Living/Learning Center
Programs
The University of Vermont
http://www.uvm.edu/llcenter
AFRICA
HOUSE
The Africa House and Seminar has three
purposes: (1) to offer students a sense
of the richness and variety of African culture, (2) to provide an introduction
to different topics in African studies, and (3) to provide advice for students
who would like to spend some weeks or a semester in an African University.
Through its residential component, the program offers students shared
experience and an opportunity for participation in the exploration of Africa’s
incredibly rich and diverse culture.
The Introductory course offered in the Fall Semester, and the Seminar
offered in the Spring semester provide a grasp in interdisciplinary fashion of
the situations and problems in Africa.
Regular brown-bag and discussion series, organized jointly with the
African Studies Program, on topics of African relevance take place throughout
the year. The program promotes interactions between participating students and
Africans and Africanists in the community.
Africa House and Seminar combines the traditional humanities and social
science concerns of African Studies with environmental, agricultural, health
and technological issues and highlights women’s roles in development, politics
and culture.
[DESCRIPTION OF STUDENTS’
NEEDS]
An important aim of
education is to refine the empathetic responses of students. This can be achieved through immersion in
and appreciation of cultures different from their own. Such a comparative dimension as contact with
another culture provides means for the students’ critical re-evaluation of the
assumptions and prejudices by which they live; contact with other cultures can
serve to provide a window into their own souls. Students from monocultural backgrounds, as in most Western
technological societies, need to acquire some degree of cultural diversity as
well as an education for global awareness.
The Living and Learning Center provides an environment and opportunity
for such intellectual growth and the experience of a communal way of life. When
properly planned and implemented in the future, the study abroad program will
further enrich such an experience.
The fullest exploration and exposure of the African
experience in an educational environment occurs when the academic and cultural
dimensions of that experience are systematically linked. Africa House and Seminar Program brings
together professors and students of African origin and Americans under the
tutelage of leading Africanists, who themselves spring from a variety of
cultural and academic backgrounds. The
interdisciplinary nature of the program offers a panoramic view of Africa
rather than a fragmented approach to the subject.
To offer
students a sense of the richness and variety of African culture.
ACTION STEPS
· Africa has an elegant
performance tradition of poetry, story-telling, music, dance, and theatre. A few workshops on each of these and other
areas are planned. Students are also
encouraged to attend African performance.
· Africa has a growing
indigenous film industry to which students are exposed. Students are also encouraged to expose themselves
to non-African film productions that deal with African issues.
· For centuries, African
cuisine and culinary practices have influenced the food culture in
America. Students explore the food
cultures of Africa and prepare African dishes
To provide an introduction to different topics in
African Studies.
ACTION STEPS
· The Africa House Seminar
I: Introduction to Africa (IS95) and
Africa House Seminar II: Modern Africa (IS197) are offered under the auspices
of International Studies and Continuing Education. These courses also count towards a Minor in African Studies. In the Fall semester, the course covers a
wide range of the most important topics in African Studies. Topics include: Geography of Africa; Themes in African History; African
Literature and Society; Cultures of Africa; African Art; Food and Agriculture;
Environmental concerns; Women in Africa, Health; Education; African Economic
Communities; Neo-colonialism; American Policy in Africa. The Seminar (IS197) offered in the spring is
designed for students who have taken the introductory course, or some other
approved course with an African component, and wish to explore current issues
in Africa. Africa House students must take
the Introduction to Africa and the Modern Africa courses. Although enrollment
in all the two seminar courses is also open to Continuing Education students
and other students, priority will be given to students who live in the Africa
House suites. The Fall course enrolls
20-40 students. Enrollment for the
spring course is limited to 20.
· A number of visiting African
scholars, who are already in the States, will be invited to participate in some
spring/fall lectures and seminar discussions to expose students to up-to-date
developments in Africa.
· Regular brown-bag
presentations are held by leading experts in respective fields.
To encourage
students’ initiatives in the exploration of Africa’s diverse environments and
cultures.
ACTION STEPS
· Students play a major role
in planning and making necessary arrangements for the year-long extracurricular
activities of the Africa House program.
· In November, all students in
the Africa House program join in organizing week-long events focusing on
African issues and Africa’s heritage which involve public and guest lectures,
videos and films, symposia, exhibitions, performances, African dinner and
dance, etc. The political crisis in the Great Lake Region( Democratic Republic
of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda) and South Africa’s management of its
transition from apartheid to democracy will continue to receive particular
attention this year.
Africa House Program relies on team effort, with the
participation of experts on Africa, and provides valuable living and learning
experience for faculty and students alike, through an overview of important
topics in the study of Africa. For
African and African-American students enrolled at the University of Vermont,
Africa House aims to provide peer support and the opportunity to share their
rich heritage with others. For other
students, this program offers them an opportunity to learn and experience the
heritage of their fellow Americans and world citizens.
Africa House will encourage participation in some community service projects related to Africa. In the past, Africa House has participated in various community-based activities which included (1) guest teaching on Africa in middle and high schools around the state; (2) teach-in for Vermont teachers on Somalia; (3) guest-lecturing for a Summer Institute on Africa sponsored by the Vermont Council for the Humanities; etc. This year we will continue to look into ways of facilitating a quick integration of African immigrants in the larger Vermont community.
COURSE INFORMATION
The following courses are required for participation in this program:
FALL SEMESTER
Africa House Seminar : Introduction to Africa
IS 95 3 hours ( will be cross-listed with Honors 93: Literature and Society in
Africa)
MWF 9.05 – 9.55 a.m.
Instructor: Lokangaka Losambe