African Studies Commons^™

Fearless: Christine Serwan And Sam Holmes, Christine M. Serwan, Samuel R. Holmes

SURGE

This week, we’re recognising the fearless work that Christine Serwan ’13 and Sam Holmes ’13 will be doing over the next two years during with the Peace Corps. [excerpt]

Congressman Mickey Leland: Mickey Leland In Ethiopa, Belinda Otogo, Jew Don Boney Jr

Mickey Leland Center on Hunger, Poverty, and World Peace Reports

This poster project is about the activist, Mickey Leland, and it includes conducting archival research, the arrangement, description, preservation and digitization of archival materials such as manuscripts, photographs, and multimedia recordings of Leland’s accomplishments while serving in public office. This effort advances to create a Mickey Leland’s digital archive.

La Critique Des Langages Consacrés Et La Recherche D’Un Nouveau Rapport Au Monde Dans L’Oeuvre De V. Y. Mudimbe, Kasereka Kavwahirehi

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

This article shows how V. Y. Mudimbe’s work is both a space where consecrated languages (Christianity and Marxism) that wrap up themselves while pretending to explain the world or justify it are criticised, and a search for a new language to establish a new relationship with the world as it is lived, that means outside of any dogmatism and mystification. It is through this dynamic that Mudimbe has contributed to the renewal of thought and forms in Africa.

« Banlieue Noire » : La Question Noire Dans La Littérature Urbaine Contemporaine, Stève Puig

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

Just as the “beur” movement started to flourish in France in the 80’s and the 90’s, a new question has emerged in French society in the last decade: the “black question”, which deals with the place of Africans and Antilleans in French society today. At the same time, a new literary genre has emerged: urban literature, which largely tackles themes related to the presence of Afro-caribbean people in metropolitan France. This article seeks to analyze three urban novels which take place in France, and more specifically how characters situate themselves regarding their Frenchness as the French government attempted to redefine …

Entre Expatriation Et Apatridie : Les Romans De Gaston-Paul Effa Et Henri Lopes, Yves Abel Feze

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The stories of exile and return from exile of novelists Gaston-Paul Effa and Henri Lopes give themselves to read on how to register a double “desappartenance” and focuses in the heart of their narratives the figure of a now be stateless, alien to itself and to the Other. We propose, therefore, to study the reconstruction of identity as it is the result of emigration and return on the homeland. This leads thus to the conclusion that the stateless defies the nation in order to situate itself and his stories in a transnational space.

The Utility Of Darkness: Figments Of A State Called The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Aimee M. Mackie

International Studies Honors Projects

Since the Heart of Darkness brought the cruelty of King Leopold’s rule of the Congo to the world’s attention, it has been viewed internationally as the locus ofinhumanity. My thesis examines how this perception has excused the role of neocolonial actors in furthering destabilization. After independence, the United States and Belgium, with the assistance of Mobutu Sese-Seko, exploited the nominally sovereign Congo. The weakening of the Congolese state has continued in recent years through a lack of accountability for international interventions brought about by bureaucratic secrecy, popular ignorance, and human rights rhetoric.

International Non-Governmental Organizations In Vietnam: A Case Study With Project Gaia, Alyssa L. Bosold

Celebration

In 1986, the Vietnamese government undertook a series of reforms known as doi moi. These reforms were mainly economic adjustments that encouraged globalization through capitalism, international trade, and foreign investment. They restructured Vietnam’s economy from a centrally-planned system to a market economy with a socialist orientation. This presentation focuses on the political and cultural aspects of globalization after doi moi, and analyzes the development of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Vietnam. Specifically, it seeks to address the following research question: How has the INGO sector changed with increasing globalization in Vietnam after the 1986 doi moi reforms, and what are …

Deepening Democracy At The Grassroots Level: Citizen Participation In State Devolved Funds (Cdf) In Kenya, Fredrick Omondi Otieno

Pan African Studies - Theses

That democracy is the most suitable form of government is no longer contested. However many questions shaking this global consensus continue to abound. Why is there a growing cynicism and apathy with the notion of democracy across the globe? Why has the concept of democracy had to attract adjectives that attempt to qualify or categorize it in different parts of the world? And perhaps most importantly, if in deed democracy is such a good "thing" how can it be made meaningful? This thesis looks at citizen participation in a state devolved fund (CDF) in Kenya as a space through which …

