African Studies - Tuesday Noon Talks Series

Spring 2012

The Tuesday Noon Talk Series currently meets on select Tuesdays in Woodburn Hall room 218 from Noon - 1pm

January 31
Supporting Small Business Initiatives in Ghana
Emmanuel Akorli and David Ketchum (Mission Resource International)
Mr. Akorli and Mr. Ketchum are participants in the MBA Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship program-Ghana, IU Kelley School of Business.


February 7
Symbolic Cloth in Dogon Contemporary Art
Jessica Hurd (Art History)
February 14
African Women’s Political Leadership: A Case Study of Mali
Amadou Beidy Sow (African Studies)
February 21
Teaching Cultural and Historical Topics Using Songs and Dance: A Case of Swaziland
Betty Dlamini (African Studies)
February 28
Education vs. Schooling in Tanzania.
Justin Wild (Public Affairs and African Studies)
March 6
Archiving Africa outside the Continent
Sarah Keil (Library and Information Science and African Studies)
March 13
NO TALK
Spring Break
March 20
Discourses on African Literature and Postcolonial Criticism
Muhammed al-Munir Gibrill (Near Eastern Languages and Cultures)
March 27
The Malian Family Law Controversy: A Critical Sociocultural Analysis
Abdoul Diakite (African Studies)
April 3
Shopping for a 'World-Class City': Soweto's Maponya Mall and the Politics of Consumption
Casey Bushman (African Studies)
April 10
Performances of Self among Contemporary Johannesburg Youth
Steffan Horowitz (African Studies)
April 17
Fighting for New Nations? A Research Agenda for the 1979 Tanzania/Uganda War
Michelle Moyd (Department of History)

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Fall 2011

October 4
Bangime, A Secret Language Revealed
Abbie Hantgan (Linguistics)
October 11
African Workers and Industrial Citizenship in South Africa, 1973-1979
Alex Lichtenstein (History)
October 18
Cahier de route / Road Journal
Djibril Sy (visiting photojournalist from Senegal)
October 25
Photojournalism in the Transitional Period of Kenya
Jacob Otieno (visiting photojournalist from Kenya)
November 1
Environments and Early Hominid Subsistence Activities at Olduvai Gorge
Jackson Njau (Geology)
November 8
I Sit and I Stand: Women’s Market Work in Mauritania
Katherine Wiley (Anthropology)
November 15
Combating Indifference in the Metropole: Great Britain’s ‘Colonial Weeks’ of 1949.
Fred Pratt (History)

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Fall 2011

October 4
Bangime, A Secret Language Revealed
Abbie Hantgan (Linguistics)
October 11
African Workers and Industrial Citizenship in South Africa, 1973-1979
Alex Lichtenstein (History)
October 18
Cahier de route / Road Journal
Djibril Sy (visiting photojournalist from Senegal)
October 25
Photojournalism in the Transitional Period of Kenya
Jacob Otieno (visiting photojournalist from Kenya)
November 1
Environments and Early Hominid Subsistence Activities at Olduvai Gorge
Jackson Njau (Geology)
November 8
I Sit and I Stand: Women’s Market Work in Mauritania
Katherine Wiley (Anthropology)
November 15
Combating Indifference in the Metropole: Great Britain’s ‘Colonial Weeks’ of 1949.
Fred Pratt (History)

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Spring 2011

February 15
Apprenticeship in Malian Wasulu Hunters’ Music
Cullen Strawn (Ethnomusicology)
February 22
The Conservation and Utilization of Coastal Wetlands in Ghana”
Francis Gbogbo (Exchange Scholar, University of Ghana, Legon)
March 1
Fear Not: Public Danger, Public Safety, and the Culture of Driving in Late-Colonial Ghana
Jennifer Hart (History)
March 8
African Consumption, Slave Trading and the Creation of Oceanic Zones of Exchange, 1650s-1850s
Pedro Machado (History)
March 29
The Elision of Local Names in the Study of African Epics
Adrien Pouille (Comparative Literature)
April 5
Africans Organizing in America: The Story of the Alliance for Progressive Africa and How They Want to Change Cincinnati, Ohio
Julie Rawe (African Studies)
April 12
Postage Stamps in Somalia 1960-1980: Findings from a Unique Form of Material Culture
Heather Akou (Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design)
April 19
Linguistic Documentation of Nubian Languages in Sudan
Khaleel Ismail (Dalanj University, Sudan)

