Podcasts about african studies program

Danny and Derek welcome back to the podcast Khalid Medani, associate professor of political science, director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, and chair of the African Studies Program at McGill University, to talk about the state of play in Sudan's civil war. They delve into the military stalemate between the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the humanitarian crisis reaching 13 million displaced and 26 million on the brink of starvation, involvement from outsider actors including Egypt and the UAE, the strategic importance of the besieged city El Fasher in Darfur, the defection of the RSF's Gezira commander, Abuagla Keikal, over to the Sudanese military, and more. Note: After the recording of this episode, the RSF massacred 120 people in eastern Sudan. Subscribe now at Supporting Cast Don't forget to get your copy of Matt Christman's Book ¡No Pasarán! here.

On this episode of American Prestige, Derek and Danny are joined by Khalid Medani, associate professor of political science, director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, and chair of the African Studies Program at McGill University, to talk about the state of play in Sudan's civil war. They delve into the military stalemate between the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the humanitarian crisis reaching 13 million displaced and 26 million on the brink of starvation, involvement from outsider actors including Egypt and the UAE, the strategic importance of the besieged city El Fasher in Darfur, the defection of the RSF's Gezira commander, Abuagla Keikal, over to the Sudanese military, and more.Note: After the recording of this episode, the RSF massacred 120 people in eastern Sudan.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The crisis in Sudan, now in its second year, has been called the “Forgotten War.” While in the early 2000s, ethnic cleansing in Darfur, a region of Sudan, attracted the attention of politicians, journalists and celebrities, the current conflict – which pits two military factions against each other and the civilian population –rarely makes the front page. But the crisis in Sudan is acute: Since the war began, 150,000 people have been killed, 10 million more displaced, women and girls have been subjected to systemic sexual violence rooted in ethnic cleansing, and now, the nation is on the brink of a manmade famine that threatens to cause a “catastrophic level of hunger.” We'll talk to experts about the war and efforts to stem the humanitarian crisis. Guests: Khalid Mustafa Medani, associate professor, McGill University - Medani is director of the Institute of Islamic Studies and Chair of the African Studies Program; his most recent article is "The Struggle for Sudan" Gabriele Steinhauser, Africa Bureau Chief, Wall Street Journal - Steinhauser is based in Johannesburg, and reported from Sudan in June. Her most recent piece is titled "War Tears Apart Sudan's Capital City" Akshaya Kumar, director of crisis advocacy, Human Rights Watch Alaa Suliman, human and professional development officer, Sudanese Association of Northern California, which is based in Hayward, California

Since April 2023, more than a half-million people have been displaced in Sudan due to fighting between two armed forces who were once aligned. The story of how the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces turned on each other, with devastating consequences for Sudan's civilians, can be traced back to 2013 when a group of dissidents were told by their interrogators to ride a bicycle drawn with chalk on the wall of a Sudanese jail. Detained for providing legal support to torture survivors, Human Rights Watch researcher Mohamed “Mo” Osman was introduced to the power structures that have shaped today's conflict. In “The Chalk Bicycle,” host Ngofeen Mputubwele takes listeners through a decade that began with conflict, then saw the ousting of a dictator and great hopes for democracy only to be plunged back into conflict again. Mohamed Osman: Researcher, Africa Division at Human Rights WatchChristopher Tounsel: Associate Professor of History, Director of Graduate Studies and Director of African Studies Program at the University of Washington

In the early aughts, a campaign to “Save Sudan” became the bipartisan issue of the time. Celebrities and politicians alike implored a global audience to pay attention to and advocate against Suan's human rights crisis. As interventions waned, so did the attention of many global onlookers. But, since the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces began fighting in April 2023, over 500,000 Sudanese civilians have been displaced. What has happened in Sudan since the world stopped paying attention? Mohamed Osman: Researcher, Africa Division at Human Rights Watch Christopher Tounsel: Associate Professor of History, Director of Graduate Studies and Director of African Studies Program at the University of Washington

Danny and Derek welcome to the podcast Khalid Medani—associate professor of political science, director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, and chair of the African Studies Program at McGill University—for a deep dive into the conflict that has engulfed Sudan since last Spring. They delve into its roots going back to the 1989 coup, break down the makeup of the primary combatants (the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces), how these groups are able to continue recruiting and maintain support networks, the conflict's catastrophic humanitarian crisis and regional effects, foreign mercenaries and whether it has become a proxy war, efforts of local civil leaders to quell the fighting, and what things might look like moving forward. As Khalid noted, two places to which he recommends you donate are the Sudanese Doctors Union or the Sudan Solidarity Collective.Some of Khalid's recent work:* “The Struggle for Sudan” from Middle East Report's Spring 2024 issue is a primer on Sudan.* Middle East Research and Information Project's Spring 2024 issue has multiple contributors, including Khalid, writing about the conflict. * His book Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and Africa, which is free via Open Access.* “Opinion: The brutal conflict in Sudan is not a civil war. It's a war on civilians” from The Globe and Mail. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

On this episode of American Prestige, Danny and Derek welcome to the podcast Khalid Medani—associate professor of political science, director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, and chair of the African Studies Program at McGill University—for a deep dive into the conflict that has engulfed Sudan since last Spring. They delve into its roots going back to the 1989 coup, break down the makeup of the primary combatants (the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces), how these groups are able to continue recruiting and maintain support networks, the conflict's catastrophic humanitarian crisis and regional effects, foreign mercenaries and whether it has become a proxy war, efforts of local civil leaders to quell the fighting, and what things might look like moving forward.As Khalid noted, two places to which he recommends you donate are the Sudanese Doctors Union or the Sudan Solidarity Collective.Some of Khalid's recent work:“The Struggle for Sudan” from Middle East Report's Spring 2024 issue is a primer on Sudan.Middle East Research and Information Project's Spring 2024 issue has multiple contributors, including Khalid, writing about the conflict.His book Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and Africa, which is free via Open Access.“Opinion: The brutal conflict in Sudan is not a civil war. It's a war on civilians” from The Globe and Mail.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

“Time for an Awakening” with Bro.Elliott & Bro.Richard, Sunday 1/21/2024 at 7:00 PM our guest was the Chair of the African Studies Program, and Associate Professor of Political Science and the Islamic Studies Institute at McGill University, Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani. The author of the book “Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and Africa” shared with us a historical background of the region, and gave insights on what is behind the Humanitarian Crisis in the Sudan. Always conversations on issues and topics that affect Black People locally, nationally, and internationally. Download a copy of the book https://www.khalidmedani.com/

