African Studies and the Undergraduate Curriculum 9781685858667

Table of contents :
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: African Studies Within U.S. Liberal Arts Education
PART ONE INTERCULTURALISM AND AFRICAN STUDIES
1 Between Cultures: Toward a Redefinition of Liberal Education
2 Triumphalism, Tarzan, and Other Influences: Teaching About Africa in the 1990s
3 Deposing Tarzan, or Teaching About Africa in the Post-Cold War Era: A Commentary on Joel Samoff
PART TWO REASSESSMENTS AND NEW DIRECTIONS
4 Transnational Cultural Studies and the U.S. University
5 I Think You Should Hear Voices When You Look at African Art
6 Beyond Boundaries in the Humanities: A Response to Neil Lazarus
7 New Directions: Teaching Economics to Undergraduates in African Studies
8 Learning by Disagreeing: Comments on Ann Seidman
9 From Periphery to Center: African History in the Undergraduate Curriculum
10 Teaching African History in U.S. Colleges: A Discussion of Thomas Spear
11 Teaching African Science: Notes on "Common Sense," "Tribal War/' and the "End of History"
12 Science from Africa and Science About Africa: Comments on Ben Wisner
13 Information Dynamics for African Studies: Resources in Libraries and Beyond
PART THREE PROGRAMS ABROAD
14 Developing an Approach to Integrated Study in a Non-Western Context: The St. Lawrence University Kenya Semester Program
15 Nowhere to Hide: Perspectives on an African Foreign-Study Program
16 "The Walk Liberating": Africa Abroad as an Undergraduate Experience
17 Inside or Outside the University? The Conundrum of U.S. Undergraduates in Africa
PART FOUR THE EVOLUTION OF UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS IN AFRICAN STUDIES
18 Africa, Undergraduate Teaching, and Title VI African Studies Centers
19 Accidents in African Studies: Africa in the Curriculum at the University of Richmond
20 Underdevelopment and Self-Reliance in Building African Studies: Some Pedagogical, Policy, and Practical Political Issues at the College of Charleston
21 Program Building: Some Principles and Lessons
22 Tufanye Kazi Pamoja: The Association of African Studies Programs
PART FIVE CONCLUSION
23 Concluding Remarks
The Contributors
About the Book

Citation preview

African Studies and the

Undergraduate Curriculum

African Studies and the

Undergraduate Curriculum edited by

Patricia Alden David Lloyd Ahmed I. Samatar

LYN NE RIENNER PUBLISHERS

BOULDER L O N D O N

Published in the United States of A m e r i c a in 1994 by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. 1800 30th Street, Boulder, C o l o r a d o 80301 and in the United Kingdom by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. 3 Henrietta Street, C o v e n t Garden, London W C 2 E 8LU © 1994 by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved Library of C o n g r e s s C a t a l o g i n g - i n - P u b l i c a t i o n Data African studies and the undergraduate curriculum / edited by Patricia Alden, David Lloyd, and Ahmed I. Samatar. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-55587-445-2 (alk. paper) 1. Africa—Study and teaching (Higher) 1. Alden, Patricia, 1 9 4 5 - . II. Lloyd, David, 1941- . III. Samatar, Ahmed I. (Ahmed Ismail) DT19.8.A358 1994 960'.07ri—dc20 93-50942 CIP British C a t a l o g u i n g in Publication Data A C a t a l o g u i n g in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed and b o u n d in the United States of A m e r i c a T h e paper used in this publication m e e t s the requirements of the American National Standard for P e r m a n e n c e of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984.

Contents

vii

Acknowledgments Introduction: African Studies Within U.S. Liberal Arts Education, Patricia Alden, David Lloyd & Alimed I. Samatar PART ONE 1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1NTERCULTURALISM AND AFRICAN STUDIES

Between Cultures: Toward A Redefinition of Liberal Education, Gregson Davis Triumphalism, Tarzan, and Other Influences: Teaching About Africa in the 1990s, Joel Samoff Deposing Tarzan, or Teaching About Africa in the Post-Cold War Era: A Commentary on Joel Samoff, William G. Martin

PART TWO

1

19 35

85

REASSESSMENTS AND NEW DIRECTIONS

Transnational Cultural Studies and the U.S. University, Neil Lazarus I Think You Should Hear Voices When You Look at African Art, Patrick McNaughton Beyond Boundaries in the Humanities: A Response to Neil Lazarus, Paul Stoller New Directions: Teaching Economics to Undergraduates in African Studies, Ann Seidman Learning by Disagreeing: Comments on Ann Seidman, Sara Berry From Periphery to Center: African History in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Thomas Spear Teaching African History in U.S. Colleges: A Discussion of Thomas Spear, Lidwien Kapteijns

V

105 119 127 131 147 151 165

vi 11 12 13

CONTENTS

Teaching African Science: Notes on " C o m m o n Sense," "Tribal W a r , " and the "End of History," Ben Wisner Science from Africa and Science About Africa: C o m m e n t s on Ben Wisner, Celia Nyamweru Information Dynamics for African Studies: Resources in Libraries and Beyond, Gretchen Walsh

PART THREE 14

15 16 17

18 19 20

21 22

23

213

23 1 243 255 261

THE EVOLUTION OF UNDERGRADUATE P R O G R A M S IN A F R I C A S T U D I E S

Africa, Undergraduate Teaching, and Title VI African Studies Centers, James C. McCann Accidents in African Studies: Africa in the Curriculum at the University of Richmond, Louis Tremaine Underdevelopment and Self-Reliance in Building African Studies: S o m e Pedagogical, Policy, and Practical Political Issues at the College of Charleston, Jack Parson Program Building: S o m e Principles and Lessons, Arthur D. Drayton Tufanye Kazi Pamoja: The Association of African Studies Programs, Thomas A. Hale

P A R T FIVE

209

PROGRAMS ABROAD

Developing an Approach to Integrated Study in a Non-Western Context: The St. Lawrence University Kenya Semester Program, Paul W. Robinson & W. Howard Brown Nowhere to Hide: Perspective on an African Foreign-Study Program, Sandra E. Greene " T h e Walk Liberating": Africa Abroad as an Undergraduate Experience, Joseph W. Pickle, Jr. Inside or Outside the University? T h e Conundrum of U.S. Undergraduates in Africa, Neal W. Sobania

P A R T FOUR

173

269 275

281 299 311

CONCLUSION

Concluding Remarks, David Lloyd & Ahmed The Contributors About the Book

I. Samatar

319 329 335

Acknowledgments

This book o w e s its e x i s t e n c e to the collaboration of many individuals whose e f f o r t s have built a s t r o n g p r o g r a m in A f r i c a n studies at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Our a c k n o w l e d g m e n t begins with those who, over two decades, have sustained our Semester in Kenya, with warmest appreciation for the excellent direction given by Paul R o b i n son and H o w a r d B r o w n . W e also thank the Kenyan faculty w h o have taught in our Study Abroad program; in particular, Micere M.G. M u g o and N j u g u n a N g ' e t h e , w h o as visiting s c h o l a r s at the university pressed the case for the further development of African studies. By the late 1980s a core of dedicated c o l l e a g u e s had e s t a b l i s h e d a minor in A f r i c a n studies. U n d e r the leadership of President Patti McGill Peterson, and with her unstinting support, faculty m e m b e r s were e n c o u r aged to d e v e l o p a proposal for external f u n d i n g to further strengthen our program. President Peterson presented our ideas to the Ford F o u n d a t i o n , where Dr. Peter Stanley, then director of the Education and Culture Program, assessed the merits of our proposal, sharing with us the benefits of his critical a c u m e n and administrative e x p e r i e n c e . W e thank Dr. Stanley and the Ford F o u n d a t i o n f o r their strong conviction that the study of Africa at the undergraduate level is as important now as it w a s at the d a w n of the enterprise, m o r e than f o u r d e c a d e s ago. Special appreciation also goes to Marlene G u z m a n , director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at St. L a w r e n c e , w h o s e n u m e r o u s abilities include the talent for t u r n i n g the less-than-orderly ideas of faculty m e m b e r s into successful proposals. T h e culmination of our three-year grant f r o m the Ford Foundation w a s a conference, African Studies and the Undergraduate Curriculum, held at St. L a w r e n c e University in O c t o b e r 1992. For additional support f o r the conference we also thank the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education. The essays presented as chapters of this v o l u m e have been developed f r o m papers p r e s e n t e d at the c o n f e r e n c e . T h e y o w e m u c h to the interaction of all w h o attended. W e are grateful to the authors of the essays

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

f o r the g e n e r o u s e f f o r t they e x t e n d e d to m a k e the c o n f e r e n c e s u c c e s s f u l a n d the v o l u m e as u s e f u l as p o s s i b l e . W e a l s o t h a n k s o m e f o r t y o t h e r t e a c h e r s of A f r i c a n s t u d i e s w h o a t t e n d e d the c o n f e r e n c e , and particularly those w h o traveled farthest, r e p r e s e n t i n g our K e n y a p r o g r a m . T h r e e scholars f r o m A f r i c a , M i c e r e M . G . M u g o , N j u g u n a N g ' e t h e , and O b i o m a Nnaem e k a , invited to c r i t i q u e the c o n f e r e n c e , p r o v o k e d v i g o r o u s d e b a t e . A lively panel that p r e s e n t e d student p e r s p e c t i v e s on the t e a c h i n g of A f r i c a n s t u d i e s w a s o r g a n i z e d by D a v i d M c W e t h y ; it included Elizabeth G a r l a n d , Francoise Cromer, Andrew Dabalen, and Marc Perry. T w o students who a s s i s t e d with c o n f e r e n c e l o g i s t i c s d e s e r v e special r e c o g n i t i o n : Sara W i l k i n s o n and Santosh A b r a h a m . T h a n k s g o to D e a n Robert S c h w a r t z f o r g r a n t i n g a c o u r s e reduction to o n e of the e d i t o r s to w o r k on this b o o k ; to R e n e M u r p h y in Instructional T e c h n o l o g y ; to L a u r i e O l m s t e a d in W o r d P r o c e s s i n g f o r her e x p e r t i s e in p r o d u c i n g final c o p y ; a n d to V i c k i e P e r r i n , s e c r e t a r y of the E n g l i s h Dep a r t m e n t , for a s s i s t a n c e with the c o n f e r e n c e a n d the b o o k . W e also thank L y n n e R i e n n e r P u b l i s h e r s for their g e n e r o u s interest a n d s u p p o r t a n d superb assistance in e d i t i n g the v o l u m e . Finally, on behalf of our university, D a v i d L l o y d a n d P a t r i c i a A l d e n w a n t to t h a n k A h m e d S a m a t a r for his e n o r m o u s e n e r g y , d e d i c a t i o n , a n d c r e a t i v i t y o v e r the past eight y e a r s in d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a n s t u d i e s at St. L a w r e n c e . A s he m o v e s on to a disting u i s h e d new position, he will be sorely m i s s e d . P. A. D. L. A. I. S.

Introduction: African Studies Within U.S. Liberal Arts Education Patricia Alden, David Lloyd & Ahmed I. Samatar

If then a practical end must be assigned to a University course, I say it is that o f training g o o d members o f s o c i e t y . Its art is the art o f social l i f e , and its end is fitness f o r the w o r l d . — J o h n Henry Cardinal N e w m a n 1

T h e function o f the university . . . is to be the organ o f that fine adjustment b e t w e e n real l i f e and the g r o w i n g k n o w l e d g e o f l i f e , an adjustment which f o r m s the secret o f c i v i l i z a t i o n . — W . E . B . DuBois2

E v e r y hour that passes brings a supplement o f ignition to the crucible in which the w o r l d is being fused. W e have not had the same past, you and ourselves, but w e shall have, strictly, the same future. T h e era o f separate destinies has run its course. — C h e i k h Hamidou Kane3

This v o l u m e is in a sense travel literature: it reports on intellectual and physical journeys across the globe and across disciplines—those territories into which the realms o f k n o w l e d g e have been carved. T h e essays are maps, reflective o f both a changing geography and a changing curriculum wherein the old relationship o f center and periphery is challenged. T h e y report on long-standing and newly d e v e l o p i n g trade routes o f intellectual and cultural exchange and suggest alternative ways o f structuring an education intended, in an adaptation o f N e w m a n ' s phrase, to fit students for the world. T h e work o f scholar-teachers in w i d e l y disparate fields, the essays reflect important debates about the direction A f r i c a n studies should take within undergraduate education. Africanists, once considered specialists at the margins of the undergraduate program, increasingly play a critical role

1

2

INTRODUCTION

in constructing core curricula, vigorously engaging the central concerns of liberal arts education. The present volume attests to the particular contributions that African studies has made, and continues to make, to rethinking both the aims and the means of liberal learning. Journey is an apt metaphor for the educational process. The student travels out from the self, encountering new experiences and ideas, liberating the imagination from the singularity of personal experience and local environment. Yet this expansion, opening the eyes to the world, simultaneously affords a new perspective on the self. Knowledge of the other makes possible knowledge of the self and, furthermore, obliges us to consider ourselves in relationship to that world that lies beyond the self. While the study of any subject can inaugurate such a journey out from the self, the study of other cultures, and perhaps particularly the study of distant cultures like Africa's, constitutes an especially demanding engagement with this process. A journey to Africa—and we stress in this volume the value of physical travel as an accompaniment to the intellectual voyage—ensures that students will confront difference in every sphere: in the environment and in cultural adaptations to it; in political and social structures, esthetic norms, moral ideals, and religious intuitions; and in human bodies. Such differences directly challenge students' ideas about the naturalness and inevitability of their own worlds and allow them to see their own societies as but one possible form among many. But the confrontation with difference fosters a recognition of what is shared and enduring in human experience. Material circumstances vary, but students recognize the endless resourcefulness of people coming to grips with fundamental aspects of the human condition: the need for physical, mental, and spiritual nurture; the blessing of birth and the inevitability of death; the distribution of necessary and often scarce resources; the desire for power and control along with the consciousness of vulnerability. Such recognition fosters not merely tolerance for but an affinity with the plural cultures across the globe. Knowledge of the other; knowledge of the self: the journey to Africa supports both projects. But most urgently it pushes students to consider the relationship between the two: between self and other, West and non-West, "developed" and "underdeveloped." African studies is a way of studying Africans; but it is also, even more significantly, a way of studying the processes of globalization. As the twentieth century comes to a close, countries and cultures are being pulled toward each other at a pace more furious, and with consequences more fundamental, than was the case even half a century ago. This thrust toward the increasing integration of the aspects of the human world is propelled by diverse forces: transnationalization of production, finance, and information; new technology such as satellites, computers, and

ALDEN, LLOYD & SAMATAR

3

fiber optics that enable an unprecedented compression of time and a dramatic reduction of space. But such processes lead not just to integration; rather, in an acutely dialectical fashion, they engender disintegration and fragmentation. Scholars have used the words " c o m b i n e d and uneven development" to describe this process: combined underscores the articulation of an expanding, essentially Euro-American, commercial and industrial order with the livelihoods of peripheral nations; uneven development points to the resulting imbalance in the costs and benefits of the relationship. As the pace of globalization has accelerated, so also have the forces of disintegration. We see this in the decomposition of the vast territory of the Soviet Union; in ethnic and nationalist strife around the world; in ecological crises; in huge population movements of refugees and émigrés; and in the deterioration of the material conditions and cultural integrity of many nations in the South—and also, increasingly, in the North. Africa represents in starkest form some of the consequences of the contemporary processes of globalization and the attendant paradox of integration and disintegration. Economic development in Africa staggers; technology and markets tie Africa ever more closely to a West-dominated order, which results in the increasing diffusion of African cultures and values. Environment is threatened by market forces as well as physical changes on the planet, with whole cultures being forced to the brink of extinction. Travel to Africa and study of Africa bring students face to face with some of the sharpest contradictions of global interdependence. The urgency of the problems engenders a sense of social responsibility; an awareness of the need to develop global civitas—to reconsider the terms of coexistence and relationship on the planet. As Cheikh Hamidou Kane forcefully reminds us, "The era of separate destinies has run its course." If African studies confronts students in a particularly urgent way with the global forces shaping the planet, it can also foster a sense of agency, directly involving students in participatory, problem-based research, as several chapters in this volume attest. Students come face to face not just with African problems but with Africans working on those problems. They test their Western theories, explanations, and methodologies alongside African frameworks, and in the common effort to produce better solutions and better models, both African and North American students stand to gain much. In this way, African studies can b e c o m e a model of genuinely intercultural education that emphasizes exchange and dialogue. Why should Africa suddenly become optimal material for realizing intercultural education? Precisely because our past approaches to learning about (and coexisting with) Africa have been so evidently flawed. Joel Samoff argues, in Chapter 2, that we, the subjects of the learning process, have scrutinized them, the objects, without imagining that w e might learn from African knowledge systems or from African views of the West. Because in the late twentieth century there is so much evidence that this

4

INTRODUCTION

m o d e l of ( n o n ) r e l a t i o n s h i p h a s h a d d i s a s t r o u s c o n s e q u e n c e s f o r A f r i c a , A f r i c a n s t u d i e s o f f e r s a particularly e f f e c t i v e b a s e f r o m w h i c h to u r g e that o u r w a y s of o r g a n i z i n g k n o w l e d g e and l e a r n i n g n e e d to be c h a n g e d . M o r e o v e r , as m a n y of the c h a p t e r s a r g u e , i n c o r p o r a t i n g A f r i c a n m a t e r i a l s into t r a d i t i o n a l d i s c i p l i n e s h a s c h a l l e n g e d t h e a d e q u a c y of f u n d a m e n t a l ass u m p t i o n s , m e t h o d o l o g i e s , and practices in several f i e l d s . W h e t h e r w e are r e t h i n k i n g f r o m w i t h i n the e p i s t e m o l o g y d o m i n a n t in m u c h of the W e s t or juxtaposing Western and African knowledge-constructs, students' awareness of the historical s i t u a t e d n e s s of all p a r a d i g m s is s h a r p e n e d . O u r a r g u m e n t is not s i m p l y that the s t u d y of A f r i c a is c o m p a t i b l e w i t h , or e v e n s u p p o r t i v e of, the g o a l s of liberal arts e d u c a t i o n ; rather, w e m a k e a m o r e e m p h a t i c c l a i m : that A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o v i d e s an e s p e c i a l l y d i r e c t e n g a g e m e n t w i t h t h o s e p r o c e s s e s of g l o b a l i z a t i o n that are r a p i d l y t r a n s f o r m i n g our w o r l d ; that A f r i c a n s t u d i e s a f f o r d s a particularly s t r i k i n g c o n t e x t in w h i c h to c o n t e m p l a t e the c o n s e q u e n c e s of t h e s e w o r l d p r o c e s s e s ; a n d that A f r i c a n s t u d i e s e n c o u r a g e s s t u d e n t s to e x p l o r e w h a t their r e l a t i o n s h i p has b e e n , a n d w h a t it o u g h t to b e , to the w o r l d . A f r i c a c h a l l e n g e s s t u d e n t s not only to u n d e r s t a n d but to act; to a s s u m e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , w i t h o t h e r s , f o r c r e a t i n g a d i f f e r e n t r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n self a n d o t h e r , b e t w e e n W e s t a n d n o n - W e s t , b e t w e e n c e n t e r a n d p e r i p h e r y . T h e dev e l o p m e n t of A f r i c a n studies represents o n e of D u B o i s ' " f i n e a d j u s t m e n t s " b e t w e e n life and the k n o w l e d g e of life. It is an a d j u s t m e n t that m a y i n d e e d b r i n g us closer to " t h e secret of c i v i l i z a t i o n . "

A F R I C A N STUDIES A T ST. L A W R E N C E UNIVERSITY: LOCAL A N D NATIONAL CONTEXTS A d e c a d e a g o , historian R o b e r t M c C a u g h e y w r o t e of international s t u d i e s a n d g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n that it w a s "an a l l i a n c e yet to b e . " His d e t a i l e d rev i e w of the s e p a r a t e lines of d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e s e t w o a c a d e m i c e n t e r p r i s e s e n d s in 1978, w h e n H a r v a r d C o l l e g e i n s t i t u t e d a F o r e i g n C u l t u r e s r e q u i r e m e n t as part of the c o r e . M c C a u g h e y at that t i m e s p e c u l a t e d w h e t h e r " i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d i e s f a c u l t y e l s e w e r e [ m i g h t ] be p e r s u a d e d that t h e y t o o h a v e an i m p o r t a n t s t a k e in the s h a p e of t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m at their i n s t i t u t i o n s ? " 4 In the s p r i n g of 1 9 9 0 , the A s s o c i a t i o n of A m e r i c a n C o l l e g e s c o o r d i n a t e d a national p r o j e c t , f u n d e d by the N a t i o n a l E n d o w m e n t f o r the H u m a n i t i e s , e n t i t l e d , " E n g a g i n g C u l t u r a l L e g a c i e s : S h a p i n g C o r e Curricula in the H u m a n i t i e s . " T h e p r o g r a m a i m e d at i n c l u d ing m o r e n o n - W e s t e r n o r m u l t i c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l s in g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n c o u r s e s . T h e 2 5 0 institutions that p a r t i c i p a t e d in the Cultural L e g a c i e s p r o g r a m (St. L a w r e n c e University a m o n g t h e m ) attest to the c o n s i d e r a b l e a c tivity o n m a n y c o l l e g e c a m p u s e s in the p a s t d e c a d e to f o r g e c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n international/area s t u d i e s and the c o r e c u r r i c u l u m .

ALDEN, LLOYD & SAMATAR

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The development of African studies at St. Lawrence University, linked to the larger issue of international studies, e x e m p l i f i e s significant national trends in undergraduate education. W e also think our institutional history may be instructive in other respects, for those involved in international education and area studies did not ride an irresistible w a v e . T h e m o m e n t u m the faculty has been able to sustain at a small, selective, geographically remote college testifies also to s k i l l f u l p r o g r a m - b u i l d i n g over several decades. Situated in northern New York state, near the C a n a d i a n b o r d e r , St. Lawrence University began as early as the 1930s to think internationally, developing c o o p e r a t i v e education p r o j e c t s with Q u e e n ' s University in Canada. This led to the establishment of a widely recognized program in C a n a d i a n - U . S . relations. In the postwar period, St. Lawrence, along with many other colleges, instituted a n u m b e r of language-immersion programs abroad, tied to the Modern L a n g u a g e s D e p a r t m e n t . In the mid-1970s, the G o v e r n m e n t Department inaugurated first a s u m m e r and later a s e m e s t e r program in Kenya for students w h o had a c o m p a r a t i v e or international f o c u s in their social science m a j o r . O n e or t w o other d e p a r t m e n t s s p o n sored similar international semesters that c o m p l e m e n t e d their m a j o r . T h e s e developments again reflected national trends toward more o f f - c a m p u s experience. T h r o u g h o u t the 1980s in U.S. higher e d u c a t i o n , a c o n s e n s u s emerged that an international perspective w a s critical to a serious liberalarts education. 5 The potentially transformative value of international education for the u n d e r g r a d u a t e student w a s e x p r e s s e d at St. L a w r e n c e in a 1989 " W h i t e Paper on International Education": Undergraduates tend to view their own cultural milieu as the natural culmination of the mainstream of history. The unspoken corollary is that other cultural traditions are outside of the mainstream, and, therefore, at best, flawed imitations of a grander tradition. Cultural chauvinism is a natural sentiment; it is also a mortal enemy of liberal education. . . . S e rious study of other cultures improves students' understanding of themselves, provokes students to reexamine their own culture, and develops in them a critical tolerance for other points of view and for the diversity of humankind. Liberal education with an international perspective also includes some study of major issues and human developments which transcend individual cultures, s o m e t i m e s uniting and s o m e t i m e s dividing them. Study of such issues can g i v e students an expanded sense of their obligations and capacity to perform, and can thereby prepare students for responsible adulthood in the larger world.

R e s p o n d i n g to the developing national consensus, a small n u m b e r of the St. L a w r e n c e faculty began to p u s h the c o l l e g e t o w a r d greater c o m mitment to international studies. T h e faculty voted to add a non-Western c o u r s e to graduation r e q u i r e m e n t s , p r e d i c a t e d on the recognition of a growing, interdependent global c o m m u n i t y . Only one course w a s required,

6

INTRODUCTION

h o w e v e r . S o m e t h o u g h t t h i s m a n i f e s t l y i n a d e q u a t e to a c h i e v e the s t a t e d o b j e c t i v e that all s t u d e n t s , r e g a r d l e s s of a c a d e m i c m a j o r , will have " s o m e u n d e r s t a n d i n g of a n o t h e r w a y of p e r c e i v i n g the w o r l d . " O t h e r s saw this as a strategy for g r a d u a l l y a d d i n g n o n - W e s t e r n c o u r s e s (and faculty to teach t h e m ) to the c o l l e g e . A b o u t the s a m e t i m e , a r e a p r o g r a m s in A f r i c a n , A s i a n , Latin A m e r i c a n , a n d C a r i b b e a n s t u d i e s w e r e b e i n g d e v e l o p e d . In 1987, the u n i v e r s i t y c e n t r a l i z e d the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of its e l e v e n S t u d y A b r o a d p r o g r a m s : for the first t i m e , a d i r e c t o r of International E d u c a t i o n had primary responsibility for d e v e l o p i n g a coherent curricular context o n c a m p u s that w o u l d s u p p o r t i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d y , f o r r e c r u i t i n g international s t u d e n t s and v i s i t i n g s c h o l a r s , a n d f o r d e v e l o p i n g e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r programming. A f r i c a n studies on c a m p u s g r e w largely as a c o n s e q u e n c e of our part i c u l a r l y s t r o n g S e m e s t e r A b r o a d p r o g r a m in K e n y a . B e t w e e n the m i d 1 9 7 0 s a n d 1990, o v e r n i n e h u n d r e d s t u d e n t s , a b o u t half of t h e m f r o m St. L a w r e n c e a n d the rest f r o m m o r e than thirty o t h e r c o l l e g e s and u n i v e r s i ties, had participated in this e x t r a o r d i n a r y p r o g r a m . C o m p r i s i n g l a n g u a g e t r a i n i n g , rural and u r b a n h o m e s t a y s w i t h K e n y a n f a m i l i e s , a c a d e m i c c o u r s e w o r k , and special f i e l d s t u d i e s / i n t e r n s h i p s , primarily t a u g h t by f a c ulty f r o m the U n i v e r s i t y of N a i r o b i a n d K e n y a t t a U n i v e r s i t y , t h i s c r o s s c u l t u r a l e n c o u n t e r c h a l l e n g e s s t u d e n t s to d e e p e n their u n d e r s t a n d i n g of A f r i c a a n d its p e o p l e s , to e x p l o r e t h e c o m p l e x a n d c h a n g i n g roles of A f r i c a in the global c o n t e x t , a n d to e x a m i n e critically their personal v a l u e s and beliefs. R e a l i z i n g the large d e m a n d s t h i s p r o g r a m m a d e on the p e o p l e a n d f a cilities of Kenya, and s e a r c h i n g f o r w a y s to reciprocate, St. L a w r e n c e U n i versity started a s c h o l a r s h i p f u n d t h r o u g h w h i c h t w o Kenyan s t u d e n t s each y e a r are m a t r i c u l a t e d at the u n i v e r s i t y . A f e w y e a r s later, St. L a w r e n c e a l s o initiated a f e l l o w s h i p f o r a K e n y a n to c o m p l e t e a m a s t e r ' s d e g r e e in e d u c a t i o n w h i l e t e a c h i n g K i s w a h i l i o n the m a i n c a m p u s . T h i s l a n g u a g e t r a i n i n g e n a b l e d s t u d e n t s to a c h i e v e s o m e f a c i l i t y in the m a j o r l i n g u a f r a n c a of the region b e f o r e p a r t i c i p a t i n g in our p r o g r a m a b r o a d , as well as, o n c e in East A f r i c a , to gain a m u c h d e e p e r a p p r e c i a t i o n f o r A f r i c a n p e o ples a n d cultures. D u r i n g the early 1 9 8 0 s , in o r d e r to s t r e n g t h e n the links b e t w e e n o u r c a m p u s a n d the K e n y a p r o g r a m , t w o K e n y a n f a c u l t y a f f i l i a t e d w i t h o u r A b r o a d p r o g r a m , Dr. M i c e r e M u g o a n d Dr. N j u g u n a N g ' e t h e , w e r e able to t e a c h o n the St. L a w r e n c e c a m p u s . B o t h of t h e s e e d u c a t o r s e n r i c h e d the a c a d e m i c c l i m a t e of i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d i e s a n d w e r e i n s t r u m e n t a l in c o n v i n c i n g the university to c r e a t e s o m e p e r m a n e n t positions f o r A f r i c a n i s t s . T h e o b j e c t i v e s w e r e to b e t t e r p r e p a r e s t u d e n t s f o r the Kenya p r o g r a m , to f u r t h e r those s t u d e n t s ' e d u c a t i o n o n return f r o m that e x p e r i e n c e a b r o a d , to o f f e r a w i d e r range of c o u r s e s , a n d to build a s t r o n g e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g a b o u t A f r i c a n studies within the w i d e r a c a d e m i c c o m m u n i t y . S u b s e q u e n t l y , t w o

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A f r i c a n i s t s , o n e in h i s t o r y a n d o n e in political e c o n o m y , w e r e hired. T o g e t h e r w i t h o t h e r f a c u l t y w h o had o f f e r e d o c c a s i o n a l c o u r s e s in A f r i c a , they c o n s t i t u t e d a critical m a s s that could then lobby f o r a m o r e c o h e r e n t s t r u c t u r e b e y o n d a r a n d o m o f f e r i n g of c o u r s e s w i t h i n a n u m b e r of d i s parate d e p a r t m e n t s . A n e w , interdisciplinary m i n o r in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s w a s a p p r o v e d in 1987, o r g a n i z e d a r o u n d the t h e m e of d e v e l o p m e n t . By t h e n , Asian s t u d i e s had b e c o m e a c o m b i n e d m a j o r , and a n o t h e r interdisciplinary minor w a s s u b s e q u e n t l y a p p r o v e d in Latin A m e r i c a and C a r i b b e a n studies. T h e s e area s t u d i e s p r o g r a m s p r o v i d e d in-depth k n o w l e d g e of the history, p h i l o s o p h y , religion, g e o g r a p h y , politics, a n d artistic e x p r e s s i o n s of n o n - W e s t e r n c u l t u r e s . T h e y w e r e also e n v i s i o n e d as interdisciplinary and, as s o m e strenuously a r g u e d , t r a n s d i s c i p l i n a r y , a l t h o u g h the d e b a t e on h o w to i d e n t i f y and b u i l d t h e s e a t t r i b u t e s c o n t i n u e s . In f a c t , in m a n y institutions w h e r e such area s t u d i e s e f f o r t s have been s u c c e s s f u l , e s t a b l i s h e d acad e m i c d e p a r t m e n t s h a v e r e m a i n e d s u s p i c i o u s of t h e s e i n n o v a t i o n s , not sure of their u l t i m a t e i m p a c t u p o n the c u r r i c u l u m a n d b u d g e t . 6 At St. L a w r e n c e , these t e n s i o n s h a v e been m i t i g a t e d by r e q u i r i n g all f a c u l t y in area s t u d i e s to be b a s e d w i t h i n a d e p a r t m e n t . T h e r e , they m e l d their disciplinary e x p e r t i s e w i t h their a s p i r a t i o n to t e a c h b e y o n d d e p a r t m e n t a l b o u n d a r i e s . H o w e v e r , f a c u l t y in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s are s o m e t i m e s s q u e e z e d by h a v i n g to d i v i d e their t i m e b e t w e e n d e p a r t m e n t a l and area s t u d i e s d e m a n d s . L a c k i n g d e p a r t m e n t a l status, the area s t u d i e s p r o g r a m s can neither hire nor tenure i n d e p e n d e n t l y ; a n d their d e v e l o p m e n t is to a c o n s i d e r a b l e degree dependent upon maintaining cordial relations with department chairs a n d the chief a d m i n i s t r a t o r s of the u n i v e r s i t y . In the late 1 9 8 0 s , f a c u l t y m e m b e r s at m a n y c o l l e g e s w e r e k e e n l y a w a r e of a new c l i m a t e of fiscal a u s t e r i t y . T h e r e w e r e d e c l i n i n g s t u d e n t e n r o l l m e n t s , c u t b a c k s in b o t h p r i v a t e and f e d e r a l f u n d i n g f o r h i g h e r e d u cation, a n d g r o w i n g d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t a m o n g m a n y f a c u l t y at rapidly d i s a p p e a r i n g e m p l o y m e n t p r o s p e c t s . D e m o r a l i z a t i o n t h r e a t e n e d to u n d e r m i n e hard-won a c h i e v e m e n t s in internationalizing the u n d e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m . 7 T o c o u n t e r this c l i m a t e , the A f r i c a n s t u d i e s f a c u l t y at St. L a w r e n c e w e r e e n c o u r a g e d to s e e k e x t e r n a l f u n d i n g to s u p p o r t n e w initiatives. T h e g e n e r o u s grant the u n i v e r s i t y r e c e i v e d in 1 9 9 0 f r o m the Ford F o u n d a t i o n indicated a g r o w i n g c o n c e r n at the national level about the d e t e r i o r a t i o n in f i n a n c i a l a n d institutional s u p p o r t f o r intercultural e d u c a t i o n , particularly at the u n d e r g r a d u a t e level. T h e s u c c e s s of the St. L a w r e n c e p r o p o s a l w a s an i n d i c a t o r that m u c h of the f u t u r e e f f o r t in this c o u n t r y to e d u c a t e a w i d e r p o p u l a c e as to the i m p o r t a n c e of cultural e m p a t h y a n d n e w f o r m s of c o o p e r a t i o n and c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n w o u l d be t a k i n g p l a c e w i t h i n the undergraduate sphere. In addition to f u n d i n g f a c u l t y a n d student d e v e l o p m e n t , the F o r d g r a n t s u p p o r t e d a n a t i o n a l c o n f e r e n c e on the r o l e of A f r i c a n s t u d i e s in u n d e r g r a d u a t e e d u c a t i o n . In O c t o b e r 1992, sixty s c h o l a r s , all with c o n s i d e r a b l e

8

INTRODUCTION

e x p e r i e n c e in t e a c h i n g U . S . u n d e r g r a d u a t e s , a t t e n d e d a f o u r - d a y f o r u m h e l d at S t . L a w r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y . T h e m a j o r g o a l s w e r e t h r e e f o l d : ( 1 ) to link A f r i c a n s t u d i e s to the national d e b a t e a b o u t h o w a n d w h y w e s h o u l d e x p o s e s t u d e n t s f r o m N o r t h A m e r i c a to m a t e r i a l s a n d p e r s p e c t i v e s f r o m c u l t u r e s o t h e r than their o w n ; ( 2 ) to m a k e a s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n to the a s s e s s m e n t of the c u r r e n t s t a t e of A f r i c a n s t u d i e s at t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e level; a n d ( 3 ) to f o c u s on n e w d e v e l o p m e n t s w i t h i n a n d a c r o s s the disciplines, as well as on new p e d a g o g i c a l a p p r o a c h e s , in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . T h e f r u i t s of this national c o n f e r e n c e are p r e s e n t e d in this v o l u m e .

ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK A N D OVERVIEW OF THE ARGUMENTS Part 1, " I n t e r c u l t u r a l i s m a n d A f r i c a n S t u d i e s , " has three c h a p t e r s , e a c h o f f e r i n g a distinct p e r s p e c t i v e o n the r e l a t i o n s h i p of A f r i c a n s t u d i e s to the rest of the u n d e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m . In Part 2, " R e a s s e s s m e n t s a n d N e w D i r e c t i o n s , " ten c h a p t e r s r e v i e w d e v e l o p m e n t s w i t h i n the d i s c i p l i n e s that c o n t r i b u t e to A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . In P a r t 3, " P r o g r a m s A b r o a d , " f o u r e s s a y s d e s c r i b e d i f f e r e n t m o d e l s f o r s t u d y - a b r o a d p r o g r a m s . Part 4 , " T h e E v o l u tion of U n d e r g r a d u a t e P r o g r a m s in A f r i c a n S t u d i e s , " i n c l u d e s an o v e r v i e w f r o m a d i r e c t o r of a T i t l e V l - f u n d e d A f r i c a n s t u d i e s c e n t e r a n d p e r s p e c tives f r o m f o u r institutions e n g a g e d in d e v e l o p i n g d i f f e r e n t s t r u c t u r e s f o r their A f r i c a n - c o n t e n t c o u r s e s . In Part 5 the e d i t o r s a s s e s s the d i r e c t i o n s for A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o p o s e d by the c o n t r i b u t o r s . T h e t w e n t y - t h r e e c h a p t e r s of the b o o k o f f e r s i g n i f i c a n t a r e a s of c o n s e n s u s a n d of d i s a g r e e m e n t a b o u t f u t u r e d i r e c t i o n s f o r A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . In C h a p t e r 1, G r e g s o n D a v i s d r a w s u p o n his o w n , c u l t u r a l l y c o m p l e x , positioning. A C a r i b b e a n s c h o l a r of A f r i c a n d e s c e n t , m u c h of his w o r k f o c u s e s on G r e e k a n d R o m a n literature. In " B e t w e e n C u l t u r e s : T o w a r d a R e d e f i n ition of a Liberal E d u c a t i o n , " D a v i s a r g u e s f o r a b a n d o n i n g r e i f i e d n o t i o n s of d i s c r e t e c u l t u r e s , i n v e n t e d t r a d i t i o n s , a n d c a n o n i c a l h i e r a r c h i e s : he w o u l d r e p l a c e these with an e m p h a s i s on the d y n a m i c i n t e r a c t i o n s of c u l t u r e s t h r o u g h o u t h i s t o r y . C u l t u r e is i n h e r e n t l y " a g o n i s t i c , " a p r o c e s s of continual "contestation and synthesis, competition and fusion." He end o r s e s a t t e n t i o n to the p r e d i c a m e n t of l i m i n a l i t y , the n e c e s s i t y of l i v i n g b e t w e e n c u l t u r e s that p r o v o k e s a c o n t i n u a l r e d e f i n i t i o n of self, a n d u r g e s that the s t u d y of c u l t u r e s h o u l d a s p i r e to a c a t h o l i c i t y b o t h t e m p o r a l a n d s p a t i a l , h i s t o r i c a l a n d g e o g r a p h i c a l . W i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e e x p e r i e n c e in the recent a c a d e m i c b a t t l e s o v e r the f u t u r e of s o - c a l l e d W e s t e r n c i v i l i z a t i o n , D a v i s , t h e c l a s s i c i s t , c h a l l e n g e s the n o t i o n of " t h e c l a s s i c s " as f o u n d a t i o n a l t e x t s of E u r o - A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e . H e e n v i s i o n s h u m a n i t i e s c o u r s e s that, n o l o n g e r p r i v i l e g i n g t h e W e s t , i l l u m i n a t e t h e f u n d a m e n t a l l y i n t e r active a n d c o n s t r u c t e d c h a r a c t e r of all traditions: c o u r s e s that h e l p s t u d e n t s to a p p r e c i a t e the cultural w e a l t h of the g l o b e .

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If Gregson Davis o f f e r s a persuasive invitation to share a common heritage, Joel Samoff, in his "Triumphalism, Tarzan, and Other Influences: Teaching About Africa in the 1990s" (Chapter 2), reminds us how emphatically and persistently Africa has been made to represent the other in the West, an other occasionally exotic but far more often "primitive," "underdeveloped," "crisis-ridden," and "dependent." T e a c h i n g about Africa, for S a m o f f , involves challenging these stereotypes; questioning the sources of " k n o w l e d g e " of Africa; getting students to "address critically what is presented to them as fact." For both Davis and S a m o f f , teaching African material becomes an opportunity for students to unlearn a number of certainties; to see, in stark ways, the W e s t ' s myth of its own "development" in contrast to A f r i c a ' s "underdevelopment." Samoff stresses that what students can learn about Africa is conditioned by those economic and political frameworks within which Africa is perceived as increasingly marginal. Even as he anatomizes the inadequacies of modernization theory, Samoff suggests its d o m i n a n c e within the social sciences. What students know about Africa is the continent's painful struggle to modernize and democratize along the lines of the triumphal Western model. S a m o f f s is, in several respects, a bleak assessment of the barriers to breaking out of the we/them paradigm (we being the West, the subject directing knowledge and development; them being Africans, the objects of study and of aid efforts). A f r i c a n studies continues to play a heroic, though possibly inadequate, role, challenging conventional views of Africa, teaching respect for the value of non-Western perspectives, questioning whether "blaming the victim" is ever an adequate explanation, and positioning students to appreciate "Africans as actors, not simply objects." The goals of the field, as Samoff conceives them, are clearly appropriate for, indeed central to, a humane, liberal education. The goals are most likely to be reached, Samoff argues, by restoring the legitimacy of traditional area studies. Holistic and particularistic k n o w l e d g e of places and peoples is the best safeguard against the imperial ambitions of Western theory in its guise of universal science. In a critique of S a m o f f ' s chapter, William Martin (in Chapter 3) sketches quite a different future for African studies. Where Samoff sees, and rues, Western "triumphalism," Martin sees, and celebrates, chaos and uncertainty, which open up radically new possibilities in African studies. He writes: " W e are witnessing the collapse of an old order predicated on U.S. hegemony, global expansion, and the promise of nation-state . . . development. From North to South it is evident that progress and well-being are no longer a national affair, which leaves standing naked the enduring global relationships and inequalities that have so long been denied." Just as nation-states and Western development models seem unable to deliver economic progress or justice, so the academic disciplines on which modernization depends for legitimacy and rationalization (political science, economics, sociology) are also exposed as no longer being conceptually

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INTRODUCTION

adequate. Amid the breakdown, new phenomena demand our attention— and demand different kinds of analyses. Africanists have always been noted for their multidisciplinary approach to problems, but Martin suggests that at the present juncture this traditional flexibility is no longer adequate. Revitalizing traditional area studies programs might seem to answer the calls for multiculturalization of the curriculum; but this approach, in Martin's view, would continue the insularity of nation-state analysis and obscure those global or world-relational phenomena that yoke the disparate histories of continents: these should command our attention in the next century. Desperate conditions in the periphery, and especially in Africa, together with the evident breakdown of the promises of modernization in the core, force upon us a different kind of analysis. Africanists are well positioned to begin this analysis, one that will build quite a different foundation for African studies. No longer would Africanists serve as interpreters of the other to the West, much less as "promoters of illusory development and democracy"; rather, they would provide leadership for study that illuminates the "increasingly shared and unequal history" of the planet. Africanists would become teachers not of area studies but of world studies. What Davis, Samoff, and Martin share is a rejection of a form of intercultural study that amounts to little more than the inclusion of exotic and unfamiliar material into an otherwise unchanged curriculum. All three insist on the transformative power of non-Western or nontraditional material—material that, by its presence, brings into focus the interactive and relational character of cultures and histories. Part Two of the book, exploring the impact of African and Third World material within established disciplines, opens with a chapter entitled "Transnational Cultural Studies and the U.S. University," by Neil Lazarus. In it he asks whether "postcolonial" literatures can appropriately be studied within an English department; or whether, as Gayatri Spivak has argued, we need to shift these texts into area-studies programs where they can be studied alongside indigenous languages and appropriate theory. Contra Spivak, Lazarus argues that traditional English departments urgently need the cultural studies approach he envisions: what's good for George Lamming is also good for Herman Melville, and if In the Castle of My Skin should be considered in the context of cultural transformations, all the more reason to develop a similar perspective on works like Moby Dick that have been monumentalized, and, thus, dehistoricized. Lazarus makes a particular brief for cultural production that is situated between the First and Third Worlds, problematizing the opposition between a nativist essentialism and a monolithic hegemony of "the West." Contra Ngugi wa Thiong'o (on the language question), he sees writers like Achebe and Soyinka using English to express perspectives that derive neither wholly from Africa nor the West: perspectives produced from the interactivity of

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c u l t u r e s . S u c h texts, a n d o t h e r cultural p r a c t i c e s , are " e m e r g e n t , " in R a y m o n d W i l l i a m s ' s sense, a n d thus t r a n s f o r m a t i v e . Patrick M c N a u g h t o n a l l u d e s to this interactivity of c u l t u r e s in his ( C h a p t e r 5 ) r e s p o n s e to L a z a r u s , "I T h i n k Y o u S h o u l d H e a r V o i c e s W h e n You Look at A f r i c a n A r t . " In teaching, M c N a u g h t o n c o n v e y s the m u l t i p l e w a y s in w h i c h artifacts are perceived and used within A f r i c a n c o m m u n i t i e s as well as w i t h i n the e x t e n d e d w o r l d of art c o n s u m p t i o n . W h i l e t e a c h i n g " t r a d i t i o n a l " material, M c N a u g h t o n insists that all art is " i n a perpetual state of e m e r g e n c e " ; a l w a y s c o n t r i b u t i n g to a d i s c o u r s e a b o u t art, a n d m o r e broadly a b o u t culture, that is a l w a y s " b e c o m i n g . " W e s h o u l d try to hear as many voices in that conversation as possible. A f r i c a n art c h a l l e n g e s colonial and n e o c o l o n i a l s t e r e o t y p e s a b o u t A f r i c a n societies and p r e p a r e s s t u d e n t s to hear a real c o n v e r s a t i o n about reciprocal cultural e x c h a n g e . " A r t w o r k s b e c o m e i n s t r u m e n t s [ t h r o u g h ] w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s and c u l t u r e s c o n s t a n t l y reinvent each other." T h e very resistance of art historians, w h e n f a c e d with the d i v e r g e n c e s of A f r i c a n material, to revise their f u n d a m e n t a l c o n c e p t i o n s a b o u t their discipline m a k e s M c N a u g h t o n the more e m p h a t i c a b o u t the value of " k e e p i n g our t e a c h i n g c e n t e r e d in d i s c i p l i n e s . " At the s a m e time, the p r e s e n c e of a s t r o n g A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o g r a m at I n d i a n a U n i v e r s i t y , w h e r e M c N a u g h t o n teaches, has provided essential c o n d i t i o n s for t e a c h i n g and research, a m o n g w h i c h is contact with A f r i c a n i s t s in other fields. L a z a r u s a n d M c N a u g h t o n s h a r e a f u n d a m e n t a l l y o p t i m i s t i c v i e w of the c a p a c i t y of their d i s c i p l i n e s to b e c o m e h o s p i t a b l e to n o n - W e s t e r n m a terials. Paul S t o l l e r ' s r e s p o n s e ( C h a p t e r 6 ) s u g g e s t s that a p o s t m o d e r n a n d t r a n s n a t i o n a l c u l t u r e m a y be w a y out in f r o n t of the a c a d e m y . A s his vignette about the S o n g h a y at 125th and L e n n o x A v e n u e m a k e s clear, hybrid cultural p r a c t i c e s s u r r o u n d us at e v e r y turn. H e d o u b t s the c a p a c i t y of the a c a d e m y to " c o n f r o n t the i n a d e q u a c y of l o n g s t a n d i n g c a t e g o r i c a l a s s u m p t i o n s " in the f a c e of s u c h rapid c h a n g e . S p e c i f i c a l l y , he n o t e s the d i s t a n c e still m a i n t a i n e d by d i s c i p l i n a r y c o n s t r a i n t s b e t w e e n " q u o t i d i a n " c u l t u r e and the arts a n d s u g g e s t s that the A f r i c a n c i n e m a may b e c o m e the most e f f e c t i v e b r i d g e b e t w e e n high a n d p o p u l a r c u l t u r e s . T w o social scientists interested in p o s t m o d e r n p h e n o m e n a (Stoller a n d Martin) find common cause with two humanists (Lazarus and McN a u g h t o n ) to this e x t e n t : all f o u r h a v e c o n s i d e r a b l e faith in the c a p a c i t y of c u l t u r a l w o r k e r s at the p e r i p h e r y to resist the h e g e m o n y of the W e s t , not by r e t r e a t i n g into a nativist e s s e n t i a l i s m ( o p p o s i n g i n d i g e n o u s tradition to W e s t e r n c a n o n ) but by w o r k i n g in a g e n u i n e l y intercultural spirit, b o r r o w ing a n c e s t o r s , l a n g u a g e s , a n d t e c h n o l o g y to m a k e m y r i a d v o i c e s h e a r d . Part T w o c o n t i n u e s with e s s a y s by an e c o n o m i s t a n d an h i s t o r i a n . In C h a p t e r 7, e c o n o m i s t A n n S e i d m a n d r a w s upon her e x t e n s i v e e n g a g e m e n t with d e v e l o p m e n t issues in A f r i c a , s u g g e s t i n g a p e d a g o g y d e s i g n e d to overc o m e the w e / t h e m opposition that S a m o f f d e p l o r e s . Students need to unders t a n d that e c o n o m i c f o r c e s h a v e a global i m p a c t and a f f e c t l i v e l i h o o d s ,

12

INTRODUCTION

ecologies, and cultures in South and North; they also need to step across disciplinary boundaries as they analyze economic problems, and, most of all, they need to become engaged as students and as citizens. Seidman recommends "participatory problem-solving learning"; another way of saying, along with McNaughton, that students should learn to hear many voices. Ideal learning, according to Seidman, will center around real economic problems, with their complex human roots, rather than around hypothetical models of the market. Students (and researchers) should listen to those most directly affected and connect local issues with global causes. She suggests a variety of ways in which American students can be engaged with Africans in studying economic issues, connecting their analyses and solutions to development issues in their own (North American) communities. Classroom and field study thus model the kind of social and intellectual relationships that Seidman endorses. In her response (Chapter 8), Sara Berry begins by delineating several ways in which African studies has evolved genuinely interdisciplinary problem-solving strategies and productive comparative approaches. She also notes that collective participation does not ensure consensus and offers the realistic caution that African studies teachers should be prepared for conflict as well as collaboration. Seidman's examples of participatory learning largely assume a shared model for rational problem solving. As with Berry's reservation above, Seidman perhaps underestimates the possibility for ultimately conflicting epistemologies that preclude consensus. In Chapter 9, "From Periphery to Center: African History in the Undergraduate Curriculum," Thomas Spear argues persuasively for the central importance of African studies in today's academy. First, African historians have had of necessity to develop a diverse repertoire of research methodologies, borrowing from anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and other disciplines in order to recover and reconstruct the hitherto "hidden" histories of ordinary peoples who have left no written records. In this respect, African history has influenced the practice of social historians of every continent. Because the writing of African history so often dramatically foregrounds the issue of cultural bias, it is especially valuable in fostering cognitive development, prompting students to move from a naive confidence in the "truth" of their sources to a critical understanding of the situatedness of every historian. The particular contributions of Afrocentrism extend these questions about ideology, ensuring that the study of distant lands has direct relevance to contemporary U.S. students grappling with racial division in their society. Spear cautions that the current interest in multiculturalizing the curriculum can sometimes amount to a reductive "lumping [of] people together into a single indistinguishable category of other that promotes a sense of a monolithic mass of them opposed to us." This ultimately works at cross-purposes to the goals of area studies in challenging stereotypes

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and presenting an informed appreciation for the distinctiveness of cultures. In this respect, Spear and Samoff both view the traditional organization of area studies as serving an important pedagogical function. Lidwien Kapteijns, in a commentary (Chapter 10) on S p e a r ' s views, observes that while African historians have done excellent work in social history, foundational problems such as the way Africa continues to be partitioned in textbooks (most notably, the separate treatment of North Africa) have not yet been adequately addressed. Lack of theoretically rigorous periodization also contributes to "analytical c h a o s " in the field. More strenuously than Spear, Kapteijns urges the view that African studies in the academy is always part of a political struggle over who controls history: Africanists must remain alert to this question and be prepared to learn from, as well as to critique, Afrocentrist thinking. Focussing on the sciences, in Chapter 11, Ben Wisner suggests how provocative the linkage between the sciences and African studies might be. Teaching science from Africa (that is, indigenous knowledge) constitutes a critique of Western assumptions not only about Africans but about science itself; and about the companion terms, progress and development. Like Seidman, Wisner emphasizes the value of a problem-solving rather than a disciplinary approach, both in the classroom and in the field. Technological "solutions," like economic ones, need to be intimately connected to environment and human culture. Researchers and community members must participate in exploring development strategies: again, m a n y voices should be heard. Wisner identifies several critical areas that could be explored in science courses, including water and soil resource-management, agricultural and zoological research, engineering, energy, and health. He offers abundant case study and bibliographical references in each area and draws extensively on African scholars' work. Celia Nyamweru (Chapter 12) o f f e r s some reservations about Wisn e r ' s emphasis on "hybrid science" that incorporates indigenous and Western knowledge. She reminds us that a great deal of science, as it is done in the West, is practiced in Africa, by Africans, to preserve and to develop their environment. North American students, she argues, benefit from a (Western) scientific understanding of the physical world of Africa; Africans continue to do " p u r e " research in Africa that benefits the global community. We should not limit our view of African science exclusively to the applied or problem-based issues that Wisner addresses. In the final essay of Part T w o , Gretchen Walsh o f f e r s a valuable overview of the essential library resources needed to sustain an undergraduate program in African studies. She evaluates critical reference works and suggests budgetary realities for journal and monograph acquisition as well as a process for collection-building. She also indicates how new c o m p u t e r technologies can both assist and frustrate student research in African Studies.