Disrupting Discourses Of Failure: Counter Narratives Of Black Male Students And Academic Success, Brandi N. Williams

Pan African Studies - Theses

In the twenty-first century, African-American males continue to be significantly "left behind" academically in comparison with other ethnicities and even compared to their female counterparts. Nonetheless, there appears to be one school that has been situated to have the "antidote" for this gap. This working case study draws on an interview methodology to investigate the programming experiences of alumni, former faculty, current faculty, and administration from a predominantly all-Black male school with a reported 100 percent graduation rate that is situated in the nation's third largest school district. Through a critical race theoretical lens, the interviews present narratives that counter …

"Thaai Thathaiyai Ngai Thaai": Narratives Of Rituals, Agency, And Resistance In The Klfa (Mau Mau) Struggle For Kenya's Independence, Henry Muoki Mbunga

Pan African Studies - Theses

The purpose of this project is to examine the role of rituals in the Mau Mau struggle for Kenya's independence. Traditionally, research on the Mau Mau has focused on the political and socio-economic aspects of Kenya's anti-colonial struggle. As a result, the place of spirituality and, in particular, the role of rituals in the Mau Mau struggle has largely been ignored in existing literature. Initially, when KLFA rituals were studied at the height of the Mau Mau struggle, the task was undertaken by colonial anthropologists and psychologists who were often unable to escape the snare of racist and Eurocentric prejudices …

War And Insurgency In The Western Sahara, Geoffrey Jensen

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Home to the largest functional military barrier in the world, the Western Sahara has a long history of colonial conquest and resistance, guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency, and evolving strategic thought. This monograph explores the past, present, and future of the region, including its relationship to developments in Morocco, Algeria, and elsewhere in North Africa.

At a crucial crossroads between Africa and Europe, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and the "Arab World" and the West, Morocco has long had a special place in U.S. diplomacy and strategic planning. Since September 11, 2001, Morocco's importance to the United States has only increased, …

The Potential Of Youth Savings Accounts In Three East African Countries: Kenya, Tanzania, And Uganda, Njeri Kagotho, Proscovia Nabunya, Fred Ssewamala, Vilma Ilic

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper explores the potential of expanding a youth-focused asset-based intervention program for poor communities heavily affected by HIV and AIDS-currently underway in one East African country, Uganda-into similar communities in the other two East African countries: Kenya and Tanzania. This concept paper is informed by prior work on youth-focused asset-based programs first proposed in the United States of America and now successfully implemented in Uganda (Ssewamala, 2008; Ssewamala, Alicea, Bannon, & Ismayilova, 2008; Ssewamala & Ismayilova, 2008, 2009) and grounded in an asset-based development theoretical framework, which denotes an integrated approach to human, social, and economic capital development (Sherraden, …

U.S. State Department International Law Internship And Employment Presentation And Discussion, Andrew A. Passen Famu Diplomat-In Residence

Environmental and Animal Law

The Center for International Law & Justice presents a discussion and presentation by Andrew A. Passen, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, who is currently serving as Diplomat-in-Residence covering the southeast U.S. and is based at Florida A & M University in Tallahassee.

Baye Fadioul Niang: A Brief Biography Of An Ebeniste In Senegal, Katie Jo Niang

Interior Design Program: Student Creative Activity

Baye Fadioul Niang described himself as a traditional European designer of wood furniture, doors, and trim. In 1945, at age 22, Fadioul began designing furniture as an apprentice in the state labor department of Kaolack. He settled in Dakar, where Fadioul not only designed and constructed furniture, but was a popular informal educator in the business. His furniture shop became a center for education in Menuserie and Ebenisterie, which is the art of furniture making. In 2005 Fadioul retired from furniture making because of deteriorating eyesight. Includes photos taken in February 2013 in Dakar, Senegal.

