshops 2000Workshops 2000Co-Sponsored with t he Department ofAnthropology

Saturday, February 5, 2000

10:00 am- 4:30pmSchermerhorn 614, Columbia University

BLACK ATHENA: HISTORICAL

KNOWLEDGE, POWER & POPULAR

CULTUREMartin Bernal, Government, Cornell University

Mary Lefkowitz, Classical Studies, Wellesley College

Mia Bay, History, Rutgers University,Lynn Meskell, Anthropology and Archeology,

Columbia University,

Mohamed Mbodj, History, Columbia University

Wilson Moses, History, Pennsylvania State University

Saturday, March 4, 2000


THE RWANDA GENOCIDE :

HISTORY & POLITICSAlison des Forges, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Phillip Gourevitch, The New YorkerCatherine Newbury, Political Science, UNC-Chapel

Hill,

David Newbury, History, UNC-Chapel Hill,

Peter Rosenblum, Harvard University Law School

Saturday, Apri l 1, 2000


THE TRC AND POST-APARTHEID SOUTH

AFRICAIan Shapiro, Political Science, Yale University

David Dyzenhaus, Law & Philosophy, University ofToronto

S.J. Terreblanch, Economics, Stellenbosch University

Robert Meister, Political Science, University of

California- Santa Cruz

Fall 1999 Lunchtime SeminarsFall 1999 Lunchtime SeminarsFall 1999 Lunchtime SeminarsFall 1999 Lunchtime SeminarsIdentity and politics resound in the landscapes of AtoQuayson and Philippe Wamba, two of our speakers this

fall in the Institutes Lunchtime Seminar Series.

Ato Quayson is the Director of African Studies atPembroke College, Cambridge. The author ofPostcolonialism: Theory, Practice and Process,

Quayson focused on the theoretical possibilities forliterature. Discussing key debates in the field, he

stressed the importance of seeing postcolonialism as aprocess of analysis, and demonstrated his argument in alecture entitled Thunder in the Index: Nationalism andDisassembled Identities in Postcolonial Literature andPolitics. Quayson read excerpts from Tsitsi

Dagarembga'sNervous Conditions, DambuzdoMarecheras The House of Hungerand Antjie KrogsCountry of My Skull, to illustrate the need for a socialand political theoretical view on postcolonial literature.

Dr. Quaysons analysis called for both exogenous andendogenous readings of postcolonial literature. He

presented the utility in rendering the characters in adialectical manner, and in seeing how identity shifts inthe frame of the postcolonial

narrative.

Philippe Wamba is Editor-In-

Chief at Africana.com. His newbook, Kinship: A Familys

Journey in Africa and Americacelebrates the passionate andcomplex dialogue between Africaand America. Mr. Wamba, the

son of Ernest Wamba dia Wamba,(former Professor of History,University of Dar es Salaam, and currently the

Chairman of the Congolese Democratic Movement) hasa unique view of the cultural mirroring and political

discourse that has shaped the African Diaspora.

Struggling with the complex affinity between Africansand African-Americans, which has at once been packed,

with myth and fact, betrayal and allegiance, truth andfiction, Wamba explored the historical, musical,

cultural, and political patterns that comprise the identityof black people on both sides of the Atlantic. Heconcluded that Africans and African-Americans have

historically expressed a passionate longing for oneanother.


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Nigel Gibson and Yohannes Gandu

Summary: Fall 1999 Tuesday Lunchtime SeminarsSummary: Fall 1999 Tuesday Lunchtime SeminarsSummary: Fall 1999 Tuesday Lunchtime SeminarsSummary: Fall 1999 Tuesday Lunchtime SeminarsS e p t em b e r S e p t em b e r S e p t em b e r S e p t em b e r

STUDENT INTERNSHIP DEBRIEFINGS

Second-Year SIPA students discussed their diverse experiences interning in Africa during the summer of1999.FRANCO BARCHIESI Lecturer, University of Witwatersrand

Losing Subject: Labour, Employment and Social Citizenship in the Democratic South Africa.

DR. ATO QUAYSON, Director of African Studies, Lecturer in English, Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge,

"Thunder in the Index: Nationalism and Disassembled Identities in African Literature and Politics,"Co-sponsored with

the Center for Comparative Literature and Society.

NJABULO S. NDEBELE, Lifetime President of the Congress of South African Writers, "Citizens, Writers and

Readers: Remaking Culture in South Africa, Co-sponsored with The Center for Comparative Literature and

Society.