14

INTRODUCTION

Part T h r e e s h i f t s the f o c u s to u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s that s u p p o r t A f r i c a n s t u d i e s , o f f e r i n g p e r s p e c t i v e s o n the s t r e n g t h s a n d l i a b i l i t i e s of d i f f e r e n t m o d e l s for study in A f r i c a . E a c h of the f o u r c h a p t e r s s p e a k s to a c o n c e r n , articulated in Part T w o most urgently by A n n S e i d m a n a n d Ben W i s n e r : the v a l u e of h a v i n g s t u d e n t s w o r k i n g c o l l a b o r a t i v e l y w i t h A f r i c a n s on real p r o b l e m s . T h i s e x p e r i e n t i a l l e a r n i n g , g r o u n d e d in w e l l d e s i g n e d field study, is at the heart of S t . L a w r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y ' s S e m e s t e r in K e n y a . T h e p h i l o s o p h y a n d s t r u c t u r e of this p r o g r a m are d e s c r i b e d ( C h a p t e r 14) by its d i r e c t o r s , Paul R o b i n s o n and H o w a r d B r o w n . In C h a p t e r 15, S a n d r a G r e e n e , f o r m a n y years director of K a l a m a z o o C o l l e g e ' s in-university p r o g r a m for study in A f r i c a , highlights several d i f ficulties e x p e r i e n c e d with this type of p r o g r a m , which o f f e r s e x t e n d e d cultural i m m e r s i o n . H e r t h o u g h t f u l d i s c u s s i o n of the c h a l l e n g e s to s t u d e n t s entering an A f r i c a n c u l t u r e are relevant f o r any p r o g r a m d i r e c t o r . In C h a p ter 16 J o s e p h P i c k l e d e s c r i b e s his a n d Z i m b a b w e a n S o l o m o n N k i w a n e ' s e f f o r t s to establish a n e w S t u d y A b r o a d p r o g r a m for the A s s o c i a t e d C o l leges of the M i d w e s t . A n d in C h a p t e r 17, Neal S o b a n i a r e v i e w s a n u m b e r of issues f a c i n g any institution c o n s i d e r i n g or currently p a r t i c i p a t i n g in an A b r o a d p r o g r a m in A f r i c a . Central a m o n g these are q u e s t i o n s of h o w such p r o g r a m s are i m p a c t i n g on A f r i c a n u n i v e r s i t i e s and h o w U.S. institutions can reciprocate with o p p o r t u n i t i e s for A f r i c a n students a n d f a c u l t y . Part Four, on the e v o l u t i o n of the u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s , b e g i n s with J a m e s M c C a n n ' s o v e r v i e w on the r o l e of T i t l e V l - f u n d e d A f r i c a n s t u d i e s c e n t e r s . S k e p t i c a l that the recent interest in m u l t i c u l t u r a l i s m will s t r e n g t h e n u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d y of A f r i c a , M c C a n n s t r e s s e s the r o l e of A f r i c a n s t u d i e s in s h i f t i n g the c o n c e p t u a l f r a m e w o r k s that u n d e r p i n both interdisciplinary a n d d i s c i p l i n e - b a s e d t e a c h i n g . M c C a n n ' s call to " i n f u s e A f r i c a i n t o the existing c u r r i c u l a " h a s a rem a r k a b l y apt r e s p o n s e in L o u i s T r e m a i n e ' s report ( C h a p t e r 19) on h o w A f r i c a n texts h a v e b e e n i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t o the U n i v e r s i t y of R i c h m o n d ' s core c u r r i c u l u m . T r e m a i n e , w h o s e w o r k at R i c h m o n d e n g a g e s him in d e v e l o p i n g the u n i v e r s i t y ' s f o c u s on A f r i c a n studies, n e v e r t h e l e s s a r g u e s f o r e q u a l l y v a l u a b l e w o r k beyond the e n c l o s u r e of a p r o g r a m — t h e w o r k of " i n f u s i n g A f r i c a " in the larger c u r r i c u l u m . J a c k P a r s o n , in C h a p t e r 20, d e t a i l s the d e v e l o p m e n t of an A f r i c a n s t u d i e s m i n o r at the C o l l e g e of C h a r l e s t o n , w h i c h w a s a c h i e v e d a m i d m a n y restrictions, b u d g e t a r y and o t h e r w i s e . Parson stresses the n e e d to tailor the p r o g r a m to the particular institution and e n v i r o n s . H e a l s o d i s c u s s e s the value of experiential learning in the U.S. c l a s s r o o m . P a r s o n himself acc o m p l i s h e s this t h r o u g h s i m u l a t i o n s . A r t h u r D r a y t o n ( C h a p t e r 2 1 ) r e p o r t s o n a l o n g e r history of the d e v e l o p m e n t of an A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o g r a m — that at the University of Kansas, w h i c h g r e w f r o m a B l a c k s t u d i e s p r o g r a m e s t a b l i s h e d in the 1 9 6 0 s . K a n s a s h a s c o n s c i o u s l y l i n k e d A f r i c a n a n d A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n p r o g r a m d e v e l o p m e n t ; the C o l l e g e of C h a r l e s t o n h a s

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e q u a l l y t h o u g h t f u l l y s e p a r a t e d t h e m . B o t h w r i t e r s r e f l e c t on the r e l a t i o n s h i p of A f r i c a n c o u r s e s to A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d e n t s a n d to issues of race in A m e r i c a . In the finai c o n t r i b u t i o n to Part Four, T h o m a s H a l e d e s c r i b e s the A s s o c i a t i o n of A f r i c a n S t u d i e s P r o g r a m s , an u m b r e l l a o r g a n i z a t i o n that s e r v e s as a v a l u a b l e r e s o u r c e f o r institutions that h a v e , or that are c o n s i d e r i n g b u i l d i n g , p r o g r a m s in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . In t h e i r c o n c l u d i n g r e m a r k s ( P a r t F i v e ) , L l o y d a n d S a m a t a r i d e n t i f y a n d e x p a n d u p o n f i v e m a j o r c o n c e r n s s h a r e d b y the c o n t r i b u t o r s to this v o l u m e : w e h a v e tried to c o n n e c t these c o n c e r n s to the larger d e b a t e — t h a t of the i n t e r n a t i o n a l i z i n g of curricula. W e s u g g e s t the m o s t p r o m i s i n g areas for f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h . W e intend our r e m a r k s to h e l p s t r e n g t h e n u n d e r g r a d uate e d u c a t i o n , b o t h by c r y s t a l l i z i n g the m o s t s a l i e n t c o n t r i b u t i o n s of A f r i c a n s t u d i e s and by w i d e n i n g the d i a l o g u e in n e w d i r e c t i o n s .

NOTES 1. John Henry Cardinal Newman, The Idea of a University (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1982): 134. 2. W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (New York: Signet Classic, 1969 [1903]): 117. 3. Cheikh Hamidou Kane, Ambiguous Adventure (London: Heinemann, 1972 [1963]): 79. 4. Robert McCaughey, in Liberal Education, vol. 270, 1984. 5. Cf. Ernest Boyer, College: The Undergraduate Experience in America (New York: Harper & Row, 1987); Barbara Burns, Expanding the International Dimension of Higher Education (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980). 6. Cf. Martin Staniland, "Who Needs African Studies?" African Studies Review 26, 3/4 (1983): 77-97. 7. Cf. McCaughey, in Liberal Education, 368-372; Richard Ralston, "The Struggle for African Studies: A View from Wisconsin," in Issue: A Journal of Opinion, XVII, 1 (1988): 41-44; David Wiley, "Academic Analysis and U.S. Policy Making on Africa: Reflections and Conclusions," in Issue: A Journal of Opinion XIX, 2 (1991): 38-48.

PART ONE INTERCULTURALISM AND AFRICAN STUDIES

1 Between Cultures: Toward a Redefinition of Liberal Education Gregson Davis

The topic I address in this chapter—multiculturalism in the undergraduate humanities curriculum—has functioned, in one form or another, as an unacknowledged subtext in my career as a university teacher; and it did so long before the term multiculturalism became fashionable. This has changed. Recent developments in the movement for undergraduate curricular reform, which has advanced far more rapidly than most of us dared to hope, have served to propel the topic in my consciousness from subtext to text; and it will be a main objective of this chapter to offer a few summary reflections on what this overt shift might entail for the traditional concept of a "liberal education." At the outset, however, I wish to impart a peculiar inflection to the very notion of multiculturalism that constitutes the focal concept around which this book is organized. I do not hesitate to suggest the term intercultural in place of multicultural. This substitution of inter for multi is a provocative strategy on my part: I intend thereby to address certain fundamental issues in the contemporary discourse on culture from a different angle of vision. As a point of departure for my contribution, therefore, a brief preliminary rationale for my use of intercultural will be in order. I hope to make it clear that I am unequivocally committed to the basic educational principles that underpin the multiculturalist agenda. A brief autobiographical prelude will help to place this personal inflection of terminology in perspective. As a native of a former British island colony in the Caribbean who went abroad to pursue a classical education as an undergraduate at Harvard, I was impelled by cross-cultural shock at a relatively early stage in my intellectual formation to a radical, critical engagement with the concept of culture. The secondary-school system to which I was exposed in my Antiguan childhood (a system that was deliberately modeled on the elite British public school of a kind to warm the heart of a Matthew Arnold) was not merely Eurocentric; it was even more blatantly Anglocentric, in its representation of what was of superior

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INTERCULTURALISM A N D AFRICAN STUDIES

value and importance in the history of civilization. It was only after I had, through the U.S. institution of the General Education program, which was then in its heyday at Harvard, become more than superficially acquainted with the (for me) novel discipline of cultural anthropology that I came to an intellectual critique of Eurocentrism as it shaped the teaching of such subjects as history and literature. For a West Indian of African descent who had already assimilated a good portion of the Greek and Latin classical canon, the exposure to the study of African cultures, in particular, through the lens of anthropological theory, enabled me to see beyond, and ultimately to begin to exorcise, the elements of European, and, more narrowly, British chauvinism that had come to dominate my precollege conception of the evolution of human cultures. In my ongoing effort to "decolonize" my mind of the distortions perpetrated by the Western assumption of a "civilizing mission," I was more or less obliged to reexamine at close range the interaction between the dominant European cultures and the dominated African and indigenous ones in the arena of the New World historical experience; and in so doing, I gradually arrived at a revised perception of culture as a site of dynamic intersection. In fine, I came to regard the colonial paradigm of intercultural exchange, with its mixture of contestation and synthesis, competition and fusion, as in some deep sense representative of a process that is basic to human culture in general when viewed in historical perspective. I shall return to the question of historical versus ahistorical approaches to intercultural study when I take up the question of comparative literary studies. For the moment, I wish to round off my first item of autobiographical testimony with a short quotation of a favorite passage from a Caribbean poet who frequently adumbrates the theme of cultural liminality. The opening lines of Derek Walcott's lyric poem, "Homecoming: Anse La Raye" (from his collection of early poems entitled The Gulp) eloquently sum up the situation of the colonial student of European canonic texts: Whatever else w e learned at school, like solemn Afro-Greeks eager for grades, of Helen and the shades of borrowed ancestors, there are no rites for those w h o have returned.

The phrases Afro-Greeks and borrowed ancestors take us right to the core of the issue of acculturation (or, as the francophone tradition would have it, assimilation) as it relates to the predicament of most colonized peoples—represented, in this case, by an anglophone West Indian pupil trying to identify with the heroic figures of Homeric narrative. At the same time, they draw ironic attention, as only the words of a master poet can, to a

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cultural predicament (to borrow an apt expression from the title of a book by James Clifford 2 ) that, I shall contend, is by no means restricted to the experience of subject peoples in a colonial or postcolonial context. Intercultural, then, is a designation that, in one of its major connotations, focuses attention on the relationship between cultures in such a way as to emphasize process and interaction. Whereas multicultural may often conjure up a plurality of distinct, even static, entities that coexist, to varied degrees of uneasiness, within a given society (usually if not invariably the United States), intercultural may more readily invoke an image of a dynamic interchange whereby cultures continually define and redefine themselves in relation to each other and where hegemonic roles are challenged and contested. Before I go on to elaborate on the fluid nature of cultural selfconstruction and its ramifications for undergraduate education at the university level, it may be appropriate for me to interpose yet another strategic caveat pertaining to the ideal scope of the term multicultural. If I am not mistaken in my reading of the cultural scene, the term multicultural as it has gradually crystallized in our academic lexicon, has come to signify the particular configuration of cultures and subcultures that preponderate in the contemporary United States. To the extent that it seeks primarily to rectify the historical under-representation of minority cultures in the U.S. undergraduate curriculum, the multicultural movement tends to focus on the task of recuperating those cultural contributions that have been neglected and devalued by the regnant culture. Such recuperation is an activity that should continue to be pursued with vigor, if only because it has already yielded up some buried treasures (in the sphere of letters, for example, it has led to the rediscovery of such authors as Zora Neale Hurston). In the long run, however, if we circumscribe our multicultural horizon to the North American cultural aggregation (which, incidentally, is constantly shifting in response to ephemeral patterns of emigration), are we not opening ourselves to the charge of parochialism, which is but a step removed from the chauvinism we deplore? In rebuttal to this objection, we may resort to the facile defense that the United States is, after all, a microcosm of world culture/s—a line of defense that has the effect of fortifying our own more or less narcissistic preoccupations. Be that as it may, multiculturalism, as an alternative to an ethnocentric humanities, will, in my view, be radically impoverished if it fails to embrace a genuinely global and historically elastic perspective. In correcting the abuse of under-representation of minority voices, we need to avoid falling into the trap of an unconscious parochialism that assumes the United States to be the world, however seductive the half-truth of a microcosm might be. In a society in which we routinely refer to what is a strictly national sport competition as a World Series (I allude, of course, to the so-called national pastime of baseball), it is especially important that we enlarge our tacit presuppositions

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regarding "the world" so as to encompass remote cultures that are not merely non-European, but extra-American. I am not, I hasten to add, arguing for a purely quantitative expansion of our cultural reach. It would be absurdly impractical and self-defeating to insist on achieving a global perspective by the sheer addition of foreign cultures to our nationally restricted repertory. What I have in mind is a basically qualitative change in our outlook that would encourage us to transcend our tendency to cultural chauvinism as we go about the crucial task of redefining the contours of a liberal education. In a word, I am proposing that a truly transnational, rather than a parochial, conception of multi should determine the scope of our educational turn to the study of other cultural traditions. To be comprehensive in a meaningful way, such a turn should also extend beyond the confines of the contemporary world to encompass past models of intercultural representations. This broader view of multiculturalism merges with another connotation of intercultural that I will also be concerned to sponsor; i.e., the systematic comparison of symbolic forms (e.g., literary texts) from alien cultures that are historically unrelated to our own or to each other. In both geographical and temporal reach, then, the new humanities curricula should, in my judgment, aspire to a catholicity that is perceived as central rather than marginal to their purview. At the very least, we can make our integration of minority cultures the point of departure for more extended transcultural excursions. For instance, the study of AfricanAmerican cultural forms should stimulate us to relate them (following the lead of Herskovits) to their African origins, while of course we remain fully cognizant of their transformations in the New World crucible; similarly, the analysis of Asian-American cultural expressions should lead us to take a closer look at Japanese and Chinese traditions. Ultimately, the study of these foreign cultures in their own terms should supersede our immediate need to relate them to our national preoccupations with the relative viability of the myth of the melting-pot. I have thus far presented the case for a more global multiculturalist agenda at a level of generalization that seems pertinent to the requirements of the topic, and I could easily surrender to the rhetorical temptation to remain entirely at such a nebulous level. On the other hand, even sweeping generalizations, however appropriate, might well benefit from more concrete substantiation in terms of their main curricular repercussions. Since my academic identity is, and has been for over two decades, split in the form of a joint appointment in the disciplines of classics and comparative literature, it might be expedient for me to focus my advocacy of intercultural approaches by drawing on my personal involvement in the praxis of curricular reform. What I have to say about literary studies and, more specifically, about the links between classics and comparative literature will, I trust, provide a framework from which one may readily extrapolate to other domains of inquiry and pedagogy.

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In its simplest institutional m a n i f e s t a t i o n , c o m p a r a t i v e literature presumes the study of at least two literary traditions, whether or not they happen to be historically affiliated. When we look at actual academic practice, however, the situation is generally far more circumscribed with respect to the range of traditions than one would suppose f r o m sheer principle. T o be sure, I am limiting my ken to what is normal in most of our elite institutions (and several outstanding exceptions spring to mind as I write); but it is by and large the case that comparative literature programs and departments in the United States are disproportionately oriented toward the all too familiar ambit of European literary traditions. Although I have not compiled the relevant statistical evidence to support this statement, I would venture to assert that the typical comparative literature program continues to be dominated by professors and students w h o s e primary research interest lies in the literatures of the major European countries (French, German, English, Italian, Spanish, Russian). This Eurocentrism is a p h e n o m e n o n that has been endemic to comparative literature f r o m the very inception of the field, as a cursory glance at the preoccupations of the f o u n d e r s of the discipline will readily confirm. A global multiculturalism, then, ought in principle to have characterized the discipline f r o m its early foundations. T h e perpetuation of a narrowly Eurocentric range of traditions is, however, indefensible at this historical juncture. I wish to stress, h o w e v e r , that multiculturalism in regard to literary studies should require no special pleading on moral or political grounds; nor need there be any resort to condescending gestures on the part of European scholars to the sensitivities of neglected e t h n i c groups. T o be blunt, it has b e c o m e more and more obvious to any serious student of world literature that E u r o p e can no longer claim (if indeed it could ever legitimately so c l a i m — b u t t h a t ' s another story!) to be the sole fountainhead of great literature. It is by no stretch of the imagination an act of charity on the part of Western a c a d e m i c institutions to recognize the outstanding achievements of such writers as Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka or Gabriel Garcia Márquez, to n a m e three conspicuous examples. Even the Nobel prize c o m m i t t e e (a m a j o r instrumentality of c a n o n i z a t i o n in our time) is beginning to close the g a p between ideology and reality in the domain of international recognition. S o it is important that we acknowledge that the current call for a drastic revision of the traditional Great Books curricula to reflect a non-Eurocentric perspective is not, at bottom, a call for a trendy allegiance to "political c o r r e c t n e s s " that might s o m e h o w lead to a cheapening of the canon, but quite simply a belated demand for an unbiased, culturally open perusal of the best that contemporary literature has to offer. The idea that the inclusion of, say, a Soyinka play in a comparative survey of drama is merely a s o p to political pressure is, to put it mildly, nothing short of scandalous. Fortunately, most major comparative literature departments, including that at Cornell where I currently teach, have gone a long way toward expanding the canon of their Great Books courses to install works by leading non-European writers.

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If comparative literature appears prima facie vulnerable to the charge of a narrow Eurocentrism, where does the study of Greek and Roman literature stand in relation to the issue of global representation? The question may at first sight seem woefully irrelevant. Are not the classics, by philological convention, limited to a particular area and historical time span, and is not the modern academic field akin to an "area study" in which various subdisciplines are brought to bear on a distinctly bounded geographical and cultural-historical period? The rhetorical question does not imply a straightforward and uncomplicated answer. It is by no means clear, for instance, that classical literature is, in some quintessential sense, European. It is certainly undeniable that European scholars have not only passionately admired ancient Greek culture but have gone a long way toward appropriating it wholesale as regards the point of origin; the veritable "action" of their own evolutionary myth. The concept of Western culture, however, as such pioneering works as Edward Said's Orientalism3 and Martin Bernal's Black Athena* have recently underscored, is a relatively recent historical construct. Western (occidental) culture is, of course, necessarily defined in an epistemologically polar relation to an Eastern (oriental) conceptual entity that is, to say the least, slippery, amorphous, and riddled with ludicrous stereotypes. The myth of a Western culture (I use the word myth in its value-neutral, anthropological sense) that originates in ancient Greece is basically, as we have come around to admitting more openly, a European invention. (The analogy with the invention of "Africa" has become evident from the seminal work on the subject by V.Y. Mudimbe. 5 In its need for a prestigious myth of origin as a necessary ingredient in its own self-definition, the European academy, led by a vanguard of classical philologists, proceeded to invent Greece—a Greece that invented everything Europe considered superior in its own civilization— including, of course, the mind itself, as reflected famously in the title of Bruno Snell's influential twentieth-century book, The Discovery of the Mind (Die Entdeckung des Geistes).6 German philologists of the post-Enlightenment and early Romantic periods, as Martin Bernal has brilliantly documented in volume one of Black Athena, fabricated a Greece that, like Athena emerging fully formed from the head of Zeus, came to be seen as supremely endowed and independent at the moment of its miraculous appearance. "Hellenomania" aside, the idea of Greece as the inventor of such hoary fields of inquiry as philosophy or such venerable arts as sculpture and architecture is, as we are increasingly aware, a patent distortion and, interestingly enough, one foreign to the thinking of the ancient Greeks themselves, who openly acknowledged their profound debt to older civilizations, such as that of Egypt. In short, Europe's quest for its own identity induced it to construct a myth of Greece that was congruent with its emerging self-image and lent prestige to its presumptive origins. 7 Once the Greeks ceased to be regarded as other and were redefined as self—albeit a childhood self—those aspects of ancient Greek culture

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(including its literary products) that were deemed most alien to so-called Western culture had to be either downplayed or reinterpreted in ways that made them more readily assimilable. Those of us who are routinely charged with teaching the Greek and Roman classics in translation to the nonspecialist undergraduate are only too familiar with the pedagogic impulse to stress sameness rather than difference in making the texts accessible to our audience. We understandably strive to portray an Achilles or an Odysseus as an archtetype of Western man, and in so doing we often find ourselves erasing, ignoring, or explaining away features of those exemplary heroes' behavior we regard as incongruous with civilized norms. It is all the more important, therefore, that we periodically remind ourselves of just how different and alien the ancient Greeks actually were. I shall always fondly remember a casual remark of the distinguished classicist Sir Kenneth Dover—a remark that he uttered from the sidelines during the impassioned debate at Stanford University on the issue of the content of a required set of courses on Western Culture, as it was then still called. After listening to repeated references by speaker after speaker to a Western canon that claimed the ancient Greeks as its founding fathers, Dover was heard to remark quite dispassionately words to the effect, "I have never really thought of the Greeks as Western anyway." For a good many within earshot, the offhand remark about the non-Western character of Greek culture had shock value, coming, as it did, from one of the most acclaimed contemporary classical scholars—one with impeccable credentials for a claim to intimate knowledge of ancient Greek society. Dover's shrewd, though unorthodox, observation forces us to confront our most entrenched assumptions about the constitution of our literary canons, our preconceived notions concerning West and East, and between cultural self and other. It would be an intriguing exercise to reconceptualize Greek and Roman literature as non-European in certain fundamental respects; and to reread Hesiod, Homer, and Aeschylus in this light. In my experience in teaching Hesiod's Theogony, for instance, I came to the by no means original realization that Hittite, as well as more remote, ancient Near Eastern, motif parallels for the myth of divine succession provided a valid context for interpreting the violent, intergenerational conflicts between gods of the Greek pantheon. My further explorations of recurrent motifs in mythical narratives across cultures (on which there is a large accumulation of scholarly literature from diverse disciplines) soon brought home to me how shallow is the surprisingly widespread notion that Greek myths are somehow superior, sui generis, and essentially incomparable. In the case of the Hesiodic narrative, it is only through systematic comparative analysis, in fact, that we can arrive at a plausible account of the strangeness of some of the major episodes (e.g., the castration of Uranos). Our unrepressed, initial experience of "strangeness" is the reaction that Dover was recuperating from in his provocative remark quoted above. Paradoxically, we recoup a

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different sense of familiarity with Hesiod's story when we begin to grasp structural similarities (in the role of the sky-god) between the Hittite and archaic Greek cosmogonic accounts. We are drawn, in short, to revise our initial impression of strangeness at the point where we discover the recurrent motifs that Hesiod's text shares with other non-European mythographic traditions. A word of personal testament is appropriate here. When I was asked in the mid-1960s to teach a general undergraduate course in Greek mythology at Stanford University, I immediately changed the title of the course to Comparative Mythology and proceeded to juxtapose and analyze, with the collaboration of the students, examples of mythical narrative patterns from a wide variety of cultural traditions. This mode of cross-cultural comparison of motifs depended, in large part, on a typology that was, at best, conveniently elastic. The course approached the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, for instance, by a circuitous route that led us to narrative traditions as remote from each other as the Dahomean, Ashanti, and Native American; and in these we found the trickster variously (and respectively) named Legba, Anansi, and Coyote. In short, by converting a standard course on Greek mythology into one on comparative mythology, we were able to make far better sense of the many opaque motifs in the Greek narratives. At the same time, we were continually on our guard against the trap of treating non-Western texts merely as a detour on our way to a deeper comprehension of the Western literary monuments. The preservation of a nonhierarchical approach to the comparative study of traditional narrative poses the most serious challenge to the multiculturalist agenda. I have appended this report of personal engagement with minor curricular reform to the insightful comment of Kenneth Dover in order to underscore a larger point (or rather two related points) about Eurocentricity and the classics. The first is that by recategorizing classical literature as other, we are already taking a small but significant conceptual move away from the Eurocentricity and the "borrowed ancestors" referred to above in Derek Walcott's trenchant poem. Whether or not we are Americans of African descent, we certainly do not need to annex an archaic Greek ancestry in order first to defamiliarize, then eventually to refamiliarize, aspects of Homeric epic or Greek tragic drama. The second point is that, in attempting to conceptualize the other, we are inevitably drawn into illuminating, though theoretically hazardous, cross-cultural comparison. The net effect of this double strategy is to call into question the pernicious habit, to which we too often fall prey, of studying a particular cultural tradition or set of traits in isolation. In regard to the critique of a narrow, isolationist approach, I cannot resist introducing yet another personal anecdote by way of illustration. One of my more vivid memories of the turbulent 1960s is of running into a West Indian friend one day on the U.C. campus at Berkeley (where I was

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a graduate s t u d e n t ) a n d h e a r i n g him greet me with o b v i o u s relish in the following manner: " Well, hello G r e g s o n ! How are things g o i n g in GrecoRoman e t h n i c s t u d i e s ? " At a time w h e n e t h n i c s t u d i e s p r o g r a m s were coming into b e i n g and, s i m u l t a n e o u s l y , b e c o m i n g the target of negative criticism, my f r i e n d ' s q u i p cleverly e x p o s e d the ingrained cultural c h a u vinism that often insidiously invades older disciplines such as classics, no less than emergent ones. Consider, for e x a m p l e , the blithe assumption of a unilinear evolution that underlies the term antiquity, or, as the G e r m a n philologists would say, Altertum. W h o s e antiquity, w e are entitled to ask, are we referring to? By renaming a certain isolated and fundamentally ethnocentric approach to classical studies as " G r e c o - R o m a n ethnic studies," my friend went straight to the heart of a matter I have been elaborating in various w a y s under the aegis of the construction of cultural identity. His terse f o r m u l a t i o n of the issue carried a special r e s o n a n c e for a b u d d i n g West Indian classicist with comparatist aspirations w h o grew up in the intercultural arena of a postcolonial society. I have been c o n t e n d i n g that Eurocentricity is, at a d e e p level, detrimental to the scientific study of both classics and c o m p a r a t i v e literature. T o clinch the point in regard to classical literature, I w o u l d now like to reinvoke the w e l l - k n o w n c o n t r o v e r s i e s s u r r o u n d i n g the oral nature of Homeric epic poetry. I do not have the space to retell the intriguing story of how the classicist, M i l m a n Parry, and his c o l l a b o r a t o r a n d f o l l o w e r , A.B. Lord, revolutionized the study of H o m e r i c verse by demonstrating its significant a f f i n i t i e s with oral c o m p o s i t i o n . 8 Parry and Lord, it is worth remembering, did not c o n f i n e their pioneering research to the internal evidence provided by the texts of the Iliad and Odyssey. What gave their thesis its e n o r m o u s explanatory p o w e r w a s , a b o v e all, their e x t e n s i v e c o m parative study of oral epic v e r s e m a k i n g . As is well known to students of Homer, Lord c o n t i n u e d to build on P a r r y ' s theoretical insights by erecting a f o r m i d a b l e e d i f i c e of empirical e v i d e n c e for the w i d e s p r e a d use of metrical f o r m u l a s on the part of living bards w o r k i n g within the SerboCroatian epic tradition. N o more spectacular vindication of the c o m p a r a tive avenue to literary study can be imagined than the illumination that the w o r k of Parry and Lord shed on central aspects of the a g e - o l d H o m e r i c Problem (e.g., the question of how a supposedly illiterate bard could have composed epic poems on the scale of those in the H o m e r i c corpus). Their research revealed the w o r k i n g s of the oral f o r m u l a i c technique, whereby a bard is able to c o m p o s e e x t e m p o r a n e o u s l y by utilizing a repertoire of fixed repeated phrases ( f o r m u l a s ) that c o n f o r m to c o n v e n i e n t metrical units. T h e key to their d r a m a t i c s u c c e s s in e s t a b l i s h i n g H o m e r ' s a f f i l i a tions (whether vital or vestigial is still a matter of moderately heated dispute) with the techniques of oral composition lies, I need hardly stress, in their s y s t e m a t i c cross-cultural c o m p a r i s o n of c o n t e m p o r a r y epic p e r f o r m a n c e s . T h e i r story m a y stand as a parable f o r the intrinsic value of

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investigating literary forms from a comparative perspective. To be sure, the Parry-Lord thesis has, and always will have, its detractors, and several later revisionists have attempted to disprove the essential orality of the Homeric poems. Nevertheless even the most hardened skeptics would admit that Homeric studies have gained immeasurably in this century from having been exposed to the comparative methods pioneered by the ParryLord school of investigation. Adherents of "Greco-Roman ethnic studies" will no doubt continue to proclaim the inferiority of contemporary SerboCroatian epic bards to the incomparable Greek Homer. Their judgment on this score is no doubt tenable and widely taken for granted. In pronouncing these verdicts, however, such critics betray their primary interest in erecting cultural hierarchies rather than in understanding the interplay between similarity and difference among variants of a virtually universal narrative genre. The ultimate irony resides in the paradox that, even for those determined to trumpet what they perceive as cultural hierarchies, it is apparent that one cannot logically arrive at a just understanding of what makes the Homeric cultural monuments unique or original without prior comparison of their techniques and thematic organization with those of other exemplars of the genre of heroic narrative. In sum, it is only by widening our horizons to include an examination of what a given culture shares with others that we derive a more sophisticated and accurate assessment of its peculiar inflections. I have chosen to illustrate my point about the merits of comparative methods with reference to a seminal Greek text. Apart from the mere accident that my own interdisplinary identity bridges classics and comparative literature, there are substantive historical reasons why the status of classics as a discipline may be an appropriate vantage-point from which to reassess and revise the notion of a liberal education. As many readers are aware, the very conception of the humanities is derived, through the mediation of Italian Renaissance thought, from the classical idea of the studia Humanitatis as formulated principally in the writings of Cicero. The study of the Greco-Roman intellectual tradition was, for a long stretch of time in post-Renaissance Europe, regarded as the cornerstone of a liberal education, and although the discipline of classical philology now occupies a far less exalted role within the typical humanities curriculum, a vestige of its former status persists in the form of survey courses in the Western cultural tradition in which the foundational Greek and Latin texts are presented in translation. Since the Homeric poems are widely seen as inaugurating the Western canon, I have found it strategically useful to treat the issue of the value of multicultural investigation in reference to their exegetical history. I have held up the example of the comparative investigation of oral epic poetry as one model for intercultural literary studies. With this model, cultural products of societies that are historically unrelated (and, in the striking case of ancient Greece and contemporary Serbo-Croatian, vastly

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separated in time) are juxtaposed in order to disclose commonalities as well as differences of technique and form among oral bards operating within a presumptively universal genre. Since the global extensiveness of oral epic traditions has been copiously documented by literary scholars and cultural anthropologists (the work of Isidore Okpewho in regard to African epic is a case in point), the genre provides an exceptionally fertile ground for scrupulous intercultural comparison of both so-called Western and non-Western forms. 9 Though I have been advocating the usefulness of gross generic frameworks (such as "oral epic") as the basis for global comparisons, I do wish to sound a note of warning with respect to the compatibility of such literary-generic categories. The very notion of genre has come to be regarded as notoriously elusive in recent critical theory and many literary scholars (myself included) have been analysing ways in which poets ancient and modern have articulated generic boundaries as a first move in a larger dialectical strategy that involves the transgression and even the obliteration of such boundaries. 1 " Even if we set aside such caveats and assume, for strictly operational reasons, that genres are stable entities at some level of abstraction, we are still faced with the unsettling fact that they tend to be, in practice, nuanced in culture-specific ways. The repertoire of "literary" genres in any given culture is likely to show distinct peculiarities, and we risk becoming overly tendentious in our typological generalizations when we indulge in intercultural analogies. In their classic study of Dahomean narrative, for example, Melville and Frances Herskovits admonish us against the facile assumption that our narrative categories correspond with those of other cultures, despite superficial similarities." If narrative typologies differ from culture to culture, then the theory as well as the practice of transcultural generic analysis is deeply problematic. Such strictures should not, however, deter us from undertaking global comparisons altogether; rather, as the authors of Dahomean Narrative: A Cross-Cultural Analysis themselves show, uniqueness is more clearly grasped against the background of broad considerations of universality and its limits (see for instance their penetrating critique of the archetypal theory of myth in the work cited). As Fredric Jameson has phrased it in a remark on the methodological problem posed by cross-cultural comparison: Differences can only be established within some larger preestablished identity: if there is nothing in common between two cultural situations, then clearly the establishment of difference is both pointless and given in advance. What this means is that if Identity and Difference are fixed and eternal opposites, we have either a ceaseless alternation, or a set of intolerable choices. 12 The employment of generic frameworks across cultures, however sophisticated and nuanced, poses, as we have seen, special intrinsic problems;

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but so, it must be admitted, do all other universalist avenues to comparative literary studies. So the major challenge we face in extending the traditional canon lies in sustaining the theoretical juggling act that requires us to be attentive to cultural difference while risking exploration of features that cultures appear to share. This Janus-faced attitude to intercultural discourse becomes an absolute imperative for a humanist enterprise of the scope and boldness we are trying to envisage here. A m o n g well-tried alternatives to a gross generic approach are modes of analysis that employ a thematic, as opposed to a formal, principle of organization of culturally disparate material. Whether we choose to experiment with fundamental themes or genres, however, we need to discriminate carefully between comparative methods that are synchronic (and hence basically achronological) and ones that are diachronic (and hence oriented toward questions of historical development and interconnection). T h e m e s no less than genres provide opportunities (as well as perils that should not be d o w n played) for horizontal juxtaposition of texts that ignore time-periods and historical context (e.g., a thematic f r a m e w o r k might justify the study of the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh alongside, say, the Hebrew narrative of David and Jonathan, or a Polynesian creation myth alongside an ancient Egyptian cosmogony). On the other hand, it is equally important that we find ways of balancing such synchronic paths of exploration with approaches foregrounding cultures that have interacted in the historical continuum. It is this latter byway of intercultural study that I broached at the very beginning of my talk and I would now like to return to sketch some of its advantages by way of approximating a conclusion. In the sphere of diachronic study of cultural interrelationships, an exciting and challenging area of research and teaching is one that has acquired the overarching label of Postcolonial Studies. Here again I naturally draw upon my personal involvement in f r a n c o p h o n e Caribbean literary studies, in which European colonization of non-Western societies has provided a f r a m i n g historical experience that invites scholarly investigation into the strategies that cultures use to d e f i n e self and other. There has emerged in the latter half of this century an impressive new canon of Third World writers (to use a possibly moribund expression) from excolonial polities w h o s e works often thematize problems of cultural identity in a context of conflict between Western and non-Western. I have already cited the example of Derek Walcott's short lyric poem, "Homecoming: Anse La Raye" to illustrate the plight of the aspiring " A f r o - G r e e k . " Walcott has also given us, in his 1990 magnum opus, Omeros,13 a vast narrative canvas that positively revels in the exploration of such elusive issues as cultural analogy and differentiation, the specification of what is essentially human, the epistemological necessity of defining the self in relation to an other, and the everpresent, postmodern question of canonicity. And within my own specialty of francophone Caribbean poetics, I have found the oeuvre

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of Aimé Césaire to be a representative focal point for the critical examination of intercultural thematics, such as cultural hegemony and resistance to assimilation. 1 4 It is perhaps the inevitable outcome of our assigning priority to the postcolonial matrix of literary production that works like Césaire's masterpiece, Cahier d'un retour au pays natal (rendered in an excellent recent translation by E s h l e m a n and Smith as Notebook of a Return to the Native Land) should move f r o m the periphery to the center of our revised undergraduate syllabuses in world literature courses. 1 5 I c o n f e s s to a certain f e e l i n g of vindication at the prospect that other postcolonial literary texts, such as Jean R h y s ' s Wide Sargasso Sea (which some of my generation began to include in our literature courses in the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s ) have now achieved the status of modern classic in a humanities literary curriculum that is increasingly a m e n a b l e to f o r e grounding intercultural issues (and here of c o u r s e I fold in f e m i n i s t perspectives on canonic Western texts). O n e of the main a d v a n t a g e s of postcolonial literary studies is that it does not entail the w h o l e s a l e displacement or replacement of older c a n o n s , but rather it raises issues (some new, some perennial) that can be tackled only by intertextual comparison between Western and n o n - W e s t e r n n o r m s and v a l u e s . W e are thus obliged, if we take the overt intertextual clues seriously, to read R h y s ' s Wide Sargasso Sea in dialogic relation to Jane Eyre (the plot of the f o r m e r uses the latter as its point of d e p a r t u r e ) ; or, to take another example, we are made to read C é s a i r e ' s play, A Tempest, in conjunction with S h a k e s p e a r e ' s The Tempest (whose underlying themes and dramatis personae it explicitly interrogates and transforms). In conclusion I want to suggest that the intercultural discourse I would place at the very center of a reshaped humanities curriculum cannot hope to avoid superficiality unless it is firmly grounded in the insights and intellectual tools of cultural anthropology. Why, the reader may well ask, do I propose to privilege a particular discipline (viz., anthropology) at the expense of a panoply of other candidates in the academic spectrum? The repositioning of cultural anthropology within the ideal scheme I am espousing is far f r o m arbitrary; indeed, it f o l l o w s logically f r o m commitment to multiculturalism of the global variety. Anthropology is precisely the discipline that has made the concept of culture and the description of difference central to its theoretical and empirical agenda. Seminal ideas such as cultural relativism (the move to dethrone cultural hierarchies that I first encountered in my undergraduate experience, via Ruth B e n e d i c t ' s classic and elegant exposition in Patterns of Culture16) will necessarily come to the fore in an interdisciplinary critical discourse that focuses on our unexamined assumptions about notions like civilized and primitive. It goes without saying that the project of realignment I am helping to promote would be gravely handicapped if it did not rely on collaboration between disciplines, and a common denominator of such collaboration will

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surely be the c o n t r i b u t i o n of a d i s c i p l i n e that has c o n c e r n e d itself with the central p r o b l e m of cultural s a m e n e s s / d i f f e r e n c e . In t e r m s of my o w n d o u b l e v a n t a g e - p o i n t in literary s t u d i e s , I am content to o b s e r v e that t h e r e a p p e a r s to b e a c o n v e r g e n c e in p r o g r e s s b e t w e e n the critical d i s c o u r s e s of literary and e t h n o g r a p h i c a l studies. In the not t o o distant past w e literary s c h o l a r s regularly turned to a n t h r o p o l o g y f o r theoretical g u i d a n c e in u n d e r s t a n d i n g ( f o r e x a m p l e ) the i n t e r s e c t i o n of literature and ritual. T h u s , in c o m i n g to t e r m s with the w i d e s p r e a d p h e n o m e n o n of ritual p o s s e s s i o n , I h a v e m y s e l f h a v e c o m e to rely in the c l a s s r o o m on e t h n o g r a p h i c a c c o u n t s of e c s t a t i c religions, s u c h as Haitian v o d u n cults, in o r d e r to m a k e s e n s e of a c e r t a i n d i m e n s i o n of E u r i p i d e s ' p l a y , The Bacchae. I n c i d e n t a l l y , W o l e S o y i n k a ' s b r i l l i a n t a d a p t a t i o n of The Bacchae u n d e r the title, The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite c o n s t i t u t e s an artistic c o n t r i b u t i o n to the d i s c u r s i v e intersection of literature a n d e t h n o l o g y . 1 7 R e c e n t research on the part of classicists into the c o n s t r u c t i o n of sexuality in a n c i e n t G r e e c e (I r e f e r to the e x e m p l a r y w o r k of the late J a c k Winkler, for instance) has clearly profited from anthropological insights and investigative p r e m i s e s . 1 8 W h a t w e are n o w b e g i n n i n g to w i t n e s s in the c o n v e r g e n c e of w h i c h I s p o k e can p e r h a p s better be c h a r a c t e r i z e d as a m u tuality of i n f l u e n c e . A s m o r e a n d m o r e literary s c h o l a r s are g r a v i t a t i n g tow a r d " c u l t u r a l s t u d i e s , " t h e r e is a s i m u l t a n e o u s a w a r e n e s s a m o n g m a n y cultural a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s of the s i m i l a r i t i e s b e t w e e n e t h n o g r a p h i c d e s c r i p tion and f i c t i o n a l n a r r a t i v e , a n d l e a d i n g t h e o r e t i c i a n s in the f i e l d , s u c h as C l i f f o r d G e e r t z , h a v e b e e n p o i n t i n g out the u s e f u l n e s s of literary t h e o r y (especially n a r r a t o l o g y ) as a p p l i e d to the s t o r i e s that a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s c o n s t r u c t in o r d e r to g i v e c o h e r e n c e to the c o n c e p t i o n s of the other.19 This c o n v e r g e n c e in r e g a r d to the t h e o r e t i c a l p r e o c c u p a t i o n s of t w o i m p o r t a n t d i s c i p l i n e s p r o m i s e s to b l u r e v e n f u r t h e r the lines that a r t i f i c i a l l y c o m p a r t m e n t a l i z e the t r a d i t i o n a l f i e l d s of s t u d y in the h u m a n i t i e s . A r e w e b e i n g unduly o p t i m i s t i c if w e reach the c o n c l u s i o n that w e m a y be on the v e r g e of i n a u g u r a t i n g an era in w h i c h the c o n f i g u r a t i o n of d i s c i p l i n e s in our a c a d e m i c institutions will be f u n d a m e n t a l l y t r a n s f o r m e d ?

NOTES 1. Derek Walcott, The Gulf: Poems (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1970). 2. James Clifford, The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature and Art (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988). 3. Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978). 4. Martin Bernal, Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, vol. 1 (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1987). 5. V. Y. Mudimbe, The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988).

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6. Bruno Snell, The Discovery of the Mind: The Greek Origins of European Thought, trans. Thomas G. Rosenmeyer (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1953). 7. Bernai, Black Athena. 8. Albert B. Lord, The Singer of Tales (Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1960). 9. Isidore Okpewho, The Epic in Africa: Toward a Poetics of the Oral Performance (New York: Columbia University Press, 1979). 10. Gregson Davis, Polyhymnia: The Rhetoric of Horatian Lyric Discourse (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1991). 11. Melville J. Herskovits and Frances S. Herskovits, Dahomean Narrative: A Cross-Cultural Analysis (Evanston, 111.: Northwestern University Press, 1958). 12. Fredric Jameson, "A Brief Response" in Social Text (Fall, 1987). 13. Derek Walcott, Omeros (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1990). 14. Gregson Davis, Non-Vicious Circle: Twenty Poems of Aimé Césaire (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1984). 15. Aimé Césaire, The Collected Poetry, trans. Clayton Eshleman and Annette Smith (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, 1983). 16. Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1934). 17. Wole Soyinka, The Bacchae of Euripides: A Communion Rite (London: Methuen, 1973). 18. David Halperin, John Winkler, and Froma Zeitlin, eds., Before Sexuality: The Construction of Erotic Experience in the Ancient Greek World (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1990). 19. Clifford Geertz, Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology (New York: Basic Books, 1983).

2 Triumphalism, Tarzan, and Other Influences: Teaching About Africa in the 1990s Joel Samoff

The meanings are clear. The assertions are aggressive, arrogant, and unqualified. After a brief stint as a beacon of developmental progress, Africa is once again portrayed as the archetype of backwardness, decay, and dissolution. In this final decade of the twentieth century, that portrayal is the one our students are most likely to encounter and with which we and they together must grapple. "Colonialism's Back—and Not a Moment Too Soon," screamed the headline in the Sunday New York Times Magazine"Let's face it: Some countries are just not fit to govern themselves," the subtitle explained. Hailing the revival of colonialism, the author defends external intervention and direction as not only practical but also morally correct: "The civilized world has a mission to go out to these separate places and govern," he writes. 2 The article did, also, refer to the disarray in eastern Europe, but it stressed, "it is obvious that Africa, where normal government is breaking down in a score or more states, is the most likely theater for such action." In case the message was still not clear, an accompanying graphic portrayed a large, white hand hovering powerfully (helpfully? menacingly?) over disembodied, darker-colored forearms rising from a desolate and featureless terrain. This self-congratulatory and condescending certainty finds frequent expression in the 1990s. W e ' v e won, George Bush, the president of the United States, regularly reminded his audiences during the national electoral campaign of 1992. Not only have we won, he insisted, but we are the standard against which others measure themselves. More because they could not claim direct responsibility for the victory than because they doubted that it had occurred, his major political opponents sought to associate themselves with this triumphalism, not challenge it. The we, of course, referred to "true Americans"; that is, what the politicians like to describe as the "patriotic, God-fearing, loyal citizens of this country." Mostly very white or at least thoroughly assimilated, this we 35

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is counterposed to a poorer and generally darker-skinned other, some of whom live next door. In the early 1990s, perhaps the most visible of the other lived in Europe, the pitiable but not unsympathetic victims of Communist rule. But the most extreme other—the measure of the unchanging primitive, the disease, the disarray, the disorder, the decay to be avoided— were African. It was there that one f o u n d evidence of decivilization and regression toward barbarity. 3 That other is not white. 4 In its early stages this triumphalism is seemingly boundless. The precipitous dissolution of Communist rule is interpreted as the inevitable victory of the United States over the Soviet Union, capitalism over socialism, the market over planning, good over evil. Even the 1992 Olympic Games, where the athletes of the former Soviet Union actually did quite well, was generally depicted in the United States as a contest between the United States and the rest of the world. "Our w a y " prevailed over theirs, we are reminded, because it is inherently better. Even more: everything that can be linked to socialism, however tenuous the link, is clearly flawed, precisely because of that link. It is in this setting that U.S. undergraduates study Africa at the end of this century. What they study, and how they study it, is influenced much more by what is happening in the world—or rather, by how global events come to be generally interpreted and understood—than by a deepening knowledge of Africa or improved theories and methods in the social sciences. Arrogant triumphalism is of course not the only source of contemporary wisdom; it is useful, therefore, to review briefly the experiences in teaching about African politics. 5 For that, it is helpful to review the transitions in addressing a concern central to the social sciences: Who governs? First, though, a c o m m e n t on this chapter. I am concerned here with teaching about Africa in the social sciences in undergraduate settings, and I shall draw heavily on experiences in the fields in which I have been most directly involved: political science and education. There are grounds here for both excitement and dismay. T h e challenge is, of course, enormous, since most students at U.S. universities know little about Africa; or rather, most—while having strongly held opinions—have neither very conscious nor very visible understandings of Africa. Although on the first day of an introductory course on Africa most students will assert they "know nothing" about Africa, in fact, terms like tribe and chief and stories about Zulu warriors will make perfect sense. I want, therefore, to address that challenge, especially by focusing on the context for (and influences on) teaching about Africa. Most of us who teach about Africa, I believe, are not primarily concerned with transmitting information. Rather, w e try to organize our courses to require students to grapple with information. We know that our students will encounter a good deal of confusion and misinformation about Africa, and we want to help them b e c o m e competent consumers of both

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specialist and popular sources. We also know that most of the writing about Africa that they will see is by non-Africans who are for the most part white and male. We know that much of the information-base on which our students will draw is tinged with racism and the other legacies of colonial rule or is steeped in the prejudices of the present. This knowledge, and perhaps our sense of pedagogy, leads us to insist that our students address critically what is presented to them as fact. We urge them to read skeptically; to question authority. As instructors, we must do no less. It is to that task that this chapter is addressed. Its fundamental subject is not teaching but learning. I shall not be primarily concerned here with pedagogy and instructional methods. My sense is that, in general, Africanist academics tend to be somewhat more innovative and creative in their classes than most of their colleagues. They are more likely to draw on the findings and insights of disciplines other than their own; to incorporate novels, films, lifehistories, and other sources whose origins lie outside the social sciences, and to emphasize student discussion and classroom interaction. I hope my comments here will encourage, not discourage, my colleagues, but I shall leave the how-to-do-it issues for another discussion. I should also note here three apparent points of departure from many of my colleagues. First, I consider students' lack of accurate systematic information about Africa, and their internalization of misunderstandings and confusions, to be a challenge and an opportunity, not a major problem. Second, I take the integration of knowledge to be primarily the responsibility of students, not instructors. Stated simply, I do not think it is possible for instructors to organize a course that successfully integrates all that we try to address—diverse and conflicting information, contradictory sources, varied national and subnational experiences, multiple themes, different and perhaps incompatible perspectives, alternative emphases, and more—and still effectively meet the needs of students with their own expectations, priorities, and learning styles. Hence, rather than try to prepare a thoroughly and consistently integrated package, I seek instead to develop a coherent approach that emphasises inclusiveness and diversity and that challenges students to integrate what they hear and do; to take charge of their learning more generally. Third, I am convinced that the fluctuations in student interest in Africa are only marginally a function of the strategies and approaches of teachers about Africa. Clearly, an active program of courses and other campus activities may attract a few additional students, just as the departure of prominent faculty may lead students to enroll elsewhere. The creation or elimination of an African studies program will of course also affect enrollment. But over the longer term, what matters most in this regard is what happens outside the university, not within it. When the liberation struggle in South Africa became more visible, registration for all sorts of

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Africa courses increased. T h e r e may even be a reasonably direct correlation between the percentage of space and time in print and televised news allocated to A f r i c a and e n r o l l m e n t in social science (and other?) courses on Africa. Since undergraduate courses on A f r i c a generally pay limited attention to research and research m e t h o d s , I shall not address t h e m extensively here. At the s a m e time, it is clear that w e need to explore critically the links a m o n g research, methods, and instruction. If we and our students are to be effectively critical, we must constantly examine how we know what w e know. W e must be especially skeptical about what s e e m s most sure. Consequently, we must address approaches, what underlies them, and what motivates them. T e a c h i n g is a c o m p l e x process with many f a c e s and d i m e n s i o n s . In part, it is an architectural process, concerned with structure, order, and materials. It is also a managerial process, with responsibility for s i m u l t a n e ous, multiple, overlapping, and often at least partly incompatible activities. At times its m o d e is imagination, s t e p p i n g outside what is to understand it better. D o n e well, its manner is interactive, with shared and s h i f t i n g initiatives and responsibilities. Its o u t c o m e is never entirely predictable, since if successful it e m p o w e r s learners to share control over goals and directions. For these reasons, a c h a p t e r on teaching about A f r i c a must meander a bit. As in the classroom, there will be chance encounters to follow up, even though they lead us at a tangent f r o m the main line of the discussion. And, again as in the c l a s s r o o m , it will seem f r u i t f u l periodically to retrace our steps, to return in more detail to a point introduced earlier. That is not to suggest that there is no order here, for there certainly is; rather it is to note at the outset that I have f a v o r e d function over form, content over organization. I begin, then, with a retrospective overview of teaching African politics. T h e transitions there, I believe, tell us a good deal about how social scientists have addressed Africa, and perhaps a bit about why. Following that review I shall c o m m e n t on the k n o w l e d g e base f o r t e a c h i n g a b o u t Africa and on transcending its limits. I shall conclude by highlighting several major challenges w e face.