Sustainable Chemistry And Business In The United States And Africa, Mo Hunsen

Distinguished Lectures on Africa

Dr. Mo Hunsen is chair of the Department of Chemistry at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. His research interests focus on green chemical and enzymatic catalysis in carbohydrate and polymer chemistry. His research also involves the use of natural product based prevention of cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Hunsen has a passion for exploring how green and sustainable chemistry and technology could serve as a platform for green businesses that transform cheap and abundant natural resources to value-added products. He is currently associate editor of Green and Sustainable Chemistry and on the editorial board of Organic Chemistry Current Research, and …

Chieftaincy-Based Community Dispute Resolution: The Case Of Sierra Leone, Whitney Mcintyre Miller

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Sierra Leone suffered a destructive 11-year civil war that largely left its communities torn apart and in need of vast redevelopment. One of the ways that communities are rebuilding and making efforts to move forward is through the chieftaincy-based community dispute resolution process. Based on historical norms, this process involves the community leader, or chief, helping to resolve disputes within the community. This article reviews this chieftaincy-based community dispute resolution process, discusses the types of disputes settled, and provides broader lessons learned for communities who may be interested in truly community-based dispute resolution.

Copper’S Corollaries: Trade And Labour Migration In The Copperbelt (1910-1940), Enid Guene

Zambia Social Science Journal

The geopolitical importance of the mining industry in Zambia and Katanga, and the rural-urban migration patterns that it brought about, has been the subject of many studies. And yet, the extent to which these industries were interdependent is often downplayed or overlooked. Looking more closely at the history of the Zambian and Katangese Copperbelts, one can see that, despite their separateness, there was interplay between them. During the British South Africa Company rule of Rhodesia (1899-1924), Northern Rhodesia was developed as an important labour and food reserve for the Katangese mines. Following the onset of the Great Depression in the …

Wealth, Success, And Personhood: Trajectories Of Labour Migration From Mwinilunga District, 1930s-1970s, Iva Peša

Zambia Social Science Journal

What were the causes and consequences of labour migration from Mwinilunga District between the 1930s and 1970s? Within Zambian historiography, economic and political aspects of labour migration have received much attention. Labour migration has been analysed within dichotomies of rural-urban, development-underdevelopment or tradition-modernity. Instead, this article proposes to bridge such dichotomies and to foreground the socio-cultural dispositions behind labour migration. If mobility is viewed as a social, rather than a geographical practice, connections and long-term continuities come to light. Through the case of Mwinilunga District the causes, motives and effects of labour migration will be examined. Why did individuals decide …

Vol. 4, No. 1 Table Of Contents

Zambia Social Science Journal

No abstract provided.

Vol. 4, No. 1 (April 2013) Masthead

Zambia Social Science Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Duncan Money

Zambia Social Science Journal

Review of:

The long shadow of the British Empire: The on going legacies of race and class in Zambia. By Juliette Bridgette Milner-Thornton

On Counting, Consumption, And Labour: Writing Histories Of Central Africa, Robert Ross, Iva Peša

Zambia Social Science Journal

This special issue of the Zambia Social Science Journal is the product of the fifth CART conference, held in Oegstgeest, the Netherlands, from 28-29 November 2013. Beginning in 2005, the research programme From Muskets to Nokias: Technology, Consumption and Social Change in Central Africa from Pre-Colonial Times to the Present (Leiden University and partners) has facilitated five Central African Research Themes (CART) conferences in the Netherlands and in Zambia. These conferences highlighted research being carried out by researchers associated with the programme, and provided a forum within which researchers could debate and discuss their findings and on-going research intentions. During …

The Politics Of Household Budget Research In Colonial Central Africa, Robert Ross

Zambia Social Science Journal

This paper investigates the various academic studies of the household budgets of Africans living in what became the countries of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, and the Congolese province of Katanga. These studies were made during the colonial period, by members of the Rhodes- Livingstone Institute, the Central Statistical Office of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, in what was then Salisbury, and by Belgian researchers in the Congo. It demonstrates how what at first sight appears to be a neutral form of investigation was in fact highly politicised. On the one hand, there were many who showed how African incomes …

What Really Matters: A Triangular Study Of Gender Roles And Standards Of Beauty In Cameroon Through The Lens Of Television Advertisements, Deborwah Faulk

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mass media increasingly has become a powerful force around the world. It is impactful and useful in its various forms such as film, books, newspapers, magazines, television and visual and audio music. However even in its informative, educational, communicative, and entertaining character, the media also has the propensity to mirror larger societal practices, perceptions, thoughts, and opinions pertaining to social dynamics encountered within society. Thus social constructs of gender, race, class and other identity characteristics are exemplified and amplified through media forms. Such realities found in the media have the propensity to be socially dangerous in that it can shape …

