CFP : Special issue of English Studies in Africa (2013) Critical Perspectives on Abdulrazak Gurnah
This is a Call for Papers for a Special issue of English Studies in Africa (2013) Critical Perspectives on Abdulrazak Gurnah. Guest editors will be Maria Olaussen (Linnaeus University, Sweden) and Tina Steiner (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
The journal is seeking scholarly articles for a special issue of the ISI listed journal English Studies in Africa dedicated to the literary work and thought of Abdulrazak Gurnah, a major novelist in the English-speaking world today. Gurnah’s work explores issues of migration and cosmopolitanism in complex situations of changing power relations from the old Indian Ocean trading arena to colonial and postcolonial contexts. While some of his eight novels have received a fair amount of critical attention, his earlier novels in particular have not received the extensive scholarly engagements that they deserve. They hope that this collection will manage to fill this gap, to which end articles or essays on the novels that appeared before Paradise are particularly welcome. Contributions are invited that explore any of the following topics/themes/ideas in his fiction.They also invite contributions on topics not mentioned below that help to advance new critical perspectives on Gurnah’s fiction:
1. Littoral societies/Indian Ocean cosmopolitanisms
2. Indian Ocean trade
3. Migration/Translocation/Multilocality
4. Memory
5. Translation and the space between
6. Borderland subjectivities
7. Gender/Sexuality
8. Multicultural and/or multilingual writing
9. Travelling Selves
10. Maps/Mapping
11. Postmodernism/Postcolonialism
12. Politics of Writing/ Cultural politics
Selection procedure and submission timeline
Potential contributors are requested to submit an abstract of 300 words. The editors will select abstracts and commission successful applicants to submit articles for peer review.
15 December 2011: Abstract submission – please submit an abstract of 300 words to the editors: maria.olaussen@lnu.se and tsteiner@sun.ac.za
6 February 2012: Selection of abstracts and commissioning of articles
16 July 2012: Submission of article for peer review
8 October 2012: Notification of acceptance/rejection of article
9 November 2012: Submission of revised article
Africa Food : The Secret of African Indigenous Plants
Bissap
Indigenous plants in Africa are rarely studied for their food value. In hard times villagers will use certain plants for food, but they are often dismissed by outsiders as ‘weeds’.
An experiment
I remember investigating a local bush sorrel, daablini, Hibiscus surattensis Linn. [family MALVACEAE], in Gambia which was used once a week as a condiment with ‘wolof rice’, (Benachin recipe) and where the dried flowers were used as a drink called ‘wonjor’ or ‘bissap’. The sorrel is considered to be high in iron and other nutrients. As an informal experiment one rainy season, when the plants grow rampantly everywhere, my Gambian colleagues and their families took 2 tablespoonfuls of the cooked plant each day, as ‘medicine’. That year their incidence of malaria was a lot less, and they felt that the plant had ‘strengthened the blood’.
Award winning Kenyan horticulturalist is investigating African plants.
NAIROBI, 7 August 2009 (IRIN) – A Kenyan horticultural scientist hopes that a group of leafy green plants, previously dismissed by some as weeds, may have a significant impact on reducing malnutrition and poverty levels in Kenya.
Mary Abukutsa-Onyango has identified six local greens – described as African indigenous vegetables – that are very high in nutrients and easy to grow in local conditions.
Her laboratory tests show the vegetables are nutritionally as good, if not better, than the “exotic†greens such as spinach and cabbage, which were introduced to Africa from abroad and have become widely accepted as staples.
Suggested Books (US)
In 2004 H M Burkhill re-published, ‘The Useful Plants of West Africa, six-part revision of J.M. Dalziel’s work originally published in 1937 is the most authoritative and comprehensive survey published of economically important plants grown in Western Tropical Africa. (Try a library – it seems difficult to find copies at the moment).
Other African environmental books
Mali wedding blues
Last weekend we had a wedding just half a block away from my apartment in Bamako, Mali. First I knew of it was the drums the night before. That was fun! They set up shop on the street corner … several large Djembé drums and lots of smaller ones … some that you hold under your arm and beat with a stick. The decibel level was incredible. The apartment seemed to reverberate. All the local kids were out and a big crowd developed. Then just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
The following day I was drawn to our balcony by the sound of a huge number of mopeds (called motos) and motor bikes .. all revving up and sounding horns. It was the start of a wedding cavalcade .. they paraded the streets in our area for about half an hour. After the motor bikes came the cars .. all sounding their horns and flashing lights. The roads around here are really bad. The rains have washed some of the red mud away and there are huge holes and bumps. You should have seen some of these posh cars trying to make their way around .. I felt really sorry for some of the ladies dressed in their finery being slung around the back seat of a mercedes!