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Fall 2010

September 28
Modalities of Literacy and Non-formal Interventions in West African Madrasas and Koranic Schools
Ousmane Gueye, University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar
October 5
Peripheries of the Jewish Diaspora: Establishing Heritage and Identity amongst West African Jewries
Janice Levi, African Studies
October 12
Surrogates for Government? NGOs and the State in Kenya 
Jennifer Brass, School of Public and Environmental Affairs
October 10
Knowledge, Attitudes, and Beliefs about HIV/AIDS among Sudanese and Bantu Somali Immigrants
Shinga Feresu, Public Health
October 26
Music Performance, Cultural Ideologies and African Descent: Findings from Afro-Brazil
Colleen Haas, Folklore and Ethnomusicology
November 2
Simplifying but Becoming More Complex: Colloquial Bambara vs. the Urban Standard in Bamako, Mali 
Christopher Green, Linguistics
November 9
HIV/AIDS and Risk Reduction:  Understanding the Cultural Contexts of Women's Vulnerabilities in Western Kenya
Elizabeth Pfeiffer, Anthropology

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Spring 2010

October 21
Geographic Thinking: Édouard Glissant, Philosopher.
Patrice Nganang (SUNY, Stony Brook)
October 28
Cosmopolitan Disconnect: Fanon, Xenophobia and Post-Apartheid Political Culture.
Harry Garuba (African Studies & English, UCT)
November 4
Anachronism and Primitivism: Timeliness, Abstraction and the Cultural Politics of Form in Aimé Césaire and Wifredo Lam.
Natalie Melas (Comparative Literature, Cornell)
November 11
Lessons from Bolano-Land: The Death of the Postcolonial, The Ugly Birth of the Transnational.
Grant Farred (English & Africana Studies, Cornell)
December 2
The Morality of Ritual in Soyinka’s Drama.
Abiola Irele (African and African American Studies, Harvard University)

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Fall 2009

October 6
Dialogic Processes in Asante: Sister Abena Resolves Conflict with Narrative
Beverly Stoeltje, Anthropology.
October 13
The Disabled Child in African Cinema: La petite vendeuse de soleil (The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun)
Abdou Yaro, African Studies.
October 20
Why I Wrote About A Bird Dance & Why It Was So Hard For Me
Patrick McNaughton, Art History.
October 27
"Wrapped in Power: The Socio-Religious Value of Ritual Wrapping in Dogon Artistic Traditions
Jessica Hurd, Art History.
November 3
Travels with Mae: Scenes from a New Orleans Girlhood
Eileen Julien, Comparative Literature / French / African American and African Diaspora Studies.
November 10
The Experience of Writing in Africa Today : A Personal Itinerary
Femi Osofisan, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

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Spring 2009

February 3
The regulation of the private security sector in Africa
Sabelo Gumedze, Abo Akademi University, Finland and Institute of International Security, South Africa
February 10
African literature - From the oral tradition to the current trends
Djeneba Traore, African Studies, Fulbright Scholar (Mali)
February 17
Kumasi Muslims talk for the Web
Gracia Clark, Anthropology, IU
February 24
Subversions and identity reclamation: Swazi women in song
Betty Dlamini, African Studies, IU
March 3
Voices from the graves: Words of wisdom and caution from the departed
Samuel Obeng, African Studies and Linguistics, IU
March 10
Musical inculturation and theological transformation: The construction of Black nationalism in South African choral music tradition
Austin Okigbo, Ethnomusicology, IU
March 24
Issues of Leadership and governance in the novels of Chinua Achebe
Kishor Kumar das, Zakir Husain College, University of Delhi, India
March 31
The Afro-Arab intersection in the African novel
Nana Aba Bentil-Mawusi, African Studies, Exchange Scholar (Ghana)
April 7
Musical translations among Ivorian immigrant performers in the US
Daniel Reed, Ethnomusicology, IU
April 14
Dance, sexuality, and Christian praise among Presbyterian women in southern Malawi
Clara Henderson, Ethnomusicology, IU
April 21
'All die be die?': A lesson for HIV/AIDS research and intervention in Ghana
Emmanuel Asampong, African Studies, Exchange Scholar (Ghana)

