NEWS AND NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

Garth Myers, Assistant Professor of Geography and African Studies presented a paper entitled "Colonial and Post-Colonial Modernities in Two African Cities," at the Association of American Geographers annual meeting in New York at the end of February and a month later at the interdisciplinary Conference on "Contesting African Cities" at Rutgers University. The latter presentation was funded by the African Studies Resource Center. The presentation was derived from two chapters in his book, Verandahs of Power: Colonialism and Space in Urban Africa, which goes to Syracuse University Press in its final form on June 1. Myers has recently had a paper accepted at “The Professional Geographer”, to be published in early 2002, and a co-authored essay (with Byron Caminero-Santangelo) in Ecumene: a Journal of Cultural Geographies. A co-authored chapter is due out in the 2001 book, Geography in America at the Dawn of the 21st Century (edited by Gary Gaile and Cort Wilmott, with Oxford University Press), on "Cultural Geography." Another chapter is due out later this year in Urban Sustainability, co-edited by Peter Mercutilio and Saskia Sassen (UN University Press), with a focus on Zanzibar's Sustainable Cities Program.

On the other hand, the first Zambian participant on the KU exchange with the University of Zambia, Dr. Imasiku Nyambe, visited KU from March 6 to 16. The visit was the third one. The previous visits to KU, one with the NSF workshop on African Environments in September 1999 and one as a Fulbrighter to KARS and Geography. Dr. Nyambe, a Geologist, is the Project Director on the Zambia side. His visit this time was "planning visit" within the link, so his main purposes while here were (a) to set up the schedules and logistics for future visits, (2) to buy computers and software for the Zambian side of the link,and (c) to do things related to his own research for his own future visit here as a researcher.

As mentioned earlier, from July 11-August 11, Dr. Daniel Nkhuwa (Geology), Mr. Simon Nkemba (Geology), Mr. Iwake Masialeti (Geography) and Dr. John Volk (Geography) will visit KU on the exchange. They will engage in guided self-study in remote sensing and geographic information systems, and will begin to establish jointures here for both teaching and research. Dr. Myers and his colleagues hope to establish shared virtual classrooms on environmental studies themes. Anticipating a final rewarding of the full three year budget from State in June 2001, a full slate of participants from KU will be headed to Lusaka between now and September 2003. In addition to planned research visits by Dr. Myers, other KU participants include Drs. Kevin Price, Stephen Egbert, Terry Slocum, Johan Feddema, and Bob McColl from Geography and Drs. Ken Lohrentz, Byron Caminero-Santangelo, and Richard Prum representing the broad interdisciplinary linkages from the African Studies Council. Price and the other geographers will be teaching a 5-6 week intensive workshop on advanced techniques for environmental science, slated for summer 2002. Myers will be conducting research on the United Nations Sustainable Cities Program in Lusaka and its environmental planning efforts in low-income compounds in the city, in Spring 2002 and Summer 2003. Lohrentz, Caminero-Santangelo, and Prum will conduct individ-ualized programs of research, information exchange, and training during the last year of the grant.

Fiona Mc Laughlin, Assistant Professor of Linguistics and AAAS presented a paper entitled "Voiceless implosives in Seereer-Siin" at the annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America held in Washington D.C. from January 4-7; she also presented a paper entitled "Agreement or reduplication? The morphosyntax of phonological agreement in Wolof" at the 32nd Annual Conference on African Linguistics held from March 22-25 at Berkeley. McLaughlin also participated in a symposium on "Internationalizing the University" held by the American Council on Education in Washington D.C. on March 16-17. She has recently has won a teaching award from the Center for Teaching Excellence, and has received an award from the Office of International Programs for internationalizing the curriculum.

Introduction to Africa, (AAAS 103) is a new course that was designed and approved in fall, 2000 and will be taught as an interdisciplinary course by Professor Fiona McLaughlin in spring 2002, together with a Title VI supported teaching assistant. This course was approved as a part of the plan to create more diverse and complementary undergraduate courses, and it will complement disciplinary introductory courses in history (“Introduction to African History” History /AAAS 104), anthropology (“Peoples of Africa, Anthropology 390), geography (“Introduction to African Geography”), and literature (“Introduction to African Literature”). The thematic interdisciplinary seminar is being promoted as an upper level offering for undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty. In the current transitional year, the old assortment of largely duplicative courses is being taught, with Title VI support in teaching assistance going to “Peoples of Africa” (AAAS & Anthropology) and “African Traditional Thought and Religion” (AAAS).

Beverly Mack, Associate Professor of African and African American Studies, gave a lecture in Kansas City on Mariama Ba's novel "So Long A Letter" sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council. That happened in March, 2001 and in the following month (April), Beverly hosted Dr. Allan Christelow (Idaho State University) who was on campus for three days to evaluate the Title VI International Studies grant for which she is a P.I. The grant is scheduled to end in June 2001. In June Beverly Mack will participate in a faculty seminar on Islam in Turkey, focusing on the areas of Ankara, Konya, and Istanbul. She will also attend a meeting of Carnegie Scholars to be held in New York City in early June 2001.

Leonardo A. Villalón, Associate Professor of Political Science, presented the paper “Repetitive Breakdowns and a Decade of Experimentation: Institutional Choices and the Difficulties of Democratization in Niger,” at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, Chicago, 21-24 February 2001. In April-May, he also carried out two weeks of research in Senegal on legislative elections which were held on 29 April, with financial support from a Faculty International Research Travel Award from the Office of International Programs. As part of this research, he was able to interview Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade (see page 13).

