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AFRICAN STUDIES PROGRAM

FRIDAY BULLETIN

MARCH 28, 2008

Contents

1.       Upcoming Events

2.       Announcements of Interest

3.       Jobs, Fellowships and other Opportunities

4.       Conferences

5.       Noontalks schedule

6.       Seminar schedule

NOTE:  If you have announcements or information appropriate for the Bulletin, please send it to us by 5:00 p.m. on Thursdays.

1. Upcoming Events

Tuesday Noon Talks
12:00-1:00 p.m. - Woodburn 218
Tristan Purvis, Linguistics Department
            “Register Variation and Oral Traditions in Dagbani”

Wednesday Seminar
“Fieldnotes in African Research”
Wednesday, April 2
5:30-7:30 p.m., Woodburn 218
David Henige, Library, African Studies/Anthropology, University of Wisconsin
            “Field Notes Past and Present”
Please join us for light refreshments before the talk at 5:00 p.m. in Woodburn 221

Ghana Jubilee Symposium
Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, Grand Hall
Friday, April 4
1:00 – 5:00 p.m.         SEE SCHEDULE ATTACHED AT END OF BULLETIN

African Music and Dance Ensemble
Every Friday!!
6:00-8:00 p.m.
Neal Marshall Black Culture Center – Room A219

The African Studies Outreach Program and the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center are organizers of this event, taking place each Friday evening during the semester.  The music/dance instructor is Kwesi Brown (kwebrown@indiana.edu).

Graduate Students in African Studies (GSAS)
The GSAS will meet Wednesday, April 2, 4:00-5:00 p.m. at the IMU GradPad (M088).

Swahili Conversation Hour
Monday, March 31
1:15 p.m. -  IMU Starbucks 

Bamana Conversation Hour
Thursday, 6:00 p.m.
The Pour House (www.thepourhousecafe.com)         

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2.  Announcements of Interest

African American Arts Institute Spring Concerts

I. African American Dance Company Spring Concert Iris Rosa, Director

Friday, April 4, 8:00 pm, Buskirk-Chumley Theater

II. IU Soul Revue Spring Concert Nathanael Fareed Mahluli, Director

Saturday, April 12, 8:00 pm Buskirk-Chumley Theater

Tickets for all three concerts are $15 for adults, $10 for children and students, and $5 for IU students with advance purchase (limit 2 per ID). Tickets are available at the Sunrise Box Office, 114 E. Kirkwood.

“The Art of Persuasion”
18th Annual IU Art History Association Graduate Student Symposium
March 29, 2008
To be held in the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, Room 102, events begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue through the 4:00 p.m. Keynote Address by Dr. David Lubin, Charlotte C. Weber Professor of Art, Wake Forest University. 

Women’s History on Film
February-March 2008
Celebrating Women’s History Month
Monroe County Public Library
            All movies are free and will be introduced b a faculty member of the IU History Department. Organized by the IU History Department’s Gender and Sexuality Field; Co-Sponsored by the Office of Women’s Affairs, Department of Gender Studies, Office of the Vice President for International Affairs, Russian and East European Institute, American Studies, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Jewish Studies, Cultural Studies, and Latino Studies.

March 29, 2:30 p.m.    “Sisters in Law” (Cameroon 2005) – MC Library meeting room 1B
March 31, 6:00 p.m.    “Losing Isaiah” (US 1995) – MC Library Auditorium

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3. Jobs, Fellowships and Other Opportunities

Undergraduate Journal of International Studies
The IU Undergraduate Journal of International Studies has issued a call for papers.  Academic papers relating to international studies and connecting to a wide range of disciplines are welcome.  Paper topics are not limited to, but may include:  Culture and the Arts; Health, Environment and Development; Global Integration and Development; Human Rights and Social Movements; International Communication; Nations, States and Boundaries.

Academic papers of any length are eligible for submission, including term papers and Capstone projects. Faculty members are urged to encourage their students to submit papers of high quality. Acceptance will be determined by the journal’s editorial board.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION:  May 11.   Microsoft Word 2003 compatible files may be submitted to internationalstudies.journal@gmail.com .  For information and a Submission Information Form, contact:  internationalstudies.journal@gmail.com

CODESRIA POSITION:  Africa-Executive Secretary

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites applications from suitably qualified senior African scholars for the position of Executive Secretary in its pan-African Secretariat located in Dakar, Senegal. All applications must be received by June 20, 2008.