Then the men congregated at one of the local mosques …for the wedding ceremony, without the bride!!! This is the formal part of the day. I think there are five mosques around here.
Later in the afternoon I heard drumming again from the street corner. They had put up a sheltered area and brought in lots of chairs. It was ladies afternoon ….wonderful colours, wonderful boubous in bright colours. It seemed at one point like most of the area had turned out. During this time various ceremonies are carried out by the women. The poor little bride sits under a veil in a courtyard, usually looking terribly scared. There are praise singers (griots) who sing the praises of those who pay them. The ones for this group sang really well. In fact there seemed to be two and one would sing with the other making encouraging comments. Sometime in the late afternoon everyone dispersed and the area settled down for the night.
Then the local night club began …..
(Excerpt from my old Mali diary)
Africa Linguistics : SwahiliWeb, a new resource
SwahiliWeb, is a resource both for the research community and for the general public and is intended to facilitate access to unpublished or hard-to-locate documents dealing with or originating in the Swahili world. It will include journal articles, manuscripts, maps, sound files, photographs and film and serve as a digital archive for materials that are difficult to consult elsewhere, or are damaged or threatened in their present state. The site will thereby ensure that basic tools for research on the Swahili and materials which are hosted elsewhere are more easily accessible.
The initiative grew from a suggestion by Prof. Pat Caplan of Goldsmith’s College, London, that such a resource be developed for the Swahili research community, in view both of the precedent set by similar projects dealing with other parts of the world, and of the existence of substantial archives, both personal and institutional, that could profitably be made public. Transmitting materials and knowledge from one generation of researchers to another is a significant objective of SwahiliWeb.
SwahiliWeb is still in its infancy and needs your support to develop. Feedback and comments, suggestions and submissions of material are all both welcome and strongly encouraged. Please feel free to disseminate this announcement to all who you think might be interested.
Iain Walker
University of Oxford
iain.walker@compas.ox.ac.uk
Mauritania : Food consumption habits and food security
The sociology of food security
DAKAR, 2 September (IRIN) – Are there any taboos affecting eating habits in Mauritanian households? How do eating habits vary among different ethnic groups, and different family members? How could these customs affect food security throughout the year?
These are some of the questions food aid experts and sociologists will examine in a “food consumption habits” study to be launched in the coming weeks across Mauritania. It will go beyond customary assessments to get at details experts hope will significantly improve food security programmes, according to World Food Programme (WFP), which is leading the study.
“There are a lot of questions related to food security – particularly regarding people’s eating habits – for which we don’t yet have scientific data,” said Guy Gauvreau, WFP country director in Mauritania, adding that the study would help address that.
“This information will help us better define and understand micro- and macronutrient deficiencies and better plan not only the food basket but the best types of assistance for the population,” Gauvreau said. “It’s beyond food security to nutritional security. For a long time the aid community in general has underestimated the importance of understanding people’s food consumption habits.”
To do so, he said, the participation of people with intimate knowledge of the culture is indispensable; hence the collaboration with local sociologists. “A study like this requires people who know the local sociology – people who are culturally close to the subject.”
The study, in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the sociology department at University of Nouakchott, is also part of efforts to assist the government in drawing up a food security strategy, WFP says.
While periodic assessments look into household food expenses and dietary diversity – usually with a review of the previous week – the “habits” study will examine consumption at an individual level to have a better understanding of the dynamics among members of a family, said Cedric Charpentier, food security assessment officer in WFP’s West Africa regional office. It will also look more closely at eating habits, preferences and preparation methods to see the role of all these in food security.
WFP and its partners are finalizing the methodology; it is expected to include discussions with focus groups.
Similar food consumption habits studies have been done before in Latin America; this is the first one in Mauritania, according to WFP. The plan is for the methodology used in Mauritania to be adapted for use in other West African countries.