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Fall 2008

September 23
The IUB-African Studies Collection in the 21st Century - Resources, Services, and other News
Marion Frank-Wilson, Africana Library, IU
September 30
The Plague of Pebbles/Stones: The River Goddess, the Stool, and Re-Writing Adawso-Akuapem History
Ebenzer Ayesu, History, IU
October 7
Language and literacy issues in Rwanda: A case study
Beth Samuelson, School of Eduction, IU
October 14
The importance of speaking mother-tongue languages while conducting fieldwork
Abbie Hantgan, Linguistics, IU
October 21
Capacity building of competition? The role of African virtual university in African higher education
Atieno Adala, School of Education, IU
October 28
Building an Askari way of way: African soldiers and military training in German East Africa
Michelle Moyd, History, IU
November 4
'Aseresem' or 'Nsenkwaa' or none of the above: An ethnographic contribution to the terminology debate regarding an Akan speech genre
David Adu-Amankwah, African Studies, IU
November 11
Praise Names in Dagbon, Northern Ghana
Abdulai Salifu, Folklore, IU
November 18
Linking farmers to markets: A case study from Senegal
Roos Willems, VECO Senegal

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Spring 2008

February 19
"Stopping Genocide in Darfur"
John Prendergast - Co-Founder of the "Enough Campaign", a joint initiative of the International Crisis Group and the Center for American Progress.
February 26
Understanding the Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan Africa: Connections between Information Access and National Development.
Summer Tritt (IU-SLIS)
March 4
Ghanaian Political Criticism through Hip-Life: Textuality, Contextuality,and Intertextuality
Samuel Obeng, African Studies, Linguistics
March 24
Education in Africa
Paul Zeleza, University of Illinois, Chicago
March 25
Assemblilng a Livelihood from Regional Options
Gracia Clark
April 1
Linguistic Features of Oral History of the Dagomba: Planned Discourse, and the Differences Between Speech and Writing
Tristan Purvis, Linguistics Department,
April 8
Selecting Digital Equipment for Field Work: Video, Photo and Audio
Verlon Stone, Indiana University Liberia Collections
April 15
Childcraft: The Biopolitics of Human Capital and National Development in Senegal
Kathryn McHarry, University of Chicago
April 21
TBA
Adewale Maja-Pearce, writer/publisher (Nigeria)

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Fall 2007

September 18
Contemporary Zulu Ceramics: Kusempondo zankomo kuze kube Ukucwebezela (From the early hours until the shining)
Elizabeth Perrill, Art History
September 25
Research on HIV-Related Mental Health in Kenya: Conceptual and Methodological Considerations'
Michael Reece, HPER
October 2
Legislating Race and Marriage in German Südwest Afrika'
Kate Schroeder, Library
October 9
Traders Talk: A Collaborative Workshop
Gracia Clark, Anthropology
October 16
mpowering Women? Passing Domestic Violence Legislation in Ghana
Takyiwaa Manuh, African Studies, University of Ghana
October 30
The Power is in the Pot: Exploring Themes Addressed in Dogon Artist Amahinguere Dolo's Recent Installation, "Les Ceramiques"
Jessica Hurd, African Art History
November 6
Ruth Stone, Folklore/Ethnomusicology, and Verlon Stone, , Liberia Collections
War, Wealth and Music in Liberia: The Dynamics of Digital Research Processes
November 20
Development Issues
Stephen Ndegwa, World Bank
November 27
'The HIV Epidemic in Nigeria
Laura Arntson, Senior Global Health Specialist, US-AID Nigeria
December 4
Curriculum for Community Integration for Children with Developmental Disabilities in Tanzania
Angela Stone-MacDonald, Education