Vision 2035 And The Kribi Deep Seaport: An Analysis Of The Economic Impacts For Cameroon, Charlotte Fisken

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the effects of the Kribi Deep Seaport project will be positive for economic development in Cameroon, and how the Port will affect Cameroon’s regional and global role. The study was conducted over a one-month period and was primarily qualitative in nature. The principal method of inquiry was interviews, which were complemented by quantitative secondary source research. Although most informants asserted that the project was a positive step for the country, the information they provided led me to conclude that the project was undertaken prematurely and will not promote sustainable economic development …

The Adjudication Of Kenya’S 2013 Election: Public Perception, Judicial Politics, And Institutional Legitimacy, Charles Herman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This article presents the findings from an exploration of the 2013 Kenya Supreme Court ruling on the election petition. Raila Odinga, who averred that Uhuru Kenyatta was wrongly declared the victor of the election, brought a challenge to the Supreme Court. This article presents an overview of the election and judicial proceedings and then delves deeper into the issues. An application of Judicial Politics theory to the decision suggests that the Supreme Court was unbiased in the process. It is found that Uhuru Kenyatta supporters generally view the Supreme Court and the decision favorably and believe that no credible evidence …

Adapting & Appropriating Art From Afar: Negotiating A Global Identity Through Popular Culture, A Study Of Salsa In The Senegalese Context, Elizabeth Bockenfeld

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following study is essentially an attempt to explore cross-cultural exchange and the resulting (re)creation of different forms of cultural expression. In its broadest sense it aims to explore the quotidian, cultural sides of globalization. It takes for its focus the re-appropriation of salsa music in Dakar, Senegal. Through interviews and participant observation in a number of salsa venues, I explore the various meanings Senegalese salseros put into salsa music and dance. Senegalese salsa is rooted in a very concrete historical background, while also holding meaning for the present. In short, the appropriation of salsa into the Senegalese context serves …

Social Media And The Transformation Of The Humanitarian Narrative: A Comparative Analysis Of Humanitarian Discourse In Libya 2011 And Bosnia 1994, Ellen Noble

Political Science Honors Projects

Within humanitarian discourse, there is a prevailing narrative: the powerful liberal heroes are saving the helpless, weak victims. However, the beginning of the 21^st century marks the expansion of the digital revolution throughout lesser-developed states. Growing access to the Internet has enabled aid recipients to communicate with the outside world, giving them an unprecedented opportunity to reshape discourses surrounding humanitarianism. Through a comparative discourse analysis of Libyan Tweets, 1994 newspaper reports on Bosnia, and 2011 newspaper reports on Libya, this paper analyzes whether aid recipient discourse can resist the dominant humanitarian narrative and if that resistance can influence dominant …

Global Futures And Government Towns: Phosphates And The Production Of Western Sahara As A Space Of Contention, Mark Drury

Publications and Research

The study of natural resources lends itself to theorizing the politics of nature and the politics of time. The space of Western Sahara, where both remain highly contested, provides an opportunity to consider the ramifications of resources in political conflict at different historical moments. Drawing from environmental histories of North Africa and the Sahara, as well as the anthropology of time, the author focuses on two historical moments. The first, from 1945 to 1972, concerns the discovery of phosphate deposits during the Spanish colonial period and the implications of this discovery for political authority in the Sahara more broadly. The …

Gagner La Vie: Examining Return Preparedness And Resource Mobilization Among Moroccan Immigrants To France Who Return To Live Permanently In Agadir, Morocco, Karolina Michelle Dos Santos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

If Moroccan immigrants are so in tune to their home culture and home happenings, under what conditions do they stay in France facing the problems of unemployment and homelessness? This study focuses on the return migration of Moroccans from the Sousse region; specifically Agadir and the surrounding Tiznit areas, who left Morocco during the decade of 1960 and who have permanently returned to live in Morocco. The study was conducted by using the snowball sampling technique to conduct semi-structured interviews of Moroccan return migrants in AitMelloul, a neighborhood of Agadir. My findings suggest that the return migrants from the Sousse …