This report on line:Â http://www.IRINnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=93649
© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org/
[This item comes via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Reposting or reproduction, with attribution, for non-commercial purposes is permitted. Terms and conditions: http://www.irinnews.org/copyright.aspx]
African Demographic and Health Reports
The African Demographic and Health Surveys, and thematic reports are available on Measure’s website : Les rapports pays des Enquêtes Démograohique et de Santé sont disponibles sur le site web de measure
http://www.measuredhs.com
Latest publication
DHS Comparative Reports No. 27. Trends in Nutritional Status of Adult Women in Sub-Saharan Africa. Michel Garenne. ICF Macro. Calverton, Maryland, USA., July 2011, xv-96 p.
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADW762.pdf
Some documents related to Sub-Saharn Africa / Quelques documents généraux sur l’Afrique sub-saharienne:
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/search/search_results.cfm
CR27, Trends in Nutritional Status of Adult Women in Sub-Saharan Africa (English) 07/2011
CR19, Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health (English) 08/2008
CR14, New Estimates of Unmet Need and the Demand for Family Planning (English) 12/2006
CR12, L’Excision dans les Enquetes Demographiques et de Sante: Une Analyse Comparative (French) 12/2005
CR10, Nutritional Status of Children: Results from the Demographic and Health Surveys 1994 – 2001 (English) 12/2005
CR11, The Context of Women’s Health: Results from the Demographic and Health Surveys, 1994-2001 (English) 12/2005
CR8, Child Morbidity and Treatment Patterns (English) 12/2004
CR9, Infecundity, Infertility, and Childlessness in Developing Countries (English) 09/2004
CR7, Female Genital Cutting in the Demographic and Health Surveys: AÂ Critical and Comparative Analysis (English) Â Â 09/2004
CR6, The DHS Wealth Index (English) Â Â 08/2004
CR4, Childhood Mortality in the Developing World (English) 12/2003
CR5, Trends in Marriage and Early Childbearing in Developing Countries (English) 07/2003
CR3, Fertility Levels, Trends, and Differentials 1995-1999 (English) 12/2002
CR2, Reproductive Preferences in Developing Countries at the Turn of the Century (English) 04/2002
CS16, Unmet Need: 1990-1994 (English) 06/1995
Previous Reports by Michel Garenne / Rapports précédents de Michel Garenne :
Fertility Changes in Sub-Saharan Africa (English) by M. Michel Garenne French Institute of Research for Development (IRD) Institut Pasteur, Paris and Macro International Inc. Calverton, Maryland, USA
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=829&srchTp=advanced
Premarital Fertility and Ethnicity in Africa (English) by Michel Garenne (IRD) and Institut Pasteur, Paris and Julien Zwang
Institut des Cordeliers, Université de Paris VI, and (CERDI) and Macro International Inc. Calverton, Maryland USA
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=674&srchTp=advanced
Other Comparative Reports / Autres rapports comparatifs
The Context of Women’s Health: Results from the Demographic and Health Surveys, 1994-2001 (English)
by Altrena Mukuria and Casey Aboulafia and Albert Themme and ORC Macro, Calverton, Maryland, USA
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=590&srchTp=advanced
Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Cohort Trends in 30 Countries (English) by Stacy E. Sneeringer and ICF Macro, Calverton, Maryland, USA, Fertility Transition in
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=914&srchTp=advanced
Orphans and Vulnerable Children in High HIV-Prevalence Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (English) by Vinod Mishra and Simona Bignami-Van Assche and Macro International Inc. Calverton, Maryland, USA
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=838&srchTp=advanced
Female Genital Cutting in the Demographic and Health Surveys: AÂ Critical and Comparative Analysis (English)Â by P. Stanley Yoder and Noureddine Abderrahim and Arlinda Zhuzhuni
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=476&srchTp=advanced
L’Excision dans les Enquetes Demographiques et de Sante: Une Analyse Comparative (French) by P. Stanley Yoder and Noureddine Abderrahim and Arlinda Zhuzhini and ORC Macro, Calverton, Maryland, USA
http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=572&srchTp=advanced
Ghana DVD : Yaaba Soore, Continuity and Change in Mossi Art
Christopher Roy announces the release of a new video titled  ’Yaaba Soore: Continuity and Change in Mossi Art’.  This is  his first DVD about Mossi masks, although he has been studying the art of the Mossi people since 1976.