OOOOCTOBERCTOBERCTOBERCTOBER

YOHANNA GANDU, I.I.E. Fullbright Scholar, Doctoral Candidate inSociology, Ahmadu Bello University of Nigeria "Women in the

Workplace in Nigeria, Co-sponsored with the Center for the

Study of Human Rights.

JAIROS M.GANDU, Lecturer, Dept. of Educational Management,

Zimbabwe Open University "Traditional

Religious Practices Among the Shona People of Zimbabwe, Co-

sponsored with the Center for the Study of

Human Rights.

BILL BERKELEY, Journalist and Senior Fellow, World Policy

Institute, New School for Social Research, Ethnicity and Conflict in Africa: The Methods Behind the Madness.

NNNNOVEMBEROVEMBEROVEMBEROVEMBER

MEREDITH TURSHEN, Rutgers University, School of Planning and Public Policy, "Women in the Aftermath of War and

Armed Conflict".

SYMPOSIUM ON FRANZ FANON: DYING COLONIALISM, Robert Bernasconi, University of Memphis, Drucilla Cornell,

Rutgers University, Irene Gendscler, Boston University, Nigel Gibson, Columbia University, Edward W. Said,

Columbia University, Lou Turner, Napperville College. Co-sponsored with The Center for Comparative Literature

and Society,The Middle East Institute, La Maison Franaise, The Institute for Research in African-American Studies

and The Pan African Studies Program at Barnard College.

PETER ALEXANDER, Senior Lecturer, Rand Afrikaans University, Trade Unions & the Imposition of Apartheid.

SIGNE ALFRED, Female Identity Politics in a Period of Change: Muslim Womens Dance Association in

Mozambique, Co-sponsored with The Pan-African Studies Program at Barnard College.

PHILIPPE WAMBA, Author, Journalist, Editor-In-chief of Africana.com, on Kinship: A Familys Journey in Africa and

America, Co-sponsored with The Pan-African Studies Program at Barnard College, and SIPAs People of Color

Alliance.

DDDDECEMBERECEMBERECEMBERECEMBER

BRUCE BERMAN, Queens University, "The House of Custom: Jomo Kenyatta, Louis Leakey and the

Making of the Modern Kikuyu".


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Symposium on Franz Fanon:

Dying Colonialism, Forty Years On

The November 16, 1999Symposium was co-sponsored

with The Center for ComparativeLiterature and Society, TheMiddle East Institute, La MaisonFranaise, The Institute forResearch in African-AmericanStudies and The Pan AfricanStudies Program at BarnardCollege.

Over 100 people attended a livelydiscussion of Frantz Fanon's life, work,

and continuing relevance with a focuson A Dying Colonialism(L'An V de larvolution Algrienne) forty years afterits publication. Challenging bothFanon and some of the dominant ideasabout Fanon, the speakers

Robert Bernaconi, Drucilla Cornell,Irene Gendzier, Nigel Gibson, EdwardW. Said and Lou Turner -- discussed

Fanon's legacies and unfinished

business. The presenters addressedquestions of violence and gender, post-colonial economics and regime changeas well as Fanon's relevance to the U.S.political movements.

The symposia was taped by WBAI(99.5 FM) and will be aired inFebruary.

Photos of Fanon Sypmosium Participants Clockwise, Top to Bottom:, Edward W.

Said, Drucilla Cornell, Robert Bernasconi, Nigel Gibson, Irene Gendier, Lou Turner


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Institute of African StudiesInstitute of African StudiesInstitute of African StudiesInstitute of African Studies

Spring 2000 Tuesday Lunchtime Schedule

12 2pm 11

th

Fl. SIPA, Columbia University

F e b r u a r y F e b r u a r y F e b r u a r y F e b r u a r y

Feb 8: IAIN EDWARDS (Rockefeller Fellow, Oral History Research Office, Columbia University), "Identities:

Umkhonto we Sizwe, Gays, Shanty Towns and Post-Apartheid Discourse." 12:00-1:45 pm Middle

East Insitute, 1118 IAB, Columbia University

Feb 15: JOHN COLLINS, University of Ghana Lecture/ performance--"The Ghanaian concert party and its

association with highlife music." 12:00-1:45pm, Middle East Institute, 1118 IAB, Columbia