TEACHING AFRICAN POLITICS: A RETROSPECTIVE OVERVIEW T h e exploration of w h o rules in A f r i c a has generally fallen within the responsibilities of the d e p a r t m e n t of political science or g o v e r n m e n t . T h e most c o m m o n strategy has been to locate the A f r i c a n politics c o u r s e a m o n g other courses on c o m p a r a t i v e politics. T h e underlying orientation in that c o m p a r t m e n t a l i z a t i o n is s h a r e d by many of the other social

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sciences: it is of interest, and perhaps instructive, to compare patterns of government (or social structure or the organization of production) in different countries. The corollary presumption is that Africa is a subset of that subset of the study of politics. African politics are fundamentally different in some important way from politics elsewhere; and at the same time they are sufficiently diverse to permit comparison of the different patterns across the African continent. Academics are forever debating how they organize themselves and their departments. That should not be surprising, since jobs, careers, and reputations are all potentially at stake. It is not uncommon for there to be a good deal of bloodshed when political scientists try to reach agreement, or at least a generally accepted decision, on how their particular knowledge-domain is to be structured. Although the agreed division is always defended in rational terms, in practice what emerges is often largely a compromise among competing interests. So, indeed, for comparative politics. In many departments of government or political science (that terminology is itself regularly contested), comparative politics turns out to mean those faculty who study other countries. (Studying the interactions among other countries—international relations—is generally allocated its own compartment.) Although comparativists may claim to have a common approach or methodology, or aspire to define one, in practice what is common is their interest in places, people, and events outside the United States. The situation is similar in comparative education. There, too, notwithstanding the professional associations and journals, the fundamental and enduring commonality is the foreign focus. Within comparative politics, the most common division has been simultaneously ideological and pragmatic. The usual approach is to categorize countries as democratic or socialist or developing. Those can be, and usually are, of course, overlapping and nonexclusive categories. In this usage, democratic really refers to the countries of the North Atlantic (and did so even when Portugal and Spain were certainly not democratic) and Japan; socialist refers to the (former) Soviet Union, its allies in eastern Europe, and China; and developing refers essentially to the countries of the southern hemisphere. This categorization roughly corresponds to the division of the globe into the First, Second, and Third Worlds. Africa has always been among the developing countries. The contextual point here is an important one. For the most part, African politics have been treated as a special case, or at best a set of special cases, that warranted a unique location in the study of who rules and how. Almost never do African countries appear as cases in point in courses on the legislative process, or the judicial system, or elections, or public opinion, or interest groups, or local government. Here is a clear consequence of Africa's role as the other. It is not easily integrated into the constructs we use to analyze ourselves. And as might seem appropriate in a

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setting where many people regard Africa as a country rather than a continent, instructors in African politics courses are expected to include in their teaching nearly all (but not quite all) of the continent. Here it is important to note this is not quite all, for it bears on the sort of external influences to which I shall return in more detail later. In many universities, Africa was, and is, understood to mean sub-Saharan Africa, or more accurately, Africa except for those countries generally considered North African. In this, universities followed the pattern of the U.S. Department of State, which assigns North Africa to the Middle East. The organizational scheme that seemed to make sense to those charged with protecting U.S. geopolitical interests was also assumed to make sense for studying Africa on the campus. That orientation is annually reinforced by the World Bank, which in its publications on Africa and its regular Development Reports specifies such a scheme. For example: Most o f the discussion and all o f the statistics about Africa in this study refer to just thirty-nine countries south o f the S a h a r a , for which the terms

Africa and Sub-Saharan

Africa are used

interchangeably.6

For the most part, significant objections to that scheme have been infrequent, spasmodic, and generally muted. Some scholars do see this usage as a systematic effort to de-Africanize the older societies of northern Africa, along with their recognized achievements in art, architecture, education, language, productive activities, trade, and international relations. Whatever the motives, rarely are students offered a systematic explanation for why Africa's own sense of itself—the membership of the Organization of African Unity—should not guide instruction in U.S. universities. Surveys of African

Politics

Courses

We get a glimpse at what happens in courses on Africa in two surveys undertaken by Mark DeLancey and his colleagues. 7 These teams surveyed instructors of courses on African politics, first in 1 9 7 8 and again in 1987, asking them what they did and why. Several of their findings stand out. On the one hand, there were striking similarities. Nearly all of the surveyed instructors had multiple purposes in organizing their courses. Beyond developing a basic overview of African politics, the instructors also sought to dispel myths about Africa, increase knowledge of Africa more generally, develop cultural awareness, expose students to alternative theories and methods, and develop research and analytic skills. Three-quarters o f the instructors surveyed reported extensive use of novels and films. Nearly all reported relying heavily on student discussion. External events influenced the contents o f these courses in two ways. First, the increased political activity in South Africa during the 1980s corresponded with increasing

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attention to South A f r i c a in these courses. T h a t , in turn, may have been associated with the increased interest in A f r i c a and increased enrollment that the surveyed instructors reported. S e c o n d , the general orientation o f U . S . politics and interests s e e m s to have i n f l u e n c e d both how instructors organized their courses and where they conducted their own research. M o s t o f these c o u r s e s f o c u s e d on s u b - S a h a r a n A f r i c a . A n d these instructors c o n centrated their research in the E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g c o u n t r i e s that D e L a n c e y and his colleagues characterized as generally pro-West or capitalist in their policies. T h e r e was striking diversity in the findings. T h e r e was, for e x a m p l e , relatively little agreement on the b o o k s to be used. In the 1 9 8 7 survey, no one b o o k was assigned as a text in more than 12 percent o f the c l a s s e s . For a s i n g l e b a s i c c o u r s e on A f r i c a n p o l i t i c s , f o r t y - t w o p r o f e s s o r s a s s i g n e d 181 different texts. A request to list the two or three most important b o o k s on A f r i c a n politics revealed a c o m p a r a b l e diversity. O n e book was listed by 2 0 percent o f those surveyed in both 1 9 7 8 and 1 9 8 7 , but no other b o o k appeared on more than 1 2 percent o f the lists in 1 9 8 7 .

From the Exotic to the Pitiable T h e g l i m p s e provided by these surveys b e g s for a s o m e w h a t fuller discussion o f teaching A f r i c a n politics. I shall address e s p e c i a l l y what s e e m to me to have been the most important c h a n g e s o v e r time, with particular attention to the interplay between events outside the c l a s s r o o m — b o t h within and outside a c a d e m i a — a n d what goes on inside it. T o f o c u s our attention, I shall limit m y s e l f to selected themes. Many points in this discussion warrant extended attention: that would require a b o o k , not a chapter. T h e depiction o f A f r i c a and the general approach to studying its politics in U . S . undergraduate c l a s s e s have c h a n g e d with the times. T h e earliest e f f o r t s , through the 1 9 5 0 s and early 1 9 6 0 s , w e r e guided by the c o m parative

perspective

developed

largely

by

anthropologists.

Whether

formally trained or experientially educated or simply self-designated, they provided most o f the b a s i c s o u r c e i n f o r m a t i o n . A f r i c a was e x o t i c but n o n e t h e l e s s orderly. O n e c o u l d usefully c o m p a r e s o c i e t i e s with c o m p l e x structures o f authority with other s o c i e t i e s that s e e m e d to have no central o f f i c i a l s at all. T h a t c o m p a r i s o n could then b e integrated into e x p l a n a t i o n s for A f r i c a n behavior during and after European rule. A n t h r o p o l o g y provided the approach as well as the data. H a v i n g assumed responsibility f o r the primitive in their split from s o c i o l o g y in the nineteenth century, anthropologists o f f e r e d a well developed m e t h o d o l o g y that e m p h a s i z e d e x t e n d e d and c l o s e o b s e r v a t i o n , attention to detail, and a c c u r a t e recording o f o s t e n s i b l y unimportant e v e n t s . T o d e v e l o p an a d e quate understanding o f what was o b s e r v e d required a c l o s e f a m i l i a r i t y with people and their lives, including a mastery o f their language and often

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participation in their social events and rituals. Field-workers of this sort were necessarily holists. Comprehending patterns of social interaction required a basic knowledge of the local history, economy, politics, and cultural expression." During the era of European rule, anthropology and sociology (understood broadly) provided much of the academic terminology and legitimacy for the distinction between we of Europe and the them of Africa. (The grammatic shift from subjective to objective case is not accidental.) As referring to the primitive and the backward became politically offensive or simply unfashionable, new ways of specifying the distance between the modern we and the backward them became prominent. Perhaps most visible among the academics were the dichotomies introduced by Parsons and their offspring: affectivity vs. affective neutrality, self-orientation vs. collective orientation, particularism vs. universalism, ascription vs. achievement, diffuseness vs. specificity. African societies need no longer be termed primitive or backward. Instead, they were particularistic, ascriptive, diffuse, and so on. The we/them differentiation also appeared in the everyday language of describing Africa: empire/state/nation vs. tribe; emperor/king vs. chief; prince/lord/duke/viceroy/marquis/knight vs. headman; priest/minister/bishop/archbishop/pope vs. juju man/ritual priest/witch doctor/shaman; doctor vs. witch doctor; chemist/pharmacist vs. medicine man; clothing vs. dress/costume; hut vs. house; and more. From language that had justified the colonial enterprise (modern vs. primitive) we had progressed to language that entrenched the exotic, though rather more subtly. Note here that in this era, African politics highlighted what were described by the European colonial powers as two divergent orientations toward the primitive: assimilation/direct rule/France and trusteeship/indirect rule/England. For the former, the Enlightenment provided the sense that industrialization, westernization, and modernization marked progress. The backwardness of Africa was a condition to be overcome. For the latter, the guiding image was that of the noble savage corrupted by contact with modern society. Both views, however, maintained the we/them dichotomy. Both assumed a great distance between the we and the them. In practice, colonial policies differed far less than their philosophies of justification seemed to suggest. In the energy, excitement, and optimism of the decolonization of Africa, exotic Africa became emergent Africa. With the fetters of European rule eliminated, the potential seemed unlimited. The legacy of backwardness did remain, of course. It was now regarded as tradition, which was both noble and anachronistic. Though occasionally delayed and dismayed by the practices of the past, the peoples of Africa could now employ their imagination, creativity, and energies to construct new societies. Most students of Africa questioned neither the emergence nor its general

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direction. A n d in the euphoria of that era, most foresaw a relatively rapid narrowing of the we/them gap. As the behavioral revolution swept the social sciences, e m e r g e n t Africa b e c a m e modernizing Africa. T h e p r e s u m e d tension b e t w e e n tradition and modernity now warranted primary attention. Notwithstanding furious debates about stages, paths, and alternatives, the general sense w a s that e v e r y o n e understood what being modern meant. For most, though of course not all, b e c o m i n g modern meant b e c o m i n g more like the societies of the North Atlantic, especially the United States. 9 For the dominant perspective in the social sciences, particularism was backward, both in African societies and in research methodology. T h e language of functionalism o f f e r e d universal terms like rulemaking and interest aggregation. Since these functions had to be performed in every society, they c o u l d b e c o m e the tools for c o m p a r a t i v e analysis. It w a s less important for scholars to know a particular society well than to understand these constructs, p r e s u m e d to be universal. Although many of the professors w h o managed this transition in the study of Africa had secured their own positions as A f r i c a n area studies e x p a n d e d rapidly, they were transf o r m i n g the instructional and research a g e n d a s in w a y s that were eventually to undermine much of the case for area studies. T h e rationale for o f fering courses and degrees on Africa, after all, went beyond the assertion of A f r i c a ' s uniqueness to insist on the importance of a multi-disciplinary holism. But behavioral social science e m p h a s i z e d the universality of approach and method, not the specificity of time, space, and society. It is important to note here that students of A f r i c a as a g r o u p have never quite digested the clarion call for quantification that has been central to the behavioral revolution. S o m e scholars, of course, have relied heavily on e v i d e n c e in quantitative f o r m . But A f r i c a n i s t s on the w h o l e have recognized that nearly always the available quantitative data are not up to the a n a l y t i c tasks f o r which they are c o m m o n l y used. T h e saga of the Nigerian census is a clear case in point. T h e count taken in 1962 w a s politically unacceptable, since it would have deprived the north of its m a j o r ity of parliamentary seats. A recount in 1963 reported a growth in population of nearly 25 percent, surely impossible. Yet the population f i g u r e s produced by the 1963 c e n s u s b e c a m e the official n u m b e r s on which s u b sequent planning, and international statistical c o m p a r i s o n s , relied. T h e saga w a s repeated in the 1970s. If the margin of error in the total population may be as large as 1 0 - 2 0 percent, then the margins of error in all data that rely on that n u m b e r (for example, education spending per capita) are likely to be larger than w h a t e v e r variation o n e o b s e r v e s in a particular v a r i a b l e . W h e n that o c c u r s , we cannot tell w h e t h e r or not a s i g n i f i c a n t c h a n g e has occurred. T h e n what? W e can ignore the precepts of sound research, announce to readers that the data are f l a w e d , and proceed to ignore the problem and present findings as if the data were not problematic; or we

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can turn to other sorts of information. Africanist social scientists have followed both strategies, though, I believe, unlike colleagues who study other areas, more the latter than the former. What have not emerged, however, are innovative approaches to seriously incomplete and flawed data, specifically tailored to the African setting. 1 0 The critique of modernization that emerged in Latin America had Africanist advocates as well. Especially as it became clearer that the initial postcolonial optimism about rapid modernization was not matched by substantial and visible improvements in the standard of living, modernizing Africa became dependent Africa. It did not make sense, the critics argued, to search for the causes for A f r i c a ' s problems entirely within Africa: that is blaming the victim, finding that the cause of poverty is being poor. Whatever was happening, it was argued, was largely the result of the interactions between Africa and the rest of the world, and especially of the incorporation of Africa into a global system largely on terms set outside Africa. The underdevelopment of Africa was neither a historic legacy nor an aberration. Rather, it was the foundation for the development of Europe. In this sense, underdevelopment was an ongoing process, not a state of being. For much of Africa, the situation deteriorated daily. The common example was unequal and declining terms of trade. A tractor that could be purchased for, say, one ton of an African export would cost two tons or more a decade later. Explanations delimit solutions. If the problem was the relationship with Europe, then intensifying that relationship could only make things worse. The appropriate development strategy was not further integration into a global economy dominated by the North Atlantic countries but limiting that integration, expanding inter-African links, and then reshaping the global economy itself. For the modernizationists, all the talk about imperialism and alliances across the southern hemisphere was a distraction from the major business at hand: national development. For the dependistas, there was no tension at all. R e f o r m i n g the international economy, which required combating imperialism, was a necessary element of any development strategy. The notion of a dependent Africa relied on the assumption that there was more than one path to development, however defined. African states were not simply immature versions of what the states of the North Atlantic had become, destined to follow along the same path, though perhaps somewhat more rapidly. Rapid industrialization in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and agricultural transformation and the elimination of famine in China seemed to provide concrete evidence that Africa had an alternative to following the advice proffered by the countries of the North Atlantic and the transnational organizations they dominated. By the late 1970s, Cuban support to the government of Angola seemed to confirm the viability of noncapitalist d e v e l o p m e n t strategy under harsh conditions.

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Here was a small, island state, long under the thumb, or heel, of the United States, able with Soviet support not only to protect itself against invasion but also to send its troops h a l f w a y a r o u n d the world to s t a n d u p to a U . S . - S o u t h African alliance. The disarray of Eastern Europe in the late 1980s, however, w a s interpreted by most observers to m e a n that there w a s only o n e path a f t e r all. T h e implication w a s clear, it sfeemed. T h e Eastern European e c o n o m i e s had failed so badly that their leaders saw no alternative but to privatize, to replace planning with markets. T h a t failure tainted a n y t h i n g even vaguely associated with socialism. T o continue to insist on public ownership, or to focus as much attention on redistribution as on production, or to allocate substantial resources to ostensibly nonproductive social services was to perpetuate poverty. During the same period, the e c o n o m i c situation b e c a m e m u c h more difficult for most of Africa. S o m e observers were quick to point to socialist initiatives, in some areas, as principal c a u s e s of e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m s ; but in fact, the economic distress was widespread. Countries with very different m i c r o c i r c u m s t a n c e s — d i f f e r e n t patterns of colonial rule and decolonization, different political institutions, different f o r m s of accountability and responsibility, different ideologies, different regional interactions, different development strategies—had very similar macroexperiences. T o explain problems that a f f e c t nearly all A f r i c a n countries by things A f r i c a n is to claim that at the root is s o m e t h i n g uniquely A f r i c a n . If not the climate, 1 1 then it must be the genes. 1 2 This combination was devastating. Alternative development strategies that once appeared promising lost credibility. E c o n o m i c distress b e c a m e financial crisis that could only be m a n a g e d , it seemed, by additional f o r eign aid. Increased reliance on external assistance brought with it ever more explicit advice, now formalized as conditions. Securing national aid b e c a m e more dependent on m a i n t a i n i n g g o o d relations with the transnational organizations d o m i n a t e d by the United States, the country w h o s e leaders claimed credit for their global triumphs. Dependent A f r i c a had bec o m e crisis Africa and then pitiable Africa. An aside. It is tempting to infer f r o m the contemporary crisis that Africa failed to follow the d e v e l o p m e n t a d v i c e it received, or that d e v e l o p m e n t advice w a s inadequately or i n c o m p e t e n t l y a d m i n i s t e r e d . M a n y A f r i c a n governments, however, f o l l o w e d that advice. While there were, of course, d i s a g r e e m e n t s about timing, p h a s i n g , a n d details, A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s a d o p t e d many of the basic d e v e l o p m e n t r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s p r o f f e r e d by o n e or another of the external a g e n c i e s on which they relied. T h e r e has been at least as much continuity in f o l l o w i n g that advice as there has been consistency in the a d v i c e itself. Both advisers and g o v e r n m e n t s have changed their minds, often dramatically; and both have had little patience

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with their critics; hence, it is striking how little development, of the sort projected, there has been. This is too complex a story to pursue here, but whatever lack of progress is observed cannot be entirely a function of failures on the African side of that development connection. It is simply not possible that the advice was uniformly good and the implementation always flawed. Overloaded,

Besieged,

Undemocratic

It is useful to conclude this overview of teaching African politics by returning once again to the c o m m o n contemporary rendering of the African state. Since the current debates among the students of African politics are too recent to have been reviewed and discussed extensively, it is useful both to note what is being said and to indicate what seems problematic. There are two important threads here: one emphasizes the state's incapacities; the other focuses on its authoritarian character and nondemocratic origins. For many commentators, the developmental state in Africa has become the overloaded state or the besieged state. 1 3 The argument is straightforward and has regularly been advanced by the modernizationists. Demands on the state have expanded far more rapidly than its capacities. That imbalance is compounded where the state is expected to play a major role in organizing and managing the e c o n o m y . Overloaded, the state proves unable to fulfill even its more limited functions. Incapable of staffing the schools, or supplying the clinics, or maintaining the roads, the state is besieged by an angry populace. Threatened and powerless to relieve the fundamental pressures, its leaders respond with coercion and repression. Participation in civic affairs is limited or entirely prohibited. The resulting authoritarianism is defended in terms of a need for national unity in the face of multiple crises and, perhaps, vicious enemies. It is justified as well in terms of the essential importance of expertise. Development is a matter for those who know what they are doing, not illiterate villagers. Heartened by the downfall of authoritarian leaders elsewhere, the populace reinvigorates its protest, overloading and besieging the state still further. There are several problems here. Some are terminological. For example, in this perspective, state s o m e t i m e s means country. At other times, perhaps in the same text, state means government or its officials or those who actually hold power, whether or not they have formal positions. What is most problematic here, however, is that the analysts are once again looking for explanations entirely within Africa. The limits on a g o v e r n m e n t ' s capabilities (what makes it " o v e r l o a d e d " ) have as much to do with the country's international role as with its national policies. The Zambian government, for example, has been so dependent on sale of copper that a chart of the e c o n o m y ' s health looks very much like a graph of the world market

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price of c o p p e r . A n d certainly, those in p o w e r in M o z a m b i q u e were besieged far more by foreign attacks and pressure than by the local citizenry. T h e second thread reflects the rediscovery of the importance of politics. For much of Africa, effective politics secured independence and then c a m e to be r e g a r d e d as threatening. T h e l e a d e r s h i p that w a s borne to power by a m o b i l i z e d populace began to fear that mobilization. Political competition w a s regarded as an obstacle to national unity. An alliance between a technocratic-administrative elite and w h o e v e r held power (which in many countries w a s the military) felt especially vulnerable to a politicized public. T h e end of the 1980s w i t n e s s e d a rediscovery of politics, both within A f r i c a and a m o n g students of A f r i c a n politics. T h e key term has been democracy, usually taken to mean multiparty competition. Surely a step f o r w a r d . Or is it? Much of this new fascination with politics has a limited vision. It seems m o r e c o n c e r n e d with r e f u r b i s h i n g the f u n c t i o n a l i s m of the 1960s (emphasizing the importance of m e c h a n i s m s for aggregating and articulating interests) than with e n a b l i n g p e o p l e to g o v e r n themselves. It relies heavily on the sense that rules and practices in the North Atlantic, and especially the United States, are the m o d e l s to be e m u l a t e d , though s o m e proselytizers f o r democracy in Africa caution against the adoption of the distinctly u n d e m o c r a t i c f e a t u r e s of U.S. politics. What A f r i c a n s hear is, "You have failed in your development, but w e have succeeded. Now you should g o and do as we have done, or as our rules s p e c i f y w e should be doing. T h a t is not p e r f e c t , but it is certainly p r e f e r a b l e . " T h e principal focus of attention is on elections, the primary symbol of democratic practice. Democratic elections are deemed to require parties, preferably not too many, to integrate divergent interests into a coherent organization that is capable of governing. T r o u b l i n g here is the heavy f o c u s on institutional a r r a n g e m e n t s . T o assess the d e m o c r a t i c character of a particular country, observers pay attention to the n u m b e r of parties, the rules that govern the creation of new parties and their candidates' participation in elections, the autonomy of the judiciary f r o m executive control, the independence of the media f r o m government direction, and the like. It s e e m s r e a s o n a b l e to c o n s i d e r as more democratic those countries where the relevant laws make it easier for new parties to present their programs and support their candidates, other things being equal. But very o f t e n , other things are f a r f r o m equal. Hungry and m a l n o u r i s h e d people, for e x a m p l e , are less likely to be able to negotiate the legal p r o c e d u r e s required to stand for election, however open and encouraging they may be, than their better-fed neighbors. T o put this concern s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t l y , it is puzzling to find a list of criteria of democraticness that has no mention of access to e c o n o m i c resources. T h e f o r m a l legislation may permit a n y o n e to start a n e w s p a p e r ; but in practice, the r e s o u r c e s required to begin publication may m a k e it

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impossible for all but a f e w to do so. T h e administrative rules m a y f o r mally permit anyone to bring a case to court; but the complex p r o c e d u r e s and substantial f e e s f o r f i l i n g a c h a r g e may m a k e the courts u n a v a i l a b l e to a good part of the citizenry. How, then, to determine which c o u n t r y is more democratic if it is only institutional arrangements that matter? This orientation is a hallmark of liberal democracy. The principal concern is with institutional arrangements. A p p r e h e n s i v e about relying on the intentions and wills of those in power, liberal democracy e m p h a s i z e s the f r a m e w o r k and the rules that are, in principal, independent of particular officials. Earlier, the study of A f r i c a n politics s e e m e d to have gone b e y o n d that institutional focus. It was at least as much concerned with o u t c o m e s as with laws, rules, and procedures. An analogy may be useful. How to determine if a race is fair? O n e approach is to focus on the rules. Are s o m e runners unreasonably precluded from entering the competition? Do some runners start sooner or in front of the others? Are some runners permitted special assistance not available to others (advance knowledge of peculiarities of the course? drugs?)? T h e race organizers may go further to insure that all runners have had c o m p a r a b l e training and arrive at the start with equivalent e q u i p m e n t . If all of these arrangements are fair, then one can, in this view, safely conclude that the outcome is fair. Having established an equality of opportunity, the organizers can presume the f a i r n e s s of the result. W h a t , though, if o n e o b s e r v e s after a number of races that one set of runners has a much higher success rate than the others even though whatever makes them a set should c o n f e r no special advantage? S u p p o s e the l e f t - h a n d e d runners, or the b l u e - e y e d runners, consistently win more o f t e n ? What if the w i n n i n g r u n n e r s are lighter skinned or c o m e f r o m m o r e a f f l u e n t families? That result should make us wonder about the fairness of the race. W e might well infer that the race favored one group over another in a way that had not been foreseen in our attention to the arrangements. But we would discover that only if, in addition to looking at the a r r a n g e m e n t s , w e also f o c u s e d on the o u t c o m e s . What seems to be equal opportunity may, in practice, not be equal at all. Perhaps the race analogy is too distant f r o m politics. Let us turn to a labor-discrimination case in the U.S. courts. Several years ago, a g r o u p of f e m a l e e m p l o y e e s sued the principal U.S. t e l e p h o n e c o m p a n y , c l a i m i n g they had not been promoted or not received salary increases because senior officials discriminated against w o m e n . T h e charged officials rejected that claim. T h e y presented to the court a forest of paper to show that, in each case, the p r o c e d u r e s they used w e r e fair and not d i s c r i m i n a t o r y . In its judgment, the court did not point to a discernible systematic pattern of discrimination in the numerous cases reviewed; rather, the court decided that, where w o m e n constituted nearly all the w o r k f o r c e at the lowest level, half at the middle level, but only a minuscule proportion at the very top, it w a s r e a s o n a b l e to infer that there w a s d i s c r i m i n a t i o n . A p p a r e n t equality of

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opportunity w a s not adequate. T h e inequality of o u t c o m e s w a s itself sufficient e v i d e n c e of discrimination, even if o n e could not point directly to the discriminatory practices, and even if those w h o discriminated were not entirely aware of the general consequences of their actions. T h e i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r the e f f o r t s to assess d e m o c r a c y s e e m o b v i o u s . We might have e x p e c t e d that the e x p e r i e n c e s of the past f e w d e c a d e s would have d e m o n s t r a t e d the inadequacy of the institutional focus. Just as the apparent equality of opportunity is at best only a partial yardstick for measuring fundamental equality, so access, openness, and autonomy of political institutions are at best only a partial set of criteria f o r m e a s u r i n g democracy. T h e continued d o m i n a n c e of the nation-state as the key unit of analysis is also problematic in this era. Nonstate actors, both transnational and subnational, are clearly important and influential. Might peasant organizations, literacy m o v e m e n t s , unions, w o m e n ' s leagues, cooperatives, and many o t h e r institutional a r r a n g e m e n t s not play a central role in African democracy? A n d as integration at the global scale renders less significant the political terrain controlled by the leaders of particular countries, might regional organizations, to take just one e x a m p l e , not prove to b e the most stable foundation for African democracy? Perhaps what is most perceptive in this recent attention to parties and elections is the recognition of the role of politics in establishing and maintaining the legitimacy of both the system of g o v e r n m e n t and those w h o hold o f f i c e ; that is, what is at issue here may be legitimacy more than participation. If so, then the risk that elections will be a facade to obscure and shield c o n t i n u e d g o v e r n a n c e by a small elite is great. Elections, ostensibly d e m o c r a t i c , may be staged in an e f f o r t to restore a legitimacy undermined by sluggish g r o w t h , increasing u n e m p l o y m e n t , and the c o n s e q u e n c e s of these f a i l u r e s for nutrition, health, and the quality of life. Ultimately, the legitimacy of the A f r i c a n state and its o f f i c i a l s is d e p e n dent on improving the standard of living. If that improvement c o n t i n u e s to be heavily dependent on circumstances and events largely b e y o n d A f r i c a ' s control, a renewal strategy, indeed any d e v e l o p m e n t strategy, must envision r e f o r m i n g that relationship. Elections m a y , but d o not n e c e s s a r i l y , m o v e in that direction. An authoritarian r e g i m e may be able to retain power if its political base sees an improving, or at least not deteriorating, standard of living. W h e r e that standard appears to decline, elections may c o n f e r the legitimacy that prosperity no longer provides. But unless elections are a c c o m p a n i e d by the sort of participation that enables citizens to control their state, voting will quickly b e c o m e a facade. P e r h a p s fashionable, but not functional, such elections would do little to fulfill the promise of A f r i c a ' s d e v e l o p m e n t . T h i s o d y s s e y through teaching about A f r i c a n politics is instructive. From the exotic to the pitiable, f r o m the modernizing to the dependent, but

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a l w a y s the other. At least in the earlier p e r s p e c t i v e it w a s p o s s i b l e to s e e the u n i q u e n e s s of A f r i c a ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n to the w o r l d a n d to a n u n d e r s t a n d ing of it. In the current i m a g e of A f r i c a - t h e - h e l p l e s s , A f r i c a - t h e - i m p o t e n t , A f r i c a is of general interest primarily as a r e c i p i e n t of c h a r i t y . T h i s rapid d e c l i n e has b e e n a c c o m p a n i e d by a transition in the g u i d i n g social s c i e n c e . T h r e e d e c a d e s a g o , it w a s the k n o w l e d g e and a p p r o a c h e s of the a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s that i n f o r m e d the study of A f r i c a . T o d a y they h a v e b e e n d i s p l a c e d by e c o n o m i s t s . I n d e e d , by t h e 1 9 9 0 s e c o n o m i c s h a d b e c o m e the ideal t y p e f o r social s c i e n c e . E x p l a n a t i o n s of w h y c o m m u n i t i e s m a i n t a i n e d their s o l i d a r i t y c a m e to l o o k r e m a r k a b l y like c o s t - b e n e f i t a n a l y s i s . It b e c a m e m o r e i m p o r t a n t to hold the c o n t e x t c o n s t a n t ("all o t h e r t h i n g s b e i n g e q u a l " ) than to e x p l o r e its p e c u l i a r i t i e s a n d i d i o s y n c r a s i e s . W h a t w a s highly r e w a r d e d w a s not the d e p t h of f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h a p a r t i c u lar society or situation but h o w rapidly o n e c o u l d m o d e l it. T h e point here is not that a n t h r o p o l o g y is in s o m e f u n d a m e n t a l w a y better than e c o n o m ics; or that either d i s c i p l i n e is inherently better s u i t e d to g u i d i n g our study of A f r i c a ; rather, I have s o u g h t to highlight the transition a n d to note that e a c h o f f e r s a d i f f e r e n t w a y of k n o w i n g a n d p r o p o s e s a d i f f e r e n t r o l e f o r the s t u d e n t a n d o b s e r v e r . My c o n c e r n here has been to lay a f o u n d a t i o n . T e a c h i n g about A f r i c a in the 1990s requires a d d r e s s i n g not only w h a t s t u d e n t s k n o w and d o not k n o w a b o u t A f r i c a , but also w h a t w e o u r s e l v e s , as t e a c h e r s , k n o w , d o not k n o w , and think w e k n o w about A f r i c a .

THE KNOWLEDGE-BASE T h i s r e v i e w of t e a c h i n g about A f r i c a n politics in the past h a s c l a r i f i e d the c o n s t r u c t i o n of the k n o w l e d g e - b a s e that will b e u s e d in t e a c h i n g a b o u t A f r i c a in the f u t u r e . I w a n t n o w to a d d r e s s s e v e r a l o t h e r c o m p o n e n t s a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of that k n o w l e d g e - b a s e , all of w h i c h i n f o r m , and thus c o n dition a n d c o n s t r a i n , w h a t w e d o a n d h o w w e d o it.

The Invention

of Africa

T o b e g i n this part of the d i s c u s s i o n , it is e s s e n t i a l that w e r e c o g n i z e the A f r i c a that we—in the s e n s e in w h i c h I h a v e b e e n u s i n g that t e r m — h a v e i n v e n t e d . M o s t i m p o r t a n t , the i n v e n t i o n p r o c e s s is o n g o i n g . M u d i m b e 1 4 makes this case p o w e r f u l l y , detailing exactly how early A f r i c a n i s t s , primarily m i s s i o n a r i e s and a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s , c r e a t e d , c h a r a c t e r ized, a n d s t e r e o t y p e d A f r i c a . I n d e e d , c o l o n i a l i s m c o e v o l v e d w i t h a n t h r o p o l o g y as a discipline. T h a t is not to say that all a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s w e r e a p o l o g i s t s f o r colonial rule, but rather to n o t e that b o t h colonial rule a n d early a n t h r o p o l o g y r e f l e c t e d the ideas of their t i m e s a n d that e a c h i n f l u e n c e d the

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other. It is also to note that as they sought to justify their conquests and subjugations, colonizers often employed the descriptions and categories of the anthropologists. Some anthropologists took it as their duty to support the colonial effort. Others asserted their duty was to avoid criticizing it: "Whether [those who control colonial policy] are doing right or wrong is a question for moral philosophy, not for social anthropology." 1 5 Central to both enterprises was the absolute insistence on two conceptually and empirically different sorts of society and people: primitive and modern. Anthropologists assumed responsibility for describing the primitive in scientific terms, but they were never solely concerned with description: they generally sought, as well, to characterize and explain—asserting that they understood it better than anyone else—the transition from primitive to modern. One scholar, writing in pre-World War II times, asserted: "Anthropology, which used to be the study of beings and things retarded, gradual, and backward, is now faced with the difficult task of recording how the 'savage' becomes an active participant in modern civilization." 1 6 At first, Africans were essentially subhuman; or perhaps prehuman: paganism, nakedness, and cannibalism were their defining characteristics. Intervening in their societies to civilize them, it could then be argued, was not only reasonable but a moral responsibility of the Europeans. Over time, the primitive became simply underdeveloped. Europeans could then either justify transforming their societies in order to modernize them or denying them access to the status and rights of European society in order to preserve their ostensibly uncorrupted state and permit them to develop at whatever was thought to be their own pace. In practice, Europeans often did both. Creating Africa was necessarily a complex process. To provide content to the backwardness of Africa required specifying a moral order of sorts: hierarchies of values and authorities, and economic, social, and political institutions (including tribe and tribalism). All of that had to be associated with the people, activities, and social relations that one encountered in Africa. Africa did, after all, exist. Africa-the-backward had roots in both that Africa and the Africa that was being fashioned by its European interpreters. The more they considered themselves the bearers of European social science, the more those interpreters insisted they could distinguish the true Africa from the Africa that had already been deformed by its contact with the (more powerful) outsiders. Since they were best able to make that distinction, they insisted, they were true-Africa's only reliable interpreters. My point here is not to indict anthropology. As I suggested above, the receding role of anthropology has had, I believe, unfortunate consequences for African studies more generally; rather, my concern is to highlight the interconnections between the state and the academy in that earlier era to sensitize us to its links now.

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T h e impulse to invent and describe the primitive in order to d e f i n e ourselves is extraordinarily powerful and influential. That, it seems to me, is the most powerful lesson of this part of the story. We need them in order to be clear about us. We indicate who we are by differentiating ourselves from this other, and our pride and self-respect (and therefore self-confidence) are in large part a function of that distance. To maintain our sense of self, that distance must be maintained. A conversation of "us" with "us" about "them" is a conversation in which "them" is silenced. "Them" a l w a y s stands on the other side of the hill, naked and speechless, barely present in its absence. Subject of discussion, "them" is only admitted a m o n g "us," the discussing subjects, when accompanied or introduced by an "us," member, hence the dependence of "them" and its need to acquire good manners for the membership standing. 1 7

It is worth stressing again that this invention is necessarily an ongoing process, not simply the legacy of a misguided m o m e n t in the European past. The examples surround us. T o take just one, from a publication that arrived in my mailbox as I was preparing this chapter: S i x m i l l i o n proud p e o p l e d e f e n d a culture rich in history and tradition. Fighting the invasion of industrialization . . . s h i e l d i n g their m a g i c and mystery from the techno-terrors of modern s o c i e t y . Can they protect this l i f e s t y l e ? Or must they surrender to the p r o m i s e and the pain of a n e w prosperity? 1 8

This advertising copy appeared in one of the most modern of our magazines—a magazine for computer owners, for people willing to invest in electronic communication. It was an advertisement for IQuest, a collection of some 850 databases. Set under a picture of a young boy with a shield (a boy I presume to be Zulu-speaking), the a d ' s big type proclaimed: "You could go to Udombo to learn about the Zulus. Or you could G O IQuest." So here, amid information about the latest research techniques that search rapidly through collections of data—the most contemporary sort of news, that is available to its audience even before it reaches print—what do we find? First, we encounter an attractive child attired in what many people would describe as tribal regalia. Second, our attention is directed toward the enduring mystique of the implacable tension between tradition and modernity. Third, we find a war, between tribal people on the one side and the invasion of industrialization and the technoterrors of modern society on the other. And fourth, we find Zulu, a symbol intended to evoke a combination of pride, strength, and primitiveness. What we do not find is a hint that much of the Zulu-speaking population lives in urban and semiurban areas and wears clothing rather like that of the m a g a z i n e ' s readers. We do not find the suggestion that s o m e

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Zulu-speakers are engineers, or bankers, or industrialists; people who benefit from and advocate modernization, who do not decry it. And we do not find a glimmer of the contemporary conflict in South Africa, where the principal terror is that created by the state, not modernization; and where at least some Zulu-speakers have been thoroughly implicated in spreading that terror. The point here is straightforward. The invention of Africa is a process, not an event in our distant past. It goes on daily, in settings that are diverse and too numerous to count. It is far more pervasive than systematic instruction by expert Africanists in universities or elsewhere. As this primitive Africa is regularly reinvented, it legitimizes treating Africa as it is depicted. And as Internet plays its role, it creates a new cast of experts who can become more active participants in the reinvention process as they share their new knowledge with others. After all, many more people will see the advertisement than will take the trouble or spend the money to look up Zulus in IQuest's databases. The Restoration

and Durability

of

Modernization

I have already pointed to the durability of notions of modernization in political science. Since those ideas reach across the social sciences, and even into the humanities and physical sciences, it is essential to explore their significance further. S o m e of the proponents of modernization are now less extravagant and arrogant in their claims; some are even defensive. Indeed, several prominent orators have offered eulogies for the modernization perspective. But reports of its passing have remained premature; and its theoretical precepts have proved strikingly durable. The modernization ideology has several major components. As I have noted above, the initial—and generally unstated and undefended—premise of the ideology locates the sources and causes of Africa's problems within Africa. 1 9 Contemporary poverty, for example, is to be explained in terms of the distant past (a historical legacy of rudimentary technology and small-scale societies); or the climate (the abundant tropical bounty stimulates neither hard work nor invention); or the missing factors of production (insufficient capital/technology/skills to develop local resources fully); or early socialization (maternal dependence, subjugation of self to group); or attitudinal orientation (a stoic passivity, even fatalistic submissiveness, in the face of adversity); or psychosocial mindset (low need for achievement); or inefficiency and corruption; or in terms of some variant or combination of these themes. A second component of the ideology of modernization development deals largely with technical-administrative process. In this understanding, development is fostered by rationalizing the use of scarce resources, supplying requisite capital, skills, and technology at critical junctures, and

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using state p o w e r to reward those w h o e n g a g e in desired b e h a v i o r s . D e v e l o p m e n t has to do with a p p l y i n g k n o w l e d g e a n d m a n i p u l a t i n g inputs, which for the most part are regarded as technical and administrative tasks. T h e reliable p e r f o r m a n c e of those technical and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e tasks is d e e m e d to require well-oiled m a c h i n e r y and s m o o t h l y m e s h i n g gears: in the parlance of politics, relative stability and m a n a g e a b l e conflict, and not society-wide popular mobilization and the s h a r p clash of c o m p e t i n g programs, or the energetic confrontation of incompatible interests, or conflict a m o n g antagonistic classes. A third theme is that managers of this technical-administrative process are expected to be a modernizing middle class. 2 0 Only that class, imbued through its education with the requisite skills and socialized to value individual e c o n o m i c and social mobility, can shoulder the burden of national r e f o r m . Acting in its own interests, it can initiate and, more importantly, manage broad social transformation. T h e elites of the old o r d e r — w h e t h e r aristocrats, feudal lords, leaders w h o s e authority w a s drawn f r o m lineage, clan, and ethnic formations, c o n q u e r o r s and other s u c c e s s f u l generals, or designated inheritors of the colonial m a n t l e — l a c k the c o m b i n a t i o n of c o m p e t e n c e , vision, and drive necessary for the c o n s t r u c t i o n of a new order. Peasant political mobilizers, trade union militants, radical critics of imperialism, and n e o c o l o n i a l i s m — l i k e politics in g e n e r a l — a r e all regarded as obstacles to progress. From tenets two and three c o m e s a fourth theme: the preferred political form is liberal democracy, in which citizen participation is indirect and limited and in which expertise r e i g n s s u p r e m e . U n l i k e o t h e r societies w h e r e education is much more w i d e s p r e a d and w h e r e g r o u p s critical of public policy can advance their own experts, the very narrow base of education in most of A f r i c a m e a n s that to f a v o r e x p e r t i s e is to e x c l u d e the m a s s f r o m serious policy debate and d e c i s i o n m a k i n g . As Fanon p e r c e p tively predicted, however, where the new postcolonial A f r i c a n leadership failed to become a modernizing middle class, authoritarian rule would prevail over pluralistic politics. In practice, only a few e f f o r t s to maintain liberal democracy in A f r i c a have survived. Elsewhere, it decayed as the postcolonial leadership thought they no longer needed it; or it crumbled as its f a c a d e of participation failed to generate the political legitimacy necessary to sustain it; or it s u c c u m b e d to those w h o p r o c l a i m e d the necessity of centralized direction and control as they d i s c a r d e d the constitution and seized power. From this perspective, e m p o w e r m e n t , d e m o c r a t i c participation, and collective liberation have for the most part been r e g a r d e d as inimical to m o d e r n i z a t i o n ' s a g e n d a , at least in the short t e r m . C i r c u m s t a n c e s have changed, however. For at least s o m e modernizationists, the practical benefits of democratic practices now seem to outweigh their increased burden on African governments. O n e lesson f r o m recent A f r i c a n experience is that

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governments that are not regarded as legitimate by their citizens are unable to i m p l e m e n t the m o d e r n i z a t i o n a g e n d a . T h e d i f f i c u l t i e s in f u l f i l l i n g the conditions attached to what has c o m e to be called structural adjustment assistance have made that painfully clear. Briefly, as the quality of life deteriorated for many A f r i c a n s during the 1980s, their g o v e r n m e n t s ever more energetically sought external aid. By the 1980s, the experts of the m a j o r transnational financial institutions, especially the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, were convinced that they understood clearly what had to be done. Special foreign aid, not linked to specific projects, and increased foreign assistance in general, became available, on the condition that African g o v e r n m e n t s adopted a series of e c o n o m i c policies (often termed liberalization). Although the specific policies to be adopted varied a bit f r o m one setting to another, in general they emphasized substantial devaluation, decreased direct government role in the e c o n o m y , especially in productive activities, reduction in the size of the civil service, e n c o u r a g e m e n t of f o r e i g n investment, and support for privatization of many activities, including public services. Nearly everywhere, the implementation of these policies meant new or increased fees for social services (for e x a m p l e , for medical t r e a t m e n t ) and increased prices for c o n s u m e r goods (often through the elimination of subsidies for staples). Nearly all African governments f o u n d at least s o m e of these policies unpalatable. S o m e f o u n d them i m p o s s i b l e to i m p l e m e n t . Rapidly increasing f o o d prices led to urban riots in Egypt and Zambia, for example. T h e lesson s e e m e d clear. A government with an insecure popular base could not successfully restructure the national e c o n o m y . Restoring legitimacy thus b e c a m e central to the m o d e r n i z a t i o n a g e n d a . T h a t , in turn, b r o a d e n e d the support for multiparty competition, elections, and other popular initiatives. I do not mean at all to suggest here that all w h o a d v o c a t e and study democracy are simply modernization instrumentalists: that is certainly not the case. What is clear, I believe, is that m o d e r n i z a t i o n i s t s w h o earlier sought to limit popular initiatives because they o v e r w h e l m e d government capacity and rendered more difficult the imposition of unpopular policies are now convinced that the absence of popular support is even more problematic. What is not yet clear is how they will respond w h e n , a m o n g the new parties, they f i n d socialists w h o call for more, not less, g o v e r n m e n t role in the economy, or populists w h o reject outright m a j o r elements of the modernization program. Finally, it is important to note that this ideology of modernization has, to a significant extent, been internalized not only by A f r i c a ' s elites but also by its populace at large. Education provides a clear e x a m p l e . On the o n e hand, popular d e m a n d s f o r e x p a n d e d access to e d u c a t i o n are o f t e n fundamentally conservative in their orientation. By and large, parents are

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not searching for a new society but rather for better access to the old order. A d m i s s i o n to postprimary s c h o o l s is v a l u e d not because it portends f u n damental social transformation but rather because it holds the promise of increased income, j o b security, and an improved standard of living. On the other hand, parents are often passionate d e f e n d e r s of their o w n exclusion f r o m educational policymaking. T h e experts should m a k e such decisions, say the m e m b e r s of the district e d u c a t i o n a l p l a n n i n g c o m m i t t e e as they ratify a proposal presented by officials of the ministry of education. Or, we must support the headteacher w h o k n o w s better about these matters, c o m ment the m e m b e r s of the school c o m m i t t e e as they agree that m a j o r elements of school policy need not be b r o u g h t to their attention. My point here is not that popular d e m a n d s are inherently c o n s e r v a t i v e or that all peasants a c q u i e s c e in their e x c l u s i o n f r o m d e c i s i o n m a k i n g ; it is, rather, that the ideology of m o d e r n i z a t i o n o p e r a t e s within as well as on the African populace. T h e very people w h o are served least well by this ideology are also its purveyors. An ideology of modernization, h o w e v e r attractive and however much internalized, could hardly sustain on its own an arrangement of this sort. In Africa, that ideology is linked to a particular pattern of postcolonial politics: the c o n d i t i o n e d (peripheral capitalist) state. 2 1 G o v e r n e d by a class w h o s e political base lies in its control over the administration rather than in its creative role in the e c o n o m y , 2 2 the c o n d i t i o n e d state in A f r i c a remains responsive to the needs of its external allies and requires sharp limits on popular participation; that is, the ideology of modernization is not simply the legacy of E u r o p e a n rule or earlier d e v e l o p m e n t thinking, or even of foreign g o v e r n m e n t s and international agencies: it is as well an ideology that is critical to an a d m i n i s t r a t i v e g o v e r n i n g class and that is, therefore, incorporated within the institutions of the conditioned state. Internalized and institutionalized, its influence is both subtle and p o w e r f u l . W e would err, however, were we to underestimate the significance of external support for this orientation. T h a t support is multifaceted, s o m e times o b v i o u s but o f t e n indirect and largely u n s e e n . Foreign assistance agencies, for example, may be explicit in their insistence on support for a modernizing middle class (access to education, recruitment to senior positions, provision of a c o m f o r t a b l e l i f e s t y l e ) as a condition for grants a n d loans. At the s a m e time, support f o r i n d i v i d u a l i s m , private c o m p e t i t i o n , and depoliticized administration may be so deeply e m b e d d e d in their curriculum that it e s c a p e s the critical attention of the A f r i c a n students in North Atlantic, especially U.S., universities. As those students b e c o m e middle-level and senior d e c i s i o n m a k e r s in their own countries, the orientation that they have internalized sets the boundaries within which policies are made. Radically different conceptualizations simply do not appear on the a g e n d a . T o put it sharply, t e c h n i c i a n s called on to repair an internal c o m b u s t i o n engine do not s p e n d their time thinking about solar p o w e r :

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photovoltaic cells are simply not in their toolkit. A n d economists called on to adjust the prices of externally marketed c o m m o d i t i e s do not analyze incomes in terms of the generation and appropriation of surplus value: their kit, too, lacks the tools to m a k e that possible. T h e r e has been, then, a return to the perspectives of the late colonial and immediate postcolonial era. T h e earlier critique, which once seemed to carry the day, has been largely discarded, at least f o r the m o m e n t . Itself stimulated and nurtured by d e c o l o n i z a t i o n and national liberation struggles, that c r i t i q u e — f o c u s e d on u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t and d e p e n d e n c e — i n sisted that the explanation for A f r i c a ' s situation could not be f o u n d solely, or primarily, or even largely, within A f r i c a . Rather, f u n d a m e n t a l c a u s e s had to be located in the global c o m p l e x , particularly in the relationships between Africa and the rest of the world. A l t h o u g h f u n d a m e n t a l l y s h a k e n by that critique, m o d e r n i z a t i o n has proved resilient and durable. N o w , as then, e x p l a n a t i o n s for poverty in Africa focus on factors of production, ethos, mind-set, cultural values, and the like. T h e causes for A f r i c a ' s poverty are to be f o u n d in A f r i c a , with, a p p a r e n t l y , some minor input f r o m the global setting. R e m e d i e s f o r the current problems are also to be f o u n d within Africa: better planning, more rational e c o n o m i c decisionmaking, governmental or other institutional reform, multiparty elections, privatization. Much of the writing has returned to o f f e r i n g advice to A f r i c a n s . W e have p r o g r e s s e d a bit, h o w e v e r : now the c o r p u s of c o m m e n t a t o r s includes a few A f r i c a n s , nearly all e d u c a t e d and socialized in North Atlantic institutions. In its tone, that w r i t i n g s p e a k s to A f r i c a n s w h o are d e e m e d incapable of adequately a n a l y z i n g their own situation and incapable of converting analysis into action. T h e s e incapabilities are a s s u m e d to be logically prior to issues of physical capacity, resource deployment, and capital investment. T h e p o w e r f u l critique of the d e p e n d e n c y and w o r l d - s y s t e m s literat u r e — t o the effect that explaining poverty in contemporary Africa requires attention to A f r i c a ' s role(s) in a world system and the institutionalization of those global connections within A f r i c a — i s widely n o t e d — a n d , except in its broadest s w e e p and most superficial f o r m , c o m m o n l y ignored. T h e international order is a given; a background condition, like the glass of the test tube in which the experiment is conducted. In practice, of course, the international order is part of A f r i c a ' s f o r e g r o u n d , not background: an energetic chameleon, not an immutable landscape. T o continue the test-tube a n a l o g y , closer inspection may reveal that the tube is m a d e not of nonreactive glass but rather of durable, p o i s o n o u s lead. T h e deterioration of those w h o ingest the e x p e r i m e n t ' s products may then stem more f r o m that lead than anything they do or fail to do. A n d even as the situation worsens, actions within the vessel may reshape the c o n t e n t ' s form and rearrange its s t r u c t u r e . T o take as given what are potentially primary causes is to exclude them from the policy (and research) discourse. What is unseen and

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undiscussed will surely not be the f o c u s of policy attention or public action. 2 3 What We See, What We Say Teaching about Africa continues to be e n c u m b e r e d by images and words that at best c o n f u s e and distract and at worst themselves b e c o m e the instructional agenda. Here, then, is a third major component of the knowledgebase for teaching about Africa in the 1990s. I shall limit myself to two examples. Tarzan, Tarzan, and more Tarzan. A few years ago I developed an introductory course on Africa that relied heavily on film. T o supplement what we did in class, I asked the participants in the course to search the weekly television s c h e d u l e s for images of A f r i c a . An u n f o r e s e e n b e n e f i t of that supplementary work was that we could analyze the weekly compilations to see what images of Africa got the most airtime. About half the class expected wildlife/nature images to dominate. T h e rest of us were divided: some expected to find that conflict w o u l d be most often depicted; others were sure that pictures of hunger and starvation would a p p e a r most o f t e n . W e were all w r o n g . In f a c t , it w a s the T a r z a n image that appeared the most o f t e n , f o l l o w e d by " G e o r g e of the J u n g l e " (an animated T a r z a n s p o o f ) . A collective third w a s f e a t u r e f i l m s (Abbott and Costello/Bob Hope in Africa; the brave white h u n t e r ' s quest in darkest Africa; Humphrey Bogart/Sidney Poitier intrigues in African settings). A brief f o l l o w - u p survey two years later found a similar pattern. By its nature, our survey of images of Africa on television in the San Francisco Bay Area d o e s not permit grand g e n e r a l i z a t i o n . W e surely missed some programs, and w e never arrived at an unimpeachable strategy for determining the total number of televised hours, since that varied f r o m one c o m m u n i t y to another a n d d e p e n d e d on w h e t h e r or not v i e w e r s had cable connections. Nor did w e have information on what people w a t c h e d rather than what was broadcast. T h e finding nevertheless w a s dramatic. In the late 1980s, in one of the largest television markets in the United States, casual viewers saw more of Tarzan than any other image of Africa. For the most part, the T a r z a n image w a s of the earlier series of f i l m s (one c h a n nel had a weekly rebroadcast of one of the old films). But there were also the more recent productions, both live-action and a n i m a t i o n . C o n s i d e r what the T a r z a n i m a g e portrays: Here is a white man, dropped suddenly in the middle of A f r i c a , w h o is soon able to do nearly everything better than anyone else in sight. He can outfight all opponents, run more quickly, swim faster, shout louder, e s c a p e danger more readily, and recover more rapidly than the local people he encounters. He can c o m municate effectively with the animals, enlisting their support regularly. He

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is also able to communicate with all the people he meets, even though they are apparently unable to understand each other. He can tell the good guys from the bad guys at first glance, both black and white. A metaphor for modernization. Words matter. Our methods of describing that which we study have an influence on how we understand it. The constructs we employ to study Africa reflect contexts, conventions, and, ultimately, social relations. At the same time, the language we use rarely has clear, unambiguous meanings. Words do not stand alone like unique prominences on an uncluttered plain. Their meanings vary from one time to the next, from one setting to another, even within a single conversation. Often, the words we use privilege some explanations while obscuring others. Although sometimes that process is conscious and crude, more often it is subtle, nearly invisible. What seems descriptive is in practice delimiting, perhaps analytically disabling. It may be politically disabling as well. T. Minh-ha Trinh stated strongly: "Language is one of the most complex forms of subjugation, being at the same time the locus of power and unconscious servility." 2 4 Recall my list above that contrasted the terms used for similar phenomena in Europe and Africa (see subsection, "From the Exotic"). To supplement that list, consider a few examples of rather more complex terms. • Subsistence farmer I farming. One of the dichotomies most frequently applied to Africa is that of subsistence vs. cash crop farming. At first glance, the distinction is clear: some farmers eat what they grow; others sell what they produce. Each strategy is then associated with different economic goals and general life-situation. That understanding, however, is both empirically and analytically problematic. In practice, no farmers are entirely self-sufficient. All must buy implements, household goods, or clothing. All must turn to the market for at least some of their needs, and this, in turn, requires having something to sell. Equally important, farmers often do not know at the beginning of the farming season whether or not they will produce enough to have a surplus to sell; hence, they must be prepared for both outcomes: having too little harvest to survive, or having a surplus to sell. Analytically, subsistence was a useful construct when it was used to understand not who would consume the produce but rather how the farmers made their decisions about what to plant, how much to plant, how much labor to invest in planting and tending the crop, what indebtedness (in whatever form) to incur. In that usage, subsistence farming suggested a local horizon and relative inattention to events beyond the family and immediate community and especially to distant markets. But there are extraordinarily few, if any, farmers of this sort in contemporary Africa. Subsistence farming in this sense disappeared long ago.

