Oga Ikhide!
How are you and the family? I can't believe you said that! I'm afraid I'm going to disagree with you yet again.
Would you, like other opponents of B.A in African Studies, have said the same thing about American Studies or European Studies? Come to think of it, there are B.A programmes in American Studies wiith Business, and European Studies with Business, and various undergraduate programmes in Hispanic Studies on both sides of the Atlantic, and no one ever bats an eyelid.
I'm in an African studies department and I help in teaching undergraduates. Upon graduation, a lot of our students go on to work with the Foreign and Commonwealth office (equivalent of the State Department), they work for the UN, NGOs, media and publishing houses, and some go into banking and academia. One of our recent graduates is now an editor at the Financial Times. In short, what they learn about Africa prepare them for different kind of professions.
They do not just spend 3-4 years discussing Things Fall Apart and the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade; they take courses in African Geography, African Business, International Development, African languages, History, Anthropology, African Philosophy, African and Diasporic literature. And much more. We organise conferences in which we invite speakers from around the world to talk to them, including people of their generation like Tolu Ogunlesi and Chika Unigwe. Most B.A programmes also have the option of spending time in Africa.
You can't have a good grasp of these subjects on a one-year M.A programme. We train them to realise that what they learn will help them in formulating policies which may affect millions of people and help them think through so many things about Africa and the world they live in.
It's a shame that we tend not to appreciate what we have and defend it more. That's why when we invite the likes of Chinua Achebe and Ngugi to our departments, and tell Black students to come, you find that only a handful of them show up. They'd rather do something else than hear some old Africans talk about Africa.
Perhaps, it's time we smell the damn coffee; running a B.A programme in African studies is part of the battle we have to fight. Other regions of the world are spending millions to keep their culture alive in academia. The Chinese and the Indians are financing programmes relating to them, and we can't even support a B.A programme that targets an entire continent. Every culture fights its own battle and we have to fight ours.
Well, I have to go now; I have my Danshiki to iron and my big Afro to comb. We shall overcome!
Shola
On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 5:08 AM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) <emeagwali@mail.ccsu.edu> wrote:
I believe we have to also emphasize the rich network of courses that a degree in African Studies
implies. Africa is often divided into
at least six areas: West, Central, East, Southern, North and Northeast.
Sample courses related to Northeast Africa:
1. Nubian Civilization from earliest times to 1400
2. The rise and fall of Aksumite civilization to 1000 CE
3. The history of the Somali region from earliest times to 1900
4. The history of the Somali region in the 20th century
5. Post- colonial Somalia 1960 to present
6. Indigenous Egypt from earliest time to circa 500 BCE
7. Egypt during Persian, Greek , Roman , Arab, Turkish and British
occupation/colonialism
8. 20th century Egyptian/ Sudanese/ Ethiopian/ Somali Nationalism
9. Northeast Africa and World Wars 1 and 2
10. The Arab Israeli Conflict and its impact on Northeast Africa
11. Globalization and its impact on the region
12. China - Africa relations with reference to northeast Africa
Now there are at least 12 courses implied above for the northeast, primarily.
Multiply these by 6 regions of Africa. We have the potential of about
72 courses and a totality of 216 credits. On the average students
do about 160 credits to graduate. This partial list is history centered.
Africa related courses in sociology, philosophy,international relations, geography,
linguistics, political science etc are sometimes included and substituted.
I should also add palaeontology,human genetics and molecular biology
as these relate to human origins and Africa. Great relevant courses.
African Studies cannot be detached from world history, since developments
taking place in the global arena have direct impact on Africa's domestic
and international profile.
A student can emerge from African Studies with a full appreciation of the complexities of power,
conflict resolution challenges, knowledge systems, geopolitical
constructs etc. and fundamental understanding
of each of the disciplines cited above. Some programs also incorporate
African- American and African Diaspora courses
as electives. Others work under the umbrella of Africana Studies,
broadening the scope even more.
I thought I should make this brief comment in response also to someone who
wanted to know what African Studies entailed.
Job seekers can teach, work in museums, embassies, libraries etc. at lower
levels than their graduate counterparts. Social activists may operate NGOs
related to the region of specialization or simply use the undergraduate degree
as a basis for future resesarch. Law programs do not reject applicants from
specialist area programs. A legal firm may decide to focus on immigration
cases relevant to a geographical region, and one's background in this field
would be an asset, in the case of the US.
African Studies, Celtic Studies, Hispanic Studies, Latino Studies, American Studies, Chicano Studies
Native American Studies etc. generally facilitate a deep understanding of the
human condition in all its glory, its predicament, its pain, its challenges. Developing the
art of critical thinking and a corpus of knowledge about specific regions and the world
in general - on the basis of a wide range of methodologies - is crucial to area studies.
All undergraduate degrees in American universities incorporate electives in
the curriculum and have requirements that students must complete in order
to graduate- for example, American History or World History, Maths,
Computer Science, Soc. Studies, Language etc. I am not aware that students
doing African Studies at the undergraduate level are exempt from these basic
requirements.
In order to cut down costs a merger of African and African American Studies
is a fair option. This has been done in numerous campuses, in any case.
Gloria Emeagwali
www.africahistory.net
________________________________
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Chambi Chachage [chambi78@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2010 12:24 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Save African Studies at Howard UniversityOn Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 4:35 AM, Chambi Chachage <chambi78@yahoo.com<mailto:chambi78@yahoo.com>> wrote:
Lavonda. are you saying one cannot design a BA Degree in African Studies that is broad/foundational enough knowledge-wise? For instance, why shouldn't these be required readings in a BA: Africa and the Disciplines: The Contributions of Research in Africa and the Social Sciences and Humanities edited by Robert H. Bates, V.Y. Mudimbe & Jean O'Barr and Africanizing Knowledge: African Studies Across the Disciplines edited by Toyin Falola & Christian Jennings? What about these: The Study of Africa Volume 1: Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Encounters and The Study of Africa Volume II: Global and Transnational Engagements edited by Paul T. Zeleza? Or are these the 'monopoly' of graduate students in African Studies who 'knows better'? By the way, is it utterly impossible to make any 'area study' an academic discipline in its own right?
------
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.
-------
Address: P. O. Box 4460 Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Cell : + 255 754771763/+ 255 718953273
Blog: http://udadisi.blogspot.com/
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________________________________
From: Lavonda Staples <lrstaples@gmail.com>
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sun, November 21, 2010 8:23:06 PM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Save African Studies at Howard University
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)
Elimination of African Studies B.A. Program<http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161669553870037#!/event.php?eid=161669553870037>
sidney.ribeau@howard.edu<mailto:sidney.ribeau@howard.edu>
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
james.whyche@howard.edu<mailto:james.whyche@howard.edu>
Provost and Chief Academic Officer James H. Wyche
Dean James A. Donaldson
jdonaldson@howard.edu<mailto:jdonaldson@howard.edu>
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com<mailto:USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
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.
-------
Address: P. O. Box 4460 Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Cell : + 255 754771763/+ 255 718953273
Blog: http://udadisi.blogspot.com/
-------
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