University

Feb 22: ANNIE COOMBES, Birkbeck College, University of London, "Translating the Past: Monuments and

the Making of Histories in Transition in a Democratic South Africa." Co-sponsored with theDepartment of Art History, 12:00-2:00pm, 930 Schermerhorn, Columbia University

Feb 29: ROBERT VAN NIENKERK, Lincoln University, Oxford, "Social Policy Reform in South Africa:

Assessing Progress in Health and Welfare Between 1994-1998. 12:00 1:45pm, Middle East

Institute, 1118 IAB, Columbia University

MMMMARCHARCHARCHARCH

March 7: ANDREW OKOLIE, University of Toronto, "The State, Economic Development and the Construction

of Political Identities in Nigeria since 1970." 12:00 1:45pm, Middle East Institute, 1118 IAB,

Columbia University

March 23: MAMADOU DIOUF, University of Michigan, "Senegalese Youth and the Production of

(Thursday) Knowledge of an urban culture in the late 20th century."12:00 1:45pm, Middle East Institute, 1118IAB, Columbia University

March 28: PATRICIA MCFADDEN, Feminism, Nation and the New Millennium in South Africa.

12:00 1:45pm, Middle East Institute, 1118 IAB, Columbia University, (Co-sponsored with Pan-

African Studies).

AAAA PRILPRILPRILPRIL *NOTE: SEE FORTHCOMIN GA NNOUNCEMENTS FORDETAILS

April, TBA: SAMPE TERRE BLANCHE, "The Truth and Reconciliation Commission."

April 11: TOM HALE, Penn State University, "Griots and Griottes: Myths and Realities."

April TBA: MMATSHILO MOTSEI, Restoring the Health of the Community: The struggle against domestic

violence in Alexandra Township. (Co-sponsored with Pan-African Studies).

April 25: KRISTINE ROOME, Teachers College, Columbia University, "Process of 'liberating voices': Artist

Expression and national representation in South Africa."


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hausa

advanced kiswahili

African Languages at Columbia University

ABDU NANJI

Its a lot of fun to take my

courses, says Professor Nanji

who teaches Advanced Kiswahiliand Swahili Life and Culture at

Columbia University. Most students

enrolled in his courses have visited or lived

in Africa prior to attending graduate school.But, experience in

Africa is not a

prerequisite. Infact, there are

grants available

for studentsinterested in

traveling to an

East Africancountry such as Kenya and Tanzania .

The students in Nanjis classes come from a

variety of different fields, including political

science, medicine, journalism and drama. Ipicked this course because I thought I might

perform in East Africa, says Signe Grant, adrama major and student in Nanjis

Advanced Kiswahili II. It is Friday and she

and three other students are busy conversingin Kiswahili. Matthew Dwyer, a graduate

student in Anthropology and Education,

reviews an article on womens reproduction

habits in Africa and a wild debate follows.Amani MBale is a SIPA student. I was

determined to speak an African language,she says, and I chose Kiswahili because itcovers a wide geographical region. Paul

Kontra is another SIPA student. He was a

Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania for twoyears before coming to graduate school. He

likes Professor Nanjis teaching style, he

says, because it emphasizes language

proficiency.

The main objective of Professor

Nanjis course is to have students think in

Kiswahili and gain fluency. Professor Nanjiexamines contemporary culture through

Kiswahili life styles by making his students

read Kiswahili magazines and newspapers.You can learn Kiswahili in one year if you

get the basic structure, he says.

CLIFFORD HILL

ProfessorClifford Hill

has taughtHausa since

1972 when he

joined thefaculty at

Teachers College. He now holds an

endowed chair, The Arthur I. Gates

Professor of Language and Education, andcontinues to conduct research on African

languages and cultures. Among his researchinterests are oral culture in West Africa andthe different ways in which African

languages represent space and time.

Professor Hill believes that language study

is a good way to unpack cultural differences.

As he puts it, "language is, in many ways,


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kiswahili

our most basic way of understanding another

culture." Students in his class approach

language from many different perspectives.For example, they learn a range of materials

from oral culture such as proverbs and

stories. They also become aware of howordinary words such as "back" and "front" or

"before" and "after" have different meanings

in Hausa and English. According to

Professor Hill, when speakers of Hausa usethe terms "front" or "back" to describe a

relationship between two objects, they often

use the terms in just the opposite way toAmericans. As one Hausa once put it, "we

see the world facing out, whereas you see it

facing in." Professor Hill and doctoral

students from different parts of the worldhave conducted research showing that these

differences are widespread among speakers

of African and Asian languages and carryover to their use of European languages in

complex ways.