We talk with historian Jeffrey Ostler about the history and patterns of the American genocide against native Nations. Ostler, an emeritus professor from the University of Oregon, is the author of 'Surviving Genocide: Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas' (Yale University Press, 2020).For further reading: Surviving Genocide. Native Nations and the United States from the American Revolution to Bleeding Kansas, by Jeffrey Ostler.The USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research has shared videos from its international conference "Mass Violence and Its Lasting Impact on Indigenous Peoples - The Case of the Americas and Australia/Pacific Region," held at the University of Southern California, on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Tongva and Kizh Nation peoples, and livestreamed on Zoom from October 22 to October 26, 2022. Click here for the videos of the conference.This episode is supported by Indiana University's Presidential Arts and Humanities Program, the Tobias Center, the African Studies Program, the Center for the Study of the Middle East, and the Huh Jum Ok Human Rights Foundation.Sound editing by Emily Leisz Carr, mixing by Seth Olansky, music "Souffle Nocturne" by Ben Cohen.Production by Shilla Kim and Clémence Pinaud.

We discuss how genocide still impacts Native women with two members of the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW). Angel Charley and Florida Olguin shed light on the enduring legacy of genocide and sexual violence in the U.S. today, and explain why it is so difficult to bring accountability for crimes of trafficking and of domestic and sexual violence.Click here to support the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW).This episode is supported by Indiana University's Presidential Arts and Humanities Program, the Tobias Center, the African Studies Program, the Center for the Study of the Middle East, and the Huh Jum Ok Human Rights Foundation.Sound editing by Emily Leisz Carr, mixing by Seth Olansky, music "Souffle Nocturne" by Ben Cohen.Production by Shilla Kim and Clémence Pinaud.

We talk with the representatives of two Yazidi organizations about the plight of the Yazidis, a religious minority targeted for genocide by the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014. Natia Navrouzov from Yazda and Pari Ibrahim from the Free Yezidi Foundation discuss the efforts to bring accountability since 2014.Support here the Free Yezidi Foundation and Yazda. Further reading: the UN report that concluded ISIS had committed genocide against the Yazidi people.This episode is supported by Indiana University's Presidential Arts and Humanities Program, the Tobias Center, the African Studies Program, the Center for the Study of the Middle East, and the Huh Jum Ok Human Rights Foundation.Sound editing by Emily Leisz Carr, mixing by Seth Olansky, music "Souffle Nocturne" by Ben Cohen.Production by Shilla Kim and Clémence Pinaud.

We speak with two former diplomats about their experiences before and during the third civil war in South Sudan that started in December 2013. Canadian Ambassador Nicholas Coghlan and former State Department diplomat Elizabeth Shackelford discuss the international community's reactions and the prospects for accountability.For further reading: Collapse of A Country by Nicholas Coghlan, The Dissent Channel by Elizabeth Shackelford, and War and Genocide in South Sudan by Clemence Pinaud. This episode is supported by Indiana University's Presidential Arts and Humanities Program, the Tobias Center, the African Studies Program, the Center for the Study of the Middle East, and the Huh Jum Ok Human Rights Foundation.Sound editing by Emily Leisz Carr, mixing by Seth Olanksy, music "Souffle Nocturne" by Ben Cohen.Production by Shilla Kim and Clémence Pinaud.   

We speak with historian Dirk Moses about the origins of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: the lawyer behind it (Raphael Lemkin), its influence on the public understanding of genocide, how it has been used, and how political the process of accountability has become. For further reading: The Problems of Genocide, by Dirk Moses and the Genocide Convention.This episode is supported by Indiana University's Presidential Arts and Humanities Program, the Tobias Center, the African Studies Program, the Center for the Study of the Middle East, and the Huh Jum Ok Human Rights Foundation.Sound editing by James Dorton and Emily Leisz Carr, mixing by Seth Olansky, music "Souffle Nocturne" by Ben Cohen.Production by Shilla Kim and Clémence Pinaud.

Fighting erupted in Sudan in mid-April, as rival generals looked to assert their authority over the country. Frantic efforts to evacuate foreign nationals, put the conflict on the international agenda. But, as the weeks have passed without a resolution, tens of thousands are displaced and the death toll is mounting. What will it take for the current violence to end? And what needs to happen for Sudan to be able to transition to a democratic civilian-led government?For insights, we welcome: Khalid Mustafa Medani, chair of the African Studies Program, and associate professor at McGill University, and Nisrin Elamin assistant professor of African Studies and Anthropology at the University of Toronto.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As competing factions in Sudan wage war for the fourth week since tensions erupted, civilian suffering intensifies. What does the escalating conflict mean for the country, the region, and the world? Christopher Tounsel, associate professor of history and interim director of the African Studies Program at the University of Washington, joins Doorstep co-hosts Tatiana Serafin and Nikolas Gvosdev to map the strategic importance of Sudan to global trade and security. What is at stake if U.S.-led talks to broker peace fail? How has the Sudanese diaspora in the U.S. and around the world changed the face of the conflict? Can a civilian led democratic movement come to power in Sudan? For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org. 

On Sunday, foreign powers including the US, UK, France and Qatar began evacuating their diplomatic staff from Khartoum - the capital of Sudan.  After months of increasing tensions, fighting has now erupted, leaving hundreds dead and thousands fleeing their African home to nearby countries for refuge.  In this episode of The Quicky, we look into what is happening in Sudan as Sudanese Australians fear for their loved ones who are stuck in the war zone.  Subscribe to Mamamia GET IN TOUCH Feedback? We're listening! Call the pod phone on 02 8999 9386 or email us at podcast@mamamia.com.au CONTACT US Got a topic you'd like us to cover? Send us an email at thequicky@mamamia.com.au CREDITS  Host: Claire Murphy With thanks to:  Christopher Tounsel - Historian of Modern Sudan, Associate Professor & Interim Director of the African Studies Program at the University of Washington.  Producer: Claire Murphy Executive Producer: Kally Borg Audio Producer: Thom LionBecome a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How far apart are the two sides in the PSAC strike?  Guest: Alison Braley-Rattai, Associate Professor, Labour Studies, Brock University Why are sports fans so superstitious?  Guest: Jason Parker, a senior lecturer, Department of Psychology. Old Dominion University The latest on Sudan, and Canada's efforts to airlift citizens out of the country Guest: Khalid Medani, associate professor of political science and Islamic Studies and Chair of the African Studies Program at McGill University Big Fight in Little Chinatown - the current state of Chinatowns across North America Guest: Karen Cho, director, Big Fight in Little Chinatown Harry Belafonte passes away at the age of 96 Guest: Judith Smith, Professor of American Studies at University of Massachusetts Boston, author of Becoming Belafonte: Black Artist, Public Radical

The battle in Sudan rages on as ceasefires have so far failed. Can regional powers bring enough pressure to stop the fighting? Or is their involvement only complicating peace efforts? Join host Folly Bah Thibault. Guests: Mat Nashed - Journalist and analyst covering the Middle East and North African region. Kholood Khair - Founding director at Confluence Advisory, a Sudan based think tank.  Khalid Medani - Associate Professor and Chair of African Studies Program at McGill University.