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All African farmers keep an eye on the market. To do otherwise would be terribly shortsighted and perhaps suicidal. In addition to prices, farmers must also monitor their access to credit, the availability of transportation, seeds, fertilizer and the like, and more. A farmer may produce for local consumption in one year and for more distant consumption in another; or do both in the same year. Because of market uncertainties and because the quantity of the harvest will in part be determined by factors beyond the farmer's control, producers may not be sure, when they plant, where their harvest will be consumed. For local communities to function effectively, markets must exist to accommodate excess production and even to provide for inadequate production. In short, while the construct subsistence farmer fits well with the traditional side of the traditional/modern dichotomy, it fits much less well with the realities of contemporary Africa. It suggests a category of selfsufficient farmers unaffected by markets and by the global economy—a category that simply does not exist. As generally used, this construct does not help students understand the extensiveness and pervasiveness of the colonial experience. Nor does it assist them in recognizing the integration of Africa into the global economy and analyzing its consequences. • Food vs. cash crop. This dichotomy, an extension of the notion of subsistence farming, provides a second example of encumbering language. It is common to distinguish those African farmers who produce food (to be consumed locally) from those who produce crops for cash (to be sent to the market). As I have suggested above, in practice this distinction, too, is both empirically and analytically problematic. These are, of course, not exclusive categories. In practice, many (though not all) food crops have a cash value. In practice, some of the crop may be consumed locally and some sold in the market. It may well prove useful to consider the extent to which farmers are dependent on or insulated from markets, both local and distant. But contrasting food with cashcrop production simply obscures the important underlying issues. Together, subsistence farming and food vs. cash crop assert a duality in African agriculture. Once again we find the differentiation between more and less advanced, modern and traditional, or, as has become fashionable, formal and informal. • Informal sector,25 This term refers to economic activities not fully recorded in official records and statistics, including but not limited to petty commerce, street vendors, sidewalk artisans, roadside auto mechanics, and the like. This usage is in part a legacy of the construct, dual economy, and as such perhaps marks its return to legitimacy. The notion of a two-sector economy has its roots in the duality of modernization, the assertion of the critical importance of the distance between the we and the them, and the expectation of incessant individual and collective turmoil fueled by the fundamental incompatibility of the old and the new. This perspective

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became more widespread and more comfortable to Europeans as they imposed their rule on Africa. Entrenched in various justifying ideologies— the rationalizations of Christian participation in the slave trade as well as the subsequent official philosophies of colonial rule—duality fit quite well with the other baggage that Europeans took with them to Africa. It captured what seemed to Europeans to be an unbridgeable gulf between cultures, and its utility was ostensibly confirmed by the readily apparent differences between rural and urban. It is not surprising, therefore, that much of the literature of Africa's independence era characterized African economies as dual, constituted by the inherently uneasy cohabitation of modernity and tradition. The modern sector produced for export, included European administrators, company representatives, and educated Africans, and aspired to the values, patterns of interaction, and lifestyles of contemporary Europe. The traditional sector produced for local consumption (subsistence), included the mass of the African population, and struggled to maintain the values, social networks, and daily customs of a distant past. The duality assumed in that early literature was sharply challenged. As critics of this perspective demonstrated the extent and solidity of the links between these ostensibly sharply distinct sectors—especially the flows of labor, small-scale commodities, and wages—the popularity of the construct waned. Where dual economy focused attention on separation, incompatibility, and distance, the critics emphasized the integration of Africa into a global economy and the incipient homogenization of cultures. Within the analytic framework that assumed A f r i c a ' s dual economy, the economy came to mean the modern sector: registered firms, wage employment, and taxpaying citizens. In the national statistics, the much more extensive but presumably anachronistic and disappearing exchanges organized around local production and consumption went largely unrecorded. In this regard, attention paid recently by scholars and policymakers to the informal sector brought an important corrective to the study of the economies of Africa. The unregistered and unrecorded were accorded a new legitimacy. Their durability and rationality were formally recognized. That very recognition, however, restored duality to the center of economic analysis. Yet, this usage is, in part, a process of labeling that characterizes as qualitatively different, and often of lesser significance, those economic activities that economists and other social scientists for many years did not study carefully and still find it difficult to study systematically and that governments found, and find, harder to regulate and control. In fact, as is increasingly widely acknowledged, the economy of the informal sector is neither very informal nor invisible. Patterns of employment are reasonably clearly structured and supported by a rich institutional network. There are hierarchical chains of authority, functional specialization, reliable sources of credit, and often even small-scale bureaucracy.

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Nor are these activities marginal to the national e c o n o m y . In m a n y , perhaps most, African countries, most e m p l o y m e n t is in activities labeled informal, and those activities are integrally connected to the rest of the economy through wages, purchases, credit, labor d e p l o y m e n t , and the like. T h e streetcorner m e r c h a n t s and the w o m e n w h o sell b a k e d g o o d s at factory gates are surely not invisible. M e c h a n i c s w h o earn a living repairing automobiles under the shade of trees could not survive if their services were hidden; indeed, they may well advertise. Even the official e n u m e r a t o r s have no trouble finding them when that is their goal. That economists and others have not been as successful in documenting these activities does not require e m p l o y i n g terminology that reinvigorates the notion of duality and s u g g e s t s their lesser s i g n i f i c a n c e for the economy as a whole. That governments within and outside Africa have increasingly recognized both the importance of these activities and their limited ability to regulate and control them does not render the practices of the unregistered economy unique or warrant c o n s i d e r i n g them to be invisible. Nor d o e s their invisibility to o f f i c i a l d o m indicate that the entrepreneurship that unregistered producers and merchants manifest and the business skills they employ are in s o m e f u n d a m e n t a l way different from those of their registered counterparts. T h e point here is not that there are not important distinctions a m o n g patterns of economic activity or that we do not need terms to differentiate social behaviors; rather, that many of the terms currently in use mystify more than they clarify. T o d e m y s t i f y them requires more than simply selecting other terms. Piercing the m y s t i q u e involves tracing their origins, locating their roots in a particular u n d e r s t a n d i n g and approach, and then encouraging and enabling students to c o m p r e h e n d what they read by specifying their own perspective. The

Academy

The above subsections—on inventing Africa, on e n d u r i n g notions of modernization, and on the ubiquitous images that stereotype and generally deprecate the A f r i c a n e x p e r i e n c e — a r e all part of the k n o w l e d g e - b a s e for teaching about Africa in the 1990s. T h e academy itself—universities, colleges, research institutions—and especially its c h a n g i n g character constitute a fourth component of that knowledge-base. The decline of area studies. In the 1960s, area studies were a central part of the effort to save U.S. higher education. T h e successful Soviet launch of the first artificial earth satellite, Sputnik, in the late 1950s highlighted the s u c c e s s i v e failures of the United States to orbit its o w n satellite. By the end of the decade, there s e e m e d to be w i d e s p r e a d a g r e e m e n t that the quality of U.S. education had deteriorated, and that schools, colleges, and

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universities in this country w e r e f a l l i n g b e h i n d those e l s e w h e r e . At the same time, U.S. foreign policy s e e m e d to be in disarray. T h e decolonization of Africa was perceived as creating openings for the Soviet Union to extend its influence. T h e unsuccessful invasion of Cuba was regarded as a failure of U.S. intelligence, U.S. military capability, U.S. resolve, or all three. O n e (small) part of the solution a d o p t e d then was to strengthen research and instruction on those parts of the world little known and little studied in the United States. A primary v e h i c l e for this f u n d i n g w a s the d e f e n s e appropriation, s p e c i f i c a l l y the National D e f e n s e Education Act. Increased g o v e r n m e n t f u n d s w e r e a c c o m p a n i e d by new f o u n d a t i o n support, especially f r o m the Ford and R o c k e f e l l e r Foundations. O n e result was the rapid expansion of (foreign) area and language studies. Major beneficiaries were public institutions, especially in the M i d w e s t , that c o u l d create new centers. T h e s e were soon larger than the older centers on the East Coast. Many senior c o l l e a g u e s of c o n t r i b u t o r s to this b o o k secured their first academic positions in this era. With the creation of these new c e n t e r s c a m e e f f o r t s to r e d e f i n e knowledge-domains to justify treating Africa as both a f o c u s for study and a quasi discipline, with its own approaches and methods. T h e pattern varied from o n e institution to the next, but in many of the most visible universities it became possible for undergraduates to devote a good deal of attention to Africa, and perhaps to graduate with an African studies m a j o r . By the 1990s, the tide w a s moving in the opposite direction. Now, as then, there is the w i d e s p r e a d sense that s o m e t h i n g is w r o n g with U.S. higher education. Now, as then, world events are forcing a fundamental rethinking of U.S. f o r e i g n policy. But this time around, area studies, and Africa in particular, do not seem to be central to the solution. A major diff e r e n c e , of course, is that this time around the U.S. leadership is not apprehensive about losing an international contest. Rather, it is confident that it has won. Certainly, what had once s e e m e d to be a contest for influence in Africa is now considered to be no contest at all. Soviet and Chinese direct support have been greatly reduced. C o m m u n i s m seems to have lost its position on the anti-imperialist moral high g r o u n d as well as its influence in the dust and mud of everyday activities. T h e would-be socialist states, a f t e r years of direct attack and destabilization, are now in such disarray that they seem willing to do whatever is d e m a n d e d to avoid c o m p l e t e collapse. T o the extent that the improvement of higher education requires attention to foreign areas, it is Europe, and w h a t is termed as the P a c i f i c Rim, that warrant increased f u n d i n g , not A f r i c a . T h e earlier period also saw the creation and expansion of Black studies centers. The environment f o r that expansion had elements both outside and inside the academy. T h e external context w a s the energized civil rights m o v e m e n t of the 1960s and the resultant increased public a n d policy

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attention to discrimination. T h e larger number of black students on college and university c a m p u s e s (though they w e r e still few in a b s o l u t e t e r m s ) generated the critical m a s s necessary to f o c u s curricular attention on the black experience. Alas, only a f e w of the Black studies centers established or expanded during this period w e r e planted in g r o u n d s u f f i c i e n t l y fertile to e n a b l e them to flourish. Even w h e r e f i n a n c i a l support was adequate, a c a d e m i c recognition and administrative sustenance were not. In many universities, these centers were regarded by the university leadership and much of the faculty primarily as political and scholarly concessions, not initiatives with great research and pedagogical potential. Although a few of these centers have f l o u r i s h e d and d i s t i n g u i s h e d t h e m s e l v e s intellectually, many have seen declining enrollment, support, and respect. S o m e no longer exist. It is not possible here to explore the causes for the difficult situation of Black studies on U.S. campuses, or to try to sort out the responsibilities of national policymakers, university administrators and faculty, and black students and staff in that regard. Surely it should not surprise us that those living and studying the black experience find things difficult on as well as off the campus. More directly relevant to this book is that only rarely have effective links been established between A f r i c a n and A f r o - A m e r i c a n studies. In many universities, these were separate departments or centers or institutes, each with its own faculty, staff, and students. Notwithstanding frequent r e f e r e n c e s to c o m m o n interests, there w a s a good deal of mutual suspicion. Often they saw e a c h other as c o m p e t i t o r s for r e s o u r c e s and recognition. Often each felt threatened by the other. Generally created and managed by established white faculty, the A f r i c a n studies centers worried that they would lose students and legitimacy to Black studies. Often begun and administered by younger, less well-established faculty, A f r o - A m e r i c a n studies centers were anxious about losing what they saw as a m a j o r part of their a c a d e m i c agenda and with it a c a d e m i c recognition and respect. By the 1990s, in most universities both had lost ground. Beyond the diminished attention to Africa, area studies have, I think, declined more generally. Notwithstanding all the f u s s about political correctness and leftist professors (or perhaps as a result of it), it is the disciplinary d e p a r t m e n t s that have b e e n more s u c c e s s f u l in articulating their perspective, not the area studies centers. It is the specialists, not the holists, w h o are held in highest esteem and w h o have the most influential voices. T h e p r e e m i n e n t goal is to be able to say s o m e t h i n g about, say, peasants—peasants e v e r y w h e r e — w i t h o u t necessarily being about to say a great deal about peasants s o m e w h e r e , or a particular group of peasants. Economics as social science. A s I have suggested, a c c o m p a n y i n g the decline of area studies has been the e m e r g e n c e of e c o n o m i c s as the m o d e l social science. T h i s increasingly influential and p o w e r f u l role f o r

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economics stands on t w o legs, one within and the other outside the academy. In their ideal f o r m , the methods of e c o n o m i s t s correspond well to the direction social science has been m o v i n g over the past several d e c a d e s — the first leg. T h e f o c u s is on causai relationships, established by drawing on law-like statements about patterned regularities and exploring the connections a m o n g precisely defined factors. Previous research, for example, may be taken to have established that in a specified set of circumstances, an undervalued currency will have particular and specifiable consequences for independent f a r m e r s w h o grow crops that are sold f o r export. Within that carefully mapped terrain, one may then study the e f f e c t s of raising or reducing the price paid to the farmer for that crop. Factors that are deemed extraneous to the relationship at hand can be ignored. Factors that may affect the relationship b e i n g studied are either a s s u m e d not to vary ("other things being equal") or to vary randomly (thereby having no systematic influence) or are controlled by the researchers. Finally, the restricted set of factors to be examined ("the variables") can be studied. Ideally, those factors can be changed in s o m e orderly way, either by careful choice of locations, times, or farmers s a m p l e d , or by s i m u l a t i n g the variation based on the i n f o r m a t i o n available. Expectations about causality ( h y p o t h e s e s ) can then be rejected or s u p p o r t e d . T h e longer-term goals are to increase the number of law-like statements that are generally accepted as sufficiently well supported to serve as the foundation for research and perhaps policy and to broaden their field of applicability. For many scholars, this orientation d e f i n e s the social s c i e n t i f i c method. T h e ultimate standard is the controlled experiment, in which all of the f a c t o r s can be m a n i p u l a t e d by the e x p e r i m e n t e r . Since that is rarely possible for social scientists, the c h a l l e n g e is to approach that ideal as closely as possible. T o turn to the second leg, the current preeminence of e c o n o m i c s also stems f r o m its role as the social science d e e m e d to have the most important practical c o n s e q u e n c e s . Many p e o p l e , both inside and outside the academy, understand the value of social science primarily in terms of what used to be called social engineering: how to m a k e society function better; how to improve p e o p l e ' s lives, or resolve conflict, or reduce e n v i r o n m e n tal degradation, or. . . . Generally, e c o n o m i c s is perceived as more closely related to that objective, and better able to achieve it, than any of the other social sciences. Put crudely, history may help us learn a bit f r o m the past, but the lessons are often too distant f r o m or unclearly related to current experience to be directly u s e f u l . E x t e n s i v e interpretation is required, and since the interpreters o f t e n disagree with each other, lessons with clear practical utility rarely e m e r g e . Political s c i e n c e has the potential to improve how we govern ourselves (or how our governors manipulate us), but that potential has rarely been reached. Here, too, disagreements a m o n g the interpreters u n d e r m i n e the vitality and utility of the a d v i c e they o f f e r .

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After all, political scientists have not been able to help us understand, let alone do much about, one of the most striking characteristics of the democracy we market to the rest of the world. Elections are considered the foundation of contemporary d e m o c r a c y . Yet, barely half the U.S. populace votes regularly, and in local elections in many areas, not even a quarter of eligible voters show up at the polls. Besides, since the Vietnam W a r and Watergate, public distrust of politicians and cynicism about the political system generally has b e c o m e the order of the day. If politicians are not to be trusted, those w h o advise them are even less worthy of our time and attention. The parade of stereotypes could continue. Psychology may help a few individuals to sleep better, or a few e m p l o y e r s to recruit new personnel more e f f i c i e n t l y , or m a r r i a g e s to last longer; and it may fill out our knowledge about exactly how short-term memory works. But improve society more generally? And so on. We live in an era and in a society in which the principal unit for measuring our well-being is money. It follows that those w h o study production and wealth, for which money is also the most c o m m o n measure, will and ought to have the most to say about how to improve that well-being. That role reaches beyond our own society. In addition to the ponderous analytic weight of economics as the preferred way to look at things, there is also a developmentalism in v i e w i n g the world, especially the Third World, that makes e c o n o m i c growth the only satisfactory measure of progress. P e r h a p s this as it should be. A s I have a r g u e d e l s e w h e r e , I do not think so. 2 6 Whatever o n e ' s o w n position, the challenge for teaching about Africa is twofold. First, we need to recognize the preeminent role of econ o m i c s as a choice rather than a given and to identify its m a n i f e s t a t i o n s and c o n s e q u e n c e s . S e c o n d , we need to help students not only to e x p l o r e different perspectives but also to understand that there are alternative w a y s of knowing and that the rules for how we know what we know are neither ordained nor i m m u t a b l e but are t h e m s e l v e s derived f r o m particular approaches and theories. On methodology and approaches. Here, then, is a third dimension of the academy that is part of the setting for teaching about Africa: the push toward a social scientific m e t h o d , ostensibly d e t a c h e d f r o m its theoretical foundation and universally applicable. If we learned the scientific m e t h o d in high school biology, why not e x p e c t to f i n d at the university level a rather more c o m p l e x but c o m p a r a b l y universal social s c i e n t i f i c m e t h o d ? That the procedures for v a l i d a t i n g c l a i m s to k n o w l e d g e are a f u n c t i o n of more or less public policy rather than the result of an atheoretical, impartial, scientific process is clear. T h a t most social science courses operate as if there were only one reasonable and reliable way of accomplishing that validation is equally clear. None of that is very new, and creative instructors have been wrestling with it for a long time. What is more recent, though, is the relentless p u s h

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toward broad propositions, generalization, and f u n d a m e n t a l causes, especially in studying development. T h e corollary is reduced attention to case studies, detailed observations, and to the absence of f u n d a m e n t a l causes, or rather, to the very large consequences of very small events. 2 7 Only partially o b s c u r e d by the mountain of paper that the d e v e l o p ment business generates, a striking tension is materializing. On the o n e hand, for most o b s e r v e r s the w o r l d s e e m s ever m o r e uncertain. At the same time, development decisionmakers insist on ever higher levels of certainty before they will release f u n d s and undertake programs. It gives one pause. Or it should. Although it is pervasive, this tension between the constrained certainties in the world w e observe and the d e m a n d for nearly unqualified certainties in development is not immediately apparent. T h e push for certainty has its roots in the zealously energetic e f f o r t s of many social scientists to e m u l a t e what they regard as the rigor and precision of the physical sciences. Ironically, however, the model that is to be emulated is a caricature, never really typical of the process by which knowledge is created in the physical sciences and certainly not so today. Beyond its limited c o r r e s p o n d e n c e with actual practices, that model has limited heuristic value for the social sciences, since it obscures rather than reveals the role of the scientist and promotes an inflated sense of certainty and precision. At what are generally a c k n o w l e d g e d to be the f r o n t i e r s of k n o w l e d g e in the physical sciences, this model, with its evolutionary, linear a c c u m u l a tion of discrete bits of knowledge organized into deterministic inferences and deduced conclusions, is sharply at issue. Many authors have r e c o g n i z e d the f u n d a m e n t a l i n a c c u r a c i e s of this image of the physical sciences and its obfuscating impact on the social sciences. Yet even as scholars work to demystify that image and draw on the insights of recent theory and research in the physical sciences, a m o n g students of Third World d e v e l o p m e n t there is a strong push to rescue linear determinism f r o m its senility. As external f u n d i n g agencies have b e c o m e increasingly influential in setting the research agenda and s p e c i f y i n g how it is to be addressed, the breadth of imagination has been n a r r o w e d , and accountability, both scientific and political, has been curtailed. Social scientists' search f o r regular patterns and r e p r o d u c i b l e results c o n f r o n t s a r e m a r k a b l e cross-disciplinary c o n v e r g e n c e of understandings that points to discontinuities and unpredictability in many d o m a i n s . Paleontologists, g e o c h r o n o l o g i s t s , and linguists reject the i m a g e of a steady and stately evolution in f a v o r of a series of s p a s m o d i c spurts. Infinitesimal, o f t e n r a n d o m e v e n t s turn out to have global, even g a l a c t i c significance. Assuming an orderly m o m e n t of initial creation, cosmologists scan the skies and record a decidedly disorderly a r r a n g e m e n t . Instead of an even distribution of celestial bodies, they find c l u m p s of stars. Even the c l u m p s are not smoothly distributed. Galaxies occur in clusters separated by vast voids. At a still larger scale, clusters of supergalaxies are similarly unevenly distributed. T o explain the apparent e m e r g e n c e of disorder f r o m

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order, cosmologists reach to cosmic strings, ruptures in the fabric of spacetime, and wormhole tunnels to alternative universes. Some economists eagerly appropriate mathematicians' theories of catastrophe and chaos to analyze markets and money. Conventional categories like solid, liquid, and gas become inadequate in a world of semicrystals, superconductivity, and tunneling electrons that seem quite regularly to appear in two places at the same time. Quantum mechanics postulates uncertainty and constructs reality from mathematical probabilities. Its categories and entities are averages, highly reliable in general but frustratingly uninformative about the behavior of unique individual entities. To a degree that is discomforting to many, the ostensibly objective reality depends on the initiative and activities of the observer. The exact characteristics {state, spin, form, velocity) of a particle can be known (in the usual sense of that term) only when someone bothers to try to find out. Even then, increased precision in determining one characteristic reduces the precision of the determination of the others. Humanists, too, grapple with uncertainties and discontinuities. For many, high culture is no longer uniquely privileged and therefore cannot provide a secure vantage point, a solid standard for examination and measurement. Validated within its local domain, each perspective asserts its authority and legitimacy. Rootlessness favors disassembly and deconstruction, not synthesis. Political analysts, like meteorologists, can be certain only when looking backward, and often not even then. For both, correct understandings are validated by congruence with observable events. For both, prediction is potentially a confirming process. Both can offer at best limited confidence in short-range predictions and even less over the longer term. The consumers of their knowledge find equally dissatisfying a 40 percent probability of rain and a 40 percent probability of a military coup. Explanation and understanding must envision a large, and enduring, degree of uncertainty. Across the domains of knowledge, then, there is increasing recognition that small events may have large consequences. As in the clash of the earth's tectonic plates, movement is abrupt and spasmodic, simultaneously constructive and destructive. The creation of knowledge itself is characterized more by occasional unique insights than by the accumulation of small, connected understandings. It is not that scholars have given up their search for pattern and regularity in their respective domains. They surely have not. Especially energetic is the effort to explain how order spawns disorder, and since the disorder is apparently not random, to explain what orders it. That effort, too, occurs in many different disciplines and across disciplinary boundaries. How did the orderly Big Bang become clumps and clusters? How did relatively undifferentiated human groups generate the complex patterns of differentiation and discrimination that characterize

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c o n t e m p o r a r y s o c i e t i e s ? Perhaps the most dramatic o u t c o m e o f addressing t h e s e p u z z l e s is t h e i n c r e a s i n g r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f n o n l i n e a r i t i e s a n d d i s c o n t i n u i t i e s . W r i t i n g in Discover

m a g a z i n e in 1 9 8 9 , S t e p h e n

Jay Gould pointed out: It cannot be coincidental that all the mathematical advances catching public attention over the past d e c a d e — f r o m René T h o r n ' s catastrophe theory, to llya Prigogine's bifurcations, to Benoit Mandelbrot's fractals, to the current surge o f interest in chaos theory—have the common property o f producing large and rapid changes in the overt forms o f things from small alterations in the underlying formulas that generate them. 2 * N o t e that the c h a o s o f c h a o s t h e o r y r e f e r s not to a p a t t e r n l e s s j u m b l e but r a t h e r t o t h e p r o c e s s b y w h i c h s m a l l p e r t u r b a t i o n s p r o d u c e tidal w a v e s . I m a g i n e two a i r p l a n e s f l y i n g side by side a l o n g nearly identical

paths.

C l e a r l y , a d i v e r g e n c e in t h e i r r o u t e s that is i n i t i a l l y t o o s m a l l to b e m e a s u r e d w i l l e v e n t u a l l y h a v e the t w o a i r p l a n e s f l y i n g a w a y f r o m e a c h o t h e r and r e a c h i n g very d i f f e r e n t d e s t i n a t i o n s . R e c a l l the p e r h a p s a p o c r y p h a l s t o r y o f the i n g e n i o u s b a n k o f f i c i a l w h o m a n a g e d to h a v e t h e t h o u s a n d t h s o f a c e n t l o s t to r o u n d i n g t r a n s f e r r e d t o h i s a c c o u n t . D e p o s i t o r s w h o r e v i e w e d t h e i r s t a t e m e n t s s a w n o t h i n g m i s s i n g w h e n the b a n k ' s 6 . 3 3 p e r c e n t i n t e r e s t rate a d d e d $ 4 9 . 1 8 to t h e i r $ 7 7 7 . 0 0 b a l a n c e . B u t t h e e m b e z z l e r w a s p l e a s e d to s e e $ 0 . 0 0 4 1 d e p o s i t e d to his s e c r e t a c c o u n t . A n e a r l y p e r f e c t c r i m e , it s e e m e d . N o o n e lost a n y t h i n g , b u t h e s o o n b e c a m e q u i t e r i c h . C o l l e c t i n g the f r a c t i o n s o f a p e n n y that w e r e b e y o n d t h e p r e c i s i o n that t h e b a n k m a i n t a i n e d m a d e h i m a m i l l i o n a i r e , at l e a s t t e m p o r a r i l y . O r c o n s i d e r the e f f o r t s to e s t a b l i s h p r e c i s e l y t h e o r b i t a l p a t h s o f the p l a n e t s in o u r s o l a r s y s t e m , e a c h i n f l u e n c e d b y all o f the o t h e r s a n d d i r e c t l y a n d i n d i r e c t l y shaped by f o r c e s o u t s i d e the solar s y s t e m . M o d e r n c o m p u t a t i o n t e c h n o l ogy permits a high level o f precision over a short t i m e - h o r i z o n . B u t as the orbital paths are p r o j e c t e d into the future, irregularities that are t o o small to b e r e c o r d e d at t h e o u t s e t r e d u c e the p r e c i s i o n that is p o s s i b l e . T h e s y s t e m is t e r m e d c h a o t i c b e c a u s e f a r e n o u g h i n t o t h e f u t u r e it is i m p o s s i b l e to determine e x a c t l y what will happen; or m o r e accurately, the farther from the initial c o n d i t i o n s , the greater the u n c e r t a i n t y . P r e c i s e l y b e c a u s e the s y s t e m is c h a o t i c , i m p r o v e d i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n a n d m o r e r a p i d c o m p u t a t i o n can n e v e r r e s o l v e the uncertainty. U n c e r t a i n t i e s o f this sort i n e x o r a b l y i m p o s e t h e m s e l v e s on both the theory and practice o f social science. T h e potentially e n o r m o u s signific a n c e o f initial c o n d i t i o n s h i g h l i g h t s t h e c o n t e x t u a l a n d s i t u a t i o n a l s p e c i f i c i t y o f o u r f i n d i n g s . T h e i n a c c u r a c i e s a n d l a r g e m a r g i n s o f e r r o r in t h e d a t a o n h u m a n b e h a v i o r s that c o m p o u n d t h e s e u n c e r t a i n t i e s o u g h t t o m a k e us c a u t i o u s , t e n t a t i v e , a n d s k e p t i c a l in o u r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s .

Recognizing

these uncertainties and discontinuities ought to, and s o m e t i m e s d o e s , carry w i t h it a h e a l t h y h u m i l i t y in o u r e f f o r t s t o e x t e n d k n o w l e d g e a n d t h e l i m i t s

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of what is k n o w a b l e . T o a p p r o a c h that f r o m a n o t h e r perspective, as the search for understanding c o n f r o n t s the frontiers of k n o w l e d g e , careful observers become increasingly cognizant of the roots and limits not only of their knowledge, but more importantly, of their w a y s of knowing. Even as scholars and practitioners b e c o m e increasingly aware of the extent and importance of uncertainty, however, the d e v e l o p m e n t business d e m a n d s ever greater certainty. Let us pursue f o r a m o m e n t the recent history of development research. Much of contemporary social science shares a c o m m o n set of premises. There is a f u n d a m e n t a l order to social interactions; that order is discoverable through the application of (social) scientific methods; that order explains much, though not all, observed behavior; knowledge about that order can be used to structure or change society, though individual social scientists may or may not be interested in doing so. In addition to sharing these premises, developmentalists share a c o m mon objective: to use their u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the u n d e r l y i n g order to ref o r m society; that is, to m a k e things better in s o m e f o r m or other. S o m e social scientists, of course, explicitly reject this objective and deny that it guides their work. In practice, however, this reformist impulse, the origins of which lie in liberal i n d i v i d u a l i s m , is implicit in m u c h of standard social science. Even those w h o insist that their scholarship is not influenced by this determination to m a k e things better o f t e n j u s t i f y their w o r k in those terms. Hence, the principal task for s t u d e n t s of d e v e l o p m e n t — i n K u h n ' s terms, normal s c i e n c e — i s to d e v e l o p a set of statements about the relationships a m o n g the m a j o r units of the economic/ideological/political/ social system. T h o s e statements are to be f a l s i f i a b l e and testable empirically. Wherever possible, short, simple, more e n c o m p a s s i n g , and unqualified statements are to be preferred to longer, more c o m p l e x , less e n c o m passing, and qualified statements. For at least s o m e social scientists, these statements have, or should have, law-like characteristics. Implicit in the e t h o s of p l a n n i n g and m a n a g e m e n t that is pervasive a m o n g developmentalists is the belief that rational resource allocation requires reliable k n o w l e d g e about whatever behaviors and relationships are d e e m e d important in a particular setting. Do investments in primary education yield a higher rate of return than allocations to universities? D o expanded agricultural extension services significantly increase the appropriate use of fertilizers and pesticides? Is external supervision more e f f e c t i v e than increased internal accountability in reducing c o o p e r a t i v e s ' inefficiencies and wastage? Initially, small local studies provide partial and tentative a n s w e r s to these and other questions. But the pressure for broader generalization and higher levels of c o n f i d e n c e is relentless. As the results f r o m limited studies are a c c u m u l a t e d , their c o n d i t i o n s and c a v e a t s are discarded, and the c o n f i d e n c e with which their f i n d i n g s are presented is c o m p o u n d e d . T h e possible b e c o m e s likely; likely outcomes b e c o m e , simply, results; and

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eventually, and sometimes very quickly, a cascade of certainties generates the sort of simply stated and largely unqualified statements that are then used to advocate and defend particular courses of action. Rather than uncertainty and humility, we find certainty and arrogance. In short, this demand for precision and certainty has two principal sources. One resides in the rules for the creation of knowledge that have come to dominate the social sciences. The second reflects the imperatives of lending institutions and their increasingly important role in research on development. To understand what people do and why, we need to know something about what they have done. Rarely, however, are social scientists direct observers of all of the events of interest to them. Hence, most often we rely on information that someone else has collected, more or less systematically, usually for some other purpose. The behavioral revolution in the social sciences, with its shrill cries of "falsifiability!" and "reproducibility!" has pushed us toward the sort of information that can be recorded and stored in quantitative form. It has pushed us as well toward increasingly complex, and perhaps sophisticated, techniques for exploring relationships within that information. Note here the powerful but often little recognized influence of the prevalent computation strategies. To the present, most computing in the social sciences has been digital. High-speed combinations of relatively simple bimodal c h o i c e s — o n / o f f , yes/no, either/or—permit the manipulation of massive volumes of information. Miniaturization and other technological advances have produced extraordinary increases in speed and capacity. Beyond the raw processing capabilities, digital representation of information has important advantages for social scientists. For example, ambiguities in categorization are either explicitly precluded or organized into contingent connections through which individual paths are unambiguous. For another example, consider the resistance of digital communications to distracting and confounding small errors. A telephone conversation across a digital connection with extensive interference remains clear. The receiving apparatus need determine only^whether the received signal is high or low. It is not confused by a signal that is a little bit higher than other lows, or slightly lower than other highs. Like its counterparts in the digitized reproduction of music, it filters out the unevenness, restoring the original purity and clarity. Actual voices and symphonies, however, have more than two states. Indeed, their range varies in infinitesimal increments. The analog world is at best imperfectly captured in its digital representation. However sophisticated the sampling techniques, some information is lost. Similarly, when social scientists are constrained to construct categories that are mutually exclusive, the disadvantages of excluding inconsistency and ambiguity may outweigh the value of the apparent resulting clarity. The variations in

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temporal and spatial context that go unrecorded because they are smaller than the units of measure e m p l o y e d may prove to be critical to inference and interpretation. Of course, even the most advanced techniques can at best provide only partial remedies for inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the original data. Indeed, careful scholars regularly include a caveat at the beginning of their publications, calling r e a d e r s ' attention to g a p s and other p r o b l e m s in the data they use. Unfortunately, often even careful scholars proceed to ignore their own reservations, developing a r g u m e n t s that rely on data-characteristics and/or a level of precision not f o u n d in the original data. T h e insistence on certainty in an uncertain w o r l d — t h a t is, a setting that is chaotic (in the sense explained above) and where the relationships that matter most are likely to m a n i f e s t s h a r p d i s c o n t i n u i t i e s — i s neither liberating nor r e j u v e n a t i n g . T h e c a s c a d e s of certainty that constitute research on development neither wash away ignorance and confusion nor irrigate the s e e d b e d s of local i m a g i n a t i o n and initiative. Instead, as it bec o m e s a set of largely externally d e f i n e d rules s p e c i f y i n g acceptable courses of action, research disorients and imprisons. Even worse, the prisoners themselves b e c o m e the warden and jailers. Several implications f o l l o w . First, humility: w e need a much clearer sense of the limitations of our understandings and of their partial and conditional character. Second, we need to discard the model of understanding as the result of an incremental a c c u m u l a t i o n of discrete k n o w l e d g e in f a v o r of a recognition of a world c h a r a c t e r i z e d by discontinuities and small results with large c o n s e q u e n c e s . Third, we need to reject the current model of cloistered or proprietary research in f a v o r of an o p e n n e s s both to alternative approaches and methods and to critical scrutiny. For that to be fruitful, fourth, we need self-consciously to protect and nurture the critics. And f i f t h , in this era of political democratization, we need to institutionalize the accountability of those w h o p r o v i d e d e v e l o p m e n t advice to those w h o are expected to benefit f r o m it.

REVISING THE KNOWLEDGE-BASE: TRANSCENDING ( A N D TRANSFORMING) ITS LIMITS I have been concerned thus far with the knowledge-base for teaching about A f r i c a in the 1990s and especially the more and less visible constraints it imposes on us and our students. That knowledge-base is of course not static. Even as w e seek to correct and revise it, what we k n o w , or think w e know, about Africa continues to respond to events and ideas on and off the c a m p u s . I want here to highlight f o u r m a j o r currents, again both political and intellectual, that shape the thinking and teaching about Africa early in this final decade of the twentieth century.

JOEL SAMOFF

Socialist Disarray and U.S.

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Triumphalism

There is a grand—and instructive—irony in the contemporary triumphalism. As Przeworski puts it: Neoliberal ideology, e m a n a t i n g f r o m the United States and various multin a t i o n a l a g e n c i e s , c l a i m s that the c h o i c e is o b v i o u s : there is only o n e path to d e v e l o p m e n t , and it must be f o l l o w e d . . . . Yet if a Martian were asked to pick the most e f f i c i e n t and h u m a n e e c o n o m i c s y s t e m s on earth, it would certainly not choose the countries that rely most on markets. T h e United States is a stagnant e c o n o m y in which real w a g e s have been c o n stant for more than a decade and the real income of the poorer 40 percent of the p o p u l a t i o n has d e c l i n e d . It is an i n h u m a n e society in w h i c h 11.5 percent of the p o p u l a t i o n — s o m e 28 million people, including 20 percent of the c h i l d r e n — l i v e s in poverty. It is the oldest d e m o c r a c y on earth, bul has o n e of the lowest v o t e r - p a r t i c i p a t i o n rates in the d e m o c r a t i c w o r l d , and the highest per capita prison population in the w o r l d . 2 9

October of 1992 highlighted yet another triumphalist irony. The United States marked five hundred years since 1492. For much of the New World, C o l u m b u s ' s voyage was an early moment in the process of European conquest and colonial rule. Half a millennium later, what were we to celebrate—or mourn? Do our students understand the cultural confusion over this anniversary? Do they recognize what is at stake in the confrontations over the role and consequences of the arrival of Columbus and his crews? Do our courses help them acquire knowledge to address these issues? Some observers see the orderly march of history in the apparent selfdestruction of socialism and the seemingly inexorable success of capitalism. That self-congratulatory triumphalism is surely shortsighted. Indeed, we may be witnessing not the terminal decay of socialism but the struggles of its rebirth amidst the debris of statist authoritarianism. More likely than the enduring impregnable hegemony of a single country is an era of innovation and experimentation. With new institutional arrangements will come new tensions and power relationships, perhaps with dramatic rapidity. Surely the future will be no more linear or unidirectional than was the past. Only faith, not reason, can sustain the conclusion that efforts to construct a democratic social order without private property have been definitively defeated. Insisting that there is only one path to d e v e l o p m e n t — ours—this triumphalism tells us that there is no need to explore alternative routes; indeed, no point in doing so. T h e perception of victory seems to make legitimate the ethnocentrism and arrogance of the U.S. regard for Africa. At the same time, this triumphalism makes it difficult to explore socialism and socialist movements in Africa. It considers c o m m u n i s m even less worthy of study, other than as a historical example of a flawed ideology and its unfortunate influence. How, then, to help undergraduates

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understand why the South African Communist Party appears to be vibrant and healthy and why children in South Africa regularly rename their schools after its leaders? Are they all simply ignorant or hopelessly confused? Or is there a content that the triumphalism obscures? Afrocentrism Most Africanists see themselves as advocates for Africa. Among their colleagues, both African and non-African, they may be quite critical; some have been outspoken in their opposition to tyrannical rulers, official corruption, and abuse of authority. At the same time, Africanists recognize the extent of the misinformation about Africa that is widely accepted as knowledge. Consequently, however critical they may be, for the most part Africanists also assume responsibility for presenting Africa accurately, for keeping Africa on agendas from which there is risk that it will disappear, and defending Africa against the epithets and charges directed toward it. As they do so, however, most continue to treat Africa as them. And in most U.S. colleges and universities there has been a visible distance between these Africanists, most of them white, and their colleagues for whom Africa is we. As I have noted, in few institutions has there been a serious attempt to integrate African and Afro-American studies; in fewer still have those attempts been successful. For many years, a group of scholars has sought to relocate the center of gravity in the study of Africa. That effort has had multiple strands, including emphasizing the African contribution to European societies, to science and scientific inquiry, and to education and recording and transmitting knowledge. Revising the history of contacts between Africans and others in turn has consequences for what happens in the classroom. Even though this Afrocentrism remains a small voice in a very noisy room, some instructors have found it threatening. In part, that has to do with an implicit or explicit challenge to the legitimacy of a largely white African studies faculty. In part, that is perceived as a challenge to the entire academic edifice by a small group of faculty and students who may appear to be claiming that commitment is more important than expertise, and that the accepted procedures for accumulating knowledge are suspect. In part, of course, there are also the tensions I noted above about access to resources. Generally unstated but equally powerful here is a confrontation about the we/them relationship and how it is specified; or rather, who specifies it. Afrocentrism is explicitly critical of the distance between we the instructors and them the Africans. If that challenge were entirely a matter of perspective and analytic framework to be debated in academic settings, it would be serious but not terribly threatening. But that challenge is not solely intellectual: it is also a challenge to the white academic establishment's own self-definition. Not only is its expertise questioned but its

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ownership (some would prefer to call it guardianship) of the them—that them by whom we define ourselves. If we are no longer able to specify the them, then how can we know who we are? T o put that in more conventional terms, characterizing people, societies, and cultures as uncivilized, or backward, or less developed is central to specifying what is unique about us. We define ourselves in large part in terms of what we are not. For much of the United States, what we are most clearly not is Africa. To learn that A f r i c a is not really as we have been describing it undermines our claim to be more modern or further developed; and if we lose control over defining A f r i c a , then our society might turn out to be the one that is backward and less developed; even uncivilized. In recent years, the assertion of this Africa-centered perspective has reached beyond the study of A f r i c a . Much of the study of what is commonly called Western civilization in U.S. colleges and universities pays little attention to Africa. Yet it is clear that African societies influenced what was to become Europe early in its history, that Africa played a major role in preserving and extending the knowledge of ancient Greece and Rome during the tribal wars of Europe's Dark A g e s , and that Africans have been a significant part of the population of the New World for several hundred years. An Africa-centered orientation thus requires revising not only how we teach about Africa but, equally important, how we teach about ourselves. Feminist

Scholarship

No systematic observer in Africa could miss the central role that women play in production as well as reproduction. Yet, for much of the twentieth century, observers described, analyzed, and explained A f r i c a as if that were not the case. History was recorded in terms of which men did what. Characterizations of the economy and the development advice that ensued assumed that the model producer was a male. T w o decades ago teachers had a limited choice of books that explored and highlighted the activities and lives of A f r i c a ' s women. For some topics and themes, there was little that was readily accessible. That is certainly no longer the case. Relevant publications are numerous, diverse, varied in their presumptions about prior knowledge and level of sophistication, and easily available. There are two major threads in this literature. First, both feminist authors and others have sought to detail and decipher w o m e n ' s roles. The task has been to revisit places and events to fill in the part of the story omitted in accounts in which women are hardly visible and certainly not central to the action. The parallel effort has been to integrate women more fully into official and unofficial development programs. Although often

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this writing talks about "bringing women into" history or development, of course women were never out. Insisting that scholars address w o m e n ' s roles, relocating women and their activities to the center of attention and action, and recognizing African women as interpreters and not simply the interpreted has dramatically transformed our understanding of some events and relationships and will surely have a similar effect on many more. For some instructors, this thread is already woven into the fabric of their courses. For others, there is a long way to go. The second thread has to do with the radical intellectual contribution of feminist scholarship. 1 use the term radical here not to refer to political orientation or practice but to emphasize the fundamental challenges to ways of understanding—to social science more generally—that have emerged from and been nurtured by feminist scholars. Consider, for example, the social construction of gender. Studies of the social construction of ethnicity are numerous and diverse: they have been and continue to be widely debated. The most influential of those studies inform not only how we understand Africa but also how we study and teach about it. Much more recent is the parallel set of studies on the social construction of gender. But even those have for the most part not yet taken up the challenge of imaginative feminist scholarship, since in practice they address gender roles, not gender itself. We take for granted the meaning of gender. We assume we know the meanings of female/woman and male/man. But do we? Here, too, the critical scholarship suggests we know rather less than we think we do and that most of us are unaware of our own ignorance. Feminist scholarship charges us with two related but distinct tasks as we teach about Africa. One is to establish and illuminate the role of women in Africa and to employ gender as an analytic construct across the wide range of topics we address, largely within the framework of contemporary social science. The second is to focus on the ways that social science itself is fundamentally flawed or incomplete precisely because its intellectual and human organization reflect the gender hierarchies and inequalities of the societies in which it has developed. The Conjunction

of Development

Assistance

and Research

Although this chapter is not directly concerned either with development assistance or research on development, both influence teaching about Africa. As I have suggested, not only research findings but perhaps even more important its methods shape our understanding and often our pedagogy. We are accustomed to thinking of social science research as the responsibility of scholars, conducted in reasonably public and well documented ways, and reviewed by competent peers in the competition for support, in seminars and conferences, and in publication. What is missing

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f r o m that p i c t u r e is t h e e x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h o n A f r i c a c o m m i s s i o n e d a n d s o m e t i m e s c o n d u c t e d b y the a g e n c i e s t h a t p r o v i d e d e v e l o p m e n t a s s i s t a n c e . T h o u g h g e n e r a l l y m u c h l e s s v i s i b l e a n d f r e q u e n t l y not c r i t i c a l l y e v a l u a t e d by i n f o r m e d and e x p e r i e n c e d o u t s i d e r s , that r e s e a r c h has c o m e to play a m a j o r r o l e in w h a t w e k n o w a b o u t A f r i c a . T h a t the s t a t e f u n d s r e s e a r c h a n d i n f l u e n c e s its a g e n d a s h o u l d not s u r p r i s e us. A f t e r all, m a n y o f the e a r l y E u r o p e a n v i s i t o r s t o A f r i c a h a d f u n d ing d i r e c t l y f r o m t h e i r g o v e r n m e n t s o r i n d i r e c t l y t h r o u g h a c a d e m i c s o c i eties. T h e c l o s e c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n the colonial enterprise and the social s c i e n c e o f that era a r e e q u a l l y c l e a r . T h a t e a r l i e r e x p e r i e n c e , u n f o r t u n a t e l y , s e e m s not to h a v e s h a r p e n e d o u r c r i t i c a l f a c u l t i e s . It is u s e f u l , t h e r e f o r e , to n o t e v e r y b r i e f l y t h e f o r m s a n d c o n s e q u e n c e s o f this c o n j u n c t i o n o f d e v e l o p m e n t a s s i s t a n c e a n d r e s e a r c h . E d u c a t i o n w i l l p r o v i d e t h e c a s e in p o i n t . 3 0 A s A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s h a v e i n c r e a s i n g l y s o u g h t e x t e r n a l a s s i s t a n c e to s u p p o r t not o n l y n e w but a l s o c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m s , t h e a g e n c i e s p r o v i d i n g that s u p p o r t h a v e c o m e to p l a y a m a j o r r o l e in b o t h s e t t i n g the e d u c a t i o n a g e n d a a n d d e t e r m i n i n g h o w that a g e n d a is s e t . T h e W o r l d B a n k has c o m e to b e the l e a d a g e n c y in that r o l e . H o w to c h o o s e a m o n g t h e a l ternative p o l i c i e s that c o m p e t e for support? W h e r e failures a b o u n d and s u c c e s s stories are s c a r c e — a n d a v a i l a b l e resources are scarcer

still—

w h i c h p o l i c y d i r e c t i o n s a r e to b e p u r s u e d ? It is in t h i s p r o c e s s o f s p e c i f y i n g e d u c a t i o n s t r a t e g i e s , b o t h l a r g e - s c a l e a n d s m a l l - s c a l e , that t h e f u n d i n g b e c o m e s a p r i n c i p a l d e t e r m i n a n t . In t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y c o n t e x t ,

research

b e c o m e s the v i s a r e q u i r e d to c r o s s f u n d i n g ' s f r o n t i e r . T h e p r e v a i l i n g und e r s t a n d i n g , i n d e e d f a i t h , that e d u c a t i o n is a c o m p l e x u n d e r t a k i n g w h o s e o r g a n i z a t i o n a n d m a n a g e m e n t a r e b e s t l e f t to r e l e v a n t e x p e r t s l i m i t s p o p u l a r p a r t i c i p a t i o n in d i s c u s s i o n s o f e d u c a t i o n p o l i c y . It a l s o

privileges

t h o s e a m o n g t h e e x p e r t s w h o a r e m o s t s u c c e s s f u l in c h a r a c t e r i z i n g t h e i r r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s a s s u p p o r t e d b y r e l e v a n t r e s e a r c h . In t h e f a c e o f an u n m e t a n d in m o s t p l a c e s still e x p a n d i n g d e m a n d , t h e a b s o l u t e s h o r t a g e o f f u n d s a d v a n t a g e s t h o s e w h o a r e m o s t s u c c e s s f u l in a t t r a c t i n g e x t e r n a l r e s o u r c e s to s u p p o r t t h e i r r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . T o g e t h e r , r e s e a r c h a n d f u n d ing constitute c o n t r o l , s o m e t i m e s c h a l l e n g e d and o c c a s i o n a l l y

deflected

but rarely rejected or overturned. T h e m a n i f e s t a t i o n s , c o n s e q u e n c e s , and p r o b l e m s o f this c o n j u n c t i o n o f f u n d i n g a n d r e s e a r c h a r e m u l t i p l e . E s p e c i a l l y p r o b l e m a t i c a r e the w a y s in w h i c h this c o n j u n c t i o n i n f l u e n c e s a n d c o n s t r a i n s t h e e d u c a t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m e n t d i s c o u r s e , l e g i t i m i z e s w e a k p r o p o s i t i o n s , e n t r e n c h e s f l a w e d understandings by a c c o r d i n g them official status, seeds and fertilizes theoretical and a n a l y t i c fads, and treats e d u c a t i o n primarily a s t e c h n i q u e and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . In t h e c o n j u n c t i o n o f f u n d i n g a n d r e s e a r c h , s c h o l a r s h i p b e c o m e s a p r o p r i e t a r y p r o c e s s . T h e i n v e s t o r s h a v e t h e d e t e r m i n i n g v o i c e in t h e s e l e c t i o n o f t o p i c s , r e s e a r c h e r s , a n d m e t h o d s , l i m i t a c c e s s to s o u r c e materials, and often control the dissemination o f findings. C o n s e q u e n t l y ,

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the process of knowledge-creation is obscured, mystifying the power relations embedded in the research and thereby in the programs it supports. Perhaps not entirely aware of their own role, scholars become advocates not only for particular understandings of development and underdevelopment but also for a particular sort of global order. Equally corrosive of innovative, thorough, and reliable research is the absence within this financial-intellectual complex of the critical review and peer scrutiny of academia. Consequently, research that would not withstand broad exposure and critical examination entrenches selected approaches and methods, filters explanations, and legitimizes particular courses of action. Orthodoxy masquerades as pluralism. Obeisance to research obfuscates the decisionmaking process, obscuring its basic assumptions and cloaking its politics with the accoutrements of scholarly inquiry. Enmeshed in the techniques and administration of proprietary research, perceptive and wellmeaning individuals lose sight of the larger issues at stake. Obliged to cast their comments in the language and form of this special sort of research, even critics are distracted. Recognizing this conjunction of development assistance and research carries two implications for teaching about Africa. First, we must be a lot clearer about the sources of what we take to be knowledge about Africa. Correspondingly we must enable and encourage our students to ferret out the biases and flaws, not only in research of the sort to which we are accustomed but also in this research that is much less visible and accessible. Second, beyond competent academic consumerism, we must focus our critical attention on this conjunction itself, addressing both its substantive and methodological consequences.