Professor Hill is concerned that SIPA

students are not given credit for African

language courses taught at the introductorylevel because it discourages many students

from taking an African language. According

to Professor Hill, African languages need tobe given greater priority by administrators at

SIPA and in other parts of the university.

Learning an African language can be lifechanging for some students. Professor Hill

recalls the story of a student who came to

SIPA to prepare for a career in the ForeignService but who changed his career goals

after taking Hausa. After graduating from

SIPA, the student completed a PhD atStanford University on language and gender

relations in Hausaland. He now holds a

major position in anthropological linguistics

and often returns to Hausaland to conductresearch.

PETER MTESIGWA

PeterMtesigwa

is from

Tanzania.He is

currently a

student at

TeachersCollege, working on his

doctoral degree. Prior to

coming to New Yorkand Columbia, Mr.

Mtesigwa worked at the Institute for

Kiswahili Research.at the University of Dar

es Salaam He teaches two courses atColumbia: Introductory and Intermediary

Kiswahili. This semester, Mr. Mteswiga had

as many as 20 students enrolled in hisintroductory class. That is more than I ever

had before, he says with enthusiasm.

Kiswahili is spoken in more than ten nations in

Eastern and Central Africa. Anyone who

wants to visit and do business in that region,needs to know Kiswahili, confirms Mr.

Mteswiga. Kiswahili extends from Somalia tothe North and South to Mozambique, and fromZanzibar in the East to the Democratic

Republic of Congo in the West. There is also

news that it is spreading widely to Congo-

Brazzaville, says Mr. Mtesigwa, and he adds:Kiswahili is definitely a language worth

studying.

The first thing we learn in my Introductory

Kiswahili course is to say greetings,explains Mr. Mtesigwa. Students also learn

basic vocabulary and how to count. Mr.

Mtesigwa uses different songs to make this a

fun exercise. In my classes, we read, wesing, we talk, and we write, he says. There

are also intensive summer courses offered in

Eastern Africa that Columbia students canapply for. Last summer there was a program


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wolof

zulu

in Zanzibar organized by the African

Language Teachers Association. These are

the kinds of activities in which Mr.Mtesigwa encourages students to participate.

Those students who went there and who

came back are really doing a very excitingjob when it comes to speaking Kiswahili,

he contends.

Why should students take Kiswahili? I thinkmany people enjoy being a bit different,

admits Mr. Mtesigwa. Students in his class

come to appreciate the language very much,and they are quick learners: Some days in

class you would think they come from Swahili

land!

FALLOU GUEYE

Fallou

Gueye does

not want toshow me

how to do

theSabar,

the very

popularSenegalese dance that looks like somethingin between Saturday Night Fever and

electric boogie. Oh, I cant do that now,

he says smiling. Mr. Gueye teachesIntroductory, Intermediate and Advanced

Wolof at SIPA. Many of his students who

are PhD candidates in fields ofAnthropology, Sociology and

Ethnomusicology learn Wolof to facilitate

anticipated fieldwork in Senegal. Otherstudents are from SIPA, Columbia College

and the Graduate Center at New York

University.

Wolof is mostly spoken in Senegal and the

Senegambian region, but also in the Ivory

Coast, Burkina Faso and Mauritania wheremany Senegalese have settled. Senegalese

people travel extensively, according to Mr.

Gueye, and Wolof is spreading throughout

the world. For example, when you areshopping in large cosmopolitan cities in

Europe and in Africa, it is useful to know

Wolof, he says. There is also a largepopulation of Senegalese people living in

New York City. The Senegalese are giving

a new face to Harlem, asserts Mr. Gueye.

Many famous musicians, writers andfilmmakers come from Senegal, and

students in Mr. Gueyes class explore these

resources in the class-room by watchingmovies and listening to music by artists such

as Youssou NDour, the well-known singer

from Dakar. Senegal also plays an important

role on the African continent because of itsgeographical location and the mobility of its

people. For many students who are

interested in Africa, Senegal is the gatewayto that continent, says Mr. Gueye, referring

specifically to the history of colonialism and

the transatlantic slave trade.

MOLI NTULI

Moli Ntuli

teaches Zuluat SIPA. As aSouth African

woman, she

is happy to

see that herlanguage has

generated so

much interestlately, in both South Africa and abroad. White

and black kids learn Zulu in South African

schools today, says Ms. Ntuli, Zulu hasbecome as important as any other language.