He recently added extensive new digital video footage of masks at village performances in 2011 and 2010 to the film  footage he made in 1976, and so the video traces continuity and change he has seen over thirty-four years.  He has a short section on the trip Leo Frobenius made through Mossi country in 1908, with the artist Fritz Nansen, who created a very large number of outstanding paintings, sketches, and photographs. This material provides evidence of continuity over a period of more than a century.
There is also video of Mossi masks in the FESTIMA mask festivals in the village of Dedougou in 2002 and 2006. He explains why Mossi art is so complex, why there are so many Mossi mask styles, and how those styles mirror the long and complex history of the creation of the Mossi peoples beginning in 1500 AD when they invaded from the northern Ghana and chased the Dogon out of Yatenga and into the Bandiagara cliffs.
You can find the video at: Â Â Â https://www.createspace.com/318192
The price is $24.95, as always, but if you use the discount code PBZBFXUW you will receive $5 off the retail price
via Christopher D. Roy
Professor of the History of Art
Elizabeth M. Stanley Faculty Fellow of African Art History
W 420 Seashore Hall
The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart
Dogon Rock Art in Mali
Image via Wikipedia
Cave paintings
The Dogon of Mali are known for their astronomy and wonderful cliff dwellings and you’ll find a number of posts on them on this blog. You may like to look at:
However, they are also known for their cave paintings.
Dogon rock art, Cliff painting in Songo
[Photo credit: robin.elaine under a Creative Commons license ]
Suggested Book (US)
Why and how Africa should invest in African languages and multilingual education
Multilingualism and Cultural Diversity
What is your opinion about multilingualism and cultural diversity? In an African context do you see it as an asset or a curse?
An interesting paper from UNESCO published in June 2010 Why and how Africa should invest in African languages and multilingual education challenges many common assumptions about African mother-tongues and multilingual education.
The following caught my eye from the introduction.
Africa is the only continent where the majority of children start school using a foreign language. Across Africa the idea persists that the international languages of wider communication (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish) are the only means for upward economic mobility.
Think about it for a moment.
This brief is the product of an in-depth research and consultation process, which was initiated in 2005 and carried out in consultation with experts – the majority from Africa – in language, education and publishing and African Ministries of Education. It addresses seven common concerns about mother-tongue-based multilingual education in sub-Saharan Africa in the light of experiences of mother-tongue education in Africa since the 1950s. It also draws on a broad array of experiences and sources from around the world. The focus on African experiences redresses the mistake made so often in the past: namely, the practice of applying to this continent research results from regions with very different linguistic contexts and learning environments. Drawing on research results from Africa, the brief makes concrete suggestions as to how education systems can be shaped to foster individual and social development in African contexts.
- Only 176 African languages are used in African education systems and mainly in basic education
- 87 per cent of the languages of instruction in adult literacy and non-formal education programmes are African languages
- Between 70 and 75 per cent of the languages of instruction in nursery school/kindergarten and the early years of elementary schools are African
- Beyond basic education, only 25 per cent of the languages used in secondary education and 5 per cent of the languages in higher education are African
- Although most African education systems focus on the use of international languages, only between 10 and 15 per cent of the population in most African countries are estimated to be fluent in these languages.
For me, that last point is the most poignant. In many African communities there is a really low level of fluency in international languages. For the child going to school for the first time the classroom, instead of being a place of discovery, becomes a puzzle, a nightmare.
I have seen 7 year olds in their first week in a school in Mali that used only an international language, French, looking so utterly bewildered and lost. It was painful to observe these classes where even the most basic of instructions were not understood by the children. It wasn’t until the end of the week when the teacher saw little girls peeing on the ground outside the classroom that the teacher realised the children didn’t know where the school toilets were. They had not been able to ask and he had not thought to show them!
Contrast that to another school on the same site where the teacher spoke to the children in a language they understood, Bambara. ‘I’m like your mummy’ she said to them in their first moments in the classroom. ‘If you need anything come and ask me’. Â The children and the teacher were relaxed and by the end of the first week the children were really getting the hang of school and enjoying learning.
Of course language was not the only issue in those classes I described, there were differences in pedagogy too. But the issue of the language used in education in Africa is a major one, and I think this paper goes some way in addressing this through evidence-based policy recommendations from African research.