CHALLENGES O N M A N Y LEVELS The challenges in teaching about Africa are multiple. At one level they have to do with information and misinformation, often a great deal of the latter. At another level they have to do with recognizing the ways in which larger events, both inside and outside the academy, constrain and condition teaching about Africa. At yet another level they concern the ways in which teaching about Africa is intertwined with the issues of race and identity that trouble our society. Transcending the specifically Africa content of our courses, several other challenges seem to me to stand out. It is essential that young people in the United States recognize that there are perspectives on the world other than our own. All teaching of course must deal with things that are not quite what they seem, or even that are quite different from their appearance. Beyond that, I suggest, those who teach about Africa must be especially concerned with the "seeming" process. African experiences will often turn out to be unfathomable if they

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are forever filtered through a screen that is largely Western and white and predominantly male. It is not that Western white males are structurally incapable of understanding Africa, any more than, say, de Tocqueville was unable to understand the early United States because he was French and an outsider. Rather, it is to argue that we cannot assess their understandings until we can also hear African voices. To put that differently, effective teaching about Africa requires that our students engage Africa. To engage Africa, they must grapple with Africa and Africans as actors, not objects. For Africa to be a continent of cartographers, not simply places that are mapped, it must inform how we understand it. Africa must not only be the focus of our attention but must also guide how that attention is directed and structured. Whether or not Afrocentric, our courses surely must be Africa-centered. And that, in turn, requires that our students develop the ability to approach the world along pathways that consciously and purposefully reflect perspectives quite different from those with which they are comfortable. A second challenge is to help our students understand that blaming the victim does not constitute an explanation. Competent teachers about Africa have long ago ceased treating Africa and Africans as museum exhibits on display. 31 Yet, explaining Africa solely in terms of things African is doing precisely that, in a rather more insidious form. The ready assumption that if there is a problem in Africa its causes are to be found in Africans' culture, or psyche, or habits, or social structure reinforces the sense of an Africa somehow insulated from the rest of the world, whether enriched or impoverished by its history and traditions. Consider, for example, what has happened to education planning in much of Africa. Faced with high and increasing demands for schooling and sorely limited resources, education planners have regularly sought external assistance. Experienced at their craft, many of Africa's education planners tune their plans to the aid they think will be available. If, say, the Swedes are thought to be interested in adult education, then on their arrival, Swedish aid officials find proposed plans for expanding and improving adult education. When the Swiss arrive, the local priority may seem to be higher education. Planning becomes marketing. Although education planners may have their own sense of what needs to be done, without resources nothing will get done. It is surely quite reasonable for them to adjust what they describe as their major priorities in terms of their understanding of the sources of funds available. One result of this strategy is apparently contradictory objectives and priorities. Another may be lack of continuity and consistency in pursuing an agreed course of action. A third is the effort to transfer funds from the projects for which they were formally allocated to other activities that have higher local priority but that were not directly funded. Observers often seek to explain these results in terms of planners' limited education and experience, unfamiliarity with

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relevant techniques, opportunism and corruption, and the like. Clearly, however, the transformation of planning into marketing makes sense only in terms of Africa's integration into a pattern of global interactions, a pattern whose primary dynamic lies largely beyond Africa's control. To focus on planners' incompetence is to miss the point. A third challenge is to restore the legitimacy of area studies. The holism of students of Africa is potentially a very powerful lesson for their social science colleagues. But as I have suggested, that holism has increasingly been displaced by an intellectual particularism. For our students, it must be clear that to understand African politics, it is necessary to develop solid knowledge of Africa's history, organization of production, patterns of social relationships, cultural expression, and more. Finally, we need to help our students understand that to learn about Africa is also to learn about ourselves. Our apparently insatiable need to continue to define ourselves by inventing and substantiating a darkerskinned other—the racism of our own society—is central to every course on Africa. To fail to recognize that, and to address it critically, undermines whatever else we do.

NOTES 1. Paul Johnson, " C o l o n i a l i s m ' s B a c k — a n d Not a M o m e n t T o o S o o n , " New York Times Magazine, 18 April 1993: 2 2 - 2 3 , 4 3 - 4 4 . 2. Ibid: 4 4 . 3. There are many c o d e w o r d s in this story. Civilized is one of them. Behavior that d o e s not fit o n e ' s o w n moral c o d e , or e v e n o n e ' s s e n s e o f g o o d and bad, is more easily disparaged if it is termed u n c i v i l i z e d . Over time, civilized had bec o m e the shorthand for g o o d , progressive, modern, enlightened, humane, just and democratic. Uncivilized is brandished like a spray gun that paints large areas in a f e w s w e e p s : it is used regularly to relegate much of humankind to the depths of (he universal dustbin. Were its c o n s e q u e n c e s not so tragic, it w o u l d be amusing to note that countries that guarantee all their c i t i z e n s a c c e s s to health-care resources, or that have abolished the death penalty, or done away with corporal punishment in s c h o o l s are considered uncivilized c o m p a r e d with the United States. 4. A s w e shall see, the e f f o r t s to shape and reshape the contours of the relationships b e t w e e n Africa and B l a c k s resident o v e r s e a s s o m e t i m e s are, and ought to be, important i n f l u e n c e s on teaching about Africa. N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g those efforts, e v e n for m u c h o f the black p o p u l a t i o n of the United States, the measure o f the primitive, the unmodern, the n o t - y e t - f u l l y - c i v i l i z e d is distinctly black. 5. A s is a l w a y s the c a s e , g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s that f o c u s attention o n major relationships and the trajectory of c h a n g e at the large scale necessarily omit and distort at the small scale. For the purposes of this d i s c u s s i o n , it is reasonable to consider c o m m o n orientations and practices w h i l e r e c o g n i z i n g the diversity and disagreements a m o n g those w h o teach about A f r i c a . 6. World Bank, Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policies for Adjustment, Revitalization and Expansion ( W a s h i n g t o n : T h e World Bank, 1988): viii. (Emphasis added.)

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7. Mark W. DeLancey and Christopher Herick, African Politics in American Universities and Colleges: A Survey of Purposes, Methods, and Materials, Institute of International Studies Occasional Paper No. 1 ( C o l u m b i a , S.C.: University of South Carolina, 1979); and Mark W. DeLancey, December Green, and Kenneth J. Menkhaus, " A f r i c a n Politics at American Universities and Colleges: A Survey of Purposes, Methods and Materials" (paper presented at the African Studies Association annual conference, Denver, Colo., 1987). 8. The a p p r o a c h e s and m e t h o d s of a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s are of course far m o r e complex and systematic than this suggests. My concern here is simply to highlight the characteristics of an approach to studying Africa that was influential at an earlier m o m e n t and that has since been s i g n i f i c a n t l y eclipsed. T h e introspective analyses of anthropology and its m e t h o d o l o g i e s are n u m e r o u s . Three that I have found insightful are Peter Rigby, Persistent Pastoralists: Nomadic Societies in Transition (London: Zed Books, 1985); G e o r g e W. Stocking, Jr., Colonial Situations: Essays on Contextualization of Ethnographic Knowledge, History of Anthropology (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1991); and Renato Rosaldo, Culture and Truth: The Remaking of Social Analysis ( B o s t o n : B e a c o n Press, 1989). 9. it is striking that a similar presumption has featured so prominently in the discussions of p o s t - G o r b a c h e v Europe. A f t e r all, we had won without a war, in large part because they wanted their societies to be more like ours. From this perspective, the promise of video recorders had prevailed over guaranteed jobs, lowcost housing, and a f f o r d a b l e basic c o n s u m e r goods. T h e attractiveness of that tradeoff was taken to prove not only the superiority of our system but also the universality of modernity. 10. There are of course exceptions. I have addressed s o m e of the data problems in "The Facade of Precision in Education Data and Statistics: A T r o u b l i n g Example from Tanzania," Journal of Modern African Studies 29 ( D e c e m b e r 1991): 669-689. 11. In fact, the climate is a c o m m o n factor for much of Africa, where agricultural production is almost entirely dependent on adequate and timely rainfall. Put crudely, when the rains are sufficient and timely, all development strategies work, and success can be attributed to w h i c h e v e r is being employed at the time. When the rains are too light or too heavy, or c o m e at the w r o n g time, no d e v e l o p m e n t strategy works, and failure can be blamed on whichever is then in practice. 12. At its root, i d e n t i f y i n g the nature, characteristics, and b e h a v i o r s of the poor as the causes for poverty necessarily devolves to a genetic explanation. If the circumstances in which they live lead the poor to b e h a v e in w a y s that perpetuate their impoverishment, then it is those circumstances—local, national, global—that cause poverty, not s o m e t h i n g inherent in the poor. To insist that the poor are poor because of who they are, however disguised, sanitized, beautified, and situationally conditional that claim may be, is to assert a genetic basis for d i f f e r e n c e s in wealth and their consequences. 13. A recent succinct c o m m e n t a r y of this sort is The State and the Crisis in Africa: In Search of a Second Liberation ( U p p s a l a : D a g H a m m a r s k j o l d Foundation, 1992). 14. V. Y. M u d i m b e , The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge ( B l o o m i n g t o n : Indiana University Press, 1988). T. Minh-ha Trinh broadens and extends this argument in Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989). 15. E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Social Anthropology and Other Essays ( N e w York: Free Press, 1962): 1 1 9 - 1 2 0 , quoted in Mudimbe, The Invention of Africa, 68.

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16. B. Malinowski, in B. Malinowski et al., Methods of Study of Culture Contact in Africa ( O x f o r d : O x f o r d University Press, 1938): vii, quoted in M u d i m b e , The Invention of Africa, 20. 17. T . Minh-ha Trinh, Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989): 67. 18. From an advertisement for lQuest, a collection of databases, a v a i l a b l e electronically through C o m p u S e r v e in CompuServe Magazine 1 1 , 9 , September 1992: 1. A box in the advertisement referred to Facts on File, perhaps the source of this quotation: a modestly extensive search, however, did not find this text there. By then, of course, my account had been billed and the advertisement had served its purpose. 19. That this premise informed research conducted at the end of the colonial era is less surprising than that it is so pervasive in research m o r e than three decades later. 20. It is striking that both the modernizationists and many of their critics agree on the critical role of class. As early as the late 1950s, for example, Fanon asserted the importance of a modernizing middle class, even as he argued that the A f r i c a n nationalist leadership would fail to b e c o m e just such a class (Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth [New York: Grove Press, 1963]). 21. I use here the terminology developed in Martin Carnoy and Joel S a m o f f , Education and Social Transition in the Third World (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990), especially chapter 1 - 3 and 10. Public policies are conditioned by the nature of the peripheral role that these countries' economies play in the world economy, by the corresponding e n o r m o u s influence that the dynamic of metropolitan capitalism has on their development process, and also by significant noncapitalist e l e m e n t s in their own political systems. Note that conditioned d i f f e r s from dependent in its emphasis on the internalization of many of the structural characteristics and much of the ideology of the world capitalist system, the role of local resources, the d e v e l o p m e n t of local social m o v e m e n t s , and the e m e r g e n c e of a local class structure in d e t e r m i n i n g the organization of production, the nature of political formations, and the relative importance of specific contradictions within the peripheral state. 22. I use class here in the c o m m o n but s o m e w h a t imprecise sense of the local segment of the ruling-class alliance that exercises the functions of g o v e r n m e n t but that can rule only with the support of external o w n e r s of production. In this sense, the bureaucracy governs but does not, by itself, rule. Although the bureaucracy is not a class simply by virtue of its political position or its corporate interests, it behaves as a class, or more accurately as a fraction of a class, as it exercises its authority on behalf of the entire ruling-class alliance. 23. In this sense (of a perspective so deeply e m b e d d e d in a s o c i e t y ' s institutions and practices that it is scarcely noticed, rarely e x a m i n e d , and hardly ever challenged) the ideology of modernization can be termed hegemonic. 24. Trinh, Woman, Native, Other, 52. 25. Several other terms have also been used to label this phenomenon, including parallel, invisible, hidden, subterranean, underground, and second economy. 26. Especially on social science methodology, "Class, Class Conflict, and the State in A f r i c a , " Political Science Quarterly 97 ( S p r i n g 1982): 1 0 5 - 1 2 7 ; " O n Class, Paradigm, and A f r i c a n Politics," Africa Today 29, 2 (1982): 4 1 - 5 0 ; and " C h a o s and Certainty in D e v e l o p m e n t " (Buenos Aires: XV World Congress of the International Political Science Association, 1991). 27. 1 draw here on ideas initially presented in the paper listed in Note 26, " C h a o s and Certainty in D e v e l o p m e n t . "

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28. Stephen Jay Gould, " A n Asteroid to Die F o r , " Discover 10 ( O c t o b e r 1989): 64. 29. Adam Przeworski, " T h e Neoliberal Fallacy," Journal of Democracy 3 (July 1992): 46. 30. I summarize briefly here points that are developed more fully in my "Research, Knowledge, and Policy in Assistance to African Education: T h e FinancialIntellectual Complex" (Buenos Aires: XV World Congress of the International Political Science Association, 1991). 31. Alas, that has not disappeared entirely; and perhaps it gains legitimacy from A f r i c a ' s current problems and public image. Challenging that practice, particularly in o n e ' s own work, is difficult. My point here is that those w h o succeed in getting past that problem face an even more daunting challenge.

3 Deposing Tarzan, or Teaching About Africa in the Post-Cold War Era: A Commentary on Joel Samoff William G. Martin

If we were to start with Joel Samoff's challenges for teachers and students of Africa (in the concluding pages of the last chapter), we may all quickly, I think, find agreement. Few would find fault with statements that "It is essential that young people . . . recognize that there are perspectives on the world other than our own." Or that we are challenged "to help our students understand that blaming the victim does not constitute an explanation'"; that we need to "restore the legitimacy of area studies," and to help students understand that "to learn about Africa is also to learn about ourselves" (emphasis in original). Such conclusions parallel the themes and conclusions of other chapters in this volume, which strongly emphasize the inherently critical character for Euro-North Americans of learning from a culture other than their own. As the body of S a m o f f ' s essay makes eminently clear, however, his assessment moves well beyond agreements on the ability of African courses to counter Euro-North American provincialism. The strategy is straightforward, if rarely encountered: an analysis of long-term trends in two key areas: (1) the practice of how we teach about Africa, with particular emphasis on the politics of Africa; and (2) the construction of both a body of knowledge regarding Africa and teachers of it. From these considerations come the call to reorganize the field and its teaching, targeting a critical reinsertion of socialism, an African-centered perspective, feminist scholarship, and a revision of the relationship between scholars, research, and their institutional supports. It is a complex and sweeping set of arguments. I suspect however that most readers would find, as I do, that the overall tone and direction of the argument lead to a stark and bitter interpretation: despite the critical perspective provided by area and African studies, the study and teaching of Africa, like the continent itself, faces a dismal future. This is not a conclusion I share, despite the fact that 1 find myself in substantial agreement with most of S a m o f f ' s arguments. I even agree, furthermore, with the

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openly stated assumption that underpins this conclusion; namely, that "over the longer term, what matters most . . . is what happens outside the university, not within it." To take this approach can lead, as I hope to demonstrate, to a quite different set of conclusions. For while we may agree—versus the standard assessments—that African studies and the teaching of Africa may be in crisis, this represents, in my view, a rich opportunity to shed the constraints imposed by the construction and teaching of Africa as formulated during the last forty years. This is an opportunity to be explored, if not in every detail celebrated—and not simply a series of grim facts and bleak trends to be deplored. And this has, moreover, direct and radical implications for undergraduate teaching. I can only briefly sketch this argument here, posing four questions that organize and follow from Samoff's analysis: (1) What provides the global context for the study and teaching of Africa in the next decade? (2) How do we and our undergraduates understand and study Africa, particularly in the social sciences? (3) What is the future of African studies and the teaching of Africa? And (4) How do we move beyond we and them, Africa vs. United States, in the academy, the social and historical disciplines, and African studies?

TRIUMPHALISM—OR THE E N D OF THE COLD WAR LIBERALISM? What [U.S. undergraduates] study, and how they study it, is influenced much more by what is happening in the world—or rather, by how global events come to be generally interpreted and understood—than by a deepening knowledge of Africa or improved theories and methods in the social s c i e n c e s . — S a m o f f , Chapter 2 of this book.

What is the global context for the study and teaching of Africa in the next decade? In answer, Samoff paints an easily recognizable picture: U.S. students confront a world in which "triumphalism is seemingly boundless": the United States stands victorious in the epoch-making contests of the Cold War, with naked capitalism winning the battle against communist/socialist/nonaligned states and movements. Gone, it would appear, are the prospects of any alternative development strategy to full integration with and subordination to the North Atlantic countries. Increasingly, we are told, there is only one path forward: an obeisance to the free market, the world financial community, and the dictates of the North. For Africa, the trends are even more negative: a wholesale collapse beyond dependency to the pitiful state of supplicant for aid. In S a m o f f ' s words: "Dependent Africa had become crisis Africa and then pitiable Africa." As Samoff's arguments stress, we have indeed entered a new global phase, where the framing issues of the past generation no longer hold

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sway. W h e t h e r and to what extent this implies a w h o l e s a l e victory of the North, h o w e v e r , r e m a i n s in my v i e w very m u c h an o p e n q u e s t i o n . Indeed, I w o u l d d e r i v e an a l t e r n a t i v e a n a l y s i s . W h a t w e are w i t n e s s i n g , I believe, is not the loss of the possibility of alternative, a u t o n o m o u s paths by states b e y o n d the E u r o - N o r t h A m e r i c a n center of the world e c o n o m y , much less a return to m o d e r n i z a t i o n theory (of w h i c h m o r e b e l o w ) , but a collapse of the legitimacy of the E u r o - N o r t h A m e r i c a n global p r o j e c t in its cultural, e c o n o m i c , and ideological f o r m s . S w e p t a w a y are a variety of illusions, f r o m the p r o m i s e and ideology of capitalist progress, to the e x p e c t a t i o n s that national d e v e l o p m e n t a l m o d e l s can d e l i v e r e n hanced w e l l - b e i n g . I can only briefly sketch this line of argument here. As w e shall see, however, it has substantive implications for the United States, U.S. undergraduates, and our relation to A f r i c a . Rather than f o c u s i n g upon present triumphalism, o n e might begin by recalling that the Cold W a r w a s m a d e possible and sustained by the c o n s t r u c t i o n of an adversary r e l a t i o n s h i p with " C o m m u n i s t " states and m o v e m e n t s . At one swift stroke, the end of the Cold W a r has thus r e m o v e d the ideological u n d e r p i n n i n g s of U.S. world leadership. At the same time, the structural basis of U.S. leadership is also in tatters, as is all too evident f r o m the daily evidence of continuing global stagnation and the r e e m e r g e n c e of rival core p o w e r s / r e g i o n s . Undergraduates have no problem r e c o g n i z i n g the uncertainties these entail: gone are the halcyon days of a stable global order pivoted on the United States—and the prosperity (and j o b s ) that it assured. I can hear the immediate objections: but surely none of this displaces the unprecedented power of the North in general and the United States in particular over the South and Africa. At the level of policy analysis, and in particular the IMF/World B a n k / U S A I D consortiums, this is true. Yet at the level of the construction of an understanding of North-South relations, almost all the old certainties are d i s a p p e a r i n g . For over thirty years, prosperity within a Cold War f r a m e w o r k locked in a "liberal" vision of developing the South on Northern models. In essence, the patterns were dictated by a single f r a m e w o r k with two variants: nation-state development on the basis of W e s t e r n , m o d e r n i z a t i o n models, or nation-state d e v e l o p m e n t based on communist/socialist models (the intellectual and political roots of this d e v e l o p m e n t a l i s t p a r a d i g m must, in this d i s c u s s i o n , be set aside). Even the most radical m o v e m e n t s and their s u p p o r t e r s w e r e e n t r a p p e d within this f r a m e w o r k , seeking to attain through the capture of state power an i n d e p e n d e n c e that w o u l d , in the end, fail to p r o v i d e the p r o m i s e d development. In both "capitalist" and " c o m m u n i s t / s o c i a l i s t " cases, the f u n d a m e n t a l premise was that national development was assured. This was, as w e now know, a grand illusion; as any number of studies have shown, the g a p between rich and poor on a global scale has steadily increased across at least the last five decades. 1 Indeed, it is not too difficult to argue that the modern

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capitalist world represents, by comparison with previous social systems and civilizations, an epoch of unprecedented inequality, poverty, homelessness, famine, and violence. 2 Nothing makes this clearer than the more recent confrontation of these realities on the part of East Europeans and Russians, as the effects of global stagnation have finally shaken their regimes and the illusive promises of "capitalist" development have become evident (and belatedly, one must note, by comparison with Africa, Latin America, and Asia). 3 In summary, and by contrast to Samoff's reading, I would offer a quite different assessment of recent events on a world scale. Far from heralding the victory of the West, we are witnessing the collapse of an old order predicated on U.S. hegemony, global expansion, and promise of nationstate (Western or Eastern-led) development. From North to South it is evident that progress and well-being are no longer a national affair, which leaves standing naked the enduring global relationships and inequalities that have so long been denied. This conclusion is, particularly in my abbreviated presentation here, a highly interpretative one. It may be illustrated more concretely by examining S a m o f f ' s argument in relation to the knowledge-base of African studies and the organization and teaching of Africa at the undergraduate level.

TARZAN AS HOMO ECONOMICUS: THE KNOWLEDGE-BASE How do we and our undergraduates understand and study Africa? In the wake of "triumphant" capitalism it is easy to discern, as Samoff unearths, a refurbishing of traditional images of Africa, the poor and pitiful other. One need look no further than the popular magazine racks. As the cover and lead story of the 7 September 1992 issue of Time illustrates all too well, the political and economic condition of Africa easily calls forth images of decay and disaster. Even where prospects are brighter, as in the demise of minority rule in South Africa, one constantly confronts the presentation of Black on Black Violence versus a white world of responsible leadership, signified not only by de Klerk but white radicals (as in the September 1992 issue of the magazine of youth-style, Details, where the discussion of opposition to apartheid is restricted to young white radicals' rejection of conscription). As for the reach of such images, one needs only to note that both magazines are of course also sold in South Africa. As the rich, triumphalist West is now placed against Africa, Samoff tells us, traditional becomes once again primitive; and the primitive becomes the underdeveloped; and the West—the West is the model for all peoples aspiring to liberal democracy and development. Translated into

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academia, the result, Samoff argues, is the refurbishing of modernization theory, the collapse of alternative paradigms and paths to Western-led development, and the rising domination within African studies of the discipline of economics due to its role as the model, scientific discipline. Apart from the fact that stereotypes endure, 4 the world that Samoff describes is unrecognizable and univocal. It is a world I find neither in the discipline within which I am employed (sociology), the social sciences and humanities, African studies, nor my classrooms. In each of these arenas one finds, far from a resurgent hegemonic perspective, uncertainty and challenges from multiple perspectives. One could reject these out of hand as simply unruly and noisy voices, shortly to be swept away, as patriarchal, core-centered perspectives reassert themselves. If we move beyond the realm of contested interpretations of contemporary global or classroom events, however, what we find is a fundamental collapse of the intellectual and ideological pillars that have sustained, for well over a century, not just ethnocentric images but our conceptual and theoretical understanding of the modern world. Recall the construction of the social sciences in the nineteenth century: cutting across increasingly divided disciplines was a shared premise of the belief that the British industrial revolution, the French Revolution, and the Enlightenment generated the secular, modern, capitalist world. From abstract and ahistorical models of this process came the founding theories and concepts of economics, political science, and sociology (history being left to deal with "the past," and anthropology with the nonWestern). 5 Samoff illustrates quite well the post-World War II developgemeinshaft-gesellschaft ment of this framework, moving from Tonnies' distinction to Parsonian pattern variables and their application in the social sciences and the study of Africa. Part and parcel of this process was the increasing attempt, again as Samoff stresses, to model the study of the social/economic/political upon the supposedly objective, universal, and rigorous models of the natural sciences (in crude presentation, the quantitative search for replicable, law-like models of human behavior). In the flowering of the Cold War, the result was stages of development theories, including both Western modernization and Eastern Stalinist models. Abstract and ahistorical models of the USSR and/or Western states' development were simply constructed and then applied as conceptual, theoretical, and planning guides for "developing" states. As many in African and other area studies programs have noted, these constructions were fundamentally flawed—and not simply in their attempt to apply Northern models to the South, which was relatively easy to perceive, but in their basic assumption that development in the capitalist epoch could ever be isolated within national boundaries. In this respect, their basic Eurocentrist constructions were false, not only for the South but for any historical understanding of the North as well. 6

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No matter w h e r e o n e turns, the c o m b i n a t i o n of shattered national m o d e l s of progress and d e v e l o p m e n t are increasingly evident. O n e need not refer only to the increasing intellectual and popular a w a r e n e s s in the South of the e f f e c t s of global relationships in o r d e r to perceive this. For equally evident are the uncertainties and i n a d e q u a c i e s of the social sciences themselves as they apply to even the North, built as they have been on models promising and predicting unlimited progress and growth. Since at least the m i d - 1 9 7 0 s , it has been apparent that Keynesian solutions are wholly inadequate to address s t a g n a t i o n in the North, leading to a fruitless search for an alternative p a r a d i g m . In a similar vein, s o c i o l o g y ' s inability to offer solutions to "social p r o b l e m s " has been noted and decried by many, not the least by those w h o see research f u n d i n g declining as a result. 7 Prospects in political science may be brighter, as the " d e m o c r a t i z a tion p r o c e s s " in the W e s t e r n vein now holds s w a y ; I leave this arena to S a m o f f , only noting as he does that democratic practice in the North seems increasingly p r o b l e m a t i c to locate, w h i l e Northern models of electoral d e m o c r a c y are being challenged in the South (and indeed have only limited allegiance on the part of Northern policymakers). A p p r o a c h i n g the South, the open failure of the social scientific models based upon c o n c e p t i o n s of p r o g r e s s and linear, Western, nation-state models of national development are evident everywhere. Highly striking is the d i s a p p e a r a n c e of the " e c o n o m i c s of d e v e l o p m e n t . " As even the conservative Economist has highlighted, " E c o n o m i s t s are interested in growth. T h e trouble is, even by their standards, they have been terribly ignorant about it. T h e depth of their ignorance has long been their best-kept secret" (4 January 1992: 15). We now speak of " d e v e l o p m e n t e c o n o m i c s " : it is hard to tell which word should be the adjective, which should be the noun. No one, least of all the W o r l d B a n k , s p e a k s any longer of the prospect of natural capitalist d e v e l o p m e n t leading to increased standards of living and well-being for the 80 percent of the w o r l d ' s population that live outside core areas of the world e c o n o m y . Even discussions of industrialization and its benefits have largely disappeared for Africa. E c o n o m ics may be the model " s c i e n t i f i c " social science, yet there is little s i g n — and here I simply cannot understand S a m o f f ' s a r g u m e n t — t h a t it has c o m e to d o m i n a t e either the study or t e a c h i n g of A f r i c a . 8 As for " d e m o c r a c y " in the South, it is evident both that its expressions will take f o r m s that are increasingly unpalatable to the North, and that core m o d e l s are b e i n g f o r c e f u l l y c h a l l e n g e d by scholars rooted in m o r e activist traditions in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. 9 Indeed, to abandon a developmentalist, national f r a m e w o r k in f a v o r of a global relational perspective, reveals a quite different process, w h e r e b y state f o r m a t i o n in core areas is continuously matched to state d e f o r m a t i o n in peripheral areas. As for sociology, the relatively small g r o u p that attempted to apply Northern, national models to the South is disappearing f r o m the scene. 1 0

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N o n e of this denies a central point underwritten by S a m o f f , namely that practitioners of social science are well-entrenched and will continue to attempt to resuscitate the p a r a d i g m s to which they are c o m m i t t e d . O n e does not need to be a p o s t m o d e r n i s t , h o w e v e r , to perceive the g r o w i n g chaos within the social s c i e n c e s . " It has b e c o m e increasingly difficult to defend, much less resuscitate, nineteenth-century theories, concepts, and disciplinary boundaries: the canons are encircled; the disciplines are leaking like sieves; and scholars are s c r a m b l i n g for new f o u n d a t i o n s upon which to validate their work. If this applies to the understanding and management of the E u r o - N o r t h A m e r i c a n e c o n o m y / p o l i t y / s o c i e t y , it applies with even greater force to the South, including, most n o t a b l y — b u t not o n l y — A f r i c a . Across the disciplines, and particularly within the study of areas and peoples b e y o n d the borders of dominant core states, w e are indeed watching nothing less than an incipient crisis in the epistemological, ideological, and historiographical bases of modern social science. A revival of the h e g e m o n y of modernization theory across the disciplines seems quite implausible set against these trends. In parallel fashion, the institutional and political certainties that underpinned the modernization epoch are also absent: u n c h a l l e n g e d U.S. h e g e m o n y and financial power, the Cold W a r project, the belief in social e n g i n e e r i n g to generate full e m p l o y m e n t and industrialization, the promotion of state p o w e r and governing classes in the South, and so forth. T h e implications of the present c o n j u n c t u r e for both A f r i c a n studies and the teaching of A f r i c a are direct. As will b e c o m e e v i d e n t , I am less sanguine than S a m o f f and other contributors about the f o r m e r , and more optimistic regarding the latter.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHING AFRICAN STUDIES W h a t is the f u t u r e of A f r i c a n studies and the teaching of A f r i c a ? On the one hand, Samoff m a k e s the case for signs of decline, noting that African studies is no longer high on the agenda of either policymakers or universities. In many d e p a r t m e n t s — a n d it w o u l d seem political s c i e n c e is a major case here—retiring area specialists are far more likely to be replaced by generalists steeped in core-centric concepts and models. Recent surveys of Africanists on this matter seem to c o n f i r m this. 1 2 On the other hand, there are good g r o u n d s to argue that A f r i c a n studies and courses on A f r i c a in the United States, while s u f f e r i n g f r o m some retrenchment, actually are the recipients of steady f u n d i n g and increasing e n r o l l m e n t s . O n e c o u l d go f u r t h e r : federal f u n d s f o r at least the Title VI C e n t e r s have been increased; in 1992, C o n g r e s s a p p r o v e d a n e w , $ 1 5 0 million trust f u n d for international studies and exchanges (controlled, one

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must note, by the Department of Defense); and interest in African materials are clearly at the center of curriculum debates. By contrast to the position of African studies in Britain, for example, U.S. Africanists are in a position of undoubted affluence, 1 3 as can be seen by the flow of British scholars to the United States. How to make sense of the conflicting evidence? Deciphering contradictory data and projecting present trends will hardly help here. To place African studies in a longer viewpoint, and specifically the disciplinary and global trends sketched above, leads, however, to disquieting conclusions. One might first note—as do Samoff, Spear, and other contributors—that African studies, by right of its area focus and multidisciplinary approach, has managed to avoid much of the provincialism associated with the postWorld War II growth of the social sciences. Despite this, it must be stated that African studies was firmly constructed as part and parcel of Cold War realities, global expansion under U.S. leadership, and the necessity of responding to African nationalism and the civil rights movement. As is quite well known, the vast increase in federal and state support for area studies was readily justified in terms of the global contest between the United States and the Soviet Union and the rise of African nationalism. 14 From this conjuncture flowed the predominance of modernization models across the social sciences and their application to the Third World and Africa by leading scholars such as Rostow (economics), Apter (political science), and van den Burghe and McClelland (sociology). As Rostow emphasized, the task was to construct developmental models for the Third World and Africa that could counter the allure of rapid growth and industrialization on the Soviet model. The result was that, as area studies and programs grew, Africa became the preserve of Africanists, bifurcating the United States from the continent—even as most Africanists struggled to make the relationship one of we and them, as contrasted with United States versus Africa. Eclipsed in the academy as part of this process were many AfricanAmerican scholars who had hitherto operated amidst a disdain for the study of African cultures. (This was not, of course, the case in Europe, where citizens of the colonial powers had long dominated the field.) As should now be apparent, both the global and intellectual logic for these pillars of African studies have been removed. The search for a new justification is well revealed by the successive attempts to wring support from the government and the university. In large part, this has been a search for a place in educational reform efforts: do we cast ourselves as leaders in the effort to internationalize, globalize, or multiculturalize the curriculum? None of these jury-rigged efforts are, in my view, likely to be very successful given the current construction and practice of African studies. Far better, it seems to me, to confront the basis of the field over the last generation and seek to move beyond it. To fail to do so will most likely shunt the existing structure and practitioners of the field into an ever more isolated and shrunken fortress.

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T o r e c o g n i z e a n d a b a n d o n past c o n s t r u c t i o n s w i l l a s s u r e d l y e n t a i l d i f ficult t i m e s f o r A f r i c a n i s t s . Y e t t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s a r e m y r i a d . C e r t a i n l y t h e interest in A f r i c a o n u n i v e r s i t y c a m p u s e s — b o t h in m y l i m i t e d e x p e r i e n c e and in light o f m y i n f o r m a l q u e s t i o n i n g o f c o l l e a g u e s a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y — has n e v e r b e e n h i g h e r . C e r t a i n l y t h e s y m b o l s o f A f r i c a h a v e n e v e r f i g u r e d as p r o m i n e n t l y ( b o t h p o s i t i v e l y a n d n e g a t i v e l y ) in p o p u l a r c u l t u r e — f r o m m u s i c to l i t e r a t u r e to c l o t h i n g ( p a r t i c u l a r l y in y o u t h a n d h i p - h o p c u l t u r e ) . A s a n y o n e f a m i l i a r w i t h t h i s at t h e l e v e l o f t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e o r y o u t h population can immediately r e c o g n i z e , these interests are e x p r e s s e d from and t h r o u g h g r o u p s t r a d i t i o n a l l y h e l d o u t s i d e t h e a m b i t o f A f r i c a n s t u d ies: t h a t i s , A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s , a n d e s p e c i a l l y A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n

youth.

S e t a g a i n s t t h i s , a n d f o r all t h e r e a s o n s S a m o f f d e t a i l s , t h e l e g a c y o f t h e construction o f African studies has largely been undertaken by white male scholars, o f t e n fearful that their field o f inquiry will s u f f e r the fate they s e e h a n d e d out to B l a c k s t u d i e s p r o g r a m s in the 1 9 6 0 s a n d 1 9 7 0 s . T h i s is n o t , h o w e v e r , s o l e l y an i s s u e o f t h e r a c i a l c h a r a c t e r o f t h e m e m b e r s h i p o f the a c a d e m y

and African

studies.

F o r all t h e

reasons

s k e t c h e d a b o v e , the d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e f i e l d ' s s u b j e c t m a t t e r , c o n c e p t s , a n d m o d e l s h a v e o p e r a t e d t o p r e v e n t any r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e tween t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d t h e c o n t i n e n t . A s I h a v e a r g u e d at s o m e l e n g t h above, the very construction o f m o d e l s o f economic/social/political develo p m e n t r e s t e d upon t h e a s s u m p t i o n that t h e h i s t o r y a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f E u r o p e a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a c o u l d b e d i s c e r n e d on t h e i r o w n , a n d then a p plied to t h e s o c i e t i e s o u t s i d e c o r e a r e a s o f t h e w o r l d e c o n o m y . I f m y a n a l y s i s is c o r r e c t , the c o l l a p s e o f t h e f e d e r a l a n d g l o b a l p i l l a r s that s u s tained the c o n s t r u c t i o n

o f A f r i c a n s t u d i e s is d i r e c t l y

matched by

the

d e m i s e o f o r g a n i z i n g c o n c e p t i o n s a n d m e t h o d s o f i n q u i r y . T h e r e s u l t is thai A f r i c a n s t u d i e s a n d t h e t e a c h i n g o f A f r i c a h a s n o f u t u r e but t o m o v e b e y o n d past p a t t e r n s , i n c l u d i n g the d e f i n i t i o n o f its s u b j e c t m a t t e r , f r a m i n g issues, and larger c o m m u n i t y .

BEYOND TARZANIAN DEVELOPMENTALISM How d o w e m o v e b e y o n d " U . S . a n d A f r i c a " in t h e s t u d y o f A f r i c a , p a r t i c ularly in t h e s o c i a l s c i e n c e s ? L e s t t h e a b o v e c o m m e n t s a p p e a r t o o a b s t r a c t , I will g i v e a f e w , h i g h l y r e s t r i c t e d e x a m p l e s d r a w n f r o m m y o w n t e a c h i n g o f u n d e r g r a d u a t e s ( T h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f n e w A f r i c a n i s t s in g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s I n e c e s s a r i l y s e t a s i d e h e r e ) . S i n c e m y initial a p p o i n t m e n t a s an a s s i s t a n t p r o f e s s o r o f s o c i o l o g y in 1 9 8 6 , I h a v e r e g u l a r l y t a u g h t t w o i n t r o d u c t o r y c o u r s e s c o n c e r n e d with A f r i c a : " I n t r o d u c t i o n t o M o d e r n A f r i c a " a n d a s p e c i a l s e c t i o n o f " I n t r o d u c t i o n to S o c i o l o g y " c e n t e r e d o n A f r i c a n m a t e r i a l s (versus the U . S . - c e n t e r e d , developmentalist approach and texts). E a c h o f these c o u r s e s is d i s t i n c t l y d i f f e r e n t , in v i e w o f d i f f e r e n t a u d i e n c e s a n d s u b j e c t m a t t e r s . (I set a s i d e t h e m u c h s m a l l e r u n d e r g r a d u a t e a n d g r a d u a t e

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seminars I teach on Africa and other subjects; for example, courses on South/Southern Africa, the capitalist world economy, the industrializing Third World, world-historical methods, and so forth.) In each case, there has been a clear growth in student interest, expectations, and knowledge brought into the classroom. In the instance of the "Introduction to Modern Africa" course, it was taught, through the mid1980s, usually to thirty to forty students, even during the campus divestment campaign, which ended in Spring 1986. South/Southern African courses in this period held more interest than Africa generally. Recent enrollment has been around 120 to 240 per semester, with students closed out of the course during early registration (during the previous semester). The expansion to such numbers has meant an unhappy transition from a small lecture-discussion format to lectures and formal discussion sections led by teaching assistants. This has required the commitment of new teaching assistant resources from both my dean and the sponsoring department, with class size now limited by the level of TA support. The student body has changed as well, from overwhelmingly white to a range of 50 to 90 percent students of color (and this on a predominantly white campus). The "Introduction to Sociology Through Africa" course, although restricted to smaller numbers, has met a similar response. In short, despite new faculty and courses on Africa at the University of Illinois, we simply cannot meet demand for these and other African courses—and this includes an expanding attention to diaspora studies and courses by faculty associated with the Afro-American Studies and Research Program. It is not simply that student interest in Africa has grown: if this were the case, we could simply call for additional staff and courses. But across all such courses one sees the impact of the arguments given above regarding the nature of the social sciences, the present conjuncture, and the study of Africa. In each case, the need to abandon past organizing concepts and theories is evident. Take, for example, sociology: Can one with any validity present society as the primary organizing tool for the study of the present, or the past four hundred years? Certainly not if society is a national construct, as is most commonly posed in introductory sociology texts. The confusion (terminological incoherence) is apparent when one finds a study of the United States supplemented with a single chapter on "other societies." In some textbooks "globalization" is described as a recent process. The absurdity of this is apparent to students of Africa, familiar with the enslavement and colonizing processes that transformed Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It is not too difficult to perceive that other concepts, such as the European-led movement from "gemeinschaft to gesellschaft," or the diffusion of a "nuclear family" model, also fall by wayside. One could make the same commentary regarding political science and economics. Can we seriously organize our subject matter and materials—whether teaching about Africa or Europe/North America—through the notions and

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concepts of equally independent, autonomous, sovereign states or national economies? Particularly pertinent for political scientists and sociologists is the tracking of evolutionary scales of political systems and societies—the very essence of modernization theory and its contrasts of modern vs. traditional and Euro-North American vs. South. In each and every case, students and instructors must quickly confront the social and historical construction of Africa in relation to the West. As suggested above, this is easily perceived and demonstrated in relation to the emergence and expansion of a capitalist, world economy. It is no less apparent when one deals with images, concepts, and values. Take for example the issue of stereotypes, a topic common in Africa courses. Students have no difficulty in accepting our standard criticisms. It is easy for them to accept the common critique: the stereotypes represent a pejorative and ethnocentric depiction of Africa. All the teacher needs to do is to rely upon well-socialized beliefs regarding the rise of equality, fraternity, and liberty as part of the rise of the West. But to move beyond this is more difficult. To confront racism and sexism as modern creations—that is, not artifacts of pre-Enlightenment, traditional, or primordial societies—opens up very disquieting and volatile discussions. 15 And to push further raises even more disquieting inquiries. Ask, for example, if academics have historically done any better: Where do the concepts of tribalism come from? Why did African scholars object, so long ago, to such conceptions (long before it became fashionable to talk about the invention of tradition in the Western academy 16 )? When and how are concepts like nation-state, ethnicity, race, and, most importantly, Africa formulated and reformed? These are not simply pejorative terms, but concepts whose very definition relies upon national models of progress that separate Europe and North America from Africa. In short: abandon the national unit and Western visions of progress, and the ranking and comparing of isolated capitalist societies, polities, and economies, and the heart of the traditional, reigning frameworks themselves disappears. Need I say more regarding comparative politics or cross-national, comparative sociology? Such an abandonment (of treating Africa as either an isolated continent/collection of states, or a negative reflection of the developed North) leads to equally startling implications for the study of civilizations prior to their forced incorporation into the capitalist world. As notions of a linear, evolutionary scale of societal development disappear, students can imagine alternative and more civilized forms of social existence—both in precapitalist and (a potential future) postcapitalist times. If we proceed in this manner, we are led well beyond calls to be more interdisciplinary, more multicultural. If the conceptual and theoretical constructs of our disciplines rest on shaky ground, the teacher quickly discovers that the division of intellectual labor into disciplinary compartments is

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a major obstacle to understanding Africa, its relation to the United States, or any social system. Linking together segments on the polities/economies/ societies of Africa only compounds the problem, making it impossible to grasp the often transnational construction of social/economic/cultural/political relationships, concepts, and identities. Similarly, an approach to multiculturalism that simply adds a segment on Africa to an existing curriculum or textbook serves only to reinforce separation—between Africa and other civilizations and, in the modern period, of the world into watertight, national compartments. To push beyond reform efforts toward a truly world-historical, transcultural perspective necessarily upsets more than the stereotypes that students bring into the classroom: it also challenges the fundamentally uncritical consciousness that is formed by living in an ahistorical culture predicated on national success stories. For students this means, rather than taking the dictation of accepted facts and theories, entering a world of great uncertainty. Nowhere is this more evident than in the debates that emerge over the sources of our historical and conceptual understanding of Africa. Who, the students ask, writes African history? What are the sources —archival? oral? written? Western? African? When á\á Africa in its continental and diaspora consciousness emerge? Here Africanists stand on shaky ground, for all the reasons elaborated above on the character and legacy of the institutional and global construction of the knowledge-base of the social sciences and Africa. A reading of the footnotes of academic articles suggests that little work has been undertaken by scholars outside Euro-North American locations. To send a student to the library serves only to confirm this. Even in my university's library—the third-largest university library in the country—we receive only a handful of daily newspapers from the whole of Africa, whereas we receive at least this many from each major European country. Africana and Afro-American studies share one room in the library, in sharp contrast to large, lending, departmental libraries for other disciplines and areas. The search for African sources (as when I send students into the library to contrast African and North American constructions of African and North American events) is thus exceedingly difficult. Even for more formally academic materials, there are institutionalized obstacles. Send students to research materials on Africa in the largest social science data base, the Social Sciences Citation Index, and they will find, from among the thousand or so indexed journals, only two from Africa—and these from South Africa (Social Dynamics and The South African Journal of Economics). No sign here of leading African social science journals such as Africa Development, or interdisciplinary journals from independent African research centers such as Estudos Moqambicanos from the Centro de Estudos Africanos, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. As for U.S. journals and disciplines, sociology is undoubtedly typical: fewer than 6 percent of the

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articles in what are commonly accepted in the United States as the major journals in the discipline address one or more cases from the whole of the Third World. 1 7 Obviously, the percentage is much lower for Africa taken alone. The popular images of Africa thus share far more with academic knowledge than we would care to admit, for in both instances we confront the well-entrenched foundations and forces behind the creation of knowledge regarding Africa. As all these examples attest, Western scholarly institutions and academic practice have themselves been based upon the centralization of resources within core areas of the world economy—and a continuing process of unequal exchange with peripheral areas. Indeed, if current conditions continue, increased polarization along these lines may well take place, as African universities and scholars bear the brunt of continuing global stagnation and structural adjustment. Might we not here stop talking of a book famine and fraternal assistance and recognize that book famines, like food famines, are socially-determined events—and stop blaming the victim; and at least begin to look northward? To do so would of course raise serious issues regarding the nature of the relation between the United States and Africa, just as, in the classroom, the abandonment of an encapsulated set of African societies and states opens the door to novel explorations. From almost day one, I and my students find ourselves moving backward and forward across not just the whole of the continent but the diaspora and globe as well (obviously, extending Africa beyond sub-Saharan Africa is but a beginning step). Gone are the notions of national developmentalism, isolated paths of history (at least from the Atlantic trades onward), and following in the footsteps of the West. Indeed, students, particularly those engaged in the several, undergraduate-initiated, Afrocentrist reading groups on campus, will raise these issues if I fail to do so. I can always expect questions on the possible Arab origins of the enslavement process; serious and opposed interpretations regarding the impact of Islam and Christianity; and, most consistently, the definition of Africa/n. In every one of these areas the extension of subject matter from Africa to the United States is direct and immediate. Discussion of inequality, class formation, and reform in and through the education system in Africa, for example, leads directly to the United States (where inequalities between rich and poor schools in many states are greater than the per capita gap in spending on black and white students in South Africa). To take another example: talk about the creation of a colonial racial order turns into a discussion of the diaspora—and then this very modern creation in our lives and communities, and its legacy, becomes ever more obvious. To follow this road leads not, as it is often claimed, to the better understanding of our own national culture through the study of a foreign one, but to an understanding of an increasingly shared and unequal history. It is

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a task no less challenging for the instructor than for the student, and one that constantly underlines a summary theme that runs through all the above discussion: we need a far more world-relational and world-historical perspective as we engage with the reconstruction of our concepts, theories, disciplines, and curricula. To become multicultural by adding sections on Africa, feminism, contemporary globalization, or even racist images and beliefs is simply a stopgap.

REPRISE: THE CUTTING EDGE Such observations suggest, as Samoff argues, that we must abandon in all our work the notion of we and them. For teachers who wax long about foreign/African cultures but can never discern cultural differences in the language, position, and perspectives of their students, this means a serious readjustment. Much more in the way of change is involved, however, for African studies and the teaching of Africa in general. As I have sketched briefly above, we have little reason to suspect that African studies can continue as it is currently constituted. Nor can it be presented as a solution to educational crises or cultural conflicts that bedevil the U.S. academy and nation. Indeed, African studies as constructed during the post-World War II period is part of the problem, with Africanists themselves now confronting new global realities and the shaking pillars of their field. To proceed in any positive manner will require nothing less than abandoning past concepts, theories, and methodological orientations. For a variety of wellknown reasons, African and other area studies may be particularly wellsuited to begin the reconstruction of the historical and social "sciences." The opportunities to be on the cutting edge of the reconstruction of knowledge are quite substantial. For Africanists to proceed down this road would be a difficult and painful process. It would, most likely, mean abandoning the prospect of funding predicated on the U.S. role in world affairs, at least in the enduring definitions of "national interest," and listening to those insurgent communities who are both insisting upon new definitions of Africa and demanding the teaching of African materials. It would certainly entail relinquishing the role of Africanist as secular missionary and liberal mediator, 18 whereby highly specialized scholars provide a bridge between a compartmentalized United States and Africa—and devolve upon students, Africans, and African scholars the largesse of extended stays on the continent. Difficult as it may be to choose such a road, the alternative future is, really, a much brighter and more fulfilling one for Africanists. It involves the potential forging of new, more equitable, and stimulating relationships with students and colleagues—and among the latter, particularly those in Africa.

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NOTES 1. See, for example, Giovanni Arrighi, "The Developmentalist Illusion," in Semiperipheral States in the World-Economy, ed. William G. Martin (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1989): 11-42; or, from even a world development agency, UNDP, Human Development Report 1992 (New York: UNDP, 1992), especially chapter three: 34-47. 2. One may now find even basic introductory texts in sociology making this argument. See, for example, Stephen K. Sanderson, Macrosociology, chap. 20 (New York: Harper Collins, 1991): 480-487. This selection remains, of course, the exception, but still stands in stark contrast to the developmentalist models (either of left or right versions) that have dominated until quite recently. 3. This is a long argument we cannot pursue here. But clearly the results are not what either the Western powers or the peoples and politicians of Russia and Eastern Europe expected. Having led, or ridden, popular demands, leaders in these states (and the West) now confront increasingly hungry and rebellious populations. The situation is compounded by the illusive promise of rapid capitalist development and aid from the West. As Poland's president, Lech Walesa, recently noted, "The full victory of Lenin has been achieved by us. In the moment when the proletariat finally feel they are the proletariat, we propose to them capitalism. . . . This causes the absurdity we are in today, that the factory workers are strong. They protest and we will not shoot.. . . We made a revolution, and it was the West that made profit on this, pushing on us all this nicely wrapped scrap" (New York Times, 14 January 1992, A2). Or, in tone with comments from Africa, the statement by Georgy Arbatov, director of the Institute of the USA and Canada Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a member of President Boris Yeltsin's consultative council: "The IMF bureaucracy and its Moscow buddies . . . resemble neo-Bolsheviks who love expropriating other people's money, imposing undemocratic and alien rules of economic and political conduct and stifling freedom" (New York Times, 1 May 1992, A17). 4. Even the stereotypes are now challenged far more extensively than ever before. Witness the debates over how to celebrate the five-hundredth anniversary of Columbus's arrival in the Americas; the use by conservatives of the rhetoric of "political correctness" in response to challenges to a unicultural, bourgeois civilization; and the rise within academia of postmodernism and (as Samoff details) studies of the "invention of Africa" and the construction of "the native other." 5. I have developed these arguments as they relate to the conceptual tools of world-historical studies at greater length in "Fifteen Years of World-Systems Analysis: Assessing the Attempt to Move Beyond Euro-North American Conceptions," forthcoming Review, XVII, 2 (1994). 6. History and the humanities have been ridden with similar tendencies, but that cannot be traced here. 7. See Neil Smelser's statement on the declining prospects for funding research in the introduction to Smelser, ed., Handbook of Sociology (Newbury Park: Sage, 1988): 9 - 1 9 . 8. This is not to say that the discipline is not still the "model social science" to those who pursue an epistemology that even natural scientists no longer find adequate to describe their world. In the world of development advisors (most notably that of the World Bank), claims along these lines may still be rigorously held; but within the academy and the study and teaching of Africa, by contrast, there seems to be little place for Africa or area studies in the discipline of economics. 9. For examples of exchanges on this topic see the CODESRIA Bulletin: Mahmood Mamdani, "A Glimpse at African Studies, Made in the USA," (Dakar:

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CODESRIA, 1990): 7 - 1 1 , and responses in nos. 3 & 4, 1990; the special issue of Africa Development on "democratization" (XV, 3/4, 1990); and debates in the Carter Center newsletter, Demos. 10. A simple indicator of this is that there are very few scholars of Africa in the discipline of sociology. Only 4 percent of the faculty members, and less than 2 percent of student members of the African Studies Association are sociologists— Edna Bay, "African Studies" in National Council of Area Studies Associations, Prospects for Faculty in Area Studies, (Stanford, Calif.: American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, 1991): 1 - 1 8 ; data from 8 - 1 3 . But it is necessary carefully to note the coverage of this source, which is one of the few (and thus most often cited) sources of such information. Membership in the African Studies Association does not cover all students of things African, or even professional scholars of Africa; and the data excludes members the African Heritage Studies Association. 11. In this regard, note that postmodernism has as yet shed little light on how we might understand and study Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The reason is simple: the foundational statements and the literature as a whole are profoundly limited to the study of postindustrial, northern states. As François Lyotard slates in the opening paragraph of his The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, "The object of this study is the condition of knowledge in the most highly developed societies. I have decided to use the word postmodern to describe that condition" (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minneapolis Press, 1989): xxiii. Fredric Jameson is no less open and blunt in the opening pages of his Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (Durham: Duke University Press, 1991): x. "Postmodernism is what you have when the modernization process is complete." The danger here is that modern/tradition may easily be replaced by postmodern/modern. In this vein, it is no surprise that the most enlightening writings about "nonmodernized/highly developed societies" are focused on the creation of Western visions or discourses of the colonized (e.g., Mudimbe, Miller); whether writings by, about, or from noncore cultures can overcome these weaknesses remains to be seen (see e.g., the work of Spivak, Guha, Kane, Cheikh Hamidou, Trinh Minh-ha, and the Subaltern group). 12. See Edna Bay, "African Studies," in National Council of Area Studies Associations, Prospects for Faculty in Area Studies (Stanford, Calif.: American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, 1991): 1 - 1 8 . 13. See, for example, Michael Crowder, " ' U s ' and ' T h e m ' : The International African Institute and the Current Crisis of Identity in African Studies," Africa 57, 1 (1987): 109-122. 14. As to the Soviet Union, this was most likely the case there also. I simply have never seen any assessment. We may be sure, however, the collapse of Cold War justifications will see the demise of the importance of Africa for the Russian academy and most likely its demise as an area receiving substantial state support. Whether and to what extent this will occur in China—given the contradictory importance of the Third World to China and the continuation of centralized educational planning and funding—remains to be seen. 15. There are a number of ways to foster discussion of racism as an ongoing social construction. The organization and rhetoric of some introductory sociology texts present contemporary examples (see note 2); or assign chapters 3 and 4 of Immanuel Wallerstein's Historical Capitalism (London: Verso, 1983): 7 5 - 1 1 1 . Other possibilities are to reread Fanon (and, for Euro-North Americans, Sartre's preface to The Wretched of the Earth), and there are numerous examples of the "invention" of Africa. I send students to analyze the presentation of human history

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(and especially Africa) in campus and municipal museums. In every case, it is critical not simply to illustrate the creation of stereotypes about Africa but also to show the historical and relational creation of Euro-North Americans' consciousness of their place in the capitalist world economy—including the intellectual creation of an evolutionary hierarchy of civilizations, national societies, and the methods of their analysis. 16. See, for example, essays published over twenty years ago by such scholars as Ben Magubane ("A Critical Look at Indices of Social Change," Current Anthropology 12, [October 1971]: 419-445), or Archie Mafeje ("Ideology of Tribalism," Journal of Modern African Studies, 9, 2 [1971]: 353-361). 17. Gary Gereffi and Stephanie Fonda, "Regional Paths of Development," Annual Review of Sociology 18 (1992): 419-448; data from 421. 18. The terms secular missionary and liberal mediator are lmmanuel Wallerstein's. See his "The Evolving Role of the Africa Scholar in African Studies," reprinted in his Africa and the Modern World (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1986): 3-10.