The successful candidate will be responsible for the day to day management of the affairs of the Council to the highest professional standards on behalf of the Executive committee; will lead the Secretariat in implementing the scientific programs and intellectual agenda of the Council; will serve as the Secretary to the General Assembly, the Executive committee, and the Scientific Committee; will be responsible for the development and implementation of the Council’s fundraising strategy; will negotiate and sign all contracts on behalf of the Council; will undertake representational duties on behalf of the Council, along with numerous other executive responsibilities.

Applicants should have a sound university education and at least ten years of post-doctoral working experience in a reputable research and/or research training environment.  Candidates must have a good knowledge of CODESRIA, its institutional mandate and program strategy, possess a demonstrable ability to mobilize and promote the work of African researchers; be familiar with the African social research environment and be recognized by the African social research community, have a first-hand knowledge of the African higher education system in general and the African university context in particular, have a strong personal track record of research, have a good grasp of trends in international social science research and programming,  have proven experience of institution and program management in an academic environment, be experienced in fund-raising, resource management and the preparation of reports for funding partners, have a distinguished publication record, have demonstrable skills in leadership and management of personnel in a diversified, multi-cultural environment, and be fluent in English, French or Portuguese and have a good working knowledge of at least on of the other languages.

Salary is dependent on candidates experience and qualifications and is comparable to those of similar posts in other international organizations.  Visit the CODESRIA website for more information:  www.codesria.org

Applications should consist of:  written application, detailed CV describing candidate’s professional experience, three reference letters, two of which must come from people living in African countries other than the applicant’s country of residence, and four of applicant’s recent publications.  Complete application packets should be sent in a sealed envelope marked “Application Documents” and addressed to:  The President, CODESRIA, Av. Cheikh Anta Diop x, Canal IV, BP 3304, CP 18524, Dakar, Senegal.

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4.  Conferences

IU School of Law:  Spring Conference

While there will not be any regionally-focused issues, discussions on customary law and human rights and international law principles are relevant to the region. Complete information is on the websites:  www.law.indiana.edu/front/special/2008_global_conference.shtml and www.law.indiana.edu/front/special/2008_customary_law/

“Individual and Customary International Law Formation Conference”

Friday, April 4 – Saturday April 5, 2008
Law School, 1st Floor Lobby and Moot Court Room
Coffee & Pastries 8:30 a.m. -9:00 a.m. (Friday; 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (Saturday)
            Friday Panels:
            10:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.           Making ancient trans-border custom: the history and players
            1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.              The individual and customary international law formation
            3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.              Making law from below

            Saturday Panel
            10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.          Finding custom: possibilities and obstacles.

SPEA International Public Affairs Association Conference
April 11, 2008

“Topics in Public Affairs”, organized by the International Public Affairs Association at SPEA, will feature a range of faculty and students both in SPEA and from other departments.  There will be 5 panels on the following topics:  social inclusion, NGOs, the environment, conflict, and international political economy.  All panels are free and open to all.

Registration and breakfast begins at 8:00 a.m. in the SPEA Atrium.  Panels run between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. in Kelly Business School, Room 201.  Please contact Jen Pearl at jenpearl@indiana.edu if you have any questions.

YALE CONFERENCE: Language in African Performing and Visual Arts: Global Trends, Issues and Perspectives.

This conference will be hosted by the Yale Program in African Languages at the Yale Council on African Studies October 2-4, 2008.

As the world becomes more and more a global village through the internet and electronic media, transfer of cultural practices has become the norm.  However, the cultures of those with global economic and political power have tended to overshadow those of countries whose influence is local. This conference will bring together scholars across disciplines to discuss trends in African popular cultures and how these have impacted African languages.

The conference will investigate some of the developments in the performing and visual arts in Africa, with special focus on choice and forms of language used. It will ask how African languages have changed in this new environment and look at some of the reworking of oral tradition, and at works influenced by time spent outside Africa, and at new worldwide markets for products of popular African culture composed in African languages and argots.

Papers are invited addressing this theme or one of the following sub-themes:  Language and electronic and print media; Language and visual arts; Language and performing arts; Popular culture and technology; Popular culture and HIV/AIDS; Language in sports and leisure; Popular culture and urban language varieties; Fiction and publishing; Language and fashion and design.