Judy Farmer will regrettably leave the African Studies Resource Center for a better position in KU. Judy worked for the ASRC as a secretary for almost five years. She was much involved in all activities and achievements of the center particularly the wining and budgetary administration of Title VI grant from the Federal Department of Education. The African Studies Council in its meeting of May recog-nized Judy’s effort and appreciated what she did for the ASRC. We wish Judy all the best in her future career and we hope she will further develop and maintain her Africanist identity and the good rela-tions she has developed in our community.

We would like also to welcome Michelle Edwards who is currently working as the center’s Interim Secretary. Michelle is a graduate student in the Historical Administration and Museum Studies and also has an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and African-American Studies from KU. For the last period Michele has been responsible for digitally documenting the African art and material culture collections at the Museum of Anthropology for the use of ASRC web-site and newsletter. Hopefully by this summer a sampling of the fifteen to twenty collections numbering ca. 1,200 artifacts and other documents and photographs, will be accessible on-line for students and scholars

Jane Irungu, the Center’s outreach assistant, is assuming management of the Center web-site. This site has become an all-encompassing tool for the announcement of events, the promotion of resources, and shaping the Center and Program’s identity. It shows mission statement of the ASRC and its institutional connection to the Africanist scholars at KU. It also includes links to regional and national African Studies programs and current news and information on Africa . Moreover, the web-site is connected to museum resources and instructional materials which include books, videos that can be used by faculty, students and K-12 teachers and community members who are interested in African studies. This summer Lewis Walton, an expert student in computer technology will start working as a consultant for upgrading the quality and capacity of the site, and resolving some technical problems currently encountered. Check us out at: www.ku.edu/~kasc/

Pride of Africa was a theme of a successful cultural night organized by the KU African Students Association on April 7 at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries Building. The cultural night included food, music, poetry, drumming and a great fashion show for approximately 200.people. Proceeds from the evening will provide funding for ASA’s outreach of raising awareness about Africa . It will also support Feed MY Lambs, which contributes to the welfare of children involved in conflict and wars in Africa; and help ASA continue its community service to Lawrence. ASA members surprised faculty advisor Adrienne Rivers (Journalism and Mass Communication) with a certificate of appreciation for her support.

Moussa Sissoko, a Vice Chancellor’s Fellow, in the International Student Services, graduated this semester and was awarded his Ph.D. in American Studies. His dissertation was entitled “The world will never be the same to me again: the impact of the Peace Corps Experience on Returned Volunteers” in April under the supervision of Professor Norman Yetman. Moussa was awarded a Fulbright scholarship twice. The first was in 1988 for doing his Masters and the second was in 1996 for a doctoral program. In his Masters research, Moussa investigated African perceptions of U.S. relations.

Moussa has been active in the international and African activities in KU since 1996. He actively participated in the Guest Speaker Program and all orientation programs sponsored by International Student Service at KU. He also served as a Public Relations Officer, and Executive Committee member for the African Students Association at KU. Moussa was selected twice in 1998 and 1999 by Phi Beta Delta as the oustanding international student at KU.

In Mali Moussa designed and implemented multi-cultural workshops for foreign development officials from 1994 to 1995. In the late eighties Moussa also set up three month Peace corps training programs in Malian villages in the Koulikoror region and in Bamako for U.S. Peace Corps College Teachers of English as a foreign language. We would like to congratulate Dr. Sissoko for the all above-mentioned achievements in KU and in Mali. On May, 23 Moussa’s KU friends surprised him with a wonderful farewell gathering at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries Building. We wish Moussa a safe trip back home to Mali He will leave in June and he will be a reference for KU in Mali for future links and research initiatives.

Kiran Jayaram, an Instructor of Haitian language in AAAS and graduate student in Latin American Studies was selected to receive the 2001 James B. Pearson fellowship. The award is $ 5,000 and will help Kiran to study in Haiti during the summer. Congratulations Kiran and we wish you a useful study abroad experience in Haiti.

Pelle D. Danabo, a KU African graduate student in philosophy from Ethiopia is one of four international students in the nation to win a prestigious Kenneth Holland Award, associated with the Fulbright exchange program, to support innovative projects in their home countries. Danabo will use his award to help open a public cyber cafe focusing on the needs of students and scholars in Ethiopia. The award was announced by the Institute of International Education, which administers the Fulbright student and scholar exchange programs.

Danabo's goal is to provide Internet access in a technologically underdeveloped region of the world that currently has very limited access to the benefits of the World Wide Web and its information resources. His site will provide prospective applicants for U.S. study with an inexpensive way to access higher education information. His project will link to Web sites for Fulbright information and guidance, and will also help connect Fulbright candidates, Ethiopian Fulbrighters in the U.S. and Fulbright alumni. It will offer a reliable and inexpensive way to communicate as they prepare for study in the U.S., seek guidance and mentoring, and work to develop financial resources to support their studies.

With profits from the cyber cafe, Danabo will provide one-time micro-loans to Ethiopian students. KU's philosophy department has contributed a personal computer for the cafe. The award, established in 1996, provides $2,500 grants for Fulbright Fellows in their last year of U.S. study. Students use the award to conduct innovative projects of their own design immediately upon return to their home countries. According to Hodgie Bricke, Assistant Dean of International programs, Danabo is one of six African Fulbrighers currently studying at KU and they are all doing well.