Hour 2: Sue brings you today's Sue's News! Then, Mark discusses why Ron DeSantis is blocking an AP African-Studies program because it violates Florida Law as written. Later, Mark Gellman of the Gellman Team joins the show to break down the St. Louis area home buying and selling market.

On Wednesday, September 14, 2022, the Lannan Center presented a special evening featuring Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah. Hosted by Lannan Center Director Aminatta Forna. Introduction by Lahra Smith, Director of the African Studies Program.Abdulrazak Gurnah is the 2021 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His most recent novel, AFTERLIVES is forthcoming from Riverhead Books in August 2022. He is the author of nine previous novels, including Paradise (shortlisted for the Booker Prize), By the Sea (longlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the LA Times Book Award), and Desertion. Born and raised in Zanzibar, he is Professor Emeritus of English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent; he lives in Canterbury, England.Music: Quantum Jazz — "Orbiting A Distant Planet" — Provided by Jamendo.

Alicia Decker (Penn State) as part of the Conference - Expulsion: Uganda's Asians and the Remaking of Nationality Between October 2 and December 31, 1982, nearly 80,000 Banyarwanda – most of whom were citizens of Uganda – were violently expelled from their homes by state operatives in Mbarara and Bushenyi Districts. Approximately half fled to neighboring Rwanda, while the rest crowded into existing refugee settlements in the southwest or found themselves stranded on the Ugandan side of the border at Merema Hill. Unlike the Asian expulsion of 1972, the Banyarwanda were not given ninety days to prepare. Instead, they were attacked in their homes and forced to flee without a moment's notice. Most of the displaced lost everything they owned – their homes, their valuables, and their cattle. International observers also reported multiple instances of rape and suicide. I do not wish to suggest that the Asian expulsion was any less violent or traumatic. On the contrary, I argue that it provided a dangerous template that was later used by those in power to justify and carry out the next brutal eviction. Indeed, as this presentation reveals, expulsion functioned as a militarized form of statecraft that bolstered, and then later undermined, the integrity of the postcolonial state. Alicia C. Decker is an associate professor and department head of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Pennsylvania State University, with courtesy appointments in the African Studies Program and the Department of History. She also co-directs the African Feminist Initiative with Gabeba Baderoon and Maha Marouan. She is the author of In Idi Amin's Shadow: Women, Gender, and Militarism in Uganda (Ohio UP, 2014), and co-author with Andrea L. Arrington-Sirois of Africanizing Democracies: 1980-Present (Oxford UP, 2015). She is the co-editor of “African Feminisms: Cartographies for the 21st Century,” a special issue of Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism (2018) and “African Feminist Subjectivities,” a special issue of Feminist Formations(forthcoming 2024). With Giacomo Macola, she co-edits a book series on War and Militarism in African History (Ohio University Press) and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of African Military History. Her scholarly articles have appeared in the International Journal of African Historical Studies, Women's History Review, Journal of Eastern African Studies, History Teacher, Afriche e Orienti, Feminist Studies, Journal of African Military History, and Meridians, as well as various edited book collections. Decker is currenting working on a new book that explores the gendered legacies of militarism in Uganda after the collapse of Amin's military state.

Singing the same song is a central part of the worship practice for members for the Cherubim and Seraphim Christian Church in Lagos, Nigeria. Vicki L. Brennan reveals that by singing together, church members create one spiritual mind and become unified around a shared set of values. She follows parishioners as they attend choir rehearsals, use musical media—hymn books and cassette tapes—and perform the music and rituals that connect them through religious experience. Brennan asserts that church members believe that singing together makes them part of a larger imagined social collective, one that allows them to achieve health, joy, happiness, wealth, and success in an ethical way. Brennan discovers how this particular Yoruba church articulates and embodies the moral attitudes necessary to be a good Christian in Nigeria today. Singing Yoruba Christianity: Music, Media, and Morality (Indiana UP, 2018) makes an important contribution to understanding the complex religious landscape of Lagos, which includes various Christian demonstrations and Muslim groups. Its firm grounding in ethnomusicology and media theory will be of interest to any who wish to better understand the intersection of music and religious experience. Dr. Vicki Brennan is a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who is an Associate Professor in the Religion Department and Director of the African Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Sara Katz is a Postdoctoral Associate in the History Department at Duke University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Singing the same song is a central part of the worship practice for members for the Cherubim and Seraphim Christian Church in Lagos, Nigeria. Vicki L. Brennan reveals that by singing together, church members create one spiritual mind and become unified around a shared set of values. She follows parishioners as they attend choir rehearsals, use musical media—hymn books and cassette tapes—and perform the music and rituals that connect them through religious experience. Brennan asserts that church members believe that singing together makes them part of a larger imagined social collective, one that allows them to achieve health, joy, happiness, wealth, and success in an ethical way. Brennan discovers how this particular Yoruba church articulates and embodies the moral attitudes necessary to be a good Christian in Nigeria today. Singing Yoruba Christianity: Music, Media, and Morality (Indiana UP, 2018) makes an important contribution to understanding the complex religious landscape of Lagos, which includes various Christian demonstrations and Muslim groups. Its firm grounding in ethnomusicology and media theory will be of interest to any who wish to better understand the intersection of music and religious experience. Dr. Vicki Brennan is a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who is an Associate Professor in the Religion Department and Director of the African Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Sara Katz is a Postdoctoral Associate in the History Department at Duke University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies

