African Languages and Societies Commons^™

Queer Otherwise: Embodying A Queer Identity In Cape Town, Teak Emanuel Hodge

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research responds to the following question: how do LGBTQ South Africans in Cape Town come to understand and embody their queerness? Drawing on ideas of the body as a sense making agent (Meyburgh 2006) and site of socio-political contestation (Foucault 1975) this research adapts body-mapping methodologies (de Jager, Tewson, Ludlow, Boydell 2016) to excavate the ways in which LGBT South Africans negotiate their queerness. Through centering the experiences of three LGBTQ identified South African’s in conversation with the experiences of the researcher, this paper delves into how queer people make sense of and understand themselves in relation to their …

Queer Spaces, Future Places: Conversations With 3 Black Capetonian Femmes On Embodying Liberation, Ivana Onubogu

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Black femme bodies face multi-axial oppressive forces resting on their racialization, gendering, sexuality and possible other factors like socioeconomic status and ability. I interviewed 3 queer-identified Black femmes between the ages of 18 and 35 that are based in or work out of the Cape Town area. Femmes is defined as trans womxn, nonbinary femmes, femme lesbians and femme bisexuals, effeminate mxn, or any other femme-identified queer person. The purpose of this project is to investigate the possibility of a liberated Black queer future as an embodied practice within the context of the Black Capetonian queer community. Participants were selected …

The Middle Ground: A Comparative Study On Mexico And Morocco As Transit And Forthcoming Host Nations, Christina Sarai Roca

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migration has always existed but has increased with globalization as societies are becoming more interconnected through different mediums, surging the larger scale of movement between borders and the increasing inequalities in wealth between nations. As transit countries, Mexico and Morocco function as nations seen receiving migrants in transit to their countries of destinations. Central American migrants and migrants from the South-of-the-Sahara are two prominent migrant populations in Mexico and Morocco for many years, but due to the increased political discourse, legislation, and increased enforcement at these border regions, these migrants find themselves remaining for extended periods or even settling permanently …

Still Writing At The Master’S Table: Decolonizing Rhetoric In Legal Writing For A “Woke” Legal Academy, Teri A. Mcmurtry-Chubb

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

When the author wrote Writing At the Master’s Table: Reflections on Theft, Criminality, and Otherness in the Legal Writing Profession almost 10 years ago, her aim was to bring a Critical Race Theory/Feminism (CRTF) analysis to scholarship about the marginalization of White women law professors of legal writing. She focused on the convergence of race, gender, and status to highlight the distinct inequities women of color face in entering their ranks. The author's concern was that barriers to entry for women of color made it less likely that the existing legal writing professorate, predominantly White and female, would problematize the …

How Is Disability Seen? An Auto-Ethnographic Exploration Of Disability In Urban Townships In Ethekwini, South Africa, Connie Chao

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Disability is a topic that is often overlooked and not seen in day to day life. Disability may be visible or invisible to others, and individuals may have varying attitudes and opinions towards people with disabilities. Disability can also be conceptualized in different ways depending on if one takes on a bio-medical model or a social model of disability. In this study, I explored how disability is seen, both literally and metaphorically in urban townships in the eThekwini Municipality in South Africa. I conducted semi-structured interviews with individuals with disabilities and community members at large to understand people’s perspectives on …

A Study Of Scars: Narratives Of Unintentional Childhood Injuries In Cato Manor, Carolyn Fox

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to identify the specific types of injuries children experience growing up in Cato Manor, specifically, KwaMasxha, to understand how community members process and make meaning of their injuries over time, and to analyze the social determinants of health in Cato Manor that have been conducive to these injuries.

In order to learn about experiences of unintentional childhood injuries in Cato Manor, data was collected using a qualitative, narrative-based approach. I conducted interviews with young adult community members aged 19 to 27 years, asking about their personal experiences with childhood injuries as someone who grew …

Health And Education: Perspectives On The Role Of Schools In Health Promotion, Miranda Powell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to understand learners’ perceptions of the role schools play in health promotion. Health promotion encompasses health education and can be highly effective in the school setting. Given the high rates of HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, early sexual debut, and abuse, health education is highly important in South African schools. All learners are required to take Life Orientation classes, which cover many topics including health education. Comparing the views of what learners expect, experience, and the curriculum, my study addressed the gaps in Life Orientation classes with regards to health promotion education.

For this study I …

Church Of The Scattered: Navigating Cultural Identity In The Protestant Churches Of Senegal, Joy Kirkland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Senegal is a country renowned for its peaceful religious pluralism in the midst of turmoil and demographic change in neighboring West African nations. Though the vast majority of the population adheres to Sufi Islam, they seem to live in peace and cooperation with the prominent Catholic minority. Wedged between these well-established groups, Protestantism struggles to distinguish itself. Protestant missions have been planted in Senegal for over a century, but the church remains small with almost no cultural presence, and up to 80% of its members are non-Senegalese. This paper will present some preliminary basic research about this oft-ignored community in …

The Practice Of Dhikr Among Senegalese Taalibe Baay Women: Individual Devotion, Communal Well-Being, Natalie Marsh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For Sufis, dhikr—the practice of invoking the Name of God—pervades the fabric of everyday life. For Taalibe Baay (disciples of Ibrahim Niasse) living in Senegal, dhikr takes on particular significance in relation to the experience of tarbiya, an intense spiritual initiation aimed at achieving a vision of God. If tarbiya is the door to the spiritual path, some Taalibe Baay say, then dhikr is a tool by which disciples can continue to progress along this path, purifying themselves internally and reaffirming their connection to God each time they perform these prayers. But for some Senegalese Taalibe Baay women, dhikr seems …