Culture is an important part of Ms. Ntulisteaching. As she points out,

learning a language involves

mastering a certain set ofgrammatical rules as well as an


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To keep updated on Institute events, or courses at Columbia

University

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/SIPA/REGIONAL/IAS/index.html

SPRING 2000 New Course at Columbia:#W4592

Swahili Language, Literature, and

Cultural Approaches

F 1:30pm - 3:30pm

Wi t h A b d u Na n j is e e a r t i c l e o n

L a n g u a g e s

understanding of the culture. Ms. Ntuli says

she makes her class simple and fun and

thinks that learning Zulu is very similar tolearning Spanish. As with Spanish, she

teaches her students vowels first and then

she mixes them with consonants.

Earlier this year, the South African

Broadcasting Cooperation came to Ms.

Ntulis class to do a story on Zulu languagetaught in New York. One of the students in

the class explained to them how he found

Zulu to be such a melodic language. Thestudent, who is a musician, compared Zulu

to music. And its true, says Ms. Ntuli,

who thinks the clicks in the language

makes it sound so musical. In the final Zululanguage exam, she had a question that read

You will be going to town, and how would

you get there? and the answer wasmotorbike. In Zulu, motorbike translates

into isithuthunthu [isitutundo]. That is

perhaps an 'exotic' word, says Ms. Ntuli.

Another equally beautiful phrase isNgiyaku thanda [giagotanda] which

means, I love you in Zulu.

Next semester, Ms. Ntuli will be teaching

Introductory and Intermediate Zulu at SIPA.

She welcomes all students to take her

courses and wants to assure that anybodycould learn Zulu. When the South African

Consulate hosted a party earlier this year

Ms. Ntuli brought a group of students there,and she was surprised to see how well they

communicated with the crowd. It was

wonderful, she says, remembering the

South African invitees who came up to herand said: Are these really Americans who

can speak Zulu.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/SIPA/REGIONAL/IAS/index.htmlhttp://www.columbia.edu/cu/SIPA/REGIONAL/IAS/index.htmlhttp://www.columbia.edu/cu/SIPA/REGIONAL/IAS/index.html


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Forthcoming: March 2000 ExhibitionForthcoming: March 2000 ExhibitionForthcoming: March 2000 ExhibitionForthcoming: March 2000 Exhibition

AFRICAS IRON & COPPER CURRENCYCurated by Professor Phillip Gould

Some 200 examples of African currency will be on view in the Rotunda of LowMemorial Library, Columbia University. The exhibit wil l be open to the publicMonday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The opening reception andsymposium w ill take place on Monday, March 6, 2000, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.


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Teacher Training and OutreachTeacher Training and OutreachTeacher Training and OutreachTeacher Training and Outreach

Fall 1999 Teacher Training: Africa and Its Environment

Part of an-ongoing program to

enlighten teachers and students onhistorical and contemporary issuesaffecting people of Africa.~Paulette

Young, Outreach Coordinator

Extreme Drought, FoodShortages, Widespread

Famine, and Forced

Migration often headline themedias portrayal of Africa.

These reoccurring themes lead

many educators and theirstudents to view Africa as a collection of poor,

barren and insignificant countries. While the

African continent, like many other areas, does

face various environmental challenges,important historical, social and meteorological

conditions explain its current state. TheInstitute of African Studies fall 1999 teacher

training session entitled Africa and Its

Environment addressed these issues from ahistorical, scientific, and social perspective.

The goal of this workshop was to debunk some

of the generalizations about Africas physicaland social environment by replacing them with

factual information.

On Saturday, October 16, 1999 educators

from the New York City area schools

assembled to learn the ways that climate andenvironment influenced the development of

political, economic, social and religioussystems in Africa. The program began with

a review of the basic principles involved in

understanding and addressing climate andweather conditions that relate to Africa. Dr.

Matthew Fulakeza, a Research

Associate at Goddard Institute forSpace Studies illustrated how the

weather trends and climate

variability in regions of Africa relateto the global environment, calling on

examples from his native Malawi.Professor Mohamed Mbodj, a

historian at Columbia Universitypresented a historical overview of

the intersection of ecology, society

and trade in Western Africa,focusing on the ways that environment

effected the formation of economic

networks and political systems that linkedAfrican peoples. Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, a

geographer from Hunter College, considered

a social-cultural approach to meteorologyand life in Africa.

