J. Clarence Kelly Library   Penn State Greater Allegheny

This is an archive of the events that took place in connection with Penn State Greater Allegheny's Teaching Africa Program during the 2005-2006 academic year.

February 2, 3-5: Drumming workshop, Ostermayer Room.

February 7, 4 PM: Jackie Jones, professional storyteller in Ostermayer

February 28, 4 PM: Workshop on African drumming and dance in Ostermayer. This is sponsored by the Honors Program and presented by the Pittsburgh Dance Ensemble

February 28, 7PM: African drumming and dance performance in the cafeteria.

TBA, Possibly mid-March: Discussion of common reading (perhaps also readings of poems by Brutus)

April 4, 12:15: South African poet, professor, and activist Denis Brutus lectures. Room TBA.

April 21 and 22, 7:30PM: Performance based on the Malian Sundiata Epic performed by Dr. Breckenridge's class in Ostermayer

Details: Theatre 208 H (workshop in theatres of other cultures) and Theatre 282 (production practicum) are both engaged in preparing a production based on African history and folklore. The classes are also be interviewing two African American storytellers, to collect stories and background information for the production. They are researching the epic tale of Sundiata.

April 25, 12:15: Teaching Africa Student Presentations, FRABLE 117

 September 2005

Tuesday, September 27th Common Period (12:15-1:30) in CRAWFORD 102 PHILLIP D. JONES - INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT MANAGER - "Microfinance in Africa: Small Loans and Savings Make a Big Impact"

Phil Jones has more than 35 years of experience providing development project and finance services for clients in more than 38 developing countries in:

- program and project implementation
- credit risk management,
- SME, micro-finance, and commercial lending,
- real estate finance and development,
- company privatization and restructuring,
- employee selection, training, and career development,
- GPS and business site mapping to locate branches, borrowers, and collateral,
- grant and loan program administration,
- business planning and project feasibility studies,
- construction administration supervision, and
- related computer systems installations.

His clients include USAID and its contractors, the World Bank, UN agencies, the Asian Development Bank, commercial banks and finance companies, and international development management teams.

Thursday, Sept. 29th in the Ostermayer Room 10:00-11:30 a.m.
Temujin the Storyteller

Informal Chat Session about storytelling, Africa, drumming, etc. with the Theater 282 class 12:15-1:35 p.m. - Performance Temujin the Storyteller is a font of stories and lore about Africa and elsewhere, and a wonderful entertainer. He has performed all around the United States, delighting audiences with his humor as well as his knowledge of Africa and African American history. He has been a performer at the local Renaissance Faires, and some may recognize him from his appearance in the movie Lorenzo's Oil.

October 2005

Thursday, October 13, 2005, 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m., Ostermeyer Room (SCC)

Teaching Africa Common Reading  (Open to all PSMK Faculty, Staff & Students)

Group Discussion of the short story, "Country Lovers" by Nadine Gordimer

Discussion will be led by Professor Mickle.
The story, "Country Lovers," is on line.Go to http://cat.libraries.psu.edu, click on Course Reserves, type in Mickle, Mildred, click Instructor, then click on the link to AFRICA.

Tuesday, October 18, Ostermeyer - this event has been cancelled
Leopold Munyakazi
Professor of Linguistics, French, Kinyarwanda, and Literature. He served at the
National University of Rwanda and the Kigali Institute of Education, among
other institutions. He was also Chairman of the Writer's Guild of Rwanda and a
member of the Rwandese Association of Human Rights and Public Freedom.
Professor Munyakazi, a Hutu moderate who married a Tutsi woman, will speak
about his experiences during the Rwandan genocide.

Tuesday, October 25, Frable 117
Professor Jim Stewart, PSU
Professor Stewart will present slides on South Africa during apartheid.

He will be discussing personal experiences and observations during three visits to South Africa 1983, 1987, and 1997. The first two visits occurred during the apartheid era and provided him with an opportunity to experience first hand the coercive and oppressive practices of the South African government. He had an opportunity to meet and interview freedom fighters and one of the so-called Bantu homelands., Bophutatswana. His 1997 visit provided an opportunity to assess the changes that had occurred in South African society following the transition to majority rule in 1994.


November 2005

Tuesday, November 15
Student presentations: Teaching Africa. 117 Frable.

To be announced: possible screening of Ousmane Sembene’s Moolade in November.

December 2005

December 1-3, performances by Dr. Breckenridge’s theatre class featuring a half
dozen African tales.  No title yet--maybe Scattered Pot Shards--Tales from All
Around Africa.

Spring 2005

• Campus Common Reading of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African:  Written by Himself (first published in 1814) in The Classic Slave Narratives edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (available at the Campus Bookstore, on Reserve in the Library, on electronic Reserve through the library web page, and at public libraries).  Reading Schedule: A chapter a week discussed during Common Periods in the Ostermayer Room, SCC. Gates Introduction, pp 1-9 Feb. 3 rd; Chapter I, pp 29-46 Feb. 10 th; Chapter II, pp 46-63 Feb. 17 th; Chapter V, pp 99-118 Feb. 24 th
  
• 1st Speaker (Feb. 15) - Dr. Jean-Jacques Sene, "History, Culture and Current Issues in Senegal and Western Africa"
  
• 2nd Speaker (March 3) - Dr. Keith Mitchell "The Middle Passage in the Western and African Diasporic Imagination"
  
• 2nd Common Reading project (March 22) - "Discussing Select Poetry by African Writers" - "State of the Union" by Aime Cesaire, "Negro Mask" and "Prayer of the Masks" by Leopold Sedar Senghor, "Spirits" by Birago Diop
  
• 3rd Speaker (April 5) - Sharon Connor, a pharmacist and representative of Doctors Without Borders
  
• Student Presentations of projects - April 19 in Frable 117
  
•  African artifact displays in the library and the Frable lobby throughout the semester