My friend, colleague and peer. With all due respect I have to add another brick to the load AGAINST the argument. I believe that hte BA in African studies does a complete and total disservice ot htose pursuing the MA and Ph. D. in the subject. I am couching my argument in foundational knowledge. The BA degree provides, through prerequisites, general and overview information. The graduate degrees offer the concentration of studies.
In example, if one has concentrated courses in African Studies as an undergraduate, how can one mount a successful study of an issue such as the era of independence(s) without sufficent supporting "columns" in European and American history? There is NO WAY at all to study this area without knowing the following:
1. United Nations votes/voting
2. Beginning of CIA tentacles seeking (and giving) information on the African continent (Lumumba, later Mandela)
3. Funding of NGO's (this also requires study in political science)
4. Comparison and contrast of cultures and schools of thought (anthropology, sociology, history)
Do I have to go on and on and on?
Also, I have sat and spoken with hte most BRILLIANT students of African Studies but when it came to information away from that area??? They changed into people who are dumbfounded.
Last, how can you offer a point without the study of the "opposing" side?
So I vehemently disagree iwth you. I believe that the studies we undertake for our writing and professorship should come in the form of our graduate degrees and that undergraduate should be fully dedicated to learning the basics, generalities, mainstream information, etc. and so forth and I know you get my point. There is room in the undergraduate program for Africanist studies in the form of language classes which inherently involve cultural study(ies).
Think about my points. I am open to a petit tete a tete.
La Vonda R. Staples
Howard University, Doctoral Student (United States and Public History)
University of the District of Columbia (History and Political Science)
On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 4:35 AM, Chambi Chachage <chambi78@yahoo.com> wrote:
Elimination of African Studies B.A. Program
On behalf of undergraduate and graduate students in African Studies at Howard, I want to alert you to changes that Howard's President and Board of Trustees are making to consolidate and eliminate academic programs at Howard. The B.A. in African Studies has been recommended to be eliminated. A group of undergraduate and graduate students met with the Provost yesterday to discuss this iss...ue. At the end of the meeting the Provost told us that he has yet to reach a decision on whether he will follow through with the recommendation to eliminate the African Studies B.A. program.
We need your help in making a case to Howard's administration to keep the B.A. in African Studies. I want to make clear that the M.A. and Ph.D. in African studies was lauded as one of the top academic programs at Howard and those programs will remain in tact. However, I want to emphasize that the B.A. degree is an integral part of the department and this cut is perhaps the gateway to future cuts to faculty lines.
The students are initiating a letter writing campaign that will correspond with the ongoing discussions we are having with the administration. We are asking that you write a letter to the President, Provost, and Dean and send it on Monday, November 22, 2010. The University is in a review period until December 1st. You can read the full report at http://www.howard.edu/president/RecommendationOnAcademicRenewal.htm .
In the letter please include:
1. Your views on why the B.A. in African Studies at Howard (the Mecca) plays a special role in the local, national and international community for advancing a multiplicity of issues concerning Africans and Africans of the Diaspora.
2. Maintaining the program does not require any additional budget costs. (Yes! the provost admitted that there are no extra costs in maintaining the program, so it is not a funding issue.)
3. Your affiliation with the program or interest in the issue. (For example: former undergraduate student indicate semester and year you took a class in the department, organizational affiliation, present position and location etc.)
Please email the letter to the following people:
President Sidney Ribeau
sidney.ribeau@howard.edu
Thanks and please pass this note on to your lists.
In Solidarity,
Anita------
My mission is to acquire, produce and disseminate knowledge on and about humanity as well as divinity, especially as it relates to Africa, in a constructive and liberating manner to people wherever they may be.
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Address: P. O. Box 4460 Dar-es-Salaam, TanzaniaCell : + 255 754771763/+ 255 718953273Blog: http://udadisi.blogspot.com/
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