PART TWO REASSESSMENTS AND N E W DIRECTIONS

4 Transnational Cultural Studies and the U.S. University Neil Lazarus

I would like to discuss a few of the debates that have been playing themselves out within left-wing circles recently, concerning the status of Third World or postcolonial literatures and their place in the U.S. university curriculum. Of course, these are minoritarian debates. We live in deeply reactionary times, such that the most widely publicized discussions of late have not been over where best to situate transnational cultural studies courses in the curriculum, but over whether they warrant a place there at all. I do not plan to devote attention to this latter question in this chapter. Intellectually, it is not a subject that much interests me, since I tend to view as specious the representations of "cultural pluralism" typically encountered in the writings of the neoconservative scholars who oppose it. One enters the fray over multiculturalism not for philosophical but for institutional reasons. Within radical scholarship, however, recent work has raised interesting and challenging questions for those of us who teach literature in U.S. colleges and universities, and who are committed to offering courses in socalled postcolonial, emergent, or Third World literatures. (I should note in passing that although I intend to keep using these labels in this chapter, they have, themselves, been the subject of searching criticism: in his emphatic critique of Fredric Jameson's influential theorization of Third World literature under the homogenizing rubric of national allegory, Aijaz Ahmad asserts that the term Third World can be deployed only polemically; it has "no theoretical status whatsoever." 1 Similarly, in an article just published, Ella Shohat argues that the term postcolonial obscures the reality of neocolonialism and tends to be ahistorical, falsely universalizing, and depoliticizing in its contemporary scholarly usage. 2 One of the most profound of these critical questions has been that concerning language. Aijaz Ahmad notes that very few U.S. scholars of so-called postcolonial literatures have "ever bothered with an Asian or African language." Because of this, he explains, "major literary traditions—

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such as those of Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, and half a dozen others from India alone—remain, beyond a few [translated] texts here and there, virtually unknown to the American literary theorist." 3 This, in turn, has as its consequence the fact that the few texts that, having been translated, are known in the West tend to be lionized—celebrated simultaneously for their cultural representativeness and their difference, not to say, marginality, from the canonical texts of Western culture. Occasionally, as Ahmad points out (not in the same essay), this produces almost comic effects; as, for instance, when a Rabindranath Tagore novel, "patently canonical and hegemonizing inside the Indian cultural context," is positioned "in the syllabi of 'Third World Literature' as a marginal, non-canonical text, counterposed against 'Europe.'" 4 More typically, however, it is not translated texts but anglophonic texts—those written in English—that tend to receive all the attention. As Ahmad puts it, The f e w writers w h o happen to write in English are valorized beyond measure. Witness, for example, the characterization of Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children in the New York Times as "a Continent finding its v o i c e " — a s if one has no v o i c e if one does not speak in English. Or Richard Poirier's praise for Edward Said in Raritan which now adorns the back cover of a recent book of Said's: "It is Said's great accomplishment that thanks to his book, Palestinians will never be lost to history." The retribution visited upon the head of an Asian, an African, an Arab intellectual w h o is of any consequence and writes in English is that he or she is immediately elevated to the lonely splendor of a representative— of a race, a continent, a civilization, even the "Third World." 5

Plainly, the monolinguisticality of U.S. scholars and students where non-Western cultures are concerned poses a very real problem. Nor, of course, is it only of language, narrowly conceived, that we are speaking here. When Chinua Achebe observed in a famous statement that no person could understand another whose language he or she did not know, he was referring, beyond "language," to culture in the widest, anthropological sense; that is, to a whole way of life, to a set of socially structured practices, ways of seeing, thinking, and acting. It is obviously difficult (I say difficult, not impossible) for U.S. or U.S.-based scholars to write with authority about African or Asian cultural traditions and practices if they cannot speak or read the requisite languages. Moreover, inasmuch as the only exposure to the cultures of Africa or Asia that U.S. students of postcolonial discourse are typically afforded is to the work of such elite (although not necessarily elitist: the distinction is crucial, yet it is often elided), cosmopolitan, and internationally renowned anglophonic figures as Salman Rushdie, Edward Said, Nuruddin Farah, and Derek Walcott, it is scarcely to be wondered at that, in their writing and thinking, these students should tend to overestimate the representativeness of these cosmopolitan voices;

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to m i s c o n s t r u e their r e g i s t e r s a n d c o n c e r n s as d e f i n i t i v e of the r e g i s t e r s and c o n c e r n s of T h i r d W o r l d literatures in g e n e r a l . It is f o r r e a s o n s such as these, p e r h a p s , that, in a recent essay entitled " T h e M a k i n g of A m e r i c a n s , the T e a c h i n g of E n g l i s h , a n d the F u t u r e of C u l t u r e S t u d i e s , " G a y a t r i C h a k r a v o r t y S p i v a k s h o u l d h a v e b e e n led to o f f e r a c a u t i o n a b o u t the d a n gers of a " n e w o r i e n t a l i s m , " a n d to p r o p o s e that literature d e p a r t m e n t s n o longer p e r m i t t h e m s e l v e s to s e r v e in any i n s t a n c e s as the sole s p o n s o r s of courses and research into the discourses of colonialism and postcolonialism. S p i v a k a r g u e s that "a c u r s o r y a c q u a i n t a i n c e with w o r l d literature o u t s i d e of E u r a m e r i c a s h o u l d be part of the g e n e r a l u n d e r g r a d u a t e r e q u i r e m e n t . " 6 B u t s h e f e e l s that a s u r v e y c o u r s e of this nature h a s n o place in a literature m a j o r , a b o v e all in a m a j o r that retains a traditional c o m m i t m e n t to s i n g l e - a u t h o r c o u r s e s . 7 In S p i v a k ' s view, it w o u l d be " a n insult to w o r l d literature" to install a s u r v e y c o u r s e in a c u r r i c u l u m that r e q u i r e d s t u d e n t s to d e v o t e a w h o l e s e m e s t e r to, say, Milton or A u s t e n or L a w r e n c e . Instead, she p r o p o s e s that a strictly interdisciplinary, o p t i o n a l s e n i o r s e m i n a r be ins t i t u t e d , " u t i l i z i n g the r e s o u r c e s of A s i a n , L a t i n A m e r i c a n , P a c i f i c , a n d A f r i c a n s t u d i e s , in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h the c r e a t i v e w r i t i n g p r o g r a m s , " in w h i c h s t u d e n t s w o u l d b e " m a d e t o s h a r e the d i f f i c u l t i e s a n d t r i u m p h s of translation." K W i t h r e s p e c t to world literatures at the u n d e r g r a d u a t e level, this is the only r e c o m m e n d a t i o n that S p i v a k m a k e s . S h e s e e m s to b e l i e v e that n o sustained r e s e a r c h into literatures " o u t s i d e of E u r a m e r i c a " is p o s s i b l e at this level; at least, it is not p o s s i b l e f r o m within the c o n f i n e s of a literature dep a r t m e n t . 9 For S p i v a k , e v i d e n t l y , t e a c h e r s of literature c a n n o t h o p e to a c c o m p l i s h a n y t h i n g m o r e at the u n d e r g r a d u a t e level t h a n to d e s t a b i l i z e , s o m e w h a t , the t a k e n - f o r - g r a n t e d n e s s of E n g l i s h L i t e r a t u r e o r F r e n c h Literature as ideological terrains. T h e task is to begin to d e f a m i l i a r i z e the d i s ciplinary f o r m a t i o n of English or French. B u t o n l y to b e g i n : f o r S p i v a k , a m o r e s e r i o u s e n c o u n t e r w i t h w o r l d l i t e r a t u r e s c a n be u n d e r t a k e n o n l y at the g r a d u a t e level; a n d e v e n t h e r e , it is i m p e r a t i v e that s u c h w o r k t a k e p l a c e o u t s i d e o f , or " b e y o n d , " the E n g l i s h o r F r e n c h d e p a r t m e n t . S h e writes that The doctoral study of colonial and postcolonial discourse and the critique of imperialism as a substantive undertaking cannot be contained within English. In my thinking, this study should yoke itself with other disciplines, including the social sciences, so that we have degrees in English and history, English and Asian studies, English and anthropology, English and African studies. . . . I think this specialty should carry a rigorous language requirement in at least one colonized vernacular. What I am describing is the core of a transnational study of culture, a revision of the old vision of Comparative L i t e r a t u r e . . . . If this study is contained within English (or other metropolitan literatures), without expansion into fully developed transnational culture studies, colonial and postcolonial discourse studies can also construct a canon of "Third World Literature (in

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Obviously, the warning that Spivak gives us about a "new orientalism" should be taken seriously. Elsewhere, she has linked this warning more generally to an argument as to the indispensability of deconstructive critical procedures, suggesting that unless we as teachers and researchers ceaselessly raise the question of the positionality of theory, our work will be "sustained" by the "assumption and construction of a consciousness or subject," and this assumption/construction will "in the long run" assure that our work "cohere[s] with the work of imperialist subject-constitution, mingling epistemic violence with the advancement of learning and civilization." 1 1 I was made to reflect upon this formulation a couple of years ago in the context of a course that I was teaching on "postcolonial" literatures: quite near the beginning of the semester, the class was discussing Hanan al-Shaykh's novel Women of Sand and Myrrh (Quartet Books 1 9 8 9 ) when a student was moved to object to the inclusion of this text in the course, arguing that, inasmuch as its standpoint was not actively antiimperialist, it could not be considered "postcolonial." Postcoloniality, in this student's vocabulary, consisted in a particular political outlook; one that was deemed appropriate. This outlook was exemplified not in alShaykh's novel but in the work of other writers such as Fanon, Ngugi, Mahasweta Devi, and Ghassan Kanafani, with which we had begun the semester. For all its intended radicalism, the prescriptiveness of my student's assessment was of precisely the kind that Spivak had described: a consciousness was constructed and then ascribed, in an epistemological gesture decidedly reminiscent of "imperialist subject-constitution." The fact that the student who objected was from the Indian subcontinent, not the United States, complicated the issue. For all this, I must confess that some of Spivak's emphases in the passage I have just cited strike me as being questionable. I would like here to consider two of these: first, the suggestion that the study of postcolonial literatures should be undertaken only on the basis of an interdisciplinary curriculum that couples a literature specialty with a specialty in an area studies program or in a field such as history or sociology; second, and related to the first, the proposition that (doctoral) research into colonial or postcolonial discourse should "carry a rigorous language requirement in at least one colonized vernacular." I hope to make clear that I do not agree with either of these suggestions. However, before turning to discuss them, it might be helpful for me to say something briefly about my own training and intellectual formation, not only by way of taking myself as an example and declaring an interest, but also with Pierre Bourdieu's caution in

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mind that, whenever intellectuals are moved to "speak with aspirations toward the universal, they are always liable to be nothing more than the unconscious spokesmen of an historical unconscious that is linked to the peculiarities of a specific history of the intellectual field." 1 2 1 do not speak a "colonized vernacular." The only non-European language that I can read and write is Afrikaans. The emblematic language of apartheid, Afrikaans scarcely qualifies as a colonized language, even though it is spoken by more blacks than whites in South Africa (the only country—if one exempts a residual presence in Zimbabwe and Namibia— in which it is spoken); and even though its origins are precisely as a Creole language quite similar in its structure to that spoken by the Creoles of the Dutch Antilles and the Moluccas islands of Indonesia. My undergraduate training, in South Africa, was in English literature and the history of drama; my graduate work, completed in Britain, was undertaken first in an interdisciplinary program in the sociology of literature, and subsequently in a sociology department. Since moving to the United States in 1981, I have been based successively in a department of sociology, a center for the humanities, and an English department; and, since 1986, I have held a joint appointment in English and Modern Culture and Media at Brown University. Methodologically, my interests have always turned on the articulation of culture with wider social processes; substantively, my area of focus has always been cultural production in the contemporary Third World, with a particular emphasis upon anglophone African literature. In summary form, then: cultural studies, on the one hand; transnationalism, or the world-system, on the other. My first book, Resistance in Postcolonial African Fiction (Yale University Press 1990), which centered on the figure of the Ghanaian novelist, Ayi Kwei Armah, was about anticolonial nationalism, radical African intellectualism, and the forms of African fiction in the postcolonial era. The project upon which I am currently engaged, tentatively entitled Hating Tradition Properly, attempts to theorize the transformations undergone by (elite and popular) cultural forms in their diffusion across and between the social spaces brought into being by the globalization of capitalism in the specific contexts of colonialism and postcolonialism. Its particular project is to identify and offer an assessment of various counterhegemonic cultural practices situated neither exclusively in the universe of socialized capital—the First World—nor exclusively in the Third World, but between them, so to speak. Ranged in diverse ways across or athwart the international division of labor, the cultural practices that I have chosen to examine are African pop music, West Indian cricket, and "emergent" English literatures. These are cultural forms, I argue, that can be understood only in terms of a systemic analysis that insists on the global dimensions of contemporary social existence. Even on the basis of this skeletal outline, it is perhaps obvious why I cannot universally affirm Spivak's insistence that students wishing to do research into postcolonial cultures should have to study a "colonized

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vernacular." I shall leave aside the specificity of the Caribbean and Latin American contexts, which Spivak fails to mention but with respect to which she would presumably allow that questions of whether the languages are "colonized vernacular" are often moot. In general, however, it seems to me that just as one would demand of graduate students hoping to write extensively about Proust that they would have mastered French, so one would demand of graduate students hoping to write extensively about Thomas Mofolo that they would have studied Sesotho, or about Naguib Mahfouz that they would have studied Arabic. But the situation is already somewhat different in the case of such writers as, say, Solomon T. Plaatje, —a contemporary of Mofolo—who wrote as much in English as in his native Setswana; or Abdelkebir Khatibi, still active today, who writes as often in French as in Arabic. And it is emphatically different in the case of a vast array of contemporary writers—emigrants, as Rushdie puts it in Shame, from their countries of birth, and sojourners in other countries (often more than one), and who write principally if not solely in English or another metropolitan language. Rushdie himself is one such mohajir\ so also are many other well-known contemporary writers, among them Ama Ata Aidoo, Anita Desai, Amitav Ghosh, Kazuo lshiguro, Timothy Mo, Ben Okri, Ninotchka Rosea, and Moyez Vassanji. For precise, historical reasons, there are few parallels in the past, either in metropolitan or in colonized cultures, to the situation of these contemporary diasporic, migrant writers. If the figure of Joseph Conrad comes closest, this is perhaps because, as Rosemary George has recently argued, Conrad stands (facing the wrong way, it might be introjected, but even so . . .) at the gateway of the distinctively twentieth-century and colonial problematic of "globality" and "English as a world language." 1 3 One would not, I think, require of Conrad students that they be able to read Polish. By the same token, I do not believe that knowledge of a "colonized vernacular" is always indispensable for research into such writers as Vassanji or Rosea. Sometimes, it is an understanding of subcontracting, transnational labor flows and the new international division of labor, or of the contemporary politics of identity and "imagined community," 1 4 that is essential. This is conceivably true even in certain cases where language competence is indispensable. I am thinking, for instance, of the relationship within the Arabic novel between the established discourse of Naguib Mahfouz and that of such experimental contemporary writers as Elias Khoury and Emile Habiby, as Edward Said represents it in his Foreword to a recent English translation of Khoury's Little Mountain. Of course, it is necessary to know Arabic both to be able to read the work of these writers and to be able to place their different stylistic and formal registers (despite his Nobel prize, not even M a h f o u z ' s fiction is widely available in translation). But to know Arabic is not enough: for on Said's account it is what these different formal registers betoken in social terms that matters.

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Mahfouz, for example has an almost organic connection to the historical events depicted in his novels, produced over half a century, and Said reads the extraordinarily cumulative thrust of Mahfouz's career in terms of his specific location as an Egyptian (and indeed Cairene) intellectual: The thing about Mahfouz is that he can and has always been able to depend on the vital integrity and even, cultural compactness of Egypt. For all its tremendous age, the variety of its components and the influences on it . . . the country has a stability and identity that in this century have not disappeared. Put differently, this is to say that the Arabic novel has flourished especially well in twentieth-century Egypt because throughout all the turbulence of the country's wars, revolutions, and social upheavals, civil society w a s never eclipsed, its existence was never in doubt, was never completely absorbed into the State. Novelists like Mahfouz had it always there for them, and accordingly developed an abiding institutional connection with the society through their fiction. 1 5

Mahfouz's discourse is then contrasted with that of the contemporary Palestinian or Lebanese writer, for whom civil society is not there. Where Mahfouz's fiction stems palpably from a "fundamentally settled and integral" society, Habiby's The Secret Life of Saeed, the Ill-Fated Pessoptimist and Khoury's Little Mountain derive equally palpably from "fractured, decentered, and openly insurrectionary" locales. 16 In these fictions, therefore, "form is an adventure, narrative both uncertain and meandering, character less a stable collection of traits than a linguistic device, as selfconscious as it is provisional and ironic." 17 I will now turn to the second of Spivak's recommendations; namely, that the study of colonial and postcolonial discourse ought not to be conducted under the sole auspices of a literature department, but ought instead to be a matter of interdisciplinary sponsorship. On the face of it, this seems to be an incontrovertibly reasonable suggestion. Just as 1 believe that graduate students wishing to do extensive research on authors who do not write in English should have to acquire a mastery of the appropriate languages, so too it seems self-evident that students planning to write on Tsitsi Dangarembga or Dambudzo Marechera, say, should have to acquire a knowledge of modern Zimbabwean and African history, politics, and culture. But there is something unselfcritical about Spivak's proposal: this kind of knowledge, surely, is indispensable for any literary scholarship, and not merely for research into so-called world literature? One could scarcely claim to be a good Shelley scholar unless one had read widely in the history and sociology of England and Europe in the so-called Age of Revolution— the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. And this is true not only because Shelley was a particularly "political" poet. To write with authority about any cultural producer, it is necessary to know a great deal about his or her world. Hence, I find rather unconvincing the proposition that the

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study of postcolonial discourse cannot be contained within a literature department. If by this Spivak means to indicate that a formalist approach to world literatures will lead to the imposition of the dominant culturalist and Eurocentric paradigms, this is true, but it is not true with respect only to so-called world literatures; rather, it is true across the board, with respect to Shelley or Shakespeare or Duras as much as to Dangarembga—and in this case Spivak ought to have called for the discontinuation of doctoral programs in literature as such, and for their wholesale replacement by genuinely interdisciplinary programs. However, if by her proposition Spivak means that what might be appropriate to the study of such novelists as, say, Thomas Hardy or Herman Melville is not appropriate to the study of such anglophone writers as George Lamming or Witi Ihimaera, I am not sure that 1 can agree. We must concede that what Rey Chow has called "the politics of reading from West to East" are particularly fraught and complex 1 8 (with my particular interests, I would have wanted to say: from North to South); but if, in order to study Lamming, for example, it is seen to be necessary to step outside of English into History or "the Caribbean," I do not see how a case can plausibly be made for not following a similar general procedure in the case of Melville. Perhaps Spivak feels that, with regard to such writers as Hardy and Melville, held fast within the romanticizing embrace of Literature as an institutionalized ideology, the battle is already won and lost. 19 In my view, however, it remains both necessary and possible for radical scholars within literature departments in the United States to produce the kinds of work to which they are committed—historicized, politicized, materialist, alert to questions of representation and subalternity, and so on— and to do this with respect not only to texts and bodies of work deemed marginal, but equally to canonical writings. I have, in a sense, been defending literature departments in the United States against Spivak's insistence upon their severe limitations. At the graduate level, I have taught only within English departments (at Brown and, before that, at Louisiana State University), and, where courses in colonial or postcolonial discourse are concerned, I have simply required my students to undertake research of a sociohistorical and political nature. Nor, as far as I know, has this ever seemed to them implausible or inappropriate. However, I recognize that one consequence of my particular experience is that I find it very difficult to specify the kind of relationship that ought to obtain between the literature department (in my case, English) and the area studies program (African studies, for instance). In practical terms, this is not a problem that I have had to deal with: at Brown, for instance, there is an African-American program but not one in African studies; and courses on African literature are not automatically or even routinely offered under the rubric of African-American studies. Sometimes, indeed, they are not even cross-listed with African-American studies.

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The area studies program is not, of course, a disciplinary field, but, as its n a m e indicates, a field d e m a r c a t e d by its object d o m a i n . T h e faculty w h o make up an A f r i c a n studies program will, by definition, be A f r i c a n ists; but they will also have disciplinary s p e c i a l i z a t i o n s , as a n t h r o p o l o gists, political scientists, musicologists, art historians, and so forth. I have tried to argue a b o v e that students of postcolonial literatures based in literature d e p a r t m e n t s do not need to undertake f o r m a l (i.e., institutionally endorsed) cross-disciplinary training in order to equip them to write about postcolonial discourse. T h e same is true of students in o t h e r disciplinary fields: history, sociology, anthropology, and so on. T h e area studies program, on the other hand, needs to link itself as actively as possible with all research ventures that bear in any way upon its terrain. A s area studies programs, African or Asian studies cannot afford to adopt essentialist definitions as to their field of sponsorship. Consider once again, for example, the vexed question of language. It might seem commonsensical to distinguish between the terrain of African studies and the terrain of English on the basis of language, such that literature written in Yoruba, say, or Zulu, would fall under the p u r v i e w of African studies (and not of English); and work composed in English would fall under the purview of the English department (and not of African studies). In my view, however, such a procedure would be seriously in error. First, it would have the effect of ghettoizing literatures not written in metropolitan languages, and of reinforcing their wider cultural inscription as marginal, not-quite-literatures. Second, and conversely, it would have the e f f e c t of d e - A f r i c a n i z i n g E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e A f r i c a n literatures, since the works of such writers as Achebe, A r m a h , S o y i n k a , and N w a p a would be positioned as English rather than as A f r i c a n . This would be to replicate in a slightly different context the standpoint most decisively associated with the n a m e of Ngugi wa T h i o n g ' o , and w h i c h , despite N g u g i ' s reputation and his brilliance in other respects, I regard as being both theoretically and empirically unsustainable. In his e n o r m o u s l y influential book Decolonising the Mind,2{) Ngugi argues that the literature produced by A f r i c a n writers in English or French or Portuguese cannot truly be considered African, but must be regarded instead as A f r o - E u r o p e a n . He is perfectly willing to c o n c e d e both that this " h y b r i d t r a d i t i o n " has produced writers of g e n u i n e talent, and that the work of m a n y of these w r i t e r s — h e mentions specifically O u s m a n e S e m bene, Ayi Kwei A r m a h , and A g o s t i n h o Neto, a m o n g o t h e r s — h a s played an important cultural role in the struggle against i m p e r i a l i s m . But, as he puts it,

W e c a n n o t h a v e our cake and eat it! T h e i r work b e l o n g s to an A f r o European literary tradition w h i c h is likely to last for as l o n g as Africa is under this rule of European capital in a n e o - c o l o n i a l s e t - u p . S o A f r o -

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European literature can be d e f i n e d as literature written by A f r i c a n s in European languages in the era of imperialism. But some are coming round to the inescapable conclusion articulated by Obi Wali with such polemical vigour twenty years ago: African literature can only be written in African languages, that is, the languages of the African peasantry and working class, the major alliance of classes in each of our nationalities and the agency for the coming inevitable r e v o lutionary break with neo-colonialism. 2 1

T h i s is n o t t h e p l a c e t o d e v e l o p a f u l l c r i t i q u e of N g u g i ' s p o s i t i o n , b u t in p a s s i n g I w i l l o b s e r v e t h a t h i s g e n e r a l a r g u m e n t a b o u t

language

a n d A f r i c a n l i t e r a t u r e is s u s c e p t i b l e t o c r i t i c i s m o n s e v e r a l g r o u n d s : it is M a n i c h e a n in s t r u c t u r e a n d t h e r e f o r e f a l s e l y h o m o g e n i z i n g in i t s s o c i a l t h r u s t ; it a t t r i b u t e s t o t h e c l a s s e s of t h e A f r i c a n p e a s a n t r y a n d p r o l e t a r i a t a p r i v i l e g e d p o l i t i c a l a w a r e n e s s t h a t is m e r e l y a s s e r t e d , a n d n e v e r d e m o n s t r a t e d , t o b e in p l a c e ; it t a k e s f o r g r a n t e d t h a t " t h e l a n g u a g e s o f t h e A f r i c a n peasantry and w o r k i n g c l a s s " — f o r instance G i k u y u or L u o or L u h y a or K a m b a — a r e K e n y a n l a n g u a g e s not m e r e l y by ( c o l o n i a l ) defini t i o n b u t a l s o b y i n c l i n a t i o n a n d p o l i t i c a l w i l l ; a n d s o o n . A b o v e all, t h o u g h , N g u g i ' s f o r m u l a t i o n is i n s i s t e n t l y u n h i s t o r i c a l a n d e s s e n t i a l i s t — l i k e t h a t , i n c i d e n t a l l y , of s u c h p u r i s t s in t h e f i e l d of e t h n o m u s i c o l o g y a s H u g h a n d A n d r e w T r a c e y . It is t r u e t h a t E n g l i s h , F r e n c h , a n d P o r t u g u e s e w e r e i m p o s e d o n A f r i c a a s a l i e n l a n g u a g e s , a n d a s l a n g u a g e s of d o m i n a t i o n . It is a l s o t r u e t h a t t h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n in A f r i c a c o n t i n u e s t o f o l l o w t h e logic of class division. A s l a n g u a g e s , they are w i d e l y s p o k e n a m o n g the urban m i d d l e classes, less widely a m o n g the urban w o r k i n g classes, and h a r d l y at all a m o n g t h e r u r a l p e a s a n t r y . N o n e o f t h i s , h o w e v e r , s a n c t i o n s N g u g i in h i s b l a n k e t r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e s e l a n g u a g e s a s f o r e i g n t o A f r i c a t o d a y o r a s u n i f o r m l y e l i t i s t u p o n A f r i c a n s o i l : " T h e q u e s t i o n is this," he states, " w e as A f r i c a n w r i t e r s h a v e a l w a y s c o m p l a i n e d a b o u t the neo-colonial e c o n o m i c and political r e l a t i o n s h i p to E u r o - A m e r i c a . Right. B u t b y o u r c o n t i n u i n g t o w r i t e in f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e s , p a y i n g h o m a g e t o t h e m , are w e not on the cultural level c o n t i n u i n g that n e o - c o l o n i a l slavish and cringing spirit?"22 T h e correct a n s w e r to this intendedly

rhetorical

q u e s t i o n is n o t " y e s " b u t " n o . " N g u g i is t o o r e d u c t i o n i s t i c h e r e , a n d h e fails to g r a p p l e with the relative a u t o n o m y of l a n g u a g e and culture f r o m their s o c i o e c o n o m i c c o n d i t i o n s of e x i s t e n c e . T h e fact that E n g l i s h w a s not n a t i v e to A f r i c a d o e s not m e a n that A f r i c a n writers c a n n o t

make

t h e m s e l v e s at h o m e in it w i t h o u t l o s i n g t h e i r s o u l s . S i m i l a r l y , t h e s u g g e s t i o n t h a t t o w r i t e in E n g l i s h is i n e v i t a b l y t o p e r p e t u a t e a c r i n g i n g n e o c o l o n i a l i s m is n o t o n l y u n d i a l e c t i c a l , it is a l s o c r u d e a n d d o g m a t i c . C o n sider for instance W o l e S o y i n k a ' s witty poem " T e l e p h o n e Conversation," w h i c h , s e t in E n g l a n d , u s e s E n g l i s h a g a i n s t t h e E n g l i s h in a m a n n e r t h a t s e e m s to m e clearly neither c r a v e n l y a p o l o g e t i c nor r e m o t e l y n e o c o l o n i a l in s u b s t a n c e :

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The price seemed reasonable, location Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived Off premises. Nothing remained But self-confession. " M a d a m , " I warned, "I hate a wasted journey—I am African." Silence. Silenced transmission of Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came, Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully. " H O W D A R K ? " . . . I had not misheard . . . " A R E Y O U L I G H T OR V E R Y D A R K ? " Button B. Button A. Stench Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak. Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed By ill-mannered silence, surrender Pushed dumbfoundment to beg simplification. Considerate she was, varying the e m p h a s i s — " A R E YOU D A R K ? OR V E R Y LIGHT?" Revelation came. "You mean—like plain or milk chocolate?" Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted, I chose. "West African sepia"—and as afterthought, " D o w n in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent Hard on the mouthpiece. " W H A T ' S T H A T ? " conceding " D O N ' T K N O W W H A T T H A T IS." "Like brunette." " T H A T ' S D A R K , I S N ' T IT?" "Not altogether. Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see T h e rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, c a u s e d — Foolishly m a d a m — b y sitting down, has turned My bottom raven b l a c k — O n e moment m a d a m ! " — s e n s i n g Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap About my e a r s — " M a d a m , " I pleaded, " w o u l d n ' t you rather See for yourself?" 2 3

In the f a c e o f this k i n d o f w r i t i n g , it s e e m s to m e that

Chinua

A c h e b e ' s pragmatic s t a n d p o i n t , e x p r e s s e d as l o n g a g o as 1 9 6 4 in his e s s a y "The A f r i c a n Writer and the E n g l i s h L a n g u a g e , " is a l t o g e t h e r m o r e c o m p e l l i n g than that o f N g u g i . R e s p o n d i n g e x p l i c i t l y to Obi W a l i , the N i g e r ian c r i t i c w h o s e

conclusions

we

have seen

Ngugi

describe

as

"in-

e s c a p a b l e , " A c h e b e w r o t e that "I h a v e b e e n g i v e n this l a n g u a g e [ E n g l i s h ] and I i n t e n d to u s e it," a n d — c r u c i a l l y — t h a t "I f e e l that the E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e w i l l be a b l e to carry the w e i g h t o f m y A f r i c a n e x p e r i e n c e . B u t it w i l l h a v e to b e a n e w E n g l i s h , still in full c o m m u n i o n w i t h its a n c e s t r a l h o m e but altered to suit its n e w A f r i c a n s u r r o u n d i n g s . 2 4 It is n o t , o f c o u r s e , that A f r i c a n w r i t e r s s h o u l d e v e r f e e l o b l i g e d t o c h o o s e E n g l i s h o v e r t h e i r n a t i v e t o n g u e s as their l a n g u a g e o f literary e x p r e s s i o n ,

or

that their d e c i s i o n to d o s o w o u l d e v e r b e i n n o c e n t or w i t h o u t s i g n i f i c a n t

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ideological implications. But for those writers who do, for whatever reason, take the decision to write in English, the task in Achebe's view is precisely to transform the European language of empire into an African language; and Achebe differs sharply from Ngugi in believing that the indigenization or Africanization of English is not only possible but, indeed, inevitable, and already well under way. It may be true that what is produced on the basis of this decision is, with very rare exceptions, not a working-class literature. But this is scarcely to render it un-African. It is in this connection that the distinction between elite and elitist discourse becomes critical. Against Ngugi's line of argument, therefore, and with a view to recommending that scholars of African culture and society do not, in seeking to oppose the logic of imperialism, fall back upon the assertion of a nativist essentialism, I would like, in closing, to insist upon the paradoxes of imperialism in its ideological dimensions. With regard to the imperialized regions themselves, it might be helpful to reflect, for instance, as C.L.R. James has done, on the social history of cricket in the West Indies in the years leading up to and immediately following decolonization in the mid-1960s. It needs to be remembered that the social space of the West Indies during these years was initially marked out as a colonial space. Cricket had not been introduced to the West Indies, as it had in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, under the bourgeois rubric of moral education—"character building." On the contrary, it had been imposed upon a subject people from without, and it had had a quite specific and explicitly thematized role to play in the maintenance of colonial authority. The extraordinary feature of cricket, as James describes it, is that even in the face of these unpromising originary circumstances, it proved possible to transform the sport into "a means of [West Indian] national expression." 2 5 West Indians contrived, over the course of this century, to pull cricket across the Manichean divide of colonialism. They were able to force it to carry the weight of their social desires and to speak their language—whether of emergent anticolonialism, of nationalist affirmation, or, after independence, of international self-presence. This continuing ability of politically and economically subject peoples at the peripheries of the world system to indigenize—to refunction and appropriate—imposed cultural forms, bespeaks their continuing autonomy, however relative, from imperialist ideology. Throughout the (post)colonial world, the effectivity of imperialism as a cultural force is limited by its lack of hegemony. Nor is it only at the peripheries of the world-system that the paradoxes of imperialism reveal themselves. On the contrary, it seems to me that one consequence of the strictly contemporary forms of capitalism's globalization is to put the formal separability of First and Third worlds into jeopardy. In a critical discussion of theories of "post-Fordism" as a regime of accumulation, Michael Rustin has argued that "without a grasp of th[e] larger integration of capitalism," it is not only the contemporary status of Third World populations that cannot be understood: in addition, "[n]ot

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even the position of the s u b o r d i n a t e c l a s s e s in the First W o r l d can be c o r rectly t h e o r i z e d . " 2 6 R a y m o n d R o c c o p r o v i d e s f u r t h e r e v i d e n c e f o r t h i s view w h e n he s u g g e s t s , in a recent e s s a y , that in o r d e r to e x a m i n e the p o litical e c o n o m y of L o s A n g e l e s , it is n e c e s s a r y to g r a p p l e with the " i n t e r nationalization of p r o d u c t i o n , " and, m o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y , with the interpénétration of the c i t y ' s e c o n o m y with the S o u t h e a s t A s i a n , C a r i b b e a n B a s i n , and larger A m e r i c a n e c o n o m i e s . 2 7 U n d e r t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s , it b e c o m e s p o s s i b l e to insist that, if the culture of p o s t c o l o n i a l i s m o f t e n p r e s e n t s itself p r e e m i n e n t l y as hybridic in nature, the s p a c e of this p o s t c o l o n i a l i s m is g l o b a l , a n d n o l o n g e r r e f e r s only to the n o n - W e s t . In the era of t r a n s n a t i o n a l c a p i t a l i s m , social identity has b e c o m e w o r l d - h i s t o r i c a l in its c o n s t i t u t i o n , b e i n g s e c u r e d neither e x c l u s i v e l y at the level of the nation nor even at that of m u l t i n a t i o n a l i s m , but very s p e c i f i c a l l y , a n d of course u n e v e n l y a n d d i f f e r e n t i a l l y , in t e r m s of global p r o c e s s e s . S a l m a n R u s h d i e has his narrator, S a l e e m Sinai, o b s e r v e in Midnighl's Children: " T o u n d e r s t a n d j u s t o n e life, you h a v e to s w a l l o w the w o r l d . " T h i s f o r m u l a t i o n is t o d a y v a l i d , I b e l i e v e , not j u s t for T h i r d W o r l d s u b j e c t s like S a l e e m Sinai, but f o r all s u b j e c t s e v e r y w h e r e . A n d this m e a n s that, e v e n for s u b j e c t s on the W e s t e r n side of the i m p e r i a l d i v i d e , our s t u d e n t s and o u r s e l v e s — a n d h o w e v e r w e c a m e to be h e r e — t h e ideological i m p l i c a t i o n s of t a k i n g up the latent c h a l l e n g e p o s e d by the hybridity of p o s t c o l o n i a l c u l t u r e s are p o t e n t i a l l y c o n s i d e r a b l e . For in their hyb r i d i t y , p o s t c o l o n i a l c u l t u r e s m i g h t be c o n c e i v e d not as s u p p l e m e n t s to E u r o - A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e but as f o r m s c a p a b l e of s u b v e r t i n g the ideological p a r o c h i a l i s m of i m p e r i a l i s m . T o r e s p o n d to p o s t c o l o n i a l c u l t u r e s in d i a logical rather than m o n o l o g i c a l t e r m s — a s m o r e a n d m o r e W e s t e r n - b a s e d s u b j e c t s are today b e l a t e d l y e q u i p p e d to d o — m i g h t be to a l l o w oneself to take seriously the s u g g e s t i o n of a w o r l d f r e e of imperial d o m i n a t i o n . T h e p r o p o s a l is not that w e w h o are b a s e d in the W e s t e m b r a c e p o s t c o l o n i a l c u l t u r e s f o r w h a t they c a n tell us a b o u t life a c r o s s the i n t e r n a t i o n a l division of l a b o r , " o v e r t h e r e , " but that w e e m b r a c e t h e m f o r w h a t they c a n s u g g e s t to us a b o u t radically d i f f e r e n t w a y s of living " o v e r h e r e , " w a y s of living that are u n i m a g i n a b l e under p r e v a i l i n g social c o n d i t i o n s .

NOTES 1. Aijaz Ahmad, "Jameson's Rhetoric of Otherness and the 'National Allegory'" in Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures (London: Verso, 1992): 96. Subsequent note references to this essay are given under the short title "Jameson's Rhetoric." 2. Ella Shohat, "Notes on the 'Post-Colonial'" Social Text 3 1 - 3 2 (1992): 99-113. 3. Ahmad, "Jameson's Rhetoric," 97. 4. Aijaz Ahmad, "Orientalism and After: Ambivalence and Metropolitan Location in the Work of Edward Said," in Theory, 197. 5. Ahmad, "Jameson's Rhetoric," 98.

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6. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, "The Making of Americans, the Teaching of English, and the Future of Culture Studies," New Literary History 21 (1990): 790. Subsequent note references to this essay will be given under the short title " M a k ing Americans." 7. Spivak is not by any means arguing in favor of single-author courses. On the contary, she feels that they cannot be justified today, when it is essential to "make room for the coordinated teaching of [a whole series of] new entries into the canon" ( " M a k i n g Americans," 785). 8. " M a k i n g Americans," 790. 9. Since S p i v a k ' s article is devoted to an investigation of the English department and its curriculum, it does not address the question of the adequacy or otherwise of "postcolonial" literature courses in area studies programs. 10. " M a k i n g Americans," 791. 11. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, " C a n the Subaltern S p e a k ? " in Marxism and the Interpretation of Cultures, ed. Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988): 295. 12. Pierre Bourdieu, "Universal Corporatism: The Role of Intellectuals in the Modern W o r l d , " trans, from the French by Gisele Sapiro in Poetics Today 12.4 (Winter 1991): 660. 13. Rosemary George, "Home-Countries and the Politics of Location" (Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University), 1992: 1 2 1 - 1 8 0 . 14. The reference is to Benedict A n d e r s o n ' s n o w - c l a s s i c study, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso, 1983). 15. Edward W. Said, foreword to Elias Khoury, Little Mountain, trans, from the Arabic by Maia Tabet (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1989): xii. Subsequent note references to this foreword will be given under the name Said. 16. Said, foreword, xiv. 17. Said, foreword, xv. 18. I refer here to the subtitle of Rey C h o w ' s book, Women and Chinese Modernity: The Politics of Reading Between West and East (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1991). 19. This would be surprising, h o w e v e r , since S p i v a k ' s disciplinary training was in romanticism, to w h i c h — a s a Marxist, feminist, and deconstructionist—she retains a strong commitment. 20. Ngugi wa T h i o n g ' o , Decolonising the Mind. The Politics of Language in African Literature (London: James Currey; Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1987). Subsequent note references to this book will be given the short title Decolonizing. 21. Ngugi, Decolonising, 27. 22. Ibid., 26. 23. Wole Soyinka, "Telephone Conversation," in The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry, ed. Gerald Moore ( H a r m o n d s w o r t h : Penguin B o o k s , 1984): 187. 24. Chinua Achebe, Morning Yet on Creation Day: Essays ( L o n d o n : Heinemann, 1977): 62. 25. C.L.R. James, Cricket, ed. Anna Grimshaw ( L o n d o n : Allison and Busby, 1986): 171. 26. Michael Rustin, "The Politics of Post-Fordism: or, T h e Trouble with ' N e w T i m e s , ' " New Left Review 175 (May-June 1989): 69. 27. R a y m o n d Rocco, " T h e Theoretical Construction of the ' O t h e r ' in Postmodernist T h o u g h t : Latinos in the New Urban Political E c o n o m y , " in Cultural Studies 4.3 (October 1990): 323.

5 I Think You Should Hear Voices When You Look at African Art Patrick

McNaughton

I very much appreciate Neil L a z a r u s ' s positions on the teaching and study of A f r i c a n literature in U.S. universities. He is prudent and p r a g m a t i c in the development of his ideas on issues of language, lionization, marginality, urbanism, neocolonialism, ideologies, global processes, and interdisciplinary dispositions. In addition, his views on African literature in metropolitan languages are valuable because they e x p a n d and enrich our notion of v o i c e s and experience, situation and a c t i o n . L a z a r u s sees that people think, feel, and act in c o m p l e x ways; that the c o n s e q u e n c e s of vested interests can cut in many directions; and that A f r i c a n literature in any language o f f e r s readers in Africa and e v e r y w h e r e else the chance to explore t h e m s e l v e s as well as others and gain p e r s p e c t i v e s on the nature of personhood, society, and culture. T h e same is true of the visual arts, which have never been just for entertainment or detached e n c o u n t e r s with the s u b l i m e . People and institutions use art to contemplate and to negotiate their lives, promote their positions, garner critical resources, and acquire or maintain important f o r m s of cultural or social authority. T h u s , t e a c h i n g about art can be t e a c h i n g about thinking and m a n e u v e r i n g in c o m p l e x social worlds, and it can encourage students to be more perceptive, analytical, critical, and self-aware. T e a c h i n g about African art o f f e r s all of this, and the opportunity for students to see the ways in which other societies and other individuals have faced the situations that patinate their lives. B e c a u s e the social, political, e c o n o m i c , spiritual, and aesthetic l a n d s c a p e s in A f r i c a n societies are intricate and e n i g m a t i c , just as they are here, but d i f f e r e n t in a variety of ways, the experience of exploring them is vitally important to U.S. college students, w h o have much to gain f r o m e x a m i n i n g both the similarities and the d i f f e r e n c e s . I teach and study African art, in an art history department at a university that has a very large and active A f r i c a n studies program. While many scholars w o u l d assert that the arts I teach are traditional, I insist that

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traditional is a complex idea too frequently simplified and misconstrued, and the arts I teach have always been in a perpetual state of emergence. I will return to that, because the idea of emergence presents issues that college students need to examine. In this c h a p t e r , I will m o v e s o m e of Professor L a z a r u s ' s discussion into the realm of the visual arts; and, as he did, go beyond the arts and into the practice of p e o p l e ' s lives. T h e issue of terminology is my point of departure f o r a r g u i n g the i m p o r t a n c e of A f r i c a n humanities courses. I like Professor L a z a r u s ' s use of the term postcolonial to identify a historically explicit body of literature that addresses specific issues of domination and oppression. In L a z a r u s ' s usage, the term signals a political consciousness and mobilization that has played important roles in this c e n t u r y ' s cultural critique. But in my undergraduate classes, I find it important to consider at some length the o n g o i n g c o n s e q u e n c e s that were initiated by colonial processes—the underbelly of postcolonialism. In that vein I think the label postcolonial can be illusory and we must be careful how we use it. It can be a kind of subterfuge that works in tandem with many others, such as Africa's unfortunate legacy of tribalism, which of course purports to explain much of t o d a y ' s violence, even to the sophisticated people in the United States w h o listen to National Public Radio or watch public television. Such s u b t e r f u g e , intentional or naive, helps make Westerners think that it is only natural for A f r i c a n peoples and nations to be persistently in dire straits. After all, so the logic of this popular representation goes, colonialism is a thing of the past, and if A f r i c a n s still have e n o r m o u s problems it might be because they were never really ready for independence a n y w a y . Such a mentality of course ignores both the brutal practices of colonialism and the enterprise of A f r i c a n societies to adapt and survive. It also d e n i e s the domination and exploitation that characterize the asymmetrical systems of power and authority with which the West still engages African peoples and nations. T w o critical features of a colonial mentality are particularly relevant to the study and teaching of African arts. First, the popular and sometimes even scholarly imagery that a great many Westerners use to contemplate African societies still bear more than a full load of simplistic and sharply biased m i s c o n c e p t i o n s . T h e so-called legacy of tribalism is just one of them. In upper-level undergraduate classes, I spend four to five weeks introducing A f r i c a n people and societies, and I learn a lot about what students think. T w o years ago, a very bright student said she thought that in Africa thieves had their hands cut o f f . Africa, for her, was just one place: monolithic, extremely conservative, backward, and barbaric in the area of handling crime. For many if not most undergraduates, A f r i c a n s live simple, dreary lives. T h e oldest guy in town is automatically the leader; magic and fear c h a r a c t e r i z e spiritual orientations; and e c o n o m i c , political, a n d social f o r m a t i o n s are surely just plain basic. And it is not just the kids in

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Indiana w h o hold such notions. I encountered them in M i l w a u k e e and Santa Cruz, too. With these kinds of impressions, it is impossible to understand the sophisticated workings of art in A f r i c a n societies, since in a great many w a y s A f r i c a n arts are both grounded in and influential on c o m p l e x e c o n o m i c , political, s o c i a l , and spiritual f o r m a t i o n s . But b e y o n d art, these impressions make it impossible to imagine that A f r i c a n people, societies, or nations could be serious players in international domains. Thus, A f r i c a n people are marginalized, distanced, and d e v a l u e d , and that b e c o m e s a rationale f o r ignoring how A f r i c a n s are treated by the rest of the w o r l d . During colonialism, such rationalizations made it easier for Westerners to accept the European domination and manipulation of A f r i c a ' s natural resources. T o d a y , those rationalizations make it easier to accept a Western domination and manipulation of A f r i c a ' s cultural resources. That is the second critical feature of a colonial mentality that a f f e c t s most directly my work in the classroom. Western institutions do dominate and manipulate A f r i c a n cultural resources, the cultural productions of A f r i c a n individuals and societies. T h i s manipulation is not a l w a y s intentional. In literature, I imagine it results from the intended and unintended c o n s e q u e n c e s of business acumen and self-interest in the w o r l d of publishing, and the complex academic and institutional processes by which scholarly disciplines validate their expertise, authority, and self perpetuation. In art history, the situation is similar, with the history of c o l l e c t i n g and publicly displaying A f r i c a n visual arts in museums (and of course galleries) as an added dimension. One result of these processes is the fact that a great many historians of Western art do not have the slightest inkling of what the A f r i c a n arts are about, and a shocking percentage of them believe that what I teach is not art at all, and not very sophisticated, either. That, by itself, is a p o w e r f u l argument for k e e p i n g our teaching centered in disciplines. Other results of these processes include the fact that certain kinds of A f r i c a n art have been f a v o r e d while other types have been ignored or neglected; and all types, until recently, have been e x p l o r e d with research methodologies and perspectives that could not p o s s i b l y generate reasonable notions of what the visual arts in A f r i c a can mean or do. Here is one e x a m p l e of how information on artworks w a s reduced and channelled to fit the asymmetries of power in a colonial mentality. For the longest time, artworks full of visceral protuberances and coated with apparently unsavory substances such as the p o w e r sculptures used in many areas of Zaire, were v i e w e d by Westerners as unsightly, ungainly, and certainly unaesthetic. T h e y o c c u p i e d a kind of blood-and-guts c a t e g o r y in Western thinking that s e r v e d to a f f i r m many erroneous notions about A f r i c a n modes of thought, spiritual practices, and art. W o r k s such as the highly abstract, f o r c e f u l l y composed masks used in West A f r i c a n initiation

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associations were represented as fetishes, or objects believed to be magical and deadly by their makers, who used them to combat witches and maybe even hurt a few innocent bystanders. My understanding of such works, however, is different. The helmet masks with large mouths in front and large horns in back, named Komo, are an example. In a superficial nutshell, I see such masks as complicated and subtly composed instruments of social, spiritual, and political action, created through processes that combine science and ritual. They are judged by some local users to be scary as hell, by other local users to be absolutely beautiful, and by still others as awesome but refined embodiments of many of their society's deepest ideological components. My understanding is simply an interpretation based on many, patched together experiences and conversations while I was doing research, but it comes closer to the representations that local users make than does the simpleminded assertion that these are murderous, magical devices that fight witches. Simple-minded Western assertions are fostered and empowered by the two features of colonial mentality that I have mentioned. And they are numerous. The notion that African art is anonymous, that it is mindlessly reproduced, that it just reflects and supports preestablished beliefs and practices, that it has no history, that it is frequently simple and not subject to local aesthetic contemplation, that it is strictly functional, that it is fragile in the face of Islamization or Westernization—all of these assertions and many more are made believable by neocolonial thinking. Once made, of course, these assertions justify the colonial mentality that engendered them. I will present one more, blatant example. When Western artists embarked upon the path of modernism, they appropriated and transformed many elements of the African arts. They allowed African art to inspire new interpretations in processes of profound change and reinvigoration. Such borrowing and adapting is an essence of creativity, and from the vantage point of the Western art world, it was just fine. But what happens when African artists do the same thing? All too frequently, Westerners degrade it as borrowed, or derivative, thereby casting it into a marginal status which devalues it on the art market and makes it harder for many people to take seriously. Thus, the West controls an important African cultural production and absorbs it into an ideology of misrepresentation and manipulation. Terminology veils insidious attitudes and foster onerous misrepresentation. It can enhance the chances that students will think reductionistically and it can create almost tacit barriers to understandings that are richer and more reasonable. I find it important to make clear to students that neocolonialism is still a powerful force that infects their impressions and even directs aspects of their behaviors toward the peoples and artworks we

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explore in class. Doing that in the context of A f r i c a n humanities courses helps to predispose students to be sensitive to the processes by which social formations and people interact. Many U . S . campuses, including my own, continue to experience a rise in racial incidents. T h i s suggests that e f f o r t s to e x p o s e neocolonial mentality are all the more important because of its galvanizing relationship to U . S . racism. Perhaps w e can hope that the harder w e work at it now, the better the chances of future generations c o m i n g to c o l l e g e with healthier representations of their f e l l o w human beings. I think that is one of the important reasons for teaching A f r i c a n art and A f r i c a n literature in the first place. P r o f e s s o r L a z a r u s ' s interest in A f r i c a n literature in the English lang u a g e might seem to suggest the asymmetrical control typical of colonial and neocolonial practices. He certainly notes its dangers. He cites several kinds of distorted images that literature in European l a n g u a g e s can produce about A f r i c a n situations; and he presents N g u g i ' s assertions that authors writing in European languages are not producing A f r i c a n literature, but rather a "hybrid tradition." Lazarus argues c o n v i n c i n g l y , h o w e v e r , f o r the importance and validity of anglophone literature, and furthermore that it should be viewed as A f r i c a n , not as hybrid or imperial-era. S o y i n k a argues as c o n v i n c i n g l y with his E n g l i s h - l a n g u a g e p o e m , " T e l e p h o n e C o n v e r s a t i o n " ; and A c h e b e drives the point home with his p o w e r f u l conviction that he can create a new English, " a l t e r e d to suit its new A f r i c a n surroundings." This is important, and it involves the idea of emergence. English is not just a European language. It is a vehicle that intelligent, capable individuals can use to construct their own expressions. Certainly it is a system of communication that is joined in many w a y s to a multitude of other cultural formations. But it is not s o rigid or constraining, and it is not so stuck to p r e c o n f i g u r e d cultural f o r m a t i o n s , that it cannot be adapted and transf o r m e d , so that it w i l l , as A c h e b e notes, "carry the weight of my A f r i c a n e x p e r i e n c e . " Certainly European languages w e r e once alien to A f r i c a . S o w a s Islam. T o A c h e b e , S o y e n k a , and L a z a r u s I w o u l d add this. It is just as crea t i v e , just as intellectually demanding, just as s e l f - r e f l e x i v e , and just as A f r i c a n to convert the v e h i c l e of a European l a n g u a g e into an A f r i c a n medium of cultural e x c h a n g e as it is to adapt aspects of Western art to A f r i c a n needs, desires, and c i r c u m s t a n c e . N e w s t y l e s , new b a s i c f o r m s , new conceptualizations, new g o a l s , new functional e n v i r o n m e n t s , new thoughts—these are the sorts of developments that people encounter and people create in the practice of making all f o r m s of art. Art is never stat i c — a l w a y s emergent. In both large and small w a y s , art hovers at the e d g e of becoming something new, because, while it is on the one hand a tangible

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entity resolved by people into a collection of meanings and significances, it is on the other hand a resource of aesthetics and imagery that can be solved and resolved as individuals or situations change. In that way, every artwork is both actual and virtual simultaneously. It does not matter if a particular kind of art does not appear to change much over time, because the point is that it changes, or does not change, at the hands and in the minds of people who continually recreate or reconfigure it, as they bring it afresh into their consciousness and the changing situations of their lives. In literature, Robert Coles has shown how powerful and instrumental this reshaping can be. Trained to do psychiatric work, Coles also has a deep interest in literature. He has taught in a number of contexts, including a seminar called "literature and medicine" for Harvard medical students. In his book The Call of Stories: Teaching and the Moral Imagination,1 Coles presents instance after instance of students reading classics of Western literature, and dramatically internalizing and realigning the themes and images to make them profoundly relevant to important situations in the students' lives. Those students use the literature to explore problems, test solutions, and make changes in their lives. Such behavior constitutes the recreation of perpetually emergent texts, and similar transformations occur in works of visual art. Thus, artworks become instruments for people who are becoming capable, knowing agents in the complicated human processes by which individuals and culture constantly reinvent each other. This is one of the finest things the arts can help people do, and few things could be more important to teach about. That is especially true in the United States, where most people are taught to consider the visual arts as decoration or elitist esoterica. What better area to focus on than Africa, where so many people are taught to use art to think and to act? Because art is so complex and so potentially relevant, it is important to teach students that simplistic dichotomies, such as traditional oral literature vs. modern written literature, or traditional sculpture vs. contemporary sculpture, must not be allowed to stand unchallenged. Instead, such alleged categories should be explored to see what sorts of ideas, institutions, and individuals are at work within them. Art may not be life in the direct linear sense of that old cliché, but it is so enmeshed in life's rich mental, emotional, and social practices that to remove it for study as a text risks missing far too much of what really counts. The title of this chapter is "I Think You Should Hear Voices When You Look at African Art." What are these voices? They are all the perspectives, all the vested interests, all the heartfelt revelations, all the aspirations of the people involved with a work of art—be it literature, sculpture, or a multimedia, high-impact, dramatically spectacular West African

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masquerade p e r f o r m a n c e . B e c a u s e w o r k s of art both e x p a n d in social space and extend through social time, there are lots of v o i c e s to listen to; and even under the best research and teaching c i r c u m s t a n c e s , lots of voices will have been missed. While many of these v o i c e s will hail f r o m the local users of artworks, an ample number will represent the interests and perspectives of researchers and teachers, and those v o i c e s must also be f o c u s e d upon and examined. Perhaps most important, w h e n e v e r w e can, we should embody at least some of those voices in actual people—such as the people I talked to and lived with in Mali, and the people Robert C o l e s talked to and taught in his c o u r s e s — s o that w e can hear them present the images they have f a s h i o n e d of t h e m s e l v e s , their situations, and the artworks they experience and employ. That brings me to my last point. Professor Lazarus argues that A f r i c a n literature can be studied in English departments. W e should consider this seriously. S o m e prominent scholars think area studies should be more strongly emphasized. In a highly politicized discussion that shares various points of v i e w with L a z a r u s , Janet W o l f , f o r e x a m p l e , has recently discussed the idea that art studies could be housed in cultural studies centers. 2 She notes that, on the w h o l e , social scientists have f a i l e d to explore representation; and art historians s e e m , g e n e r a l l y , not to comprehend the depth and s i g n i f i c a n c e of relations between representations and social processes. Lazarus notes that to study cultural products w e must know the cultural, s o c i a l , and historical atmospheres f r o m which the products emerge. But he believes that, from within departments, w e can do scholarship that is " h i s t o r i c i z e d , politicized, materialist, alert to questions of representation and subalternity." I, too, think it can be done. But, like Janet W o l f , I am convinced it is a demanding and difficult task. T h e essence of an argument against discipline-centered teaching and research is that the tacit dispositions that come from years of practical experience in a discipline, coupled with the incredible wealth of detailed information that disciplines manage and manipulate, can make it very d i f f i cult f o r individual teachers and scholars to work between or among them. For my work to be good, f o r e x a m p l e , I must read and understand a great deal of thinking that c o m e s out of a n t h r o p o l o g y . Y e t constantly, persistently, the realization descends upon me that I know very little about that, my neighbor discipline, and it is a w o n d e r that anthropologists have the patience to talk to me. S o I take L a z a r u s ' s position to be an ideal. Perhaps w e can do g o o d work from within our disciplines. But our work must include frequent dialogue with colleagues in other disciplines, and, in the best of all possible worlds, that dialogue should be enhanced and a m p l i f i e d by the presence of an active A f r i c a n studies program. In this w a y , more of the v o i c e s , which are never-ending, will have a chance to be heard.