Disability And Migration: How Systems Of Violence Intersect With The Production And Experience Of Disability For Migrants In Morocco, Frances Condon

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project investigates the perspectives and experiences of physically disabled, chronically ill, or bodily-impaired migrants from south of the Sahara living in Rabat, Morocco. Increasing interest in disabled migrants’ rights from international organizations risks erasing those being ‘protected’ if it does not attend to the intersections of race, class, citizenship, and gender as they relate to the production and experience of disability for migrants. Produced by and for the (white) global North, I argue that traditional Euro-American disability studies scholarship is ill-equipped to address the issues faced by disabled migrants in post-colonial contexts. In addition to being ineffective, the uncritical …

Understanding Residential Segregation: Community Relations And Marginalization For Migrants From South Of The Sahara In Rabat, Morocco, Ben Hickman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Migrants from South of the Sahara living in Rabat face violence as they attempt to navigate public space. The majority of these migrants live in the neighborhoods of Takkadoum and Yacoub al Mansour. Even within these two neighborhoods, migrants must manage and avoid racially motivated violence. This paper explores these two neighborhoods and the lives of migrants within these neighborhoods, how they find or create safe space, community relations between migrants and Moroccans, and their experience of segregation/separation. Understandings of defended neighborhoods and immigrant integration founded a theoretical basis for this paper, thus better exploring how migrants settle in new …

The Female Worker: An Analysis Of Women Residing Along The Moroccan-European And U.S.- American Borderlands, Marlen G. Renderos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My independent research project is a comparative study focusing on women experiences among the Mexican-U.S. borderlands and Moroccan-European borderlines. For the Mexican-U.S.American context, I will focus on females maquiladora workers and stay-at-home wives. For the Moroccan-European context, I will focus on the mujeres mulas – women mules. My paper will discuss the ways in which society and governments run under a male-dominated lens contributing to the placement of women in vulnerable positions.

African Literature Association, Vivan I. P. Steemers

Instructional Development Grants

The primary mission of the African Literature Association is to facilitate the attempts of a world-wide audience to appreciate the efforts of African writers and artists. Its annual conference brings together scholars, teachers and writers that focus on themes related to African literature. This year’s main theme revolved around issues connected to “Institutions of African Literature: Future, Present, Past,” including sessions on the following topics: publishers, institutions of literary criticism, journals of African literature, discourse founders in African literary criticism and the university campus as an institution of African literature. However, a multitude of other themes were discussed during the …

Amjambo Africa! (September 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue... Maine’s Way of Life................Page 9

ILAP Statement ....................Page 16

Africa Faith And Justice Network And The Damages Of Land Grabbing: The Case Of The Brewaniase Community, Ghana, Sr. Eucharia Madueke

The Journal of Social Encounters

This essay discusses the procurement of farmland around the town of Brewaniase in the Volta Region of Ghana by the New York based agribusiness Herakles Farm (HF). The essay highlights some of the repercussions of land grabbing by foreign corporations that seek only profit and do not fulfill promises made to locals who lease their land for a better life. It provides information on the efforts of Africa Faith & Justice Network (AFJN), a faith-based Washington DC non-governmental organization, to enable the local communities to avert land grabs and its damages. The essay aims to help African communities and individuals …

Thirteen Ways To “Hail, Mary”: A Case Study Of The 2013 Forum For The Inculturation Of Liturgical Music In Nigeria, Quintina Carter-Enyi, Aaron Carter-Enyi

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

Every two years since 1997, the Forum for the Inculturation of Liturgical Music (FILM) has given a platform for many of Nigeria’s cultures to contribute to the future direction of the Roman Catholic liturgy in Nigeria. This case study focuses on the 2013 Biennial Choral Competition, specifically 13 settings of the Ave Maria text in seven of Nigeria’s hundreds of languages. Prior to that year, FILM had already introduced music with lyrics in minority languages including Bini, “Osolobruvwe Do”, and Efik, “Yak Ikom Abasi”, into the Nigerian canon of choral music, including both concert and church performance. In 2013, the …

Amjambo Africa! (August 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Welcome Feast........................Page 8

My Life as a Refugee ............Page 11 by Veronica Kaluta

Wedding of Irene Yao & Romeo Adji....................Page 13

Yes, Rasta! : Authenticating Rastafarianism In A Coastal Kenyan Context, Katia Iverson

Augsburg Honors Review

The following research seeks to describe, organize and understand the perceptions and interpretations of Rastafarianism in Lamu, Kenya. Those who identify with Rasta are categorized by beliefs, goals and lifestyle and these facets are briefly compared to traditional Rastafarianism coming out of Jamaica in the early 1930s and globalized Rastafari movements today. The role of tourism, Kenya's colonial and post-colonial history, and Islamic tradition in Lamu's Rasta movement are also taken into consideration.

Need Fulfillment And Happiness In Botswana, Carolyn Moe

Theses and Dissertations

Happiness has been an important aspect of people’s lives spanning centuries and continents; as such, it is a widely researched area. A current prominent theory in happiness research is Needs Theory which has the premise that there are universal human needs and having these needs met would lead to a person’s happiness. Most often, the needs referenced are those presented by Abraham Maslow including needs of physiology, safety and security, love and belonging, esteem, knowing and understanding, aesthetics, self-actualization and transcendence. However, some studies have found that there are individuals who do not fit this theory either through having their …

Amjambo Africa! (July 2019), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Racial Inequality.....................Page 7

Welcome Table ......................Page 9

Art in Exodus ..........................Page 9

Alliance Française.................Page 13