Singing the same song is a central part of the worship practice for members for the Cherubim and Seraphim Christian Church in Lagos, Nigeria. Vicki L. Brennan reveals that by singing together, church members create one spiritual mind and become unified around a shared set of values. She follows parishioners as they attend choir rehearsals, use musical media—hymn books and cassette tapes—and perform the music and rituals that connect them through religious experience. Brennan asserts that church members believe that singing together makes them part of a larger imagined social collective, one that allows them to achieve health, joy, happiness, wealth, and success in an ethical way. Brennan discovers how this particular Yoruba church articulates and embodies the moral attitudes necessary to be a good Christian in Nigeria today. Singing Yoruba Christianity: Music, Media, and Morality (Indiana UP, 2018) makes an important contribution to understanding the complex religious landscape of Lagos, which includes various Christian demonstrations and Muslim groups. Its firm grounding in ethnomusicology and media theory will be of interest to any who wish to better understand the intersection of music and religious experience. Dr. Vicki Brennan is a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who is an Associate Professor in the Religion Department and Director of the African Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Sara Katz is a Postdoctoral Associate in the History Department at Duke University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/performing-arts

Singing the same song is a central part of the worship practice for members for the Cherubim and Seraphim Christian Church in Lagos, Nigeria. Vicki L. Brennan reveals that by singing together, church members create one spiritual mind and become unified around a shared set of values. She follows parishioners as they attend choir rehearsals, use musical media—hymn books and cassette tapes—and perform the music and rituals that connect them through religious experience. Brennan asserts that church members believe that singing together makes them part of a larger imagined social collective, one that allows them to achieve health, joy, happiness, wealth, and success in an ethical way. Brennan discovers how this particular Yoruba church articulates and embodies the moral attitudes necessary to be a good Christian in Nigeria today. Singing Yoruba Christianity: Music, Media, and Morality (Indiana UP, 2018) makes an important contribution to understanding the complex religious landscape of Lagos, which includes various Christian demonstrations and Muslim groups. Its firm grounding in ethnomusicology and media theory will be of interest to any who wish to better understand the intersection of music and religious experience. Dr. Vicki Brennan is a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who is an Associate Professor in the Religion Department and Director of the African Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Sara Katz is a Postdoctoral Associate in the History Department at Duke University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

Singing the same song is a central part of the worship practice for members for the Cherubim and Seraphim Christian Church in Lagos, Nigeria. Vicki L. Brennan reveals that by singing together, church members create one spiritual mind and become unified around a shared set of values. She follows parishioners as they attend choir rehearsals, use musical media—hymn books and cassette tapes—and perform the music and rituals that connect them through religious experience. Brennan asserts that church members believe that singing together makes them part of a larger imagined social collective, one that allows them to achieve health, joy, happiness, wealth, and success in an ethical way. Brennan discovers how this particular Yoruba church articulates and embodies the moral attitudes necessary to be a good Christian in Nigeria today. Singing Yoruba Christianity: Music, Media, and Morality (Indiana UP, 2018) makes an important contribution to understanding the complex religious landscape of Lagos, which includes various Christian demonstrations and Muslim groups. Its firm grounding in ethnomusicology and media theory will be of interest to any who wish to better understand the intersection of music and religious experience. Dr. Vicki Brennan is a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who is an Associate Professor in the Religion Department and Director of the African Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Sara Katz is a Postdoctoral Associate in the History Department at Duke University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

Singing the same song is a central part of the worship practice for members for the Cherubim and Seraphim Christian Church in Lagos, Nigeria. Vicki L. Brennan reveals that by singing together, church members create one spiritual mind and become unified around a shared set of values. She follows parishioners as they attend choir rehearsals, use musical media—hymn books and cassette tapes—and perform the music and rituals that connect them through religious experience. Brennan asserts that church members believe that singing together makes them part of a larger imagined social collective, one that allows them to achieve health, joy, happiness, wealth, and success in an ethical way. Brennan discovers how this particular Yoruba church articulates and embodies the moral attitudes necessary to be a good Christian in Nigeria today. Singing Yoruba Christianity: Music, Media, and Morality (Indiana UP, 2018) makes an important contribution to understanding the complex religious landscape of Lagos, which includes various Christian demonstrations and Muslim groups. Its firm grounding in ethnomusicology and media theory will be of interest to any who wish to better understand the intersection of music and religious experience. Dr. Vicki Brennan is a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who is an Associate Professor in the Religion Department and Director of the African Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Sara Katz is a Postdoctoral Associate in the History Department at Duke University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/music

Singing the same song is a central part of the worship practice for members for the Cherubim and Seraphim Christian Church in Lagos, Nigeria. Vicki L. Brennan reveals that by singing together, church members create one spiritual mind and become unified around a shared set of values. She follows parishioners as they attend choir rehearsals, use musical media—hymn books and cassette tapes—and perform the music and rituals that connect them through religious experience. Brennan asserts that church members believe that singing together makes them part of a larger imagined social collective, one that allows them to achieve health, joy, happiness, wealth, and success in an ethical way. Brennan discovers how this particular Yoruba church articulates and embodies the moral attitudes necessary to be a good Christian in Nigeria today. Singing Yoruba Christianity: Music, Media, and Morality (Indiana UP, 2018) makes an important contribution to understanding the complex religious landscape of Lagos, which includes various Christian demonstrations and Muslim groups. Its firm grounding in ethnomusicology and media theory will be of interest to any who wish to better understand the intersection of music and religious experience. Dr. Vicki Brennan is a cultural anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who is an Associate Professor in the Religion Department and Director of the African Studies Program at the University of Vermont. Sara Katz is a Postdoctoral Associate in the History Department at Duke University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Dr. James Jones is Executive Vice President of the Islamic Seminary of America. He is a Professor Emeritus of World Religions and former Chair of both the Dept of World Religions and the African Studies Program at Manhattanville College (Purchase, NY). Dr. Jones's research focuses on the socio cultural impact of prejudice and the intersectionality between sexism and racism. He has a DMin from Hartford Seminary (Christian- Muslim relations) and a MA in Religion from Yale Divinity School. He is President of the Malik Human Services Institute, a prison chaplain and marriage counselor for more than two decades, and a member of the Association of Professional Chaplains.

17:39 | Chair of African Studies Program and political scientist at McGill University, Dr. Khalid Medani outlines the military coup happening in Sudan, how it got to this dire situation, plus what the Sudanese and the rest of the world should expect. 40:19 | Two-time world record holder for ice-bathing, Wes Bauman shares how he discovered the benefits of the very cold pastime and how it helps address his post-traumatic stress disorder.  55:50 | Journalist Brandi Morin on the Fairy Creek land, logging and protests happening on Vancouver Island for more than a year. 1:22:27 | Geothermal researcher at the University of Alberta, Dr. Jonathan Banks explains how geothermal energy production can be brought to legacy energy infrastructure.