How to get a copy of the report
You can download a pdf of Why and how Africa should invest in African languages and multilingual education? from the UNESCO site.
Suggested Books (US)
- Languages of Instruction for African Emancipation (Casas Book Series)
- Languages and Education in Africa: A Comparative and Transdisciplinary Analysis (Bristol Papers in Education)
- Language, Literature and Education in Multicultural Societies: Collaborative Research on Africa
- Global Issues in Language, Education and Development: Perspectives from Postcolonial Countries (Linguistic Diversity and Language Rights)
(See chapter on Mali)
Other books on Africa linguistics
Other books on Africa education
Nigeria : Theorization and Classification of African Regional Movies, conference
African Regional Movies
International Conference on the Theorization and Classification of African Regional Movies
Location: Â Â Â Nigeria
Conference Date: Â Â Â Â 2011-10-25
African movies across its regions have grown to the extent that there is need to critically do their in-depth studies with the purpose of generating theories on their packaging, analysis and proper classification into genres. In view of the above, abstracts are invited from academics, media industry professionals, movie producers, distributors, government agencies, policymakers, movie regulators, agencies, donors, civil society organisations, independent consultants, research groups and students, on any aspects of the under listed sub-themes. Such abstracts which should not exceed 200 words should be based on the analysis of select movies that fall within the sub-themes. Abstracts are to be sent to our E-mail address: moviescholars@gmail.com on or before September 20th 2011, while full paper must reach us before September 30th, 2011.
Trends in movie Theories, Existing Literary Theories and the need or not, for distinct African movie theories, Generating theories on African movies, Emergent genres in African movies, Movies and the relevance of African-specific genres, Classifying African urban and rural movies, Gender and social issues in African movies, need for classical genrization, War and crime movies and proper classification, Travel movies and issues of depiction, African movies and the global media culture, Representation of economic, social and political issues in African movies, Africans’ contributions to the Theories of Gaze, Sociology and Psychology of African movies e.t.c.
Proposals should include abstract title, author’s name, address, telephone number, email address, and institutional affiliation.
Venue:College of Humanities and Culture, Osun State University, Ikire Campus, Ikire Osun State; Nigeria. Osun State University operates collegiate system of six campuses. Ikire Campus is one of the six campuses. Ikire Campus is about 15 km to Ibadan and about 45 km to Ile-ife the home of Obafemi Awolowo University. The University Campus is along the road to Ibadan from Ile-Ife.
Enquiries: Fo more details, please visit the website: www.moviescholars.org OR contact any of the following:
*Kayode Animasaun, PhD: Osun State University, Ikire Campus, Ikire.
Chairman LOC:
+2348073787551, drkayanimasaun@gmail.Com
Email:Â drkayanimasaun@gmail.com
Visit the website at http://www.moviescholars.org
Suggested Books
Roy Armes examines a wide range of issues common to filmmakers throughout the region
Featuring interviews with key personalities from a variety of nations, Questioning African Cinema provides the most extensive, comprehensive account ever given of the origins, practice, and implications of filmmaking in Africa.
Practical Financial Management for NGOs : Course Handbook
Mango updated their Guide to Financial Management for NGOs in 2011 which I hope you’ll find useful. You may want to register at their site and explore other materials and information too. They also run training courses throughout the year.
About the financial management handbook
Practical Financial Management for NGOs, Lewis,T., Mango (2009 v3 2011 update)
NGOs operate in a rapidly changing and competitive world. If their organisations are to survive in this challenging environment, managers need to develop the necessary understanding and confidence to make full use of financial management tools. Financial management is a complicated task which many find daunting. This handbook provides step by step guides of the financial process providing tips, definitions, descriptions and examples for the following sections including all the activities which make up these units.
- Financial management for NGOs- an introduction
- Getting organised
- Planning and budgets
- Understanding accounts
- Financial reports
- Safeguarding your assets
- Managing the audit
How to get a copy
Download the course handbook for practical Financial Management for NGOs from MANGO. (Available in English, Spanish, Arabic and Russion)
Suggested books
- Nonprofit Finance for Hard Times: Leadership Strategies When Economies Falter
- The Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards (w/CD) (The Jossey-Bass Nonprofit Guidebook Series)
