The 2001 Global Horizons Summer Institute, entitled "Understanding Africa through the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks", ran from June 25th - June 29th, and it was a great success. Fourteen local K-12 educators participated in this exciting summer institute which was designed to help teachers broaden their understanding of Africa and present creative approaches to teaching Africa in accurate and meaningful ways. Our interesting speakers combined with invigorating field trips, provided teachers with interesting content information, suggestions for activities, and access to resources that increased their understanding and knowledge of Africa, and offered ideas on how to integrate African issues and cultures into their curriculum. The final day of the seminar provided an opportunity for the participants to share curricula and lesson plans about Africa that they developed. The following is an overview of the speakers and fieldtrips during the weeklong summer institute.

Dr. Joshua Aisiku ,  is an Education professor at Worcester State College and a specialist in curriculum design. Presented a variety of ways to incorporate Africa into the curriculum. He was involved in the development of the History and Social Studies frameworks for Massachusetts.

Allen D. Austin,  Professor Emeritus of Massachusetts' Springfield College, introduced participants to the unique history of the African Muslim experience in Ante Bellum America. Professor Austin is author of the book African Muslims In Antebellum America Transatlantic Stories And Spiritual Struggles. Originally published in 1984 by Garland, a condensed version of his book was published by Routledge in 1997.

Dr. Barbara Brown  and Boston University's Outreach Library. Dr. Brown is the Director of the Africa in Our Schools & Community Program part of the African Studies Center at Boston University. Dr. Brown has extensive experience in education and African affairs. She has taught at the middle school and university level in the U.S. In Africa, she has taught at the University of Botswana and has worked for shorter periods in a number of other African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Benin. Dr. Brown has prepared curriculum materials on several African countries and has led numerous workshops on Africa as well as on the broader issues of multicultural education. She presented a variety of approaches to incorporating Africa in to the curriculum.

Holly Hansen   is Assistant Professor of History and African and African-American Studies at Mount Holyoke College. She began the institute by encouraging participants to reflect on their understanding of Africa and to understand how stereotypes and generalities of Africa are formed.

Lujuana Hood   Director of the Pan African Historical Museum led the group on an excursion through the West African kingdoms. Connections between these Kingdoms, the slave trade in the US, and current history was made during a walking tour of underground railway stops in the Springfield, MA area.

Juliana Okoh   is a Nigerian playwright and lecturer in the Department of Creative Arts at the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, as well as currently a visiting scholar in the Department of Comparative Literature at Smith College. She is the author of numerous plays, as well as scholarly articles having to do with theater, gender, and comparative literature. Participants read from of her current work on female genital mutilation and discussed the power of participatory theater to change people's attitudes and perceptions of cultural practices.

Voices from Africa   Four UMass graduate students from a variety of African nations made presentations on a range of topics. Oumy Cisse from Senegal, Ahmed Hassan from Somalia, Flugence Swai from Tanzania, and Papayah Guruvadoo from Mauritius gracefully represented their home countries and offered a lot of interesting information to the participants. Speakers and participants were involved in lively discussions during these presentations. After the discussions the students and participants were invited to lunch together.

FIELDTRIPS

Pan African Historical Museum, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, provided participants with information on the West African Kingdoms and a walking tour of local Underground Railroad sites. The Pan African Historical Museum U.S.A. is a non-profit organization consisting of four areas of specialization: Education, Culture, and Career Exploration/Community Service Learning. PAHMUSA houses books, authentic art and artifacts relevant to the African and African American experiences. As an historical museum for schools, community centers and the general public we foster a clear understanding of Africa her peoples and her enormous contributions to human civilization. We believe in the power of SANKOFA an Akan word which means: "know our past so that we can move more effectively into the future The Outreach Program seeks to increase awareness and knowledge of Africa by providing information, materials, and services to schools, libraries, museums, the media, and community groups in New England and beyond. The Outreach Program forms part of Boston University's African Studies Center, established in 1953 as an interdisciplinary teaching and research center. The New England Aquarium is hosting an exhibit on the biology and ecology of Lake Victoria. Teachers will visit the Teacher Resource Center at the Aquarium and then view the exhibit funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Last updated, August 27, 2001