West Africa Term courses
The West Africa courses feature strong interdisciplinary connections and integration with on-site experiential learning. The following courses have been carefully tailored to maximize the unique learning opportunities and resources that are available only in the field.
All courses satisfy the LC requirements.
Contemporary African Literature - WL 310 (PL, G)
Dr. John Tawiah-Boateng
This course guides students through a literary journey of Africa's political, economic and social realities as narrated by creative writers from Ghana and Senegal and other parts of the continent. Visits to some of the sites encountered in the texts, guest lectures by African writers and attendance at local poetry readings and theater performances will further enhance students' understanding and appreciation of the texts.
Studio Art of Africa - ART 342 (PA, G)
Rowen Schussheim-Anderson
This course takes advantage of the rich traditions and techniques of art production in West Africa. It provides students with opportunities for hands-on investigations of art methods as expressed and developed in West Africa. Students will be able to explore African aesthetic and cultural expressions through weaving, printed fabric design, drum making and beadwork.
The Music and Culture of West Africa - MUSC 342 (PH, G)
Dr. John Pfautz
Through observing lectures, presentations and performances, as well as public ceremonies, students will gain understanding of and appreciation for non-Western values and traditions as expressed through West African music. In West Africa, music is wholly integrated into the social, political and religious aspects of life in that region. Thus, to study this art is to study the people, and, to study the people is to study their arts.
West Africa, Past and Present: Comparative History and Memory - HIST 375 (PP, G)
Dr. Todd Cleveland
This course explores the region's political, social, economic and social history from the initial encounters with European (late 15th century) to the present time. With special attention paid to the histories of the peoples that now compose the modern states of Ghana and Senegal, we will examine the ways in which these respective pasts continue to shape contemporary events and sentiments.
The West Africa Experience
Co-taught by the West Africa Term faculty
All students will take this 1-credit seminar prior to and during the term abroad. This course will prepare students for the cross-cultural experience and, once they are in West Africa, provide them with opportunities to reflect upon and articulate their experiences via a variety of oral and written exercises.