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NOTES 1. Robert Cole, The Call of Stories: Teaching and Moral Imagination (Boston: Houghton M i f f l i n , 1989). 2. Janet W o l f , " E x c e s s and Exhibition: I n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y in the Study of Art," in Cultural Studies, eds. L a u r e n c e G r o s s b e r g , Cary N e l s o n , and Paula A. T r e i c h ler ( N e w York: R o u t l e d g e , 1992): 7 0 6 - 7 1 7 .

6 Beyond Boundaries in the Humanities: A Response to Neil Lazarus Paul

Stoller

W i t h s o m u c h d i s c u s s i o n of l a n g u a g e a n d l i t e r a t u r e in Neil L a z a r u s ' s t h o u g h t f u l chapter, I will invoke a Songhay p r o v e r b to begin my c o m m e n t s : Boro si molo kar farkey se ( O n e d o e s n ' t play the lute to a d o n k e y )

Well, yes, this is an i m m e d i a t e l y c o m p r e h e n s i b l e p r o v e r b . T h e lute player is an artist of s o p h i s t i c a t e d musical and cultural sensibilities. By contrast, in S o n g h a y v i l l a g e s the d o n k e y is k i c k e d , spat o n , a n d a b u s e d . T h e lute p l a y e r is s m a r t ; the d o n k e y is s l o w - w i t t e d . In S o n g h a y , s o m e h u m a n beings a r e c a l l e d d o n k e y s ; they a r e the s o c i a l l y a b u s e d b e i n g s of S o n g h a y s o c i e t y . T h e p r o v e r b is c o m p l e t e l y u n d e r s t a n d a b l e . W h a t is m o r e d i f f i c u l t to u n d e r s t a n d is w h y — a f t e r t w e n t y - t h r e e years of f i e l d w o r k — S o n g h a y elders c o n t i n u e to recite this p r o v e r b to m e ! O n e r e a s o n for the p e r s i s t e n c e of the S o n g h a y e l d e r s d e v o l v e s f r o m typical s c h o l a r l y p r a c t i c e . A n t h r o p o l o g i s t s f r e q u e n t l y r e m a r k that they " w o r k " on a p a r t i c u l a r e t h n i c g r o u p . Early in my f i e l d w o r k , I used to say that "I w o r k on the S o n g h a y . " B u t n o w I realize that it is b e t t e r to say that " S o n g h a y p e o p l e w o r k o n m e . " For the past t w e n t y - t h r e e years the S o n g hay p e o p l e have b e e n w o r k i n g on m e — w i t h m u c h p a t i e n c e — i n the w e s t ern r e g i o n s of the R e p u b l i c of N i g e r . T h e r e is still m u c h to learn a n d m o r e to u n d e r s t a n d . My travels to N i g e r are hardly s u r p r i s i n g . A f r i c a n i s t s c h o l ars, a f t e r all, w o u l d e x p e c t s o m e o n e like m e to travel to the S a h e l to learn about a Sahelian p e o p l e . B u t today w e live in a t o p s y - t u r v y w o r l d in w h i c h e x p e c t a t i o n s are r e v e r s e d , s o m e t i m e s d e l i g h t f u l l y s o . In J u l y 1 9 9 2 S o n g h a y p e o p l e c o n t i n u e d to w o r k on m e , b u t in N e w York City rather than the dusty b y w a y s of w e s t e r n N i g e r . H o w will I e v e r f o r g e t g e t t i n g o f f a b u s at 125th a n d L e n n o x A v e n u e in H a r l e m on a hot a f t e r n o o n ? I w a s l o o k i n g f o r the P e o p l e ' s M a r k e t . At the c o r n e r of 1 2 5 t h a n d L e n n o x , I a s k e d a b e a d m e r c h a n t in F r e n c h w h e r e I m i g h t f i n d the

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people from Niger. "Nigeriens?" "Oh yes," he said nonchalantly pointing his forefinger toward 6th Avenue. "You take that sidewalk and you'll find them." 1 walked one hundred meters down the sidewalk and came upon a man with a oval face. "Where might I find people from Niger?" I asked him in French. "We are here," he responded in Songhay. His response unleashed a torrent of greetings, and, before I knew it, I was surrounded by Songhay merchants, greeting me in Songhay. 1 had stumbled upon a scene that before that day I would have found to be unimaginable: a group of Songhay men, many of whom came from small rural villages, selling shirts, jackets, strawhats, and, most remarkably, Malcolm X T-shirts and baseball caps, trademarked goods that were part of the packaging of Spike Lee's forthcoming motion picture, Malcolm. Most of the men spoke little English and all of them lived in a single tenement building in Harlem—a vertical village. The best cook of the group prepared food for everyone. In this way, said one of the men, "We have no trouble." During their long days at the market, the men buy cooked foods from a Senegalese woman who strolls by periodically with a supermarket cart loaded with styrofoam boxes containing yassa, mafe, and riz au gras. At 2:00 p.m. the men, all of whom are Muslims, pray in shifts so they can monitor their goods. "How do you wash before praying?" I asked one of them. "Watch," he said. He walked to the street corner and opened a fire hydrant. Following the remarkable Songhay scene in Harlem, I've come to realize that there are always creative solutions to problems along the ethnoscapes of the transnational world. The meaning of this, of course, is that the study of Songhay can no longer hermetically be sealed in Songhay country, with a similar truth for the study of other peoples. The meaning is also that the categorical assumptions of the Western academy are, to be blunt, painfully out of synch with the speed-of-light change that occurs in the hyperspace of the global economy. Scholars can no longer "do" Songhay history or Songhay kinship or Songhay ritual in a state of insulated bliss. To understand Songhay people in Songhay or in New York City one must now learn a great deal about informal economies and the intellectual property issues germane to the trademarking of goods and to the copyrighting of cultural materials. 1 To comprehend sociocultural situations such as that of Songhay traders in New York City, scholars must also focus upon what I like to call social life from below. How do people confront the quotidian in a transnational arena marked by the postmodern condition? My guess is that they confront situations of mind-boggling change through creative and pragmatic cultural production. They colonize a vertical village; they prosper in the Malcolm X T-shirt market; they open the valves of fire hydrants to wash before they recite afternoon prayers between market tables on 125th Street. This social life from below sparks cultural production from below. The culture of the transnational traders—Songhay or other—is expressed

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in new sayings, new social practices, new social configurations, and new rituals, all of which are ever changing. Which brings me to Neil Lazarus's stimulating and provocative essay. Lazarus presents a sobering and careful assessment of the impact of postcolonial literatures on the teaching of literature in the U.S. university. Using his own experience, he warns us about the dangers of a "new orientalism" in a transnational age. The crux of Lazarus's essay considers the rich complexities of the relation of language to literature. Must one have studied a "colonized language," following Gayatri Spivak's prescriptions, to grasp a postcolonial novel? Must a program in postcolonial literatures construct an institutionalized interdisciplinary program? Lazarus demonstrates powerfully why the answer to these seemingly reasonable questions is not an unqualified "yes." The language of literature is a complicated affair. Should we dismiss the writings of Achebe because they are in English and not in Igbo? It is to his credit that Lazarus says "no." 1 share Lazarus's anxiety about the ever increasing reductionism and essentialism found in cultural studies. In short, Lazarus's contentions about postcolonial literatures engage the full complexity of the contemporary. However, as an ethnographer of the Sahelian Songhay who now contemplates years of fieldwork in Harlem, Lazarus's discussions of the putative autonomy of departments of English or Comparative Literature and his analysis of whether African literature should be written in English, French, Swahili, or Yoruba seems to miss at least some of the message of the postmodern critique. In the social sciences, many scholars have dismissed attempts at a postmodern anthropology or a postmodern sociology. Scott Lash correctly asserts that the notion of postmodern sociology is oxymoronic, 2 but the sociology of postmodernity is quite another matter. The condition of postmodernity in late global capitalism cannot be dismissed. As Kenneth Gergen admits with regret, postmodernity is here to stay. 3 It certainly has had an intellectual and artistic impact: it has also affected the nature of our social relations. The question of transnationalism in cultural studies, then, transgresses the neat and tidy boundaries of academe. It is a question that forces us to confront the issue of what and how we teach. My question to Neil Lazarus is this: Does literature, in and of itself, really matter in Africa? Should it be isolated for study? Neil Lazarus's paper reminds me in some ways of Christopher Miller's noteworthy achievement in literary criticism, Theories of Africans.4 One of the great strengths of Miller's book is that he invokes new developments in cultural anthropology and feminist theory to analyze several novels written in French by authors from the Sahel. That said, I must add that Miller's book suffers from a chronic ailment found in many works of cultural studies: they are not cultural enough. Limiting himself to the study of African literature—albeit, some of it oral—Miller bypasses

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o t h e r f o r m s of A f r i c a n c u l t u r a l e x p r e s s i o n : ritual, local f o l k t h e a t e r , a n d r a d i o t h e a t e r - ^ a l l of w h i c h are p e r f o r m e d in A f r i c a n l a n g u a g e s . T h e m o s t p o w e r f u l f o r m of A f r i c a n c u l t u r a l e x p r e s s i o n is not the m u c h d i s c u s s e d novel, but the c i n e m a . F i l m m a k e r s f r o m the W e s t A f r i c a n S a h e l c o n s t i t u t e the v a n g u a r d of t h e A f r i c a n c i n e m a . S u c h f i l m s as S e m b e n e ' s Xala and Ceddo, C i s s e ' s Yeleen, a n d O u e d r a o g o ' s Yabba have been internationally a c c l a i m e d . T h e A f r i c a n c i n e m a p r o j e c t s cultural t h e m e s to a w i d e r a n g e of a u d i e n c e s in A f r i c a , E u r o p e , a n d North A m e r i c a . M o s t of t h e s e f i l m s p r e s e n t l o c a l i z e d p o r t r a i t s of s o c i a l a n d political reality in Africa. Is it e n o u g h to p r e s e n t t h e o r i e s of A f r i c a n s , to b o r r o w the title of M i l l e r ' s b o o k , t h r o u g h t e x t u a l e n c o u n t e r s ? T h e s e ideally i n s u l a t e d e n c o u n t e r s s e e m far r e m o v e d f r o m the e n e r g e t i c d e b a t e s b e t w e e n deities and m o r t a l s at a s p i r i t - p o s s e s s i o n c e r e m o n y , or the lively c o n v e r s a t i o n s b e t w e e n a u d i e n c e and i m a g e ( s ) on the silver s c r e e n s of o u t d o o r theaters, or the c r e a t i v e r e s p o n s e s of S o n g h a y t r a d e r s to the gritty life of the s t r e e t e c o n o m y of H a r l e m . T h e s e i n t e r a c t i o n s are not textual or literary t h e o r i e s of A f r i c a n s : they are q u o t i d i a n sites of A f r i c a n s t h e o r i z i n g t h r o u g h a w i d e r a n g e of e x p r e s s i v e m e d i a , t h r o u g h a w i d e r a n g e of c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n from below. T h e c h a l l e n g e of p o s t m o d e r n i t y is not to a b a n d o n o u r q u e s t f o r k n o w l e d g e and u n d e r s t a n d i n g ; it is rather to c o n f r o n t the i n a d e q u a c y of o u r l o n g s t a n d i n g c a t e g o r i c a l a s s u m p t i o n s . Until w e do, the c u l t u r a l e x p r e s s i o n of artists, f i l m m a k e r s , ritual s p e c i a l i s t s , a n d transnational traders will c o n t i n u e to a r t i c u l a t e w h a t o u r c a t e g o r i c a l a s s u m p t i o n s p r e v e n t us f r o m u n d e r s t a n d i n g ; n a m e l y , that the sky is l o w e r than w e t h i n k , to parap h r a s e A n t o n i n A r t a u d . 5 W h o k n o w s w h e n it will crash d o w n o n o u r heads?

NOTES 1. See Rosemary J. Coombe, "Objects of Property and Subjects of Politics: Intellectual Property Laws and Democractic Politics," Texas Law Review 69 (1991): 1853-1883. 2. Scott Lash, "Discourse or Figure" in Postmodernism, Mike Featherstone, ed. (Menlo Park, Calif.: Sage, 1988): 187-206. 3. Kenneth Gergen, The Divided Self (New York: Basic Books, 1990). 4. Christopher Miller, Theories of Africans: Francophone Literature and Anthropology in Africa (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990). 5. In Antonin Artaud, The Theatre and Its Double, trans. Mary Caroline Richards (New York: Grove Press, 1958).

7 New Directions: Teaching Economics to Undergraduates in African Studies Ann Seidman

Africanists from the United States have always understood A f r i c a ' s close historical ties to the United States and valued its rich contributions to our cultural and artistic heritage. Over the last four decades, we have made major efforts in the universities to expand African studies programs to increase undergraduate students' awareness and comprehension o f those contributions. African studies has helped U . S . students gain new insights into their own lives and subcultures. My comments aim simply to urge that we adopt bold new ways to exploit the potentials in African studies for helping our students to deal more effectively with the changing global system. T h e p o s t - W o r l d War II technological revolution shrank the globe. W e all recognize that what happens in remote corners o f the world—whether it be the oil fields o f Kazakhstan, the ancient forests of the Amazon, or the shifting Saharan deserts—inevitably affects everyone living in the United States. T h e increasing ease o f communication with our global neighbors has facilitated our access to their many, excitingly different cultures. However, the otherwise welcome demise of the Cold War has brought a shift of public attention—and funds—away from Africa. T h i s is particularly unfortunate in the face o f the deepening economic, social, and political crises that today permeate almost all aspects o f African life. It underscores the challenge we f a c e now, more than ever before, o f finding new ways to help U . S . undergraduates to comprehend and appreciate A f r i c a ' s manyfaceted realities, and their implications for our own lives. Drawing primarily on my own field, economics, I would like to center my remarks on ideas for strengthening our teaching along three lines: 1. Overcoming the constraints imposed by disciplinary boundaries and methodologies 2 . Developing participatory, problem-solving learning processes to enable our students and their African c o l l e a g u e s to grapple more effectively with today's global realities

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3. Helping to improve development theory and practice by facilitating systematic comparisons of regional experiences I will elaborate each of these briefly.

STRENGTHENING PARTICIPATORY PROBLEM-SOLVING METHODOLOGIES I suggest that, within the increasingly interdisciplinary f r a m e w o r k of African studies programs, we should help our students to adopt and improve a participatory, problem-solving methodology. There are, in many U.S. university curricula, two characteristics that hinder formulation of methodologies appropriate for discovering rational solutions to the pressing problems that now confront Africa and other Third World countries: the limits imposed by disciplinary boundaries; and the positivism that, within those limits, too often permeates scholarship. Africanists have long recognized that development problems—in Africa as throughout the world—never come packaged in boxes neatly labelled economics, history, law, engineering, or sociology.1 T o address the causes of the deeply rooted obstacles to development requires formulation of theories and methodologies that cut across disciplinary lines. Some people argue that dangers lurk in jettisoning disciplinary boundaries. T o the contrary, I would underscore the dangers if we fail to encourage our students to look beyond the boundaries imposed by the academic disciplines. My own discipline, economics, for example, tends to center researchers' attention on markets. Some economists may admit that technologically determined economies of scale hinder realization of the perfect market conditions that their models assume. Nevertheless, their toolbox does not contain instruments for analyzing the technical conditions in which those scale economies arise. For that, they ought to call in engineers, but they seldom do. Again, economists often inveigh against state intervention, which, they insist, hampers the operation of the perfectly competitive markets that their models assume. Without tools capable of explaining institutional behaviors, however, they cannot explain why existing Third World circumstances block realization of the goods their models promise. Likewise, to explain why the present African crises impose special burdens on women requires anthropological or sociological understandings of historically shaped attitudes and cultures—but the focus of economists on market forces typically excludes these insights. 2 However, anybody who studies development problems realizes that resources do not allocate themselves. Markets do not function in a v a c u u m . Society, the state, and law shape the particular institutions that comprise the " f o r c e s " of particular markets. We might ask why more sociologists, psychologists,

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and historians do not take part in African studies programs. All three disciplines, it seems to me, have much to contribute to, and p e r h a p s much to learn f r o m , a deeper e n g a g e m e n t with the issues that A f r i c a n studies raise. R e c o g n i z i n g the limits imposed by a c a d e m i c disciplines, w e A f r i c a n ists, along with teachers in other regional studies p r o g r a m s , increasingly have designed courses along interdisciplinary lines. In these, w e have long sought to encourage our students to appreciate the necessity of formulating theories and m e t h o d o l o g i e s that e v e r y w h e r e facilitate e x p l o r a t i o n of the interrelated aspects of development problems. At the same time, our studies have led many of us to realize that the positivist e n d s - m e a n s m e t h o d ology so pervasive in many academic disciplines hinders effective, policyoriented research and analysis. T o say that p o l i c y m a k e r s determine ends, leaving researchers only the task of attaining them, inhibits rather than assists A f r i c a n s and other Third World peoples f r o m discovering the causes of their poverty. I will turn again to my own discipline: many e c o n o m i s t s treat theory as m e t a p h o r . 3 They a s s u m e as the goal of d e v e l o p m e n t the attainment of their ideal model of perfect competition. T u c k i n g their prepackaged models into their b r i e f c a s e s b e f o r e leaving h o m e , they c o m m o n l y p r e s c r i b e similar means to attain that e n d — r e g a r d l e s s of the fact that countries differ in their circumstances. Ignoring the structures and institutions (shaped by different histories) that impose monopolistic tendencies throughout the T h i r d W o r l d , they urge g o v e r n m e n t s e v e r y w h e r e to adopt m e a s u r e s pres u m e d necessary to s u b m i t their e c o n o m i e s to the m a r k e t ' s ( a s s u m e d l y b e n e v o l e n t ) "invisible h a n d . " T h e y w o u l d e l i m i n a t e price controls and m i n i m u m wages; lower taxes on high-income g r o u p s and raise across-theboard taxes on sales; devaluate national c u r r e n c i e s and s c r a p foreign exc h a n g e c o n t r o l s and import licencing; privatize state enterprises; and introduce f e e s f o r public services. In this respect, the e c o n o m i s t s e e m s to b e h a v e m u c h like the moonstruck lover w h o declared, " M y love is like a red, red r o s e . " T h e n , a s s u m i n g his floral m e t a p h o r represents reality, he w o o s her with a shower of water and well-rotted fertilizer. 4 In contrast to this e n d s - m e a n s a p p r o a c h , A f r i c a n e x p e r i e n c e teaches the a d v a n t a g e of using a p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g m e t h o d o l o g y . Ben W i s n e r e m phasizes this in the c a s e of hard science, but it holds equally true f o r the social sciences. It calls for research—the gathering of evidence to test hyp o t h e s e s drawn f r o m t h e o r i e s — a t every s t a g e of an o n g o i n g learning process: 5 1. T o identify, in its country-specific setting, the nature and scope of the particular p r o b l e m that a p p a r e n t l y b l o c k s the d e v e l o p m e n t process 2. T o review, critically, all available, alternative theories in order to tease out and w a r r a n t 6 a hypothesis that (if proven consistent with

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the a v a i l a b l e e v i d e n c e ) m a y a d e q u a t e l y

e x p l a i n the

problem's

causes 3 . T o a s s e s s e v i d e n c e r e l a t i n g to the c o n s t r a i n t s a n d r e s o u r c e s inherent in the c o u n t r y - s p e c i f i c c i r c u m s t a n c e s to d e t e r m i n e w h i c h of the r a n g e o f s o l u t i o n s , l o g i c a l l y s u g g e s t e d b y the h y p o t h e s i s , s e e m s m o s t likely to s u c c e e d in o v e r c o m i n g the c a u s e s i d e n t i f i e d 4 . T o i m p l e m e n t the s o l u t i o n t h u s s e l e c t e d , m o n i t o r i n g it in light o f the n e w e v i d e n c e g e n e r a t e d to i d e n t i f y , e x p l a i n , a n d s o l v e the new p r o b l e m s that m u s t ( i n e v i t a b l y ) a r i s e . ( T o p a r a p h r a s e o n e s t u d e n t , " T h e d e v e l o p m e n t p r o c e s s s e e m s to b e j u s t o n e d a m n p r o b l e m after another.") F u r t h e r m o r e , w o r k in A f r i c a h a s c o n v i n c e d m a n y o f us that it is a d v a n t a g e o u s w h e r e v e r p o s s i b l e to i n v o l v e the p e o p l e a f f e c t e d b y the p r o b l e m in e v e r y s t a g e o f a n a l y z i n g it. O b v i o u s l y , they h a v e the m o s t i n t i m a t e , pers o n a l k n o w l e d g e o f the p r o b l e m ' s i m p a c t . M o r e o v e r , their p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the l e a r n i n g p r o c e s s o f testing e x p l a n a t i o n s a g a i n s t e v i d e n c e , a t t e m p t i n g to d e s i g n s o l u t i o n s to o v e r c o m e the c a u s e s , a n d e v a l u a t i n g the r e s u l t s will h e l p to e m p o w e r them to t a c k l e f u t u r e d i f f i c u l t i e s m o r e e f f e c t i v e l y . 7 I w o u l d like to u n d e r s c o r e o n e p o i n t : this a p p r o a c h d o e s not r e q u i r e a p r e p a c k a g e d s t a t i c definition o f development. their e f f o r t s to e x p l a i n a n d o v e r c o m e

R a t h e r , it e m p h a s i z e s that, in the o b s t a c l e s

that b l o c k

their

p r o g r e s s , p e o p l e c a n a n d will e v o l v e their o w n d e v e l o p m e n t p r o c e s s . In s u m , in c o n t r a s t with c o m p a r t m e n t a l i z e d , p o s i t i v i s t d i s c i p l i n e s , inc r e a s i n g n u m b e r s o f A f r i c a n i s t s e n c o u r a g e u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s to a d o p t interdisciplinary

problem-solving

approaches. That approach offers a

f r a m e w o r k f o r r a t i o n a l , critical t h i n k i n g . Its p r e m i s e h o l d s that w e c a n n o t c o m e up with p r o p o s a l s f o r s o l u t i o n u n l e s s w e f i n d e v i d e n c e to warrant the e x p l a n a t i o n s that u n d e r p i n t h e m . T h a t e m p h a s i z e s the i m p o r t a n c e o f ins i s t i n g that o u r s t u d e n t s e x p l i c i t l y s t a t e a n d test their e x p l a n a t i o n s . O n l y if they h a v e r i g o r o u s l y tried to f a l s i f y their e x p l a n a t i o n s a n d f a i l e d , ( i . e . , o n l y if they c a n n o t p r o v e t h e m i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h the a v a i l a b l e e v i d e n c e ) c a n they c l a i m to h a v e a rational f o u n d a t i o n f o r their p o s i t i o n . Students might, of course, d i s a g r e e with my c o n c l u s i o n s : o b v i o u s l y , I d o h a v e a p o s i t i o n on the i s s u e s w e d i s c u s s in c l a s s e s . B u t I try hard to p e r s u a d e s t u d e n t s to c o n s i d e r all the p o s s i b l e p o s i t i o n s s u g g e s t e d by altern a t i v e a v a i l a b l e t h e o r i e s . T o g i v e t h e m p r a c t i c e , I f i n d it h e l p f u l to o r g a n i z e s t u d e n t s into t e a m s to d e b a t e c e n t r a l i s s u e s , e a c h t a k i n g a c o n t r a r y t h e o r e t i c a l s t a n d , a n d b a c k i n g it u p b y e v i d e n c e . I o f t e n p r o m i s e any s t u dent w h o d i s a g r e e s with m e , a n d w h o p r o v i d e s a d e q u a t e e v i d e n c e to s u p port his or her a r g u m e n t , an A . S o m e a c a d e m i c s , t o d a y , s e e m to r e j e c t any a t t e m p t to d e v e l o p a rational a p p r o a c h to r e s o l v i n g s o c i a l p r o b l e m s . S o m e a s k w h e t h e r A f r i c a n s m i g h t e n c o u r a g e s t u d e n t s to p r e f e r other a p p r o a c h e s to a r r i v e at c o m m u n i t y

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consensus. T h e j u s t i f i e d criticism of Western positivism, it s e e m s to me, far from warranting rejection of a problem-solving approach, points to the necessity of a d o p t i n g just such an a p p r o a c h . A f r i c a n s w h o trained in the ancient African system of apprenticeship (I understand) used to engage in a kind of participatory education process, learning to ask the right questions in the f r a m e w o r k of set rules. In a sense, in a d o p t i n g a problemsolving approach, are we not really seeking to engage in a process of improving the rules f o r structuring the discourse, the g a t h e r i n g and presentation of relevant evidence, to arrive at consensus? In e n g a g i n g our students, A f r i c a n and n o n - A f r i c a n , in this process, are w e not proposing that they assess the problem-solving approach in terms of e v i d e n c e accumulated through their own experience? In this connection, of course, w e must recognize that different people looking at the same evidence may interpret that evidence differently. This e m p h a s i z e s the necessity for our students to evaluate alternative w a y s of gathering and interpreting e v i d e n c e , continually d e v i s i n g better w a y s of doing it. But is that not part of the c h a l l e n g e we c o n f r o n t ? T o find w a y s to assist u n d e r g r a d u a t e s to c o m p a r e and contrast and in the process continually to improve their methodologies for arriving at better solutions to the problems that threaten to disrupt our increasingly interlinked realities?

BUILDING THE LEARNING PROCESS INTO UNDERGRADUATE AFRICAN STUDIES PROGRAMS This leads to what I view as a second element necessary to strengthen the contribution of A f r i c a n studies to U.S. undergraduates' c o m p r e h e n s i o n of our rapidly c h a n g i n g world: continued rethinking and the devising of new methods of teaching. Many Third World educationists, including increasing n u m b e r s of those teaching in A f r i c a , have long criticized the traditional l e c t u r e / e x a m i n a t i o n s y s t e m . In particular, it relies t o o heavily on rote memorization and destroys the creative initiative required to assess alternative e x p l a n a t i o n s of the c a u s e s of p r o b l e m s — t h e essential step in solving them. A f r i c a n studies programs o f f e r exciting possibilities f o r e n c o u r a g i n g u n d e r g r a d u a t e s to learn by w o r k i n g together with A f r i c a n s t u d e n t s in a participatory p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g search for mutually b e n e f i c i a l a n s w e r s to development problems. Only if w e e n g a g e undergraduates in research will we really help them to engage fully in a creative learning process. P r o b l e m - s o l v i n g research is a learning process, a way of d e v e l o p i n g independent, critical thinking about how to gather facts about the causes of p r o b l e m s in order to solve them. T o illustrate the potentials of participatory research as a m e a n s of e n g a g i n g our students in learning-by-doing, I w o u l d like to discuss s o m e concrete ideas related to e x p l o r i n g the causes

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and consequences of A f r i c a ' s political and economic crises. We all accept the notion that laboratories provide science students essential opportunities to learn by doing. In reality, the global community comprises a laboratory for the social sciences, one that is readily available and not that expensive. Ben Wisner gives some insightful examples of using the community even for hard sciences research in this v o l u m e . Here, however, I will confine my comments to my own area of knowledge, the social sciences. The book 21st Century Africa: Towards a New Vision of Self-Sustainable Development, prepared by the Task Force for Sustainable Development in Africa, provides useful background materials, including relevant bibliographies. 8 The e c o n o m i c features of A f r i c a ' s crisis are well known: worsening terms of trade, g r o w i n g national and international debt, devaluation and austerity programs. All of these have undermined A f r i c a n s ' real incomes. Over the last decade, nine more African countries slid into the poverty category, raising the number to thirty-two. Africa has three-fourths of the w o r l d ' s poorest nations. Many of us have helped to document the social impact, especially on women and children, of drastic reductions in programs for education, health, and environment. Not only families but whole societies f i n d themselves tragically ill-equipped to deal with the deadly new disease, A I D S . And from southern Africa to the Horn, national and ethnic military conflicts have disrupted development efforts, leaving in their wake perhaps the w o r l d ' s largest numbers of r e f u g e e s . As the UN Economic Commission for Africa has pointed out, 9 A f r i c a ' s crisis has put the very fabric of the continent's societies at risk. Almost daily, television screens bring into the homes of middle America new pictures of human tragedies in Africa. Yet few people in the United States realize the extent of the U.S. involvement there. With control of over one-fifth of the votes in the IMF and the World Bank, the U.S. government exercises a predominant influence in shaping the lending policies of those agencies. Moreover, although the U.S. government spends barely one-fourth of 1 percent of our national product on giving aid—a smaller fraction than that for any other leading industrial power—it still constitutes a leading source of bilateral funds for Africa. Unfortunately, in the past too large a share of those f u n d s went to f i n a n c i n g sophisticated weapons like shoulder-held rocket launchers and antipersonnel mines, instead of literacy campaigns and rural clinics. The United States long supported M o b u t u ' s corrupt military rule in Zaire. The U.S. government gave Samuel D o e ' s military government in Liberia more aid per capita than any other country in sub-Saharan A f r i c a . For years, the United States spent more than $50 million annually to f u n d UNITA, which, initially with South African support, disrupted S A D C C transport lines and the lives of millions of Angolan peasant families 1 0 —a mindless civil war that still continues. In the Horn, U.S. bases—first in Ethiopia, then in S o m a l i a — c o n tributed massively to building up the r e g i o n ' s military capacity. T o d a y ,

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E t h i o p i a ' s new government is struggling to build peace, though on fragile foundations; Somalia remains a center of violence. A s Ben W i s n e r points out, w e need to help our students to learn the perverse effects of that kind of use of hard science. True, for better or worse, U.S. policymakers and the U.S. media have recently shifted their mercurial attention to Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This partly explains why African studies programs experience dwindling f u n d s and the loss of faculty posts. U s i n g relatively f e w r e s o u r c e s a l o n g with a c o n s i d e r a b l e a m o u n t of ingenuity, w e need to devise new w a y s to help our u n d e r g r a d u a t e s to u n d e r s t a n d why and how, in t o d a y ' s shrinking world, events in Africa affect and are affected by what happens in the United States. At the same time, as part of our students' learning experience, we should encourage them to take part in the task, identified by A d e b a y o Adediji at the 1990 A f r i c a n S t u d i e s Association m e e t i n g , of blending "cold-blooded economic rationality with the invigorating h u m a n ist virtues of ethically guided international d e v e l o p m e n t . " " On the one hand, while studying African history and culture our students could begin to e v a l u a t e the e v i d e n c e relating to core d e b a t e s over U.S. e c o n o m i c policies in Africa. 1 2 They could begin to assess the impact of the International M o n e t a r y Fund and the W o r l d Bank Structural A d j u s t m e n t Programs ( S A P s ) on A f r i c a n countries. T h e y could sift through the critics' claims that, not only do S A P s require d e e p social-welfare cuts and the privatization of public enterprises, but by pressuring A f r i c a n and other Third World g o v e r n m e n t s to devote more and more resources to exp a n d i n g exports of raw materials and labor-intensive m a n u f a c t u r e s , they also aggravate the underlying factors that led to A f r i c a ' s crises. Students could research other questions still subject to debate. For exa m p l e : Did inherited colonial institutions g e a r A f r i c a n and other T h i r d W o r l d countries' e c o n o m i e s primarily to the c o m p e t i t i v e export of crude agricultural p r o d u c e and minerals? Did p o s t - W o r l d War II e x p a n s i o n of agricultural export crops spread over the best, most well-watered soils, reducing the availability of land for domestically consumed f o o d s t u f f s ? Did newly imported technologies limit the n u m b e r s of new jobs generated by e x p a n d e d , export-oriented mines, f a r m s , and factories? T o what extent did the developed c o u n t r i e s ' introduction of s y n t h e t i c substitutes narrow demand for the Third W o r l d ' s raw materials? Did all these factors, as s o m e s c h o l a r s insist, inevitably push d o w n A f r i c a ' s terms of trade until, a d e c a d e later, they hovered at "virtually half their 1 9 7 9 - 1 9 8 1 a v e r a g e s " ? 1 3 D o e s this help to explain why hundreds of thousands of rural people have c r o w d e d into urban squatter c o m p o u n d s , desperately seeking any kind of work at almost any w a g e ? O u r students c o u l d also begin to explore a topic that t o u c h e s the interests of working people in both Africa and the United States—a view of the o n g o i n g global restructuring process that is gaining increasingly w i d e

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credence. On one side of this coin is A f r i c a ' s socioeconomic crisis; on the other, a d e e p e n i n g d i c h o t o m y to be seen in the people of the United States. 1 4 Students can evaluate for themselves the claim that the postwar technological revolution, especially in shipping, communications, and finance, has put U.S. wages and w o r k i n g conditions into competition with those of the w o r l d ' s most impoverished Third W o r l d populations, including those in A f r i c a . 1 5 Our s t u d e n t s s h o u l d , of c o u r s e , c o n d u c t a library search to document the c h a n g i n g e c o n o m i c trends of production, income, and e m p l o y m e n t in their h o m e c o m m u n i t i e s in the context of c h a n g i n g global trends. But w e should e n c o u r a g e them to do more than that. T h e y could also interview community leaders to assess whether and to what extent the process of global c h a n g e has cost g r o w i n g n u m b e r s of U.S. blue-collar w o r k e r s the h i g h - p a y i n g j o b s and f r i n g e b e n e f i t s they w o n in earlier decades. Students might try to f i n d out why as many as o n e out of five workers, particularly w o m e n and minorities, have had to take low-paid, part-time e m p l o y m e n t without fringe benefits. T h e y could ask about conditions in the inner cities, like the ones in Los Angeles, to find out why as many as half of all y o u n g A f r o - A m e r i c a n and Hispanic w o r k e r s cannot find work. 1 6 S o m e of our students might want to investigate the effect of the U.S. military buildup, including arms sales to impoverished Third World areas like those in Africa. T h e y could j u d g e for themselves whether it furnished more than a limited additional market for U.S. industrial output; more than a relatively few, well-paid j o b s . T h e y could review the argument that financial mergers within and across national b o u n d a r i e s c r e a t e d huge, world-encircling c o n g l o m e r a t e s , each s c o u r i n g the world for the lowestw a g e areas f o r labor-intensive p r o d u c t i o n to beat their global c o m p e t i tors—and pushing d o w n real incomes in Third World countries. 1 7 Working with U.S. c o m m u n i t y groups, our students could seek the answers to these and many more questions. T h e y could work on understanding the nature of c o m m u n i t y p r o b l e m s as c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s see them. They could examine the evidence related to the community m e m b e r s ' explanations, as well as those available in books. Together with c o m m u n i t y participants, they could seek to a s s e s s the costs and b e n e f i t s of possible solutions. In short, we might e n g a g e our undergraduate students in exploring whether and to what extent the p o s t - W o r l d W a r II global restructuring process intensified a d o w n w a r d - s p i r a l l i n g competition that inevitably aggravated global inequality and contributed to worsening e c o n o m i c conditions within the United States. O b v i o u s l y , the task in e n g a g i n g U.S. u n d e r g r a d u a t e s in this kind of research varies f r o m one university or college to another, d e p e n d i n g on its location, its student b o d y , and its r e s o u r c e s . S o m e might ask, given the scarce resources and very large u n d e r g r a d u a t e classes at big state universities, how can a n y o n e involve their s t u d e n t s in this kind of research?

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Certainly, we will need to employ all our ingenuity. W e can use lectures to structure the discourse, to explain the problem-solving m e t h o d o l o g y , and to provide essential information. W e might organize teams of students to debate before the class the pros and cons of critical issues like the conscquences of global competition for U.S. as well as African living standards; and require them to provide e v i d e n c e to support their e x p l a n a t i o n s . W e could e n c o u r a g e teams of students, not only to study library materials but also to gather evidence by undertaking c o m m u n i t y surveys. In Tanzania, I assigned each of three hundred students in a first-year lecture class to undertake a survey of the c o n s u m p t i o n patterns of five low-income households. S o m e of the students, w o r k i n g as a group, c o m puterized the results as an exercise in the statistics class; then all the students analyzed the results. These gave them valuable insights into the market implications of T a n z a n i a ' s s k e w e d i n c o m e distribution. In Z a m b i a , another first-year class of 150 students undertook a similar survey of prices in their home provinces. In smaller institutions, getting students out into the larger community should be easier. T h e e x p e r i e n c e will give them a useful o p p o r t u n i t y to break out of their limited, s o m e t i m e s h o m o g e n e o u s , s u r r o u n d i n g s . In so doing, they should learn a lot about the way their circumscribed reality relates to the problems that pervade the lives of their n e i g h b o r s — t h e beginnings of a greater understanding of factors at work in our global society. To facilitate our students' task, we need to provide them with c o m m u n i t y contacts: local g o v e r n m e n t o f f i c i a l s or leaders of c h u r c h social action groups, w o m e n ' s and young p e o p l e s ' organizations, and trade unions. We should talk with the leaders in a d v a n c e , helping them to u n d e r s t a n d the s t u d e n t s ' c o n c e r n s . In some instances, w e might find leaders with an interest in involving the students in obtaining information that will help the leaders in their own work. Engaging undergraduates in this kind of research in the United States could help to sensitize them to some of the issues involved in working together with African students and faculty members. T h e spread of more student exchanges would facilitate this kind of collaborative learning process. W o r k i n g with A f r i c a n students w h o c o m e to the United States, our students could gain a new perspective on life here as well as in A f r i c a . In this context of e x c h a n g e programs, w e should bring more A f r i c a n teachers to the United States as visiting scholars. Not only would this help them to extend their own opportunities to write and conduct research, it would also give students an opportunity to learn f r o m them in classes in this country. T o g e t h e r with our A f r i c a n colleagues, w e could e n c o u r a g e senior undergraduates to join with African students to undertake research projects during the term here in the United States, and during long vacations in Africa. This would allow students to participate with Africans, c o m p a r i n g experiences as well as d i s c o v e r i n g the u n d e r l y i n g c a u s e s of o b s t a c l e s to selfsustaining d e v e l o p m e n t .

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Undergraduates could learn a great deal by working with African students. O f t e n , they are s o m e w h a t older than U.S. undergraduates. In my eleven years of t e a c h i n g a n d c o n d u c t i n g p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g research in A f r i c a , I have w o r k e d with t e a m s of A f r i c a n students in m a n y kinds of projects, ranging f r o m analyzing Z i m b a b w e ' s financial institutions to participatory evaluation of n o n g o v e r n m e n t a l organization aid p r o g r a m s in Tanzania, Z i m b a b w e , and Z a m b i a . As teachers, we helped them to structure the learning process a l o n g p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g lines, 1 8 not only to improve their own work, but a l s o — w h e r e relevant—to facilitate the learning process a m o n g those with w h o m they worked. In the process, the African students, too, discovered they learned a great deal that they could not find in books. S u m m i n g up her experience in working to help peasants discover why aid projects so o f t e n f a i l e d to help them achieve self-reliance, one Z a m b i a n w o m a n d e c l a r e d she had learned more in the f o u r w e e k s she lived with them than she had in any class in the university. Political and e c o n o m i c crises still constitute the biggest obstacles to the d e v e l o p m e n t process. But, as I have tried to e m p h a s i z e , that crisis is global. We all need to work on it together and share what w e are learning so we can do a better job. As we take part, too, w e can critique the educational systems in which we work and find new w a y s to teach and conduct research together. Our u n d e r g r a d u a t e s could also c o o p e r a t e with A f r i c a n students to make videotapes and recordings about their respective communities. These could not only document their involvement together in participatory learning activities, but also p r o d u c e v a l u a b l e records of music, art, and dramatic performances. Back home, the students might use university television and radio channels to share what they have learned with student and c o m m u n i t y groups. B e y o n d acquiring a better understanding of their respective c o m m u n i ties, U.S. u n d e r g r a d u a t e s a n d their A f r i c a n colleagues might explore the possibilities of greater international cooperation. They might study, for example, the greater potential f o r trade if A f r i c a n s were to succeed in building m o r e regional c o o p e r a t i o n through S A D C C , E C O W A S and p e r h a p s s o m e new f o r m in the H o r n . With increased trade, A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s could redirect the billions of dollars now w a s t e d by war and destabilization to people-oriented development. They could invest in more productive f a r m s and factories as well as schools, hospitals, and roads, to meet peoples' basic needs. 1 9 By c o n d u c t i n g c o o p e r a t i v e research with their A f r i c a n counterparts, our students might assess these possibilities. As U.S. and African citizens and f u t u r e teachers, entrepreneurs, or g o v e r n m e n t employees, they might b r i n g their k n o w l e d g e to bear on p r o b l e m s of e x p a n d i n g new kinds of global production and trade. Over time, attainment of sustainable development in A f r i c a could create a large and g r o w i n g market for goods m a d e by

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U.S. workers; and the United States might sell about ten times m o r e goods, per capita, than we sell today to the half billion inhabitants of A f r i c a . 2 0 In return, in the context of constantly reshaped patterns of c o m parative advantage, our country could buy A f r i c a ' s increasingly m a n u f a c tured mineral and agriculture p r o d u c e . T h e resulting e x p a n s i o n of trade could contribute to improved p r o d u c t i v e e m p l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s and rising living standards on both continents. In their research, our students w o u l d have an opportunity to evaluate the m o u n t i n g claims that, in contrast to I M F and W o r l d B a n k prescriptions, this potential cannot be achieved by national or international " m a r ket f o r c e s . " 2 1 Far f r o m m a t c h i n g the c o n d i t i o n s of the ideal c o m p e t i t i v e model proposed by mainstream economists, this view asserts that a century of colonial rule deliberately shaped those markets to deprive A f r i c a n s of access to their continent's resources. Left to themselves, the markets' "invisible hands" (or not-so-invisible hands) serve primarily to replicate and e x a c e r b a t e existing A f r i c a n inequality and poverty. W i t h i n A f r i c a , only firm g o v e r n m e n t measures can redirect investable s u r p l u s e s to e x p a n d e d p r o d u c t i v e e m p l o y m e n t opportunities and an i m p r o v e d quality of life in the context of increasingly integrated d o m e s t i c and regional development. 2 2 On a global scale, only governmental cooperation to establish stable export prices of the kind urged by proponents of the New International E c o n o m i c Order can facilitate m o r e s u c c e s s f u l national and regional development. T o assess this debate, h o w e v e r , our s t u d e n t s w o u l d have to c o m e to grips with a harsh reality: independent A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t s have seldom proved willing, far less capable, of playing the role that the opponents of the I M F - W o r l d Bank approach seem to propose for them. If market forces cannot do the job, if the state remains s o c i e t y ' s primary instrument for implementing the required transformation, what measures might ensure that g o v e r n m e n t s do respond to their p e o p l e s ' needs? That they strive to c o m bine their resources to attain democratic sustainable d e v e l o p m e n t ? This puts the spotlight on another all-important issue that U.S. undergraduates, together with African students, could investigate. In the process, they might share with and learn f r o m the e f f o r t s of people, both in the United States and in A f r i c a , to build more democratic, participatory, state and n o n g o v e r n m e n t institutions. Exploring the evidence as to the contradictory factors brought into play by the global restructuring process, they m i g h t help to identify and e x c h a n g e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t new w a y s of achieving this task. Again, by way of illustration: the e v i d e n c e shows that South A f r i c a ' s e m e r g e n c e as a regional industrial and financial subcenter s i m u l t a n e o u s l y created the largest industrial w o r k i n g class on the continent. In the 1980s, South A f r i c a n workers, organized in industrial unions built a r o u n d s h o p - f l o o r d e m o c r a c y , p l a y e d a leading role in the m a s s d e m o c r a t i c m o v e m e n t . 2 3 In their s t r u g g l e to e n d a p a r t h e i d , the unions,

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together with c o m m u n i t y organizations—in South African these are called civics—created their own f o r m s of democratic p e o p l e s ' participation. In 1 9 9 1 , 1 took part in a fascinating three-week workshop with twentyf i v e leaders of South A f r i c a n c o m m u n i t y organizations and trade unions. T h e s e leaders fully r e c o g n i z e d the dismal p e r f o r m a n c e of many Third World governments, including many in A f r i c a . In an effort to avoid a similar outcome, they met in the w o r k s h o p to reevaluate not only other countries' e x p e r i e n c e s but the lessons of their o w n d e c a d e s - l o n g struggle for liberation. They sought new w a y s to ensure that a democratically elected, post-apartheid g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d r e s p o n d to their p e o p l e ' s concerns. A m o n g other strategies, they proposed national democratic fora to provide an ongoing f r a m e w o r k for p e o p l e s ' organizations to input government decisionmaking. Of particular interest to teachers, the w o r k s h o p participants specifically discussed the possibilities of involving university (and even high-school) students in analyzing and d o c u m e n t i n g the role of inherited institutions in the perpetuation of undemocratic procedures and poverty. 2 4 They recognized this kind of information as essential before restructuring those institutions, or creating new ones. Might not our students, working with A f r i c a n s in such projects, learn a great deal about building democratic, participatory institutions? Perhaps, too, A f r i c a n students c o m i n g to this country could join our students in gathering information relating to the experiences of church and c o m m u n i t y g r o u p s tackling similar tasks here. During the A f r i c a n Peace T o u r in A l a b a m a , f o r e x a m p l e , w e met m e m b e r s of a federation of rural cooperatives, mainly blacks. 2 5 Although the right to vote was already won, they had learned the hard way that they still had to press for government support to o v e r c o m e the c a u s e s of poverty. " Y o u c a n ' t eat v o t e s , " they said bitterly. They w o r k e d to elect candidates w h o would promote peopleoriented development strategies—strategies in many ways similar to those South A f r i c a n s had discussed at the 1991 w o r k s h o p . Joining groups, like these in the United States, and sharing experiences with African university and c o m m u n i t y groups, our students might learn a great deal about building more democratic institutions.