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Spring 2007

February 6
Qualitative Research and the Human Subjects Review Process
Cybil Cole and Peter Finn, Human Subjects Review Committee
February 13
South Africa in Africa: Hegemon, Partner, or Just Another Kid on the Block?
Prof. Maxi Schoeman, Political Science, University of Pretoria, South Africa
February 20
Kunfè Ko: Uncertainty in Malian Wasulu Hunters’ Music Performance and Hunting
Cullen Strawn, Folklore/Ethnomusicology
February 27
’It is no longer the same thing’: Burkinabe Repatriation to Burkina Faso Following Conflict in Cote d’Ivoire.
Kathryn Boswell, Anthropology
March 6
African Atlantic Migrations after the Slave Trade: The Case of Gabon, ca: 1860-1914
Jeremy Rich, Middle Tennessee State University, History
March 20
Forests are for Whom? Dissecting Conflicting Interests in Uganda
Bryn Bakoyema, Anthropology
March 27
Pleading for Clemency through Poetry: Discursive Issues in the 1906 Poll Tax Rebellion
Muziwandile Moses Hadebe, History
April 3
Performing Zimbabwean in North America: An Ethnography of Mbira and Marimba Performance Practice in the United States
Sheasby Matiure, Folklore/Ethnomusicology

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Fall 2006

September 19
Amos Sawyer, IU Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis
September 26
Christine Mathenge, IU Geography Dept.
October 3
Negotiating Nationalism: Performance, Power and Representation in the Ghana Dance Ensemble
Paul Schauert, IU Folklore/Ethnomusicology
October 10
Qererto and Fukkera: Two Favourite Poetic Forms for the Rural People in Ethiopia
Getie Gelaye, African Literature, Hamburg University
October 17
Nathan Plageman, IU History Dept.
October 24
Social Activiism in South African Religious Choral Music: A Historical and Cultural Analysis
Austin Okigbo, IU Folklore/Ethnomusicology
October 31
Craig White, IU History Dept.
November 7
David Goodman, IU History Dept.
November 14
Khalfan Mohammed, IU Political Science Dept.
November 21
Liz McMahon, University of Illinois, History Dept.
November 28
Shifts in the Landscape: South African Media After Apartheid
Herman Wassermann (visiting Fulbright scholar), Journalism, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa

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Spring 2006

February 14
The Historical, Cultural, and Linguistic Linkages Between Yorubas of West Africa, and Ancient Egyptians
Abdul Salau, Visiting Scholar
February 21
The State of Human Rights and the Challenge of Democratic Self-Governance in Nigeria 's Fourth Republic: An overview
Mahmoud Lawan, Visiting Scholar
February 28
How They See It: Politics in Videofilms
Akin Adesokan, Comparative Literature
March 7
Pamela Jagger, Political Science Department/SPEA
March 21
Matatus in Nairobi: Aesthetic Strategies in Action
Kitty Johnson, IU Art History Department
March 28
-Learning and the African Virtual University
Atieno Adala, IU, School of Education
April 4
Semba is Our Flag: Music in Postcolonial Angola
Marissa Moorman, IU History Department
April 11
rchdemon or Archdeacon of Kavirondo? Walter Edwin Owen of the Church Missionary Society in Kenya, 1918-1945
Hannington Ochwada, IU History Department
April 18
Islam in Early 20th Century Gold Coast: the Origins of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Among Akan Speakers
John Hanson, IU History Department