On April 20, 2021, we held a virtual reading and conversation with Irenosen Okojie, winner of the 2020 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing. Moderated by Prof. Lahra Smith, Director of African Studies Program.Irenosen Okojie is a Nigerian-British writer. She is the winner of the 2020 AKO Caine Prize For Fiction for her story, “Grace Jones.” Her debut novel Butterfly Fish won a Betty Trask award and was shortlisted for an Edinburgh International First Book Award. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Observer, the Guardian, the BBC and the Huffington Post amongst other publications. Her short stories have appeared internationally in publications including Salt's Best British Short Stories 2017, Kwani? and The Year's Best Weird Fiction. She was named at the London Short Story Festival by Booker Prize winning author Ben Okri OBE as a dynamic writing talent to watch and featured in the Evening Standard Magazine as one of London's exciting new authors. Her short story collection Speak Gigantular, published by Jacaranda Books was shortlisted for the Edgehill Short Story Prize, the Jhalak Prize, the Saboteur Awards and nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Her collection of stories Nudibranch which includes her AKO Caine Prize winning “Grace Jones” is published by Dialogue Books.Lahra Smith is Director of the African Studies Program at Georgetown University. Smith is a Political Scientist with a particular interest in African politics, migration and refugees, and citizenship and equality. Her book, Making Citizens in Africa: Ethnicity, Gender and National Identity in Ethiopia, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2013. She teaches courses on migration, women and politics and theory and policy in Africa. Music: Quantum Jazz — "Orbiting A Distant Planet" — Provided by Jamendo.

Welcome to another episode of Merkaba Chakras podcast. If you're a fan of the healing qualities in music and love cymatics research as much as I do, you'll enjoy this episode. Today, I am blessed to pick the brain of Music Educator, Gerald Savage. Now, Gerald teaches at the Globe Institute of Sound and Consciousness in Applied Music Theory for Healing. He was a Department Chair of the Vocal Department at Pittsburgh CAPA, a Two-time Fulbright-Hays Scholar recipient in Brazil, and participated in “Bridging Cultures”, an educational collaborative through the State Department, in conjunction with the African Studies Program at the University of Illinois. Gerald, welcome to Merkaba Chakras! To watch the video interview, visit: https://www.youtube.com/merkabachakras For information on Gerald Savage's offerings, visit: https://www.soundpill.net/ "Thanks to the exposure that Von has provided through her podcast, the interest in SoundPIll has been amazing! I am very excited to share more about my work! Presently, I am offering 20-minute free consultations for a limited number of those who are interested in learning more about how the SoundPill process can benefit you in your goal for optimum health and wellness. Simply go to SoundPill.net, and fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page or email me at: soundpill@soundpill.net Namaste!" -Gerald Savage, Founder Director of SoundPill, LLC To learn more about Von Galt's metaphysical work: https://merkabachakras.com/ Theme music, "Promised Land" copyrighted by the composer, Olive Musique, and authorized for Merkaba Chakras to use by PremiumBeats.com. Please hit SUBSCRIBE for notifications of new episodes. Many abundant blessings to you for watching, liking, commenting, and sharing! #GeraldSavage, #SoundHealing, #CymaticsResearch,#HealWithFrequency, #VoiceBioTechnology, #MusicTherapy, #MusicMedicine, #MusicHealingTheory, #Mandalas, #Merkabah, #EnergyHealing, #GammaWaveMusicResearch, #AuraFieldResearch, #CareerInMusicMedicine, #ArtisticCareersMusic, #GlobeInstitute, #Consciousness, #ConsciousnessResearch, #HealingModalities, #5thDimension, #5thDimensionHealing, #HealingTools, #ChakrasResearch, #ChakrasHealing, #DNAVoiceSignature, #CymascopeResearch, #Metaphysics, #MetaphysicsResearch, #5DCareers, #MusicMedicineHealing, #MerkabaChakras, #MerkabaChakrasPodcast, #VonGalt, #Buddhism, #SingingBowls, #HealwithHarmonics --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/merkabachakras/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/merkabachakras/support

The Golden Mic Podcast w/ Marc Cordon and TEDxOcala Ep. 039 Black Lives Matter Because All Lives Matter w/ James Jones https://play.goldenmicpodcast.com/0039_jones If you told the young Jimmy Jones that he'd grow up to be a college professor telling his life story on a podcast, he wouldn't believe you. Jimmy grew up in the segregated south, which gave him a narrow perspective of what he could accomplish later in life. Through the encouragement of his cousin, as a pre-teen and teenager, James made it a personal goal to read all of the books in the tiny library in his town. And it was in that tiny library that James started to find his voice. Specifically, The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter Godwin Woodson was particularly salient as it made the argument that education is the means for African-Americans to get out of their current subjugated roles in the greater society. This book became particularly salient as it moved James to attend the HBCU of Hampton University. As a student he was challenged by Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) to dig even deeper. And in his digging, James read The Autobiography of Malcolm X. It's no surprise that Dr. Jimmy Jones is now Professor Emeritus of World Religions, Executive Vice President of the Islamic Seminary of America, and former Chair of both the Dept of World Religions and the African Studies Program at Manhattanville College.  In this conversation, James breaks down the constructs of “us vs them” and puts the new perspective of “oneness” in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement. Incredible!  If there ever was a time to subscribe, rate, and leave a testimonial on the Golden Mic Podcast, it's now. Don't miss any interview w/ the voices of TEDxOcala's 2020 Speakers. See James Jones in a limited live audience or live-stream on Saturday November 7, 2020 from 10am - 4pm EST at the College of Central Florida.  We love your feedback, so if you've enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don't forget to subscribe, so you don't miss another episode again ____ For a free podcasting mini-course on how this podcast was created, click here: tips on how to create a podcast like this one, click here.