He used case studies from his native Sudan

to illustrate local ways that African peopleshave developed to address their

environmental challenges.


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ForthcomingOutreachOUTREACH WEBSITE, FEATURING:

= Africa in New York= Educators Curriculum Development,

and Educational Resources

=Upcoming Teacher Training

March 2000: African Iron and CopperMarch 2000: African Iron and CopperMarch 2000: African Iron and CopperMarch 2000: African Iron and Copper

CurrencyCurrencyCurrencyCurrency

Other NewsOther NewsOther NewsOther NewsFALL 1999 UNIVERSITY SEMINAR ON STUDIES IN

CONTEMPORARYAFRICA:

October 21, 1999

The Anatomy of Widowhood in Nigeria

Yohanna K. Gandu, Ahmadu Bello University

November 4, 1999

Corruption in Africa: Whose Perspectives,

Whose Remedies?

Ernest Harsch, New School for Social Research

December 16, 1999

Reflections on Returning to Liberia

(1989/90 and 1998)

Mario Bick and Diana Brown, Bard College

UPCOMING CONFERENCE

POLITICS OF CLIMATE IN AFRICA

FARMING, FOOD AND FORECASTING:

Implications of Seasonal Climate

Forecasting for Food Security and RuralDevelopment in Africa,Some Social andPolitical QuestionsPanel I: Predicting Rain: The Science andPolitics of ForecastingPaneI II: Policies and Problems: SomeTheoretical IssuesPanel III: From Techniques to the Real World:the Uses of Climate ForecastsMarch 24, 2000, 9:00 am - 5:00 pmDag Hammarskjo ld LoungeCo-sponsored with SIPA's Center for InternationalStudies, Columbia's Earth Institute, and TheInternational Research Institute

A major part ofAfrica and Its Environment

was its emphasis on curriculum development.

The participants learned how to developmaterials that complimented their classroom

program while meeting national and local

education standards. Charles Heatwole,Director of the Department of Geography at

Hunter College demonstrated how teachers

could use maps to teach geography in relation

to human and environmental concerns,

focusing on how peoples interaction withthe land and atmosphere leads to changes in

geography and culture. With the aim of

bringing geography back into the classroom,

David Lesser, a 30-year veteran of the New

York Public Schools explained how to buildfiles from the training session and other

resources including the Internet, journals and

newspapers to facilitate future lesson plans.The program concluded with an interactive

trading simulation designed by William

Gaudelli of Teachers College. Participants

incorporated surprise scenarios adverselyaffecting their environments such as floods and

sandstorms or a sudden drop in the value of

currency to illustrate how societies in Africadid not exist in isolation.

The overall training session expanded

educators knowledge of the roles that the

environment plays in the lives of African

peoples. Teachers will use primary sourcessuch as maps, epics and other writings,

meteorological data and life to develop and

enhance curriculum and materials for further

studies.


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Spring 2000 Undergraduate and Graduate Courses

AAFFRRIICCAANN CCIIVVIILLIIZZAATTIIOONN

Ejkeme, Anene C1020 African CivilizationGibson, Nigel C1020 African Civilization

Shehata, Samer C1020 African CivilizationStrother, Zoe S. C1020 African CivilizationWright, Marcia C1020 African Civilization

AANNTTHHRROOPPOOLLOOGGYY

Alland, Alexander Jr. V1002 The Interpretation of CultureSharp, Leslie V1002 The Interpretation of CultureCords, Marina V1011 Behavioral Biology Living PrimatesCombs-Schilling, M. V3009 People, Culture- N. Africa & Middle East

Meskell, Lynn V3931 Social Life in Ancient EgyptTaussig, Michael V3952 Taboo and TransgressionLarkin, Brian V3946 African Popular CultureMamdani, Mahmood W4650 Political Identity, Civil Wars, State Reform in AfricaDirks and Mamdani G6002 The Production of the Past IIShukla, Sandhya G6030 Transnational Perspective-Race/EthnicityMeskell, Lynn G6101 Archaelogy & Social TheoryBond & Gibson SCFF 6513 Modernity & Shifting Identities In Africa & the Diaspora