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Fall 2005

September 15
The Travels of Mungo Park Adapted for Children
Elizabeth Johnson, IU Lilly Library
October 4
Cultural Commuters: African Employees in Late Colonial Tanzania
Andreas Eckert, University of Hamburg
October 11
Scholarly Publishing in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Dee Mortensen, IU Press
October 18
Ecology, History and the Northern Uganda Conflict: A Perspective
Cyprian Adupa, IU History Department
October 25
Forms of Poetry: The Amharic Couplet
Fekade Azeze, Department of Ethiopian Languages and Literature, Addis Ababa University - Visiting Fulbright Scholar
November 1
ocal Songs, Global Circuits: Berber Culture on a World Stage
Jane Goodman, IU Communications and Culture

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Spring 2005

February 15
'The Walkman' As a Hunger Beater: The Politics of Shaming and Blame During the 2001-2003 Food Shortage in Malawi.
Linda Semu
February 22
Mediating Ethnic Conflict at the Grassroots in Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire.
Lauren Morris MacClean
March 1
Riwruok e Teko: Cultivating Luo Identity in 20th Century East Africa
Matthew Carotenuto
March 8
The Aetiology, Diagnosis and Management of Mental Disorders: The African Traditional Healer's Perspective.
Samuel Atindanbile
March 22
Indices of Wisdom in Yoruba and English Poetry.
Joseph Opefeyitimi
March 29
Constitutional Order and Patterns of Associational Life among The Yoruba of Nigeria.
Kunle Oyerinde
April 5
Religion, A Factor of Deomcracy Strengthening: The Case of Mali.
Paul Diakite
April 12
TBA
Eileen Julien
April 19
Narrative and Culture in Swahili: The Case of the Oriental Seminar in Berlin.
Jack D. Rollins
April 26
TBA
Stephanic Santos

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Fall 2004

September 28
Ruining the Country: The Aesthetics of Somali Dress, 1960-1991.
Heather Akou, IU Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design
October 5
The Heritage Project: Background and Future Plans.
Chalmer Thompson, IU School of Education
October 12
The Search for a National Symbol: The Case of Liberia.
Yekutiel Gershoni, Middle Eastern and African History, Tel Aviv University, Israel
October 19
Ghana's Education Reform: Voices from the Field.
Kwame Dwamena Dakwa, IU School of Education
October 26
The Path to Armed Conflict: The Case of Northern Uganda.
Cyprian Adupa, IU School of History
November 2
The Church Missionary and Maps of Englishness: New Trades among Abaluyia and Joluo, 1900-1960.
Hannington Ochwada, IU History
November 9
Beyond the Indian Diaspora: Bollywood in South Africa.
Haseenah Ebrahim, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
November 16
Emerging Men and Composing Women: Masculinities and Highlife Music in Urban Gold Coast, Ghana, 1930-1970.
Nathan Plageman, IU History

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Spring 2004

January 20
The Influence of African American Religious Music Models on the Ghanaian Church.
Alexander Agordoh University of Ghana, Legon
February 17
We are a People because we have Land: Gender, Identity and Survival in a Changing Matrilineal Malawi.
Linda Semu Sociology Department
February 24
Ethnicity, Citizenship and Democracy in post-Mobutu Congo: The Case of the Banyamulenge.
Osita Afoaku African Studies and SPEA
March 2
Teacher Responses to a New Bilingual Education Policy in Niger.
Ibro Chekaraou School of Education
March 9
Sank) fa Site: Cape Coast and its Museums as Memorials.
Ann Reed Anthropology
March 23
Constructing Sexuality: Schooling and Sex Education in Ghana.
Angela Bratton Anthropology Department
March 30
Muslim Women's Associations in Urban Mali.
Dorothea Schulz Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany
April 6
The Church Missionary Society and 'Proper Marriage' among Abaluyia and Joluo in Colonial Kenya.
Hannington Ochwada History
April 13
The Public, Private and Unseen: Civil Society Institutions on Pemba during the Protectorate Period.
Elisabeth McMahon History Department