Send abstracts to:  African.studies@yale.edu  or fax to:  203-432-5963.  Abstracts should be 300 words, and are due by May 31, 2008.  For information call African Studies:  203-432-3436

Zanzibar Indian Ocean Research Institute (ZIORI)
Conference on:  “The Indian Ocean: The Largest Cultural Continuum in the World”
August 29-31, 2008, in Zanzibar
CALL FOR PAPERS

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AFRICAN STUDIES NOONTALKS

February 19     John Prendergast – Co-Founder of the “Enough Campaign”, a joint initiative
                        Of the International Crisis Group and the Center for American Progress.
                        “Stopping Genocide in Darfur”
                        NOTE: CHANGE OF VENUE FOR THIS TALK: OAK ROOM, IMU

February 26     Summer Tritt (IU-SLIS)  “Understanding the Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan
                       Africa:  Connections between Information Access and National Development.”

March 4           Samuel Obeng, African Studies, Linguistics
                        "Ghanaian Political Criticism through Hip-Life: Textuality, Contextuality,
                        and Intertextuality”

March 11         SPRING BREAK

March 18         Richard Werbner, Manchester
                        “Ethnographic Film-making as Discovery: The Quest Trilogy”

March 24         MONDAY:  5:30-7:30 p.m.   Paul Zeleza, University of Illinois, Chicago
                        “Education in Africa”

April 1             Tristan Purvis, Linguistics Department
                       “Linguistic Features of Oral History of the Dagomba:
                        Planned Discourse, and the Differences Between Speech and Writing”

April 8             Verlon Stone, Indiana University Liberia Collections
                        “Selecting Digital Equipment for Field Work: Video, Photo & Audio”

April 15           Kathryn McHarry, University of Chicago
                        “Institutonalization of the WHO’s Child Health Standards in La Case des Tout
                        Petits (Senegal)”

Special Talk:
April 21           MONDAY:  2:30  Adewale Maja-Pearce, writer/publisher (Nigeria)

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“FIELDNOTES IN AFRICAN RESEARCH”

African Studies Wednesday Seminar
Fieldnotes in African Research
(Marion Frank-Wilson and Ruth M. Stone)

Wednesdays 5:30-7:30, WH 218

Speakers:
February 20--Steven Raymer, Journalism, Indiana University
                        “The Documentary Photographer: Writing with Light”

February 27--Peter M. Chilson, English and Creative Writing, Washington State University
                        “Romancing the Archivist: A Cautionary Dispatch from West Africa”

March 19--Kate Schroeder, History/Library, and Austin Okigbo, Folklore and Ethnomusicology
                        “Recent Experiences with Fieldnotes”

March 26--Daniel Reed, Folklore and Ethnomusicology, Indiana University
                        “Fieldnotes: For Whom and What For?”

April 2--David Henige, Library, African Studies, and Anthropology, University of Wisconsin
                        “Fieldnotes Past and Present”

April 9--Anaba Anankyela Alemna, Library and Library Science, University of Ghana, Ghana

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In Celebration of the
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF GHANA’S INDEPENDENCE

Indiana University African Studies Program
And
Graduate Students in African Studies

Present

March 4          Tuesday          Saakumu with Bernard Woma in Concert
                        7:30 pm                      Performance, Wilkie Auditorium                           
                                   
March 21        Friday             Love Brewed in the African Pot
                        7pm                             A Film by Kwaw Ansah
Woodburn Hall 120
                       
April 4            Friday             Ghana Jubilee Symposium
                                                            Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Grand Hall

                        1:00pm           What Ghana Means to U
                                                Roundtable Discussion by local
                                                            Ghanaian students and faculty

                        2:15pm           Using the Past for the Present and the Future:
                                                Ghana's 50th Independence Celebrations
                                                            Lecture by Professor Kofi Baku
                                                            University of Ghana, Legon
                                               
                        3:30pm           In Search of Hannah Kudjoe:  Nationalism,
                                                Feminism, and the Tyrannies of History
                                                            Lecture by Professor Jean Allman
                                                            Washington University, St Louis
                                               
April 12          Saturday        Midawo Gideon Foli Alorwoyie with his
                        7:30pm           Afrikania Culture Troupe
                                                Opening Performance by the Osagyefo Dance Ensemble
                                                Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Grand Hall

All Events are Free and Open to the Public
For further information please contact the African Studies Program at 812/855-8284 or 855-5081