Announcements

Teaching & Learning Mini-Conference
Helping Students Prepare for Twenty-first Century Challlenges

Location: Faculty Commons / Friends of the Libraries Room, 3rd Floor, Alden Library
Date: June 16, 2008

Please click here for more details

SUMMER COURSES FOR THE INSTITUTE FOR THE AFRICAN CHILD

INST 610M - African Economic Development                  Call # 11272
June 23 - July 25
1:10 - 3:00, Yamada House Seminar Room
5 credits
Dr. Sam Laki, College of Business and Industry, Central State University, Ohio

The course will examine African Societies as traditional economies in the process of modernization. the main emphasis will be on how economic theory and analysis can assist in understanding the current economic conditions of the African economies. The course will also explore the effects of past national economic policies in light of the reforms undertaken in the past thirty years and the impact of the policy reforms on the agricultural and industrial sectors for the economies. The course will pay particular attention to macro-economic policy implications.

INST 610N - Studies in African Drama and Theatre                 Call # 11273
June 23 - July 25, 2008
3:10 - 5:00, Yamada House Seminar Room
5 credits
Dr. Mohamud Bhadmus Wumi, Associate Professor Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

This course will offer students an overview of origin, growth and developments of African Drama and Theatre using concepts such as mimesis, ritual, substitution and theatrical antecedents from across the continents as illustrations and pivots of the discussion. This, as the first module of the course, will serve as the introductory and background lecture for the course. The role and impact of religions on African Drama and Theatre shall be the focus of discussion in the second module. Trends and patterns in African Drama and Theatre will be examined, preparatory to discussions of selected African plays and African playwrights in subsequent modules for the course Theatre is specifically added to transcend the tradition of discussing African drama as an exclusive academic practice as opposed to it being a more vibrant mode of representation, pedagogy and recreation, thriving on the streets, marketplaces, beer  parlour, churches, mosques, palaces and as films, home videos and radio drama. I intend to do a teaching of African Drama and Theatre against the grain of the established canons and tradition.

INST 610P - Language Matters in the Postcolony: Children, (M)other-tongue Education, and Development in Africa           Call # 11274
June 30 - July 25       
10:10 - 12:00, Yamada House Seminar Room
5 Credits
Dr. Ghirmai Negash, Assistant Professor, English, OU

This course provides an introduction to the issue of language and language use in the education of African Children. It explores 1) the question of language in postcolonial Africa, 2) examines the enabling and disabling effects of using “global” languages versus ”local” languages, 3) discusses the notion of linguistic human rights, together with human rights instruments, and 4) evaluates the claims of the “language as right” paradigm by extending and connecting it to linguistic human rights in education, including the policies and practices regarding (m)other-tongue instruction in some African countries, the arguments of the contending forces for and against global/local language use. The approach will be descriptive, allowing participants to understand the deeper issues, but also enabling them to develop their own insights. The course will include readings, case studies, discussions, guest speakers, a one page summary of the readings daily (10 such summaries expected), one presentation, and 7-10 page research paper at the end of quarter.

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The Communication & Development Studies Program, in conjunction with the Institute courses,  is offering the following two workshops:

INST 610Q - Entertainment-Education for Social Change            Call #11599
June 23 - July 11
6:00 - 9:00 M-F;  Yamada 009
4 credits
Arvind Singhal

Students will be exposed to the conceptual, methodological and applied elements of the entertainment-educations strategy to promote change at individual, community and social levels. 

INST 610R - Applied Qualitative Research for Development & Social Change   Call #40459
July 28 - August 16
1:00 - 5:00 M-F; Yamada 009
5 credits
Devika Chawla

Students will learn ethnographic research methods to assess and evaluate communicate processes for development and social change.       

NOTE THAT DROP DATES FOR WORKSHOPS ARE BEFORE THE CLASS MEETS.

The Center will also offer the usual listings of Internship, Independent Study, ComDev Service Learning Project (the old Capstone Project), Practicum in Community Outreach and Thesis.  Check the course schedule on-line for call numbers, etc.  These courses all require a pink slip (permission) with the exception of the ComDev Project.

CALL FOR PAPERS

KENYA SCHOLARS AND STUDIES ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE, BOWLING GREEN STATE
UNIVERSITY. DEADLINE (REGISTRATION & ABSTRACTS): MARCH 30, 2008
Kenya is in the middle of a major political, social, and economic crisis. The purpose of this inaugural Kenya Scholars & Studies Association (KESSA) Conference is to examine the genesis of this and
other Kenyan political, social, economic and environmental challenges from a variety of disciplinary/interdisciplinary perspectives, with the hope of contributing to the resolution of these issues. Thus papers that advance solutions to immediate and long term political, social,
economic, educational, scientific and environmental challenges are especially encouraged. Please email your paper abstracts to: kessatr@gmail.com AND your conference registration fees to: Kenya
Scholars and Studies Association, Department of Geography, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA. Make checks/money orders payable to: Kenya Scholars and Studies Association. The conference registration & abstract submission deadline is: March 30, 2008. Full papers are due by June 30, 2008. Conference information is also available at: http://kessatr.googlepages.com

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