AARRTT HHIISSTTOORRYY

Strother, Zoe S. G8067 The Literature of African Art

CCOOMMPPAARRAATTIIVVEE LLIITTEERRAATTUURREE

Cond, Maryse W3530 The African ImageDDAANNCCEE

Camara, Maguette BC2252 African Dance ICamara, Maguette BC2253 African Dance II

EECCOONNOOMMIICCSS

Cesari, Jocelyne U4665 Socio-EconomicChanges in N. Africa

Yobert, Shamapande U8405 Political Economy of Poverty /Development in S. Africa

FFRREENNCCHH

Sidikou-Morton, Aissata BC3047 Women in Francophone AfricaFischer, Rosalie W3421 Introduction to Francophone Studies - II

Conde, Maryse G8768 Childhood Memories

HHIISSTTOORRYYJackson, Lynette A BC1030 20th Century South AfricaPlaa, Andrew BC3483 British Imperialism: 1783-1980

Marable, Manning C3936 Black IntellectualsBulliet, Richard W3979 Islam and the Modern WorldDirks and Mamdani G6002 The Production of the Past IIWright, Marcia G8925 Disease/Health/Healing Modern Africa

Wright, Marcia G9092 Research Seminar on African History


15/16


IINNTTEERRNNAATTIIOONNAALL AAFFFFAAIIRRSS

Cesari, Jocelyne U4665 Socio-EconomicChanges in N. AfricaMartin, Paul U4760 Human Rights Practicum II

Rubin, Gary U6153 Refugee/Displaced Pop: Policy/ProgramBartoli, Andrea U6809 International Conflict Resolution IIYobert, Shamapande U8405 Political Economy of Poverty /Development in S Africa

Bartoli, Andrea U8556 Preventive Diplomacy/Conflict Resolution: UN Cases

LLAANNGGUUAAGGEESS

Hill, Clifford W3302 Introductory Hausa IIMtesigwa, Peter W3302 Introductory Swahili II

Mtesigwa, Peter W3322 Intermediate Swahili IINanji, Abdul W4341 Advanced Swahili IINanji Abdul W4592 Swahili Language, Literature & Cultural ApproachesGueye, Fallou W3302 Introductory Wolof IIGueye, Fallou W3322 Intermediate Wolof II

Gueye, Fallou W3332 Advanced Wolof IINtuli, Moli W3302 Introductory Zulu II

PPAANN AAFFRRIICCAANN SSTTUUDDIIEESSEdmonds, Ennis BC300 Intro. Pan-African Studies: African in Diaspora

Sidikou-Morton, Aissata BC3112 Politics & Culture in Chinua Achebe

PPOOLLIITTIICCAALL SSCCIIEENNCCEE

Friedman, Elizabeth BC3414 Women, Gender & Third WorldBeck, Linda W4496 Contemporary African PoliticsMamdani, Mahmood W4650 Political Identity, Civil Wars, State Reform in AfricaHeydemann, Steven G8451 Politics of the Middle East and North AfricaHeydemann, Steven G8465 Political Economy of 3

rdWorld Development

PPUUBBLLIICC HHEEAALLTTHH

Waldman, Ronald P6690 Refugee Issues Seminar

Freedman P6678 Health and Human RightsWaldman, Ronald P8646 Humanitarian AssistanceWaldman, Ronald P8679 Investigative Methods in Humanitarian Emergencies

WWOOMMEENNSS SSTTUUDDIIEESS

Najmabadi, Afsaneh BC3133 Women, Islam, and NationalismOgunyemi, C. BC3134 Unheard Voices: African Women

Columbia University Libraries African Studies Internet Resources

on the World Wide Web

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/Africa

= Online catalogs of the worlds top libraries with large Africana collections= Bibliographies from Columbia University Libraries and other research institutions worldwide= Electronic news archives specializing in African affairs= Abstracts an full-length reports on Africa from U.S., African and international organizations= Electronic African art exhibits= Electronic texts, images, and sound files on Africas history and contemporary cultures= Maps, flags and geographical data= Information on scholarly organizations and activities= Links to other Africa-related gophers and web servers
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/Africahttp://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/Africa


16/16


Postage

The Only Online Directory for African Scholars

Columbia University Libraries International Directory of AfricanStudies Scholars (IDASS)

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/Africa/directory.html

Please address questions to Joseph Caruso, [email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in some of the articles published in thisnewsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of African Studies or ColumbiaUniversity.

Africa On CampusThe Newsletter of the Institute of African Studies

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

Room 1103, International Affairs Building

420 West 118th Street

New York, New York 10027
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/Africa/directory.htmlmailto:[email protected]://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/Africa/directory.html

Documents

The Newsletter of The Institute of African Studies at Columbia University, Winter 1999