“I've been going to MSU football games since I was probably six or seven-years-old,” Beekman says. “And to me, every football season when the band comes out of the tunnel and they do the kick step and they come out in the same sort of way every single year, it just sends a shiver down my spine. To me, that's sort of the first moment to me that you feel like the season's begun and we're really at a football game. The band is a much larger part of our culture here on campus than many of us maybe even realize.”“The preparation of the marching band is really a year-round project for us,” says Thornton. “We have about 310 students in the band. We're a part of the athletic department and supported by the athletic department. But we also are an academic class that students sign up to get credit for.”Thornton talks about the process of developing halftime shows.“It starts with a note on my phone where I'm constantly brainstorming and thinking about what are songs that would be fun, or what are themes, or what are artists that are maybe having an anniversary, or are really popular in pop culture, or we have a significant anniversary, or an event coming up on campus. It starts with always being open minded and always brainstorming. “And then we start thinking about the design aspect of our show based on how many shows we're going to do. So we do a new halftime show for every home game. So depending on the schedule, that could be anywhere, six, seven, or eight games. And so from there, then we look at things like Homecoming and Halloween that might dictate the type of show that we would do. And so there's a lot of brainstorming time and thinking about what we're looking at. We've got a new football coach this year. So I've met with Coach Tucker to talk about some of his musical interests to see if we could collaborate on a show to welcome him to our MSU family. And so all of those things are our influencers in that process. But another big part of it for us is the collaboration with our students.“The music is the most critical element for us in putting together a halftime show and the one that certainly takes a lot of thought and a lot of time to come together. But it's very much a collaborative process with myself, our staff members and our students. And every year, the students at the end of the year, we take a little survey and the whole band recommends themes and music that they would like to do. And we try and involve some of those ideas into our planning and our performances to give the students a little bit of ownership in the process.”Thornton says a couple of his favorite performances have been when “we made the elephant fly through the sky. And then we also did the Africa themed show for the Year of Global Africa in partnership with the African Studies Program.“It's great to learn about different music and different communities and to connect with different people, which I think is a great message for the time that we're living when we need to be open minded and good listeners. And these cross collaborations are incredibly powerful. And our students really enjoy the opportunity as well. And so it was a great experience despite the sideways snow storm two weeks later.”Thornton talks about how the band has evolved over its 150-year history. “Our band program as a whole is really significant, particularly in the Big Ten and really across the country. The first band was established in 1870, and it was a 10-person student Civil War group. And that was how our organization was started. It has grown now to an over 300-person member ensemble.“This Fall as a part of our anniversary for the 150th year of MSU bands, we welcomed back over 900 alumni that came to participate in a halftime show. And we had over 1,200 people combined alumni and the current Spartan Marching Band on the field, which was just spectacular. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. And so that was a fantastic reunion. It was just so great to see people that had been in the band over 50-60 years ago come back and want to be a part of the great tradition.“We're not the oldest band in the Big Ten, but we're certainly one of the oldest. And we take great pride in carrying on that tradition. And it's my job to have that tradition continue.”MSU Today airs every Sunday morning at 9:00 on 105.1 FM, AM 870, and your smart speaker and connected devices. Follow and subscribe at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Urban Islanders visits the Penn Museum's brand new Africa wing!Tukufu Zuberi - Professor of Sociology; The Lasry Family Professor of Race RelationsWebsite: https://sociology.sas.upenn.edu/people/tukufu-zuberi Dr. Zuberi’s research focuses on Race, African and African Diaspora populations. He has been a visiting professor at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. He currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also served as the Chair of the Graduate Group in Demography, the Director of the African Studies Program, and the Director of the Afro-American Studies Program. In 2002, he became the founding Director of the Center for Africana Studies, and he has also served as the Faculty Associate Director of the Center for Africana Studies.Glenn Bryan - Assistant Vice President of Community Relations in the Office of Government and Community AffairsMr. Bryan is the Assistant Vice President of Community Relations at the University of Pennsylvania where he directs the University’s comprehensive community relations program, representing the University in local engagement initiatives, especially those related to public education, healthcare, and economic development. Serving Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs for nearly 20 years, Bryan has cultivated meaningful relationships with Penn's neighboring civic networks and community-based organizations.Damon Cunningham - Tour Guide from Africa Wing of Penn MuseumJannie Blackwell - Former City Councilmember of PhiladelphiaWebsite: http://phlcouncil.com/jannieblackwell/Councilmember Blackwell has made a life-long commitment to move her community forward, and will always work to foster an end to homelessness, neighborhood blight and poor public education through using the tools of public policy, legislation and public involvement. Her overall vision is to improve her constituents’ quality of life – regardless of race, class, gender, or socio-economic status. She continues to believe that there is a solution to every problem, and that when we work together, everybody wins.Robert and Wanda Dickerson - Universal African Dance and Drum EnsembleWebsite: http://www.unitycommunity.com/Mission: To educate people about African Culture and history through music, art and the performing arts, especially African Dance and Drum.Julian Siggers - Director of the Penn MuseumBefore moving to Philadelphia in 2012, Siggers was vice president for programs, education and content communication at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada’s largest research museum. He has also served as director of the Institute for Contemporary Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum and as head of narrative and broadcast development at the United Kingdom’s National Museum of Science and Industry in London. Siggers taught prehistoric archaeology for eight years at the University of Toronto, where he earned his Ph.D., with a specialization in Near Eastern prehistoric archaeology.Special thanks to the members of the First Ashanti Nation. Music: Lessazo “Soleil D’Hiver” – Music: http://altermusique.org/Lessazo/Equinox Concert Part 2 – Music: http://www.philajazzproject.org/index.php?post=the-equinox-concert-mixtapes#.XhTmuRdKhp9Support the show (http://urbanislanders.org)

On February 18, 2020, the Lannan Center presented "Power and Language," a special event with Caine Prize winning writer Lesley Nneka Arimah. Welcome: Aminatta Forna (Director of the Lannan Center, Georgetown University). Introduction: Scott Taylor (Director of the African Studies Program, Georgetown University).Lesley Nneka Arimah is the author of “Skinned,” winner of the 2019 Caine Prize for African Writing; What It Means When A Man Falls From the Sky (2017), her debut short story collection; and “Light,” winner of the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa. What It Means When A Man Falls From the Sky was chosen for the New York Times/PBS book club and won both the 2017 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award and the 2017 Kirkus Prize. Arimah holds a BA in English from Florida State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University. Currently, Arimah is a 2019 United States Artist Fellow in Writing living in Las Vegas.Music: Quantum Jazz — "Orbiting A Distant Planet" — Provided by Jamendo.

