Events & Issues
– International Symposium Pédagogie Hip-Hop / Hip-Hop Based Education (HHBE)
Place: Paris, France
Date: 29-30 March 2018
Co-organizers: Alain-Philippe Durand (U of Arizona) and Alain Milon (U Paris Nanterre)
Call for Papers and Details here (scroll down for English language):
http://www.fabula.org/actualites/pedagogie-hip-hop-hip-hop-based-education-hhbe_79873.php
Papers may be presented in French or English. Deadline for submissions: 13 October 2017.
Alain-Philippe Durand: Dean, College of Humanities
Professor of French: Affiliated with Africana Studies, Latin American Studies and LGBT Studies
345 Modern Languages Building. PO Box 210067
University of Arizona. Tucson, AZ 85721-0067 – USA
Tel: 520-621-9294/ http://humanities.arizona.edu
– Ghanaian Filmmaker Documents the Stories of African Immigrant Students in the U.S.
By Philip
The story of the experiences of African students studying in America and Europe is one that is hardly told. Ghanaian filmmaker Arthur Musah documented the stories of African immigrant students in the U.S. and how they come back home to contribute and share their knowledge in their countries. His film Naija Beta was shot in Lagos and is available on Vimeo.
Many African professionals have left the continent due to either political instability or economic hardships in search of stability and better opportunities outside the continent. The massive brain drain has led to the continent losing some of its best talent, and competent hands.
Read the story in this link:
Ghanaian Filmmaker Documents The Stories of African Immigrant Students in the U.S.
– The New Growth industry in Africa is Muslim Tourism
By Abdi Latif Dahir
June 3, 2017
Islamic Travels and Tours is a boutique agency tailored to attend to the complete needs of the Muslim traveler in South Africa. In addition to organizing shark cage dives, whale watches, and bungee jumps, it will plan honeymoons for Muslim couples, arrange visits to a Muslim-owned predator park in Johannesburg, and schedule tours of South Africa’s first mosque, built in Cape Town in 1794. It will arrange tours of Soweto and trips on safari, and leave room on its clients’ itineraries for ritual prayer and dinners adhering to religious dietary laws. It will even match clients with local host families who share their religious background, giving tourists a chance, Islamic Travels owner Khalid Vawda says, to solidify their experience of South Africa and “see what life is like [for] an average Muslim working family.”
Read the story in this link: https://qz.com/964280/africa-looks-to-cash-in-on-the-global-appetite-for-halal-tourism/
– Senegalese Rappers Make News with a Beat
By Marie Doezema, June 2, 2017 / Columbia Journalism Review
A typical episode of Journal Rappé begins with Senegalese rapper Makhtar “Xuman” Fall dressed in a suit and seated behind a news desk. At first glance, the show looks like an ordinary newscast. But then Xuman (pronounced human) launches into his intro, rapping in French instead of talking. “Welcome! Make yourself comfortable. These are the news for you. Some good ones and bad ones too. But they’re all news for you.”
The set is professional if simple, with a news ticker running across the bottom of the screen and images, videos, or interviews to accompany the week’s stories. At 10 to 12 minutes long, it airs weekly on Dakar television channel 2STV, after the traditional Friday evening news.
Read the story in this link:
https://www.cjr.org/innovations/senegal-rap-journalism.php?Daily
– The Lawyer Behind Facebook’s Turn to Africa
By Taylor Mayol/ JAN 26 2017
When the Democratic Republic of Congo shut down the internet during political protests last year, Ebele Okobi flew to Kinshasa to persuade the authorities of the importance of internet access. Also, she showed them how to use Facebook.
Some describe Okobi, 42, as “the secretary of state of Facebook” for the African continent. (Her official title: public policy director for Africa.) Though based in London, Okobi spends most of her time on the road — meeting with the minister for information technology in Kigali, for instance, or showing Lesotho’s leader how to create a public Facebook page. Overall, the Nigerian-American is trying to advance her megalith company’s mission of connectedness while also, of course, gaining it more users and markets. She flies under the radar for the most part, but when Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Africa for the first time last year, it was Okobi, dressed in Nigerian-made fashion, who stood next to him and Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari.
Read more on the story in this link: http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/the-lawyer-behind-facebooks-turn-to-africa/74650?%3Ffb=ozy&type=cpc&aud=OZYFB
Viewpoints
– Islam brought to sub-Saharan Africa by traders, holy men, teachers, not military conquest
By Jehron Muhammad
In contrast to its arrival in North Africa, where Islam had been brought by invading Arabs, the spread of Islam in sub-Saharan Africa followed a mostly peaceful and unobtrusive path.
Religious wars of jihad came late – in the 18th and in the 19th centuries – and Islam was diffused not by outsiders (except in the early years) but by indigenous traders, clerics and rulers. These carriers of faith were natives and therefore identified culturally and socially, as well as ethnically with the potential converts,” writes Sylviane A. Diouf in her historic 1998 book, Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in The Americas.
Read more on the story in this link:
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/commentary/islam-sub-saharan-africa-traders-teachers-Penn-professor-Chekh-Anta-Babou.html?mobi=true
NEW BOOKS كتب جديدة
– The Changing Faces of Aawambo Musical Arts
[المتغيرات في فنون الموسيقى لدى قبائل أوامبو في ناميبيا]
Author: Minette Mans
How does a peoples’ music reflect their history, their occupations, cultural beliefs and values?
These are the core questions that this book addresses in relation to the Aawambo people of Namibia. The author, herself born and bred in Namibia, brings to the fore the nuanced views of different people, describing their personal musical experiences — past as well as present. This is the first time that the music and stories of contemporary Namibian musicians is shared alongside those of the elderly. Similarly, it is the first time that some of the traditional Aawambo dances are analysed and described, abundantly illustrated with colourful photographs and several songs. Based on years of personal research, this book will appeal to research scholars, students and other interested readers alike, since its style is accessible but detailed, personal yet objective. Recommended for all those interested in culture, anthropology, the arts, and Namibian studies.
Publisher: Basler Afrika Bibliographien, Namibia, 2017
– Elections and Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic
[الانتخابات والحكم في جمهورية نيجيريا الرابعة]
Author: Osita Agbu
Elections and Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is a book about Nigerian politics, governance and democracy. It at once encompasses Nigeria’s post-colonial character, its political economy, party formation since independence, the role of Electoral Commissions, as well as, in-depth analyses of the 1999, 2003 and 2007 general elections that involved extensive fieldwork. It also presents aspects of the 2011 and 2015 general elections, while discussing the state of democratic consolidation, and lessons learned for achieving good governance in the country. It is indeed, a must read for students of politics, academics, politicians, statesmen and policy makers, and in fact, stakeholders in the Nigerian democracy project. The book stands out as a well-researched and rich documentary material about elections in Nigeria, and the efforts so far made in growing democracy.
Publisher: CODESRIA: Senegal, 2016
Website: http://www.codesria.org/
– A Decade of Ethiopia: Politics, Economy and Society 2004-2016
[عقد من الزمان في إثيوبيا: السياسة والاقتصاد والمجتمع ( 2004-2016]
Author: Jon Abbink
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has gone through a decade of significant economic change and political contestation since 2004. The ruling EPRDF party has redefined the country as a ‘developmental state’ and has tried to increase its presence on the African and world stage. Preceded by a new Introduction casting a broader perspective on some underlying trends, this monograph presents a chronology for 2004 to 2016, compiling the chapters on Ethiopia previously published in the Africa Yearbook. Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara. A list of further reading suggestions has also been added.
Publisher: Brill, 2017
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