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Fall 2003

September 16
What Lies Beneath? Truth, Reconciliation and the Media.
Sonja Verwey Rand Afrikaans University, South Africa
September 23
African Studies Publishing: Perspectives and Practical Advice from an Insider.
Dee Mortensen Indiana University Press
September 30
Study of Dry-Habitat Chimpanzee Behavior in Western Uganda and its Implications for Human Evolution.
Kevin Hunt Anthropology
October 7
There are Two Worlds Out There: Education Reform in South Africa.
Nolutho Diko School of Education
October 14
Magical Realism in Africa and the Black World: A Question of Power.
Theodore Bouabre Comparative Literature
October 21
Radio Talk Shows, Political Participation, and Democratization in Uganda.
Peter Mwesige Journalism
November 4
Thirteen Years of Missionary Life in the South Sudan: Eleanor Vandevort's Nuer Field Notes. A Digital Library Project.
Marion Frank-Wilson Library
November 11
Cultural Dimensions of Human Rights: An Igbo Case.
Obioma Nnaemeka IUPUI
November 18
Echoes of Societal Norms in SeTswana Wedding Songs.
Rosaleen Nhlekisana Folklore and Ethnomusicology

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Spring 2003

January 21
The Language Question in Cameroon.
George Echu, University of Yaounde I, Cameroon
January 28
Beyond the Language Choice Debate: Leadership and Advocacy in Ghana's Education.
Alexina Arthur, University of Ghana, Legon
February 4
Word Heads and New Dreads: The Scene of Spoken Poetry in Contemporary South Africa.
Kgafela oa Magogodi, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
February 18
Corruption and Governance in Nigeria: Recent Developments.
Alex Gboyega, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
February 25
Global Voices in Song: Using Technology for Oral Transmission of South African Music in Classrooms and Choirs.
Mary Goetze, School of Music
March 4
Hypnotized by their Offices: Clerks, Social Conflict, and the Production of Colonial Knowledge in the Gabon Estuary, 1920-1945.
Jeremy Rich, Cabrini College
March 11
Brokering Peace on the Horn: New Roles for NGOs in Africa.
Emily Frank, Anthropology
March 25
Power and Ethnic Relations in Kaduna State of Nigeria.
Toye Asabe, University of Jos, Nigeria
April 1
The Cultural Context of Economic Development in Ghana.
Kodzo Gavua, University of Ghana, Legon
April 8
'New Agenda' for Russia-Africa Relations: From International Relations Theory to Journalism.
Alexina Arthur, University of Ghana, Legon
April 15
Ghana's Educational Reforms: A Challenge for Excellence in Delivery of Quality Education for All.
Kwame Dakwa, School of Education
April 22
Educational Reform in Nigerian Bilingual Pilot Schools.
Ibro Chekaraou, School of Education

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Fall 2002

September 10
Now South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission Challenges the Modern Discipline of History and its Civics.
David Thelen, IU History
September 17
Women in Senegalese Social and Political History: Perspectives from Life Histories.
Babacar Fall University of Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal
September 24
Elections in Emerging Democracies.
Baffour Agyeman-Duah, Center for Democracy and Development, Accra, Ghana
October 1
A Visual Perspective on Pastoralist Festivals in Niger.
Gaston Combasset, Independent Sociologist and Videographer
October 8
Stylistics, Voice, and Construction Choice in the Grammar of Gen (Togo/Benin).
Marshall Lewis, West African Languages Institute
October 15
Body Politic: Transformation and Contestation in Mozambican Healing.
Tracy Luedke, IU Anthropology
October 22
Land Tenure and Environmental Change in Zambia.
Jon Unruh, CIPEC
October 29
The Politics of Institutional Change: Property Rights Transitions in Kenya's Maasailand.
Esther Mwangi, IU SPEA
November 5
Beyond(?) the Western Norms: Towards a Postmodern Theory of a Stable African Democratic Practice.
Olayinka Agbetuyi, IU Comparative Literature
November 12
Dan Ge Performance: Identity and Resistance in Contemporary Côte d'lvoire.
Daniel Reed, IU Folklore and Ethnomusicology
November 19
The Language Situation in Zimbabwe: Making a Case for Computer-Assisted Language Learning.
Juliet Thondlana, University of Zimbabwe