Today on Sojourner Truth, we go in depth into Sudan. Formerly a colony of the U.K. and Egypt, its history goes back to the days of the Pharaohs. Sudan is located in North Africa, bordering the Red Sea, Egypt, Libya, Chad and the Central African Republic. In 1989, Lieutenant Omar Al-Bashir seized power in a coup and ruled Sudan for 30 years. Keep in mind that Sudan was the largest country on the continent of Africa until it was divided in a U.S.-backed deal in 2011 with the secession of the oil-rich South Sudan. In December 2018, protests broke out in several cities across Sudan against worsening living conditions and rising costs of living. Those protests morphed into a mass movement against President Omar Al-Bashir, calling for his resignation. Indeed, he was forced to step down, with the military taking credit for removing him. 70 percent of protesters are women, according to the BBC. After Al-Bashir's ousting, demonstrators continue to demand democracy and an end to military rule in favor of civilian rule. Today, we delve into these recent developments in Sudan as well as the country's historical context. Our guests are Dr. Nada Mustafa Ali and Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani. Dr Ali is a scholar who engages with questions about social change and transformation in Sudan and beyond through her teaching, research, and activism. Dr. Ali teaches in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department and is a core faculty in the Human Rights Minor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Medani is an associate professor of political science at McGill University, and Chair of the African Studies Program. He has published extensively on political Islam in Sudan, civil conflict and the roots of the Sudanese Uprising.

Today on Sojourner Truth, we go in depth into Sudan. Formerly a colony of the U.K. and Egypt, its history goes back to the days of the Pharaohs. Sudan is located in North Africa, bordering the Red Sea, Egypt, Libya, Chad and the Central African Republic. In 1989, Lieutenant Omar Al-Bashir seized power in a coup and ruled Sudan for 30 years. Keep in mind that Sudan was the largest country on the continent of Africa until it was divided in a U.S.-backed deal in 2011 with the secession of the oil-rich South Sudan. In December 2018, protests broke out in several cities across Sudan against worsening living conditions and rising costs of living. Those protests morphed into a mass movement against President Omar Al-Bashir, calling for his resignation. Indeed, he was forced to step down, with the military taking credit for removing him. 70 percent of protesters are women, according to the BBC. After Al-Bashir's ousting, demonstrators continue to demand democracy and an end to military rule in favor of civilian rule. Today, we delve into these recent developments in Sudan as well as the country's historical context. Our guests are Dr. Nada Mustafa Ali and Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani. Dr Ali is a scholar who engages with questions about social change and transformation in Sudan and beyond through her teaching, research, and activism. Dr. Ali teaches in the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department and is a core faculty in the Human Rights Minor at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Medani is an associate professor of political science at McGill University, and Chair of the African Studies Program. He has published extensively on political Islam in Sudan, civil conflict and the roots of the Sudanese Uprising.

We begin this week's episode discussing protests and democracy in Benin, the damage from Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, and the consequences of climate change more broadly. Our featured conversation is with Khalid Medani, an Associate Professor of Political Science and Islamic Studies and the Chair of the African Studies Program at McGill University. He has published widely on the on the roots of civil conflict and the funding of the Islamic movement in Sudan, the question of informal finance and terrorism in Somalia, the obstacles to state building in Iraq, and the role of informal networks in the rise of Islamic militancy. He provides insights on the current protests in Sudan and puts them in context. His conversation begins at 10:02.  … More Ep62. A conversation with Khalid Medani on protests in Sudan

March 14, 2018 | During much of its early independence years, the Sudanese government attempted to unite northern and southern Sudan under an Arab and Islamic framework. Southern Sudan—with its history of Christian mission work, attachment to Black Africanism, and political marginalization—resisted such measures. While race and religion are broadly identified as the two primary elements driving Sudan’s divisive history, Professor Chris Tounsel specifically examines Christian thought as a space where racial identities were crafted and politicized. In this talk, which includes material from his in-progress book manuscript, Tounsel will discuss the ways in which the south Sudanese infused spirituality into the language of racial resistance during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972). More than understanding their struggle against the state as a racial conflict pitting Africans against Arabs, it was also understood as a spiritual contest between good and evil—a development that marked an important moment in south Sudanese political thought. This event is co-sponsored by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, the African Studies Program, and the Department of Theology's Graduate Studies Program.

In this podcast Dr. Pablo Idahosa of York University discusses the politics of displacement and the varied meanings of diaspora to different communities. Pablo Idahosa's: http://founders.laps.yorku.ca/about/message-from-college-head/ About Pablo Idahosa: Dr. Pablo Idahosa is a professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at York University. He is an internationally recognized specialist in African Studies. His publications, include The Populist Dimension of African Political Thought: Essays in Reconstruction and Retrieval and Development’s Displacements: Ecologies, Economies and Cultures at Risk. Dr. Idahosa’s research interests include, but are not limited to, the relationship between development and modernity in Africa, the relationship between development and cultural production in Africa, ethnicity and displacement in the Niger Delta, and the politics of ethnicity, globalization and development. He has previously served as the Coordinator of the African Studies Program at York University and is currently the Head of Founder’s College.

On this week's podcast, Alexander Thurston speaks about Boko Haram and its origins and growth. Thurston is an Assistant Professor of Teaching for African Studies Program at Georgetown University and a Fellow at the Wilson Center. His new book is Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement. "This is my attempt at a documentary history of Boko Haram. To try to draw on especially diverse written sources to reconstruct the trajectory of the movement from the time when the founders were growing up in Nigeria in the 1970s up to close to the present as it was possible to get," said Thurston. "These groups are just very hard to completely eradicate. A proto-state that they carve out can be destroyed. It may take several years, as in the case of ISIS or it may take a very short time, as in the case of Boko Haram. But then after that, you get this long term spate of terrorist attacks. And that's a lot harder to stamp out."

2017 Rothko Chapel Óscar Romero Award Pre-Program Silencing Opposition: Human Rights Violations in Burundi Former US Ambassador to Burundi, Robert Krueger in conversation with Tony Tate, Program Officer for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Fund for Global Human Rights and Dr. Methode Butoyi, Alliance for Multicultural Community Services, moderated by Dr. Kerry Ward, professor of history at Rice University, exploring the social and political dynamics of Burundi, east Africa. The international awardee for the 2017 ORA, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, works with wrongly incarcerated individuals in Burundi. About the presenters: Mwalimu Methode-Alain Butoyi, PhD was born and raised in the Cibitoke province of Burundi. Butoyi came to the US in July 1971, on a Fulbright scholarship to pursue his studies at UCLA. In April 1972, two months before he was to return home, selective genocide started in Burundi. The US State Department renewed scholarship and he completed an MA and PhD in French and African Studies at UCLA. He taught French for 30 years at the university and high school levels and served international refugees for over 18 years in California and Texas. He is currently a Family Wellness Instructor and Training Specialist in Houston at the Alliance for Multicultural Community Services. His services include Cultural Orientation, mentoring and vocational ESL. Robert Krueger is a former US Representative and US Senator from Texas, and served as US Ambassador on three occasions: to Mexico, Burundi, and Botswana; and additionally as US Special Representative to the Southern African Development Community. During his service in Burundi, Krueger’s outspokenness on human rights issues provoked an ambush of his convoy in which two persons were killed and eight grievously wounded. His book on living amid genocide in Burundi, From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi, was published in 2007 by the University of Texas Press. Krueger holds a Ph.D. from Oxford University, and served as a Professor of English and as Vice Provost and Dean of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. He currently lives with his family in New Braunfels, Texas. Tony Tate began working with the Fund for Global Human Rights as the program officer for Sub-Saharan Africa in October 2010. He oversees the Fund’s grant making programs in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Tony worked for seven years as a researcher at Human Rights Watch, first as their in-country researcher in Burundi, later as the Africa researcher in the Children’s Rights Division. At Human Rights Watch, he investigated and published reports on human rights violations in numerous countries in central, eastern and southern Africa. He has a J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law, an M.A. in international affairs and African studies from Columbia University, and a B.A. from the George Washington University. Tony is a member of the advisory committee of the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch and is fluent in French and conversant in Swahili. Dr. Kerry Ward is Associate Professor of world history at Rice University and the author of Networks of Empire: Forced Migration in the Dutch East India Company published by Cambridge University Press. She directs the African Studies Program and co-directs the Minor in Museums and Cultural Heritage at Rice. Her current research is on the British suppression of the maritime slave trade in the Indian Ocean during the emancipation era and on the long history of unfree maritime labor.

Jay Carney, assistant professor of theology and director of the African Studies Program at Creighton University, considers Pope Francis' call for a "Year of Mercy," provides examples of how lay Catholic ministries are practicing mercy in post-genocide Rwanda, but acknowledges the difficulty of adopting a politics of mercy at the church or state level. His talk, April 14, 2016, is part of the McFarland Center's initiative on Catholics & Cultures.

Tananarive Due, Author, Screenwriter, Producer, Educator The winner of an American Book Award and a NAACP Image Award, Tananarive Due is the author of twelve novels and a civil rights memoir. In 2013, Due co-produced a short film, Danger Word, with her husband, Steven Barnes, and director Luchina Fisher. Alongside such luminaries as Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison, Due received the “New Voice in Literature Award” at the Yari Yari Pamberi conference co-sponsored by New York University’s Institute of African-American Affairs and African Studies Program and the Organization of Women Writers of Africa. Due has a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Leeds, England, where she specialized in Nigerian literature as a Rotary Foundation Scholar.

The object of this lecture is to demonstrate that Ghanaian anthroponymy and cloth names are important channels for ‘speaking’ for and about Ghanaian society. With respect to anthroponyms, I, Samuel Obeng, argue that unlike in Western societies where children usually take their father’s last name, in African societies, children have their own names. Names are used to achieve a number of communicative and socio-political goals and events such as: showing human relationships and social roles; revealing Ghanaians’ quest for truth and meaning in life; showing the polarity in human behavior; pointing to the society’s hopes, dreams and aspirations; and showing the Ghanaian perception of cosmic elements. Names may reflect the geographical environment (hydronyms, toponyms, vegetation, agricultural activity, wildlife, as well as the physical and geomorphologic phenomena) of the one’s birthplace. The circumstances surrounding one’s birth such as the day of the week, time of day, the order of birth, political or religious significance of the birth date, the season of the year, and even the attitude of the parents at the time of birth may be caught up Ghanaian onomasiology. The specific circumstances relating to a family as well as the gender of a child all play significant roles in the naming process. Some names are based on human behavior, occupation, and the name recipient’s physical characteristics. Others are derived from epic sources and may be theophoric because they reveal attributes and epithets of gods and goddesses. Names in Ghanaian society are perceived as important indicators of expectations and of the bearers’ behavior and may act as pointers to the name-bearers’ past, present, and future accomplishments. They reveal entire ethnic group’s experiences, and construct the name-bearer since they have the power to create an attitude in those who hear it even before they meet the name-bearer. Finally, there is a great deal of intertextualization and indirectness in Ghanaian onomasiology. The names’ inter-text, abstractness and indirectness respond to face-threatening acts, immunize the name-givers against any form of attacks (verbal or physical), and help avoid direct confrontation. Indirect and abstract names tend to be proverbial and are conventionalized because the public is aware of their pragmatic import. Given the acceptance of oblique communication in Ghanaian society, expressing one’s feeling via obscurity is not considered artificial or insincere. In sum, Ghanaian names are context-sensitive, anchored in a socio-cultural discourse, and are impossible to interpret without reference to, and an understanding of, the overall context of the situation. Samuel Obeng, is Professor of Linguistics and the Director of Indiana University’s African Studies Program. He obtained his PhD in Language and Linguistic Science (phonetics and pragmatics) at the University of York in England (United Kingdom). His research interests are in pragmatics and institutional discourse analysis, socio-phonetics and phonology, and the documentation of African languages, especially those that are endangered. He has published 25 books and edited volumes and over one hundred (100) papers in refereed journals.

His Excellency Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State Anyakwee Nsirimovu, Executive Director, The Institute of Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, Port Harcourt, Nigeria Dr. Judith Burdin Asuni, Visiting Scholar of African Studies, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University Annkio Briggs, Niger Delta activist John Campbell, Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Edwin Clark, Former Federal Minister of Information and Ijaw National Leader Isidore Udoh, J.C.L. for the Niger Delta World Congress Adebowale Adefuye, Nigerian Ambassador to the US in Washington DC Peter Lewis, Director of the African Studies Program, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University Moderator: Mobolaji Aluko, professor of Chemical Engineering at Howard University

Nuhu Ribadu, Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Peter Lewis, Director of the African Studies Program, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University John Campbell, Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Femi Falana, Human Rights Lawyer, Lagos, Nigeria Walter Carrington, Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Omoyele Sowore, Publisher, Sahara Reports Emmanuel Akomaye, Secretary to the EFCC Moderator: Darren Kew, Professor, McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, UMass-Boston