EMPHASIS ON COMPARATIVE STUDIES Finally, as a third approach to strengthening A f r i c a n studies programs, we should e n c o u r a g e undergraduates to undertake more comparative studies, not only of different African countries but also other Third World regions. In a global perspective, these could help them to gain insight into difficulties likely to thwart e f f o r t s to restructure regional e c o n o m i e s and institutions. 2 6 T o g e t h e r with faculty in other area studies programs, Africanists need to think through w a y s to e n a b l e s t u d e n t s to review a n d c o m p a r e

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evidence relating to all the currently evolving theories and methodologies for analyzing the global development process. Given historical, geographical, and social d i f f e r e n c e s , no o n e c o u n t r y ' s e x p e r i e n c e can p r o v i d e a model or blueprint for success f o r another. 2 7 Nevertheless, with students f r o m many d i f f e r e n t regions, A f r i c a n studies students could begin to reassess the evidence relating to the many factors causing poverty and p o w erlessness throughout the Third World, and the reasons f o r a given alternative strategy's success or failure. As teachers, we might explore the possibilities for extending c o o p e r ative U . S . - A f r i c a n teaching and research m e t h o d s into the undertaking of comparative interregional studies. Although there is no universal blueprint for successful development, comparative studies at least suggest what mistakes to avoid, and participants might gain useful ideas. S o m e immediate steps seem possible. We could organize more of the seminars and conferences of the kind we have already occasionally held to consider c o m p a r a tive issues. Where possible, we should try to arrange these, not only in the United States but also in Third World regions. On our own c a m p u s e s , we should explore the possibilities of closer c o o p e r a t i o n b e t w e e n area programs in designing and conducting comparative research. 2 8 W e might expand this kind of c o o p e r a t i o n into o b t a i n i n g and s h a r i n g r e s o u r c e s f o r research, as well as planning joint introductory courses that f o c u s on c o m mon theoretical and methodological issues. Perhaps, too, we could arrange joint senior research seminars in which students could c o m p a r e and contrast the results of their regionally focused investigations. In sum, approaching the twenty-first century, as American Africanist teachers and students we f a c e a new challenge. C h a n g i n g global relationships require that we continually improve our theories and methodologies. T h e creation of African studies programs has already begun to help break d o w n the disciplinary b o u n d a r i e s that f o r so long h i n d e r e d a d e q u a t e a n a l y s i s of c o m p l e x d e v e l o p m e n t p r o b l e m s . N o w w e need to think through ways of engaging our students in gathering evidence to review alternative theories as potential guides for e x p l a i n i n g and f i n d i n g solutions to those problems. In t o d a y ' s shrinking globe, w e should seek new c h a n nels for our students to participate in p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g learning p r o c e s s e s to discover how, and why, poverty and u n d e r d e v e l o p m e n t plague not only inhabitants of the Third W o r l d but also i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s of those living in the First. Many possibilities exist. W e could encourage our students to work together with community organizations to explore the implications of U . S . A f r i c a n relations, past and present, not only for A f r i c a n s but also for U.S. citizens. W e could e x p l o r e new opportunities f o r e n a b l i n g them to w o r k more closely with A f r i c a n students to conduct participatory, multidisciplinary investigations as to the impact and causes of A f r i c a ' s crisis and possible strategies for sustainable d e v e l o p m e n t . W e could also f i n d w a y s in

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w h i c h our students could cooperate with other regional studies programs to learn from comparative analyses. In this kind of learning process, w e could help our students to acquire, not only a greater appreciation of A f r i c a ' s past and present contributions to world culture but also a deeper understanding of the full implications of today's global restructuring process. In addition, our students could help to accumulate, debate, and disseminate the information that citizens and policymakers need to work for sustainable democratic d e v e l o p m e n t , laying the essential foundation for peace, jobs, and steady improvements in the quality of life throughout the world.

NOTES 1. Peter Dorner, Latin American Land Reforms in Theory and Practice: A Retrospective Analysis (Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1992). 2. Brooke Grundfest Schoepf, "Gender Relations and Development: Political Economy and Culture," in Twenty-first Century Africa: Towards a New Vision of Self-Sustainable Development, ed. Ann Seidman and Frederick Anang (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1992): 203-241. 3. Arjo Klamer, Donald N. McCloskey, and Robert M. Solow, The Consequences of Economic Rhetoric (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988). 4. Neva Seidman Makgetla, "A Note on Gary Becker's Use of Metaphor," Journal of Economic Issues 26 (1991): 900. 5. Seidman and Anang, Twenty-first Century, Ann Seidman and Robert B. Seidman, The Long Rocky Road to Development (forthcoming). 6. In Popper's sense of making every effort to falsify it in light of all available evidence. Karl R. Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (London: Hutchinson, 1968). 7. Denny Kalyalya et al., Aid and Development in Southern Africa: Evaluating a Participatory Learning Process (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1988). 8. Seidman and Anang, Twenty-first Century. 9. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programmes for Socio-Economic Recovery and Transformation (Addis Ababa: Economic Commission for Africa, 1989). 10. Ann Seidman, Apartheid, Militarism and the U.S. Southeast (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1990). 11. Adebayo Adedeji, "Development and Ethics: Putting Africa on the Road to Self-Reliant and Self-Sustaining Process of Development" (keynote address delivered at the first plenary session of the Thirty-third Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Baltimore, 1 November 1990). 12. Seidman and Anang, Twenty-first Century, chap. 2. 13. Almost three-quarters of all African exports, more than any other Third World region, comprise unprocessed primary commodities. Although their prices may fluctuate, even optimistic predictions expect them to reach only two-thirds of 1979-1981 levels in real terms. Roy Laishley, "Commodity Prices Deal Blow to Africa," Africa Recovery 6, (April 1992). 14. Barry Bluestone and Bennett Harrison, The Deindustrialization of America (New York: Basic Books, 1982); Peter Dicken, Global Shift: Industrial Change

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in a Turbulent World (London: Harper and Row, 1986); Folker Frobel, Jürgen Heinrichs, and Otto Kreye, The New International Division of Labor: Structural Unemployment in Industrialized Countries and Industrialization in Developing Countries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980); Phil O'Keefe, ed., Regional Restructuring Under Advanced Capitalism (London: Croom-Helm, 1984); Andrew Glyn and Robert Sutcliffe, British Capitalism, Workers and the Profit Squeeze (London: Penguin, 1972); David Gordon, Richard Edwards and Michael Reich, Segmented Work, Divided Workers: The Historical Transformation of Labor in the United States (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982); Joseph Grunwald and Kenneth Flamm, The Global Factor: Foreign Assembly in International Trade (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1985); Richard Peet, ed., International Capitalism and Industrial Restructuring: A Critical Analysis (Boston: George Allen and Unwin, 1987); Jacqueline Jones, "Forgotten Americans," New York Times, 5 May 1992. 15. See, for example, Michael Tanzer and Stephen Zorn, Energy Update: Oil in the Late Twentieth Century (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1985); Frederick Clairmonte and John Cavenagh, The World is Their Web—Dynamics of Textile Multinationals (London: Zed Press, 1981); Folker Frobel, Jürgen Heinrichs and Otto Kreye, The New International Division of Labor: Structural Unemployment in Industrialized Countries and Industrialization in Developing Countries (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980). 16. Lawrence Mishel and David Frankel, The State of Working America (Washington, D.C.: Economic Policy Institute, 1990). 17. For data relating to transnational corporate market control in specific sectors, see Ward's Business Directory, Major International Companies, vol. 3 (Belmont, Calif.: Information Access, 1986). 18. See, for example, Kalyalya et al., Aid and Development. 19. For a review of alternative economic theories as guides to this process, see Makgetla, "A Note." 20. Ann Seidman, Apartheid, Militarism and the U.S. Southeast (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1990). 21. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Alternative-, Seidman and Anang, Twenty-first Century, chaps. 2 and 8. 22. See, for example, the debates in Seidman and Anang, Twenty-first Century. 23. G. Seidman, Labor Movements in Newly-Industrialized Countries: South Africa and Brazil, 1960-1985 (Berkeley: University of California Press, forthcoming). 24. Initially, based on pilot research in independent southern African states (see Kalyalya et al., Aid and Development), the proposal aimed to include only university students. However, Ms. Mujeja, a high-school principal from the Transkei, recalled the vital role South African high-school students had played in the liberation movement. 25. Ann Seidman, Apartheid, Militarism and the U.S. Southeast (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1990). 26. See, for example, Peter Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol, Bringing the State Back In (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985), chap. 11. 27. See, for example, Robert B. Seidman, State, Law and Development, (New York: Croom-Helm, 1976); Seidman and Seidman, Long Rocky Road. 28. The International Development Program at Clark University benefits from this kind of cooperation.

8 Learning by Disagreeing: Comments on Ann Seidman Sara Berry

As Ann Seidman points out in Chapter 7, " N e w Directions: Teaching E c o nomics to Undergraduates in African S t u d i e s , " teaching about Africa to undergraduates in U . S . universities invites and challenges faculty to develop innovative conceptual and pedagogical approaches to their subject. As a field o f study defined in terms that are geographical and cultural, rather than conceptual, African studies has traditionally cut across academic disciplines. Whether engaged in recovering the past or elucidating contemporary practices and problems, scholars working on Africa face particular methodological challenges that have pushed them actively to pursue interdisciplinary modes of enquiry. For example, the paucity of documentary sources from which to study African history—together with the fact that, for many areas and periods o f time, most available documents were written by non-Africans—has led historians to explore alternative sources of evidence. Efforts to collect and interpret archaeological, linguistic, ethnographic, or climatological evidence has in turn obliged Africanist historians to learn something about the a c a d e m i c disciplines that produce them and to incorporate some o f their concepts and paradigms into historical research. Historians of Africa have also worked extensively with oral traditions and played a leading role in debates over the methodological issues involved in doing so. Similarly, the difficulties encountered by many professionals—such as doctors, agronomists, and engineers—in applying the results o f Western science to improving systems o f health care, agricultural production, or infrastructure in contemporary Africa have stimulated efforts to reexamine boundaries between the natural sciences, on the one hand, and humanities and social s c i e n c e s , on the other. Developing improved crop varieties or cultivation practices that enable African farmers to increase their incomes has turned out to require, for example, effective collaboration between anthropologists and botanists. Similarly, to adapt Western methods o f treating illness, both physical and mental, to African conditions it is often

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necessary to have an understanding of African cosmologies and social relations, as well as Western medical science. Interdisciplinary research on the d e v e l o p m e n t of "appropriate t e c h n o l o g i e s " has, in turn, led W e s t e r n trained scholars to a new u n d e r s t a n d i n g and appreciation of A f r i c a n systems of k n o w l e d g e . In general, introducing undergraduates to the results and c h a l l e n g e s of interdisciplinary research d o e s more than enrich their understanding of Africa; it can also o f f e r them new perspectives on the intellectual architecture and cultural f o u n d a t i o n s of their courses in other fields. In addition to stressing interdisciplinary a p p r o a c h e s , S e i d m a n urges students of c o n t e m p o r a r y A f r i c a n e c o n o m i c p r o b l e m s to place them in c o m p a r a t i v e perspective by e x a m i n i n g similarities and d i f f e r e n c e s between Africa and other regions of the Third World (Asia, Latin America), and by s t u d y i n g the e f f e c t s of recent global e c o n o m i c restructuring on w o m e n , workers, and ethnic minorities in the United States. T e a c h i n g African studies in the United States o f f e r s opportunities for other kinds of c o m p a r a t i v e analysis as well. As several participants in this c o n f e r e n c e have e m p h a s i z e d , A f r i c a n studies have a direct b e a r i n g on the U n i t e d States: many U.S. citizens are of A f r i c a n origin, and African i n f l u e n c e s are widespread in U.S. society and culture. While there is historical precedent (and s o m e t i m e s compelling institutional reasons) for treating African and A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n studies as separate fields, there are equally strong intellectual and institutional reasons for recognizing and exploring their interconnections, both as historical realities in their own right and as a basis f o r a d d r e s s i n g issues of race and racism in U.S. culture and U.S. classrooms. C o m p a r a t i v e approaches to A f r i c a n studies can lead to conceptual as well as practical and historical insights. Cultural and social b o u n d a r i e s — within Africa, a m o n g peoples of A f r i c a n origin, and between A f r i c a n s and n o n - A f r i c a n s — a r e often m u l t i f a c e t e d , a m b i g u o u s , and historically fluid. By exploring multiple inventions of the concepts Africa and Africans, and e x a m i n i n g particular issues of A f r i c a n experience f r o m c o m p a r a t i v e perspectives, teachers and students are likely to find themselves r e e x a m i n i n g the nature of cultural and political boundaries in general. By situating such comparisons in global and historical perspective, African studies can shed light on relations between m i c r o and m a c r o p r o c e s s e s in a variety of disciplines. In discussing strategies f o r t e a c h i n g u n d e r g r a d u a t e s about e c o n o m i c development and democratization in Africa, Ann Seidman makes a particular appeal for participatory learning. Specifically, she suggests that students should be actively engaged in collecting and analyzing e v i d e n c e on e c o n o m i c and political problems that beset A f r i c a and Africans; that they should do so in collaboration with A f r i c a n students; and that their studies should be directed t o w a r d s o l v i n g such p r o b l e m s as well as a n a l y z i n g

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149

t h e m . Her c a s e is an a p p e a l i n g o n e . I w o u l d a r g u e that it m e r i t s both elaboration a n d s o m e q u a l i f i c a t i o n . P a r t i c i p a t o r y s t r a t e g i e s of l e a r n i n g c a n be a p p l i e d to i n t e l l e c t u a l inquiry in g e n e r a l , as well as to r e s e a r c h d i r e c t e d t o w a r d s o l v i n g p r a c t i c a l p r o b l e m s . S t u d e n t s n e e d n e v e r b e left to a b s o r b r e c e i v e d k n o w l e d g e p a s sively. T h e y s h o u l d continually be e n g a g e d in q u e s t i o n i n g e s t a b l i s h e d precepts and e v i d e n c e , f r a m i n g new q u e s t i o n s , a n d l e a r n i n g to e v a l u a t e both e v i d e n c e a n d a r g u m e n t s for t h e m s e l v e s . S u c h e n g a g e m e n t m a y , of c o u r s e , be achieved by the a s s i g n m e n t of research projects; but participatory learning can a l s o be built into the s t r u c t u r e of c l a s s r o o m i n s t r u c t i o n . By f o r e g o i n g the c o n v e n i e n c e ( a n d s e c u r i t y ) of t e x t b o o k s , by a l l o w i n g students to address divergent or c o n f l i c t i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of any given topic (or e v e n insisting that they do), by f r a m i n g e x a m q u e s t i o n s (as w e l l as p a p e r a s s i g n m e n t s ) to elicit i n f o r m e d d e b a t e rather than p r e d e t e r m i n e d r e s p o n s e s — i n all t h e s e w a y s teachers c a n instruct by h a v i n g s t u d e n t s e n g a g e in intellectual inquiry. S u c h an a p p r o a c h is likely to p r o v e f r u i t f u l in t e a c h i n g a l m o s t a n y s u b j e c t ; in t e a c h i n g a b o u t A f r i c a — a s u b j e c t on w h i c h u n d e r g r a d u a t e s in U.S. universities are likely to start out w i t h m a n y d i f f e r e n t p e r s p e c t i v e s — it is essential. Clearly, too, the d e g r e e of participation a n d the potential f o r learning f r o m o t h e r s ' p e r c e p t i o n s will be g r e a t e r the g r e a t e r the c u l t u r a l , n a t i o n a l , a n d racial d i v e r s i t y of p a r t i c i p a n t s . By s t r e n g t h e n i n g p r o g r a m s for r e c r u i t i n g A f r i c a n a n d m i n o r i t y - g r o u p s t u d e n t s a n d f a c u l t y , c o l l e g e s and universities in the United States s t a n d to e n h a n c e the quality of h i g h e r education as well as its r e l e v a n c e to s o c i e t y . P a r t i c i p a t o r y l e a r n i n g is not, h o w e v e r , w i t h o u t risk. If p a r t i c i p a t o r y learning is itself d e m o c r a t i c a l l y o r g a n i z e d , s t u d e n t s will be e m p o w e r e d to pose q u e s t i o n s as well as to a n s w e r t h e m , to d e f i n e p r o b l e m s as well as to solve t h e m , a n d to m a k e i n d e p e n d e n t as well as i n f o r m e d j u d g m e n t s about the q u a l i t y of e v i d e n c e a n d the v a l i d i t y of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s . In her e s s a y , S e i d m a n a d v o c a t e s " e n c o u r a g i n g u n d e r g r a d u a t e s to learn by w o r k i n g together with A f r i c a n s t u d e n t s in a p a r t i c i p a t o r y p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g search f o r m u t u a l l y b e n e f i c i a l a n s w e r s to d e v e l o p m e n t p r o b l e m s . " B u t i n d e p e n d e n t inquiry d o e s not n e c e s s a r i l y lead to c o n s e n s u s . I n d e e d , the m o r e d i v e r s e the b a c k g r o u n d s of s t u d e n t s a n d / o r f a c u l t y in a g i v e n c l a s s r o o m , t h e g r e a t e r the c h a n c e s will b e that they will not a r r i v e at " m u t u a l l y b e n e f i cial a n s w e r s " to p r e s s i n g e c o n o m i c a n d political p r o b l e m s , or even a g r e e on m u t u a l l y a c c e p t a b l e d e f i n i t i o n s or d i a g n o s e s of the p r o b l e m s to be a d dressed. Faculty m e m b e r s w h o invite active s t u d e n t p a r t i c i p a t i o n m a y f i n d t h e m s e l v e s c o n f r o n t e d w i t h d e e p d i v i s i o n s — d i v i s i o n s that i m p e r i l c o n structive d i a l o g u e a m o n g s t u d e n t s o r c h a l l e n g e t e a c h e r s ' ability to e v a l u ate s t u d e n t s ' w o r k f a i r l y . S u c h d i v i s i o n s are, in my v i e w , part of the reality of s c h o l a r l y inquiry as well as s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n a n d s h o u l d , t h e r e f o r e , b e a d d r e s s e d in t h e

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c l a s s r o o m . U l t i m a t e l y , w e all need to c o n f r o n t the question of how to adv a n c e intellectual inquiry or f r a m e s o c i a l action in the f a c e of such d i v i s i o n s ; to learn (and to t e a c h ) the d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n r e s p e c t i n g o t h e r s ' c o n c l u s i o n s and a c c e p t i n g them, b e t w e e n criticism and contempt. F i e l d research, study abroad, and e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r activities are all e f f e c t i v e sites of participatory, experiential learning. B u t students learn by e x p e r i e n c e in the c l a s s r o o m , t o o — w h e t h e r or not w e take account of the f a c t . B e c a u s e of its d e e p r e s o n a n c e s w i t h s o m e t i m e s u n r e c o g n i z e d and/or u n c o m f o r t a b l e aspects of U . S . society and culture, the study of A f r i c a o f f e r s both a rich and a daunting f i e l d in w h i c h to e x p l o r e the possibilities of participatory learning. T a k e n s e r i o u s l y , teaching about A f r i c a is itself a continuing education.

9 From Periphery to Center: African History in the Undergraduate Curriculum Thomas Spear

M o s t o f what I k n o w about t e a c h i n g A f r i c a n history and A f r i c a n studies at the undergraduate level has b e e n learned during twenty y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g and d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o g r a m s in t w o u n d e r g r a d u a t e institut i o n s , and I want to use this o p p o r t u n i t y to r e f l e c t on that e x p e r i e n c e : to e x p l o r e what I have l e a r n e d o v e r that p e r i o d rather than to adopt a t h e o r e t i c a l , p r o g r a m m a t i c a p p r o a c h . 1 Not that t h e latter is l e s s r e l e v a n t : c e r tainly, in this day o f r e a c t i o n a r y assaults on the c u r r i c u l u m w e must c o n tinue to argue f o r c i b l y on t h e o r e t i c a l and p r o g r a m m a t i c g r o u n d s f o r the n e c e s s a r y inclusion o f A f r i c a in the c u r r i c u l u m . B u t w e now h a v e e n o u g h p r a c t i c a l e x p e r i e n c e to e x p a n d our a r g u m e n t s b e y o n d m e r e l y a d v o c a t i n g i n c l u s i o n o f a h i t h e r t o n e g l e c t e d area in the c u r r i c u l u m . W e n o w c a n d e m o n s t r a t e the d e g r e e to w h i c h A f r i c a has s o t r a n s f o r m e d o u r t h o u g h t that a c l a s s i c liberal arts c u r r i c u l u m that d o e s not include A f r i c a is an impoverished curriculum.2 M y e x p e r i e n c e has b e e n g a i n e d in t w o v e r y d i f f e r e n t i n s t i t u t i o n s . L a T r o b e University in M e l b o u r n e , Australia, w a s new, g r o w i n g rapidly, and p r o g r e s s i v e in its a p p r o a c h e s to t e a c h i n g and s c h o l a r s h i p ; W i l l i a m s C o l lege was old, e s t a b l i s h e d , and still largely e m p i r i c i s t . M a n y L a T r o b e students were w o r k i n g - c l a s s adults s e i z i n g an opportunity f o r e d u c a t i o n that had l a r g e l y b e e n d e n i e d t h e m in t h e i r y o u t h ; W i l l i a m s s t u d e n t s

were

y o u n g , p r e d o m i n a n t l y u p p e r - m i d d l e - c l a s s w h i t e s , with an i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r o f m i n o r i t i e s . T h e r o l e o f A f r i c a n s t u d i e s in b o t h s c h o o l s has b e e n quite s i m i l a r , h o w e v e r . L a T r o b e sought to d e v e l o p a c o m p r e h e n s i v e c u r r i c u l u m f r o m the b e g i n n i n g , and w e q u i c k l y d e v e l o p e d a s m a l l A f r i c a n studies program a l l i e d with P a c i f i c studies that rapidly g a i n e d a reputation a m o n g students f o r i n n o v a t i v e and c h a l l e n g i n g a p p r o a c h e s to t h i n k i n g a b o u t and r e c o n s t r u c t i n g n o n - W e s t e r n h i s t o r y . W i l l i a m s , t o o , w a s supportive, but it had an e s t a b l i s h e d curriculum and f a c u l t y that took l o n g e r to n u d g e in new d i r e c t i o n s . S o o n , h o w e v e r , w e w e r e a b l e to d e v e l o p an A f r i c a n and M i d d l e E a s t e r n studies program that e m b r a c e d e i g h t d i f f e r e n t

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d i s c i p l i n e s and o f f e r e d s o m e twenty c o u r s e s together with a p a r a l l e l A f r o A m e r i c a n studies p r o g r a m . F e w students in either s c h o o l entered w i t h an interest in A f r i c a , but m a n y d e v e l o p e d strong interests a f t e r d i s c o v e r i n g the c h a l l e n g e s of v i e w ing the w o r l d a f r e s h through the e y e s of o t h e r s . A f r i c a p r o v i d e d cultural a f f i r m a t i o n f o r many A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n students, and it c h a l l e n g e d the rec e i v e d w i s d o m of all. B o t h U . S . and A u s t r a l i a n students b r o u g h t p r e c o n c e i v e d notions to the study of A f r i c a to be sure, but they g e n e r a l l y r e c o g n i z e d that they k n e w little and w e r e open to n e w a p p r o a c h e s . A f r i c a o f f e r e d the opportunity to e n c o u n t e r n e w cultural w o r l d s , and in the p r o c e s s it c h a l l e n g e d their c o n v e n t i o n a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g s of t h e m s e l v e s . T h u s , they d e v e l o p e d critical thought. It is not o n l y the cultural s t r a n g e n e s s of A f r i c a that p r o m o t e s s u c h critical a w a r e n e s s , h o w e v e r ; it is a l s o the w a y w e approach i t — i n t e r d i s c i plinary,

explicitly

analyzing

basic

social

organization,

historical

p r o c e s s e s , and cultural v a l u e s that most historians a s s u m e or o n l y sketch in lightly as b a c k g r o u n d . Students learn much about their o w n cultures and s o c i e t i e s in the p r o c e s s , much as the p r o c e s s of learning another l a n g u a g e illuminates the g r a m m a r of o n e ' s o w n . T h e study of A f r i c a in g e n e r a l , and A f r i c a n history in particular, thus has much to teach us and o u r s t u d e n t s about our d i s c i p l i n e s as w e l l as our s e l v e s — i n addition to f i l l i n g a v a s t v o i d in most p e o p l e s ' historical c o n s c i o u s n e s s . In the c o m m e n t s that f o l l o w , I w i l l f i r s t sketch in s o m e of the c o n t r i b u t i o n s A f r i c a n h i s t o r y has m a d e to the w i d e r d i s c i p l i n e o f history, and, by e x t e n s i o n , to our students, as w e l l as d i s c u s s i n g its relation with the c o n t e m p o r a r y p h e n o m e n a of d e constructionism and A f r o c e n t r i c i t y . I w i l l then d i s c u s s s o m e of the r e a s o n s w h y I f e e l A f r i c a n studies has b e c o m e such a critical c o m p o n e n t of the und e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m . F i n a l l y , I w i l l deal with s o m e of the m o r e practic a l , institutional i s s u e s r e g a r d i n g i m p l e m e n t i n g A f r i c a n s t u d i e s in the curriculum.

AFRICAN HISTORY AND THE WIDER DISCIPLINE A f r i c a n history has m o v e d , o v e r the past two d e c a d e s , f r o m the p e r i p h e r y to the center of historical studies, though this is o f t e n not r e c o g n i z e d , either by our c o l l e a g u e s or o u r s e l v e s . 3 T w e n t y - f i v e y e a r s a g o , A f r i c a n historians w e r e s t r u g g l i n g to d e v e l o p appropriate methods and theoretical m o d e l s f o r the study of preliterate s o c i e t i e s , w h i l e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y d e f e n d i n g the n e w f i e l d a g a i n s t w i d e s p r e a d s k e p t i c i s m in the d i s c i p l i n e as a w h o l e . T o d a y , A f r i c a n history is accepted; and our methods and theory h a v e b e e n w i d e l y a d o p t e d to e x p a n d our o v e r a l l understandings of E a r l y M o d e r n E u r o p e a n history, British history, C o l o n i a l A m e r i c a n history, A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n history, and W o m e n ' s history, a m o n g other branches of the f i e l d .

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Our o w n recognition o f A f r i c a n h i s t o r y ' s impact has often l a g g e d behind the reality, h o w e v e r , as w e continue to maintain the f a m i l i a r , beleag u e r e d p o s t u r e s adopted e a r l y in our c a r e e r s — p o s t u r e s that are periodic a l l y r e i n f o r c e d by reactionary a t t a c k s to restore o u t m o d e d elitist and e m p i r i c i s t a p p r o a c h e s . W h i l e such attacks can e a s i l y d o m i n a t e our c o n cerns, they are little more than a s i d e s h o w to the m o r e important m o v e ments t r a n s f o r m i n g history t o d a y . W e must learn to ignore the T r e v o r R o p e r s and their modern e q u i v a l e n t s (as much as w e e n j o y p e r v e r s e l y e v o k i n g their s m u g , ignorant phrases) and to r e c o g n i z e the s i g n i f i c a n c e o f our o w n historical role within the d i s c i p l i n e in order to c a p i t a l i z e on it. W h i l e w e are constantly reminded of earlier colonial v i e w s of A f r i c a itself in the s o u r c e s w e c o n s u l t , it is e a s y to o v e r l o o k h o w far history in general has m o v e d from empiricist political history to more m e t h o d o l o g i c a l l y and t h e o r e t i c a l l y s o p h i s t i c a t e d s o c i o e c o n o m i c h i s t o r y , a shift in w h i c h A f r i c a n history has p l a y e d an important part. In d e v e l o p i n g A f r i c a n history w e w e r e a m o n g the first to deconstruct

o f f i c i a l discourse to reveal

the implicit b i a s e s in our s o u r c e s and the w a y s in w h i c h they m a s k e d power, and to decenter

our studies to shift our perspective from that of Eu-

ropean to A f r i c a n historical f o r c e s and actors. W e did s o long before such terms b e c a m e a c a d e m i c a l l y f a s h i o n a b l e . W e devoted c o n s i d e r a b l e energy to d e v e l o p i n g n e w historical m e t h o d o l o g i e s to v a l i d a t e and a n a l y z e oral traditions, and w e integrated a n t h r o p o l o g y , a r c h a e o l o g y , and historical ling u i s t i c s into normal historical p r a c t i c e . L a c k i n g written d o c u m e n t s that e m p h a s i z e d individual a g e n c y , w e f o c u s e d our a n a l y s e s , p e r f o r c e , on institutions and o n the s o c i a l and cultural p r o c e s s that m a d e them, in the c o u r s e o f w h i c h w e f u n d a m e n t a l l y e x p a n d e d the s c o p e o f political e c o n o m y to e n c o m p a s s precapitalist and transitional m o d e s of p r o d u c t i o n as w e l l as capitalist ones. 4 A l l o f these h a v e b e c o m e c o m m o n historical practice today as other historians seek to r e c o v e r similarly " h i d d e n " histories o f ordinary people and their institutions to trace deep-seated, fundamental structural c h a n g e s in s o c i e t y . A f r i c a n historians w e r e in the f o r e f r o n t of this d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e r e h a v e b e e n , o f c o u r s e , the s u b s e q u e n t c l a i m s o f d e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s t s w h o , like C o l u m b u s , h a v e belatedly d i s c o v e r e d a w o r l d that w a s already there, w e l l - k n o w n to its inhabitants, and sought to relate it to their European and U . S . c o n t e m p o r a r i e s in f a m i l i a r terms. D e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s m has certainly sharpened our g e n e r a l critical a w a r e n e s s , but there is m u c h for A f r i c a n i s t s to be wary o f in the attempt to deconstruct older historical disc o u r s e s s o as to recenter them on f a m i l i a r E u r o p e a n terrain.

While

A f r i c a n i s t s h a v e sought to m o v e b e y o n d c o l o n i a l d i s c o u r s e s to try to understand A f r i c a n historical realities on their o w n terms, deconstructionists return the f o c u s to colonial discourse itself. A f r i c a n i s t s have o f t e n decentered to the point w h e r e the f o r m e r center b e c o m e s a r e m o t e p e r i p h e r y , w h i l e deconstructionists seek to recapture the center for their o w n analyses

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rooted in European intellectual traditions. D e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s t s correctly note the p r o b l e m a t i c nature of all texts, but they then tend to invalidate them. Africanists, on the other hand, appreciate that our texts are both partial and i n c o m p l e t e . O f t e n we r e c o g n i z e that certain texts may testify to colonial attitudes (in the case of colonial d o c u m e n t s ) or to particular reconstructions of the past (in the case of oral traditions) in the course of describing African historical realities. But w e must struggle with them if w e are to gain any understanding of those realities, however imperfect. Moreover, in their concern for the other, deconstructionists tend to reify c o m plex, e n d o g e n o u s realities in simplistic e x o g e n o u s terms. While d e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s t s ' interests have largely been f o c u s e d elsew h e r e and their impact on A f r i c a n history has been c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y minor, Afrocentricity focuses directly on A f r i c a and calls f o r an A f r i c a n perspective to recover and understand A f r i c a n historical e x p e r i e n c e throughout the diaspora. I could not agree more on the critical importance of seeking to understand African social realities from an African perspective, as African historians from A f r i c a , Europe, and North A m e r i c a have been trying to do since the early 1960s, and w e should all w e l c o m e the opportunity critically to reassess our e f f o r t s in this r e g a r d . A p r o b l e m , however, is that Afrocentric historical concerns and interpretations do not a l w a y s accord with those of A f r i c a n historians. An excellent e x a m p l e of this concerns the role of Egypt in state formation throughout A f r i c a . In responding to E.G. S e l i g m a n ' s "Hamitic hypothesis" c o n c e r n i n g the founding of African states by wandering (white) Hamites, Cheikh Anta D i o p retained S e l i g m a n ' s d i f f u s i o n i s m and racial d e f i n i t i o n of c u l t u r e — b u t r e d e f i n e d H a m i t e s as black. 5 T h e s e c o m m o n e m p h a s e s on d i f f u s i o n i s m and a racially determinist definition of culture contrast markedly with the current emphasis in African history, which is generally on the e n d o g e n o u s d e v e l o p m e n t of states and the historical basis of culture, as reflected in such African texts as History of West Africa, edited by Ajayi and Crowder. 6 Such d i f f e r e n c e s stem f r o m the fact that, w h i l e e m p h a s i z i n g an African perspective, A f r o c e n t r i c i t y ' s political and intellectual foundations and s c h o l a r s h i p are rooted in North A m e r i c a and deeply reflect A f r i c a n American experiences and political concerns. Africa has long played critical roles in A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n intellectual history and politics—roles that reflected b l a c k s ' c h a n g i n g experiences and responses. 7 It is important to recognize these roles if we are to understand and assess the distinctive interpretations of African history made by Afrocentric scholars and avoid a further round of m y t h m a k i n g about Africa that has less to do with Africa than with the roles it plays in the thought of others. 8 It is also important to r e c o g n i z e that A f r o c e n t r i c i t y r e p r e s e n t s only o n e a m o n g m a n y of the intellectual r e s p o n s e s A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s have m a d e to their e x p e r i e n c e s in the A m e r i c a s . M a n y black A m e r i c a n s feel that Afrocentricity devalues those experiences and diverts attention f r o m

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critical historical and political issues regarding slavery, its aftermath, and the intricate dialectic between Africa and America that has shaped black and white cultures throughout the Americas. Racial definitions of culture allow little room for creative historical action, whiie the burgeoning studies of how A f r i c a n s in the diaspora drew on their cultural heritages to come to terms with oppressive slavery and its aftermath convey the vitality of A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n agency as people continued to make their own histories. 9 It thus remains as critical as ever to explore perspective and bias together with intellectual and political contexts and in this way carefully to establish firm foundations for exploring and understanding the African and American pasts. 1 0 African history thus continues to contribute much to the overall discipline of history, even as it continues to be e n m e s h e d in European and North American political and intellectual contexts. Within the field itself there needs to be a swing back to the importance of African perspectives if we are to understand the complexities of African politics in terms other than postcolonial, neocolonial, or underdeveloped (i.e., Eurocentric)." Recent histories of Tanzania have reinforced this point for understanding nineteenth century and colonial-era history as well, as they seek to focus on African agency within the wider context of the world economy. 1 2

EDUCATIONAL A N D PEDAGOGICAL PERSPECTIVES It goes without saying that Africa represents a great void in most of our students' learning, a void marked only by the stereotypes of popular culture, as Joel Samoff reminds us in Chapter 2. It is also obvious that, in a global economy where issues of economic distribution, environmental destruction, and political f r e e d o m increasingly a f f e c t everyone, we can no longer ignore a vast number of people who have so often been exploited for others' gains. Finally, it is self-evident that past mistruths, stereotypes, and prejudices regarding Africa and Africans continue to affect adversely large numbers of our own people in addition to those still living in Africa, portraying their heritages and abilities often in negative and derogatory terms. These are important arguments for the need to include accurate representations of Africa in the curriculum. They have been made in numerous national reports and proposals for educational r e f o r m , and in this book I take them as given. What is less frequently argued, however, is that learning about Africa is crucial to our students' intellectual development, an argument that puts Africa firmly within the bounds of educational issues as well as social or political ones. The critical importance of trying to understand Africa from an African perspective, one of the contributions of African history to the discipline, is

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a l s o o n e o f its m a i n c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the u n d e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m . For s t u d e n t s to try to l o o k at A f r i c a t h r o u g h A f r i c a n e y e s n e c e s s i t a t e s m a j o r s h i f t s in the w a y s t h e y l o o k at the w o r l d and, u l t i m a t e l y , t h e m s e l v e s . A s t h e y are f o r c e d to think in A f r i c a n t e r m s a b o u t s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , e c o n o m i c practices, or cultural v a l u e s , they b e g i n to s e e their o w n , "natural" b e l i e f s about social relationships, political action, e c o n o m i c goals, and e v e n the e n v i r o n m e n t for the cultural c o n s t r u c t s they are. O n c e o n e has e x p e r i e n c e d another culture, o n e b e c o m e s m o r e a w a r e o f o n e ' s o w n cultural v a l u e s and p r a c t i c e s . S t u d e n t s s l o w l y d i s c o v e r that they, t o o , h a v e i d e o l o g i e s (a w o r d t h e y d e f i n e d h e r e t o f o r e a s f a l s e b e l i e f s akin to p r o p a g a n d a held by others); that, they t o o , are historical products, created by and creators o f c u l t u r e ; a n d the u l t i m a t e U . S . h e r e s y , that s o c i o e c o n o m i c structures and cultural v a l u e s c o n s t r i c t and c h a n n e l their individual a c t i o n . T h e s e are all r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n t e l l e c t u a l d i s c o v e r i e s for U . S . s t u d e n t s w i t h their i m p l i c i t b e l i e f in u n r e s t r a i n e d r a t i o n a l i t y , i n d i v i d u a l i t y , a n d f r e e d o m . 1 3 In a s e m i n a r for s c h o o l t e a c h e r s s p o n s o r e d by N E H , 1 n o t e d similar reactions. T h e s e mature, c o n c e r n e d , and intellectually a w a r e adults r e s p o n d e d to r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e c o n c e p t s , s u c h a s the w a y s f a r m i n g pract i c e s (and, by e x t e n s i o n , s o c i a l and e c o n o m i c r e l a t i o n s ) are related to the e n v i r o n m e n t , w i t h c o m m e n t s to the e f f e c t that they had n e v e r t h o u g h t o f that b e f o r e — i n spite o f the fact that o n e can e a s i l y d e m o n s t r a t e s i m i l a r rel a t i o n s h i p s in our o w n s o c i e t y . T h e n again, w h e n e v e r I return f r o m A f r i c a I a m struck a n e w by the d e g r e e to w h i c h w e are o u r s e l v e s the cultural a l i e n s that n e e d e x p l a i n i n g . T h u s , as w e c l o s e o u r critical d i s t a n c e f r o m A f r i c a , w e b e c o m e m o r e critically distant f r o m , and a w a r e o f , o u r s e l v e s . P r o v i d i n g c r i t i c a l d i s t a n c e f r o m o u r s e l v e s is o n l y o n e o f the w a y s A f r i c a h e l p s us to u n d e r s t a n d o u r s e l v e s better, h o w e v e r . A f r i c a n h i s t o r y a l s o p r o v i d e s e x p l i c i t c o n c e p t u a l f r a m e w o r k s for u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d a n a l y z i n g s o c i a l and e c o n o m i c o r g a n i z a t i o n , v a l u e s and b e l i e f s , e c o l o g y , and processes of change. Kinship, exchange, legitimacy,

patron-clientage,

m o d e s o f production, and spirit p o s s e s s i o n are o n l y a f e w o f the m a n y c o n c e p t s w e d e p l o y to a s s i s t our t h i n k i n g . W h i l e s u c h f r a m e w o r k s h a v e o f t e n b e e n adapted f r o m a n t h r o p o l o g y or p o l i t i c a l e c o n o m y , A f r i c a n h i s t o r i a n s u s e t h e m far m o r e c o n s c i o u s l y than m o s t h i s t o r i a n s , p r o v i d i n g s t u d e n t s w i t h an array o f a n a l y t i c a l t o o l s to understand their r o l e s and t h o s e o f others in c u l t u r e a n d s o c i e t y . I n d e e d , h o w m a n y h i s t o r i a n s e v e n d i s c u s s the c o n c e p t o f culture, an e s s e n t i a l c o n c e p t to our u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f o u r s e l v e s as h u m a n b e i n g s ? B u t A f r i c a n history is m o r e than m e r e l y another s o c i a l l a n g u a g e u s e ful for d i s s e c t i n g the cultural g r a m m a r o f our o w n . It a l s o e m b r a c e s a m y r iad o f h u m a n w o r l d s — e a c h a w o r l d unto i t s e l f — a vast historical p a n o r a m a d i s p l a y i n g an e x t r a o r d i n a r y r a n g e o f h u m a n d i v e r s i t y . E a c h p e o p l e , e a c h historical e v e n t , e a c h s o c i a l p r o c e s s is a l e s s o n in h u m a n e x p e r i e n c e and i n g e n u i t y w o r t h y o f e x p l o r a t i o n in its o w n right. T h e v e r y e l e g a n c e o f

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A f r i c a n s o c i e t i e s t e a c h e s us m u c h a b o u t f u n d a m e n t a l h u m a n v a l u e s , patterns of b e h a v i o r , a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s , as the N E H s e m i n a r p a r t i c i p a n t s d i s c o v e r e d . N o r is there any s h o r t a g e of great historical t h e m e s , r a n g i n g f r o m the i m p a c t of culture on the d e v e l o p m e n t of h u m a n k i n d to the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n the d e v e l o p m e n t of f a r m i n g or h e r d i n g a n d social o r g a n i z a t i o n . T h e study of A f r i c a n history o f f e r s the d e v e l o p m e n t of states a n d their rel a t i o n s h i p with local social o r g a n i z a t i o n , the i m p a c t of c o m m e r c i a l i z a t i o n on p o l i t i c s a n d s o c i e t y , a n d the w a y s in w h i c h f o r m s of d e p e n d e n c y c h a n g e d w i t h d i f f e r e n t m o d e s of p r o d u c t i o n . In p a r t i c u l a r I will m e n t i o n the i m p a c t of the w o r l d ' s g r e a t e s t intercontinental m i g r a t i o n of its t i m e — the s l a v e t r a d e — o n t h e m i g r a n t s , the s o c i e t i e s they left, and t h o s e they joined. Issues of perspective and bias also loom large in normal intellectual dev e l o p m e n t as a d o l e s c e n t s p r o g r e s s f r o m absolutist ( t e a c h e r / b o o k as authority) to relativist (choice m a d e a m o n g equally valid alternatives) a n d finally to critical ( j u d g m e n t b a s e d on analysis) m o d e s of t h o u g h t . 1 4 Historians f r e quently talk about bias, but w e must also distinguish b e t w e e n bias and pers p e c t i v e : p e r s p e c t i v e as point of v i e w a n d b i a s as m o r a l j u d g m e n t , o f t e n a l o n g p r e d e t e r m i n e d lines. O n e can, for e x a m p l e , s e e the colonial e n c o u n t e r f r o m the point of v i e w of the c o l o n i z e r s or f r o m that of the c o l o n i z e d , while, in a separate, independent process assessing its e f f e c t s as either g o o d or bad. T h u s — t o p u r s u e the e x a m p l e f u r t h e r — w h i l e colonial history usually took an imperial point of v i e w and saw the i m p a c t of colonization positively, d e p e n d e n c y theory o f t e n s h a r e s the imperial p e r s p e c t i v e but j u d g e s the i m p a c t of c o l o n i a l i z a t i o n m o r e h a r s h l y . N a t i o n a l i s t history t a k e s an A f r i c a n point of v i e w and e m p h a s i z e s c o l o n i a l i s m ' s n e g a t i v e impact; o t h e r s have taken an A f r i c a n p e r s p e c t i v e while a p p r o v i n g of c o l o n i a l i s m . A s u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s are d i s a b u s e d of a b s o l u t i s m , usually as a result of repeatedly e n c o u n t e r i n g d i s s o n a n c e a m o n g c o m p e t i n g authorities, they b e c o m e p r o n e to see e v e r y o n e a n d e v e r y t h i n g as equally biased, a n d h e n c e , e q u a l l y right or w r o n g . H i s t o r i c a l j u d g m e n t then b e c o m e s m e r e l y a m a t t e r of m o r a l p r e f e r e n c e a m o n g e q u a l l y v a l i d (or i n v a l i d ) c o m p e t i n g i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s . I d e n t i f y i n g p e r s p e c t i v e at this s t a g e p r o v i d e s s t u d e n t s with initial g r o u n d s f o r d i s c r i m i n a t i n g critically a m o n g c o m p e t i n g v i e w s . W h i l e they m a y , f o r e x a m p l e , p r e f e r an A f r i c a n p a r t i c i p a n t ' s a c c o u n t of an act of r e s i s t a n c e , they can b e g i n to a p p r e c i a t e that a c o l o n i a l o f f i c e r ' s a c c o u n t of the s a m e e v e n t , w h i l e d r a m a t i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t , m a y b e e q u a l l y v a l i d f r o m his point of v i e w . T h u s they h a v e t w o takes on t h e s a m e e v e n t . T h e a b i l ity to i d e n t i f y a n d s e e m u l t i p l e p e r s p e c t i v e s is an i m p o r t a n t o n e in d e v e l o p i n g p o w e r s of t h o u g h t , a n d o n c e a t t a i n e d it m o v e s s t u d e n t s to a s s e s s c o m p e t i n g a c c o u n t s not m e r e l y on their p o i n t of v i e w ( w h i c h they h a v e s e e n as b i a s u p to t h i s s t a g e ) , but on their r e l a t i v e a c c u r a c y . T h i s is the start of critical t h i n k i n g , a n d e v e n t u a l l y s t u d e n t s learn to read c o n t e x t into v a r y i n g a c c o u n t s , i n t e r p r e t i n g t h e m in t e r m s of their l a n g u a g e , biases, a n d

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perspectives to move beyond their factual content to their wider meaning and significance. An appreciation of bias and perspective is thus critical to developing critical thought, and African history, because of the wide array of biases and perspectives revealed in its materials, is an excellent vehicle for developing it. I have mentioned an array of goals for teaching African history: from historical content to conceptual frameworks and intellectual development, from cultural contexts to narrative detail, from the family and stateless societies to vast states—and all these have to be covered in twelve weeks or less! The array is such that I feel I must suggest some of the strategies that I use for accomplishing these goals. Africa is too vast, and our knowledge too sparse, to pretend to cover the continent in detail. Therefore, I am highly selective in my approach. I focus on structure and process, my most important goal being that students develop a basic understanding of and ways of thinking about a diverse selection of African societies and some of the ways they have changed through time. For a precolonial course, I organize the material into a few select themes—stateless societies, state formation, the spread of Islam, and slavery and the slave trade—and explore a few representative case studies for each theme to focus on the particular structures and processes revealed there. The process is cumulative, with each case and theme building on previous work to develop a sophisticated understanding of social process in Africa, so that, by the end of the semester, students have an empathetic appreciation of African societies and are beginning to be able to interpret and think creatively about them. For the section on stateless societies, for example, I might start with Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Uchendu's The Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria to develop a basic understanding of African societies and social process. We then discuss various analytical frameworks and historical methodologies for understanding African societies, exploring the nature of our sources and what they can, and cannot, tell us. By the time we get to the section on state formation, we have a considerable analytical and methodological repertoire for examining how states incorporated stateless societies, how African empires differed structurally from Western states, and the impact of economic development and trade on political development. By the time students get to colonialism in the second semester, they are readily able to analyze the interaction between Africans, with their values and goals, and Europeans, with theirs, in terms of complex dialectical models of social, economic, and cultural change. How does this measure up against my above list of goals? Clearly, I circumscribe narrative, and the areas I focus on I cover in great detail. But vast areas of Africa do not get covered. This is a problem, but in my defense I note the relative lack of effective literature for teaching; the ever present danger of students becoming lost in a profusion of narrative detail, as they do even in my sharply circumscribed African world; and the degree

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to which they learn to think f o r themselves, capably tackling detailed research papers on areas w e h a v e not c o v e r e d in the course. Cultural contexts and conceptual f r a m e w o r k s are the substance of my course and are well covered. Students learn not only about patrilineal kinship systems and patron-client relations but also modes of production and charismatic authority, and put them all together to understand processes of state formation. Finally, what about critical thinking, on which I have laid so much stress? This is, I find, largely a fortuitous by-product. I do, it is true, discuss issues like perspective and bias explicitly, but most of the benefits of critical distancing and critical thought f l o w naturally f r o m the material, with cross-cultural comparisons being made frequently as w e go along. It is for precisely this reason that I see A f r i c a as such a crucial component of the undergraduate curriculum, e s p e c i a l l y after talking with c o l l e a g u e s in U.S. and European history about the d i f f i c u l t i e s they have in getting students to think critically because the students feel that they already " k n o w " those areas. Rural France in the seventeenth century is, after all, simply a minor variation on suburban U . S . A . in the late twentieth, or so students often think.

INSTITUTIONAL INFIGHTING AND TEACHING AFRICAN HISTORY If I am right, A f r i c a n history should already occupy a crucial place in any undergraduate curriculum f o r sound intellectual, educational, and social reasons, but as w e all know theoretically, institutions are less than rational and tend to stasis, the sum total of the vested interests of those in them. That African history does not presently occupy a crucial place in most curriculums is due to a number of institutional factors, not the least of which is that A f r i c a n historians are rarely present before the fact to argue for its inclusion. Thus, f e w of the a b o v e arguments are put f o r w a r d in the typical institutional struggle between people in established traditional f i e l d s and those advocating new ones. Arguments f o r including A f r i c a in the curriculum are more o f t e n made on political and social grounds than on intellectual ones, l e a v i n g the f i e l d open to attack by the self-appointed guardians of the academy and Western civilization (i.e., Western civilization as they know it). The politics of A f r i c a n studies are also usually intertwined with issues regarding the recruitment and inclusion of minorities in the student body and faculty. In the best of all possible w o r l d s , an inclusionary curriculum is developed prior to, or simultaneously with, the expansion of the faculty and student body as part of an overall policy to expand institutional horizons to better serve the needs of its students and society at large. In the worst, curriculum is developed and faculty are appointed ad hoc in response to

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student d e m a n d s . T h e first approach bodes well for the overall success of the transition, and the resultant curriculum is likely to e m b r a c e many of the broader goals enumerated above. T h e second usually lacks coherence and is often v i e w e d , by supporters a n d detractors alike, as merely a s o p thrown to students with little intrinsic educational value, thus initiating endless disputes with students and a m o n g faculty over c o u r s e o f f e r i n g s and hiring and promotion of faculty. While the t w o approaches appear to be opposed, they may in fact be pursued simultaneously as institutions get caught up in the flow of events. In my experience, Williams College m a d e a concerted effort to develop area studies programs at the s a m e time that it was seeking to diversify its faculty and student body (to include women as well as minorities), both goals adopted for sound intellectual and e d u c a tional reasons. A number of new faculty were hired with explicit mandates to d e v e l o p A f r o - A m e r i c a n , A f r i c a n , and Asian studies, and were given broad institutional support to do so. Such transitions are rarely s m o o t h , however, given the often glacial pace of academic change, and when students demonstrated periodically to speed the pace, the administration often made ill-considered promises to still the unrest, such as hiring temporary faculty to o f f e r courses sporadically, while avoiding c o m m i t m e n t s to longterm institutional change. An ironic incident stands out in my mind. Neglecting normal consultation with affected faculty, departments, and programs, the administration presented a "cultural diversity" requirement to the full faculty with little notice. T h e requirement mandated that all students take at least one course in non-Western studies, which was broadly defined to include African and Middle Eastern, Asian, Latin American, Native American, A f r o - A m e r i c a n , Latino, or A s i a n - A m e r i c a n studies. It w a s intended to meet a student demand for more courses specifically on U.S. minorities, but the administration deemed expansion of minority studies would be too costly and cause too great a shift in student enrollments f r o m less popular departments. T h e administration t h e r e f o r e added the more established A f r i c a n , Asian, a n d Latin A m e r i c a n studies p r o g r a m s to those f o c u s i n g on U.S. minorities, which meant that 85 percent of students already met the proposed requirement. This necessitated little need to hire new faculty, d e v e l o p new courses, or c h a n g e student e n r o l l m e n t s . T h e r e q u i r e m e n t was, in short, largely symbolic, but it was precisely on symbolic grounds that it ran into trouble. Faculty in the nominated areas were virtually u n a n i m o u s in o p posing the requirement, while others, including a n u m b e r of w e l l - k n o w n conservatives, supported it. Why was there such a c o m p l e t e turnaround of support, so d i f f e r e n t f r o m what might have been e x p e c t e d ? T h e a f f e c t e d faculty felt that they had done an excellent j o b in d e v e l o p i n g challenging programs that already attracted a large majority of students, and they did not w e l c o m e the prospect of a small number of students being resentfully f o r c e - m a r c h e d into their programs. Given a d m i n i s t r a t i v e support, they

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would have preferred to develop additional courses on U.S. minorities— courses which, while in the process of being mandated for students, had not, up to that time, been offered. A number of conservatives were bewildered by the opposition. They remarked that, ten years earlier, the opponents would have supported the requirement. They were probably correct, but in the intervening years the opponents felt that they had learned the dangers of lumping people together into a single, indistinguishable category of other that promoted people's sense of a monolithic mass of them opposed to us. Such lumping together merely reinforced prevalent stereotypes, they felt; whereas their goal was to undermine stereotypes by showing what was distinctive about each culture or group. The opponents thus felt that the requirement undermined the integrity and successes of their programs as well as what they were trying to achieve educationally and intellectually. In short, a requirement based on political and symbolic grounds would operate to the ultimate detriment of intellectual and educational ones. The issues raised by the non-Western requirement raises the broader issue of the appropriate role of African studies within broader movements for African-American studies, area studies, and multiculturalism generally. The relation between African studies and Afro-American studies at Williams College was never a problem, with each area feeling that its interests were best served by the existence of strong parallel programs, with African history included in both. The relationship elsewhere, however, has often been more conflictual, embroiled in political as well as intellectual issues over interpretation, turf, and responsibility for teaching, such that programs have become politicized, fragmented, or moribund. There are, it seems to me, no easy answers. We are all caught up in the fraught issues surrounding race in our society, the United States' original sin. But we should be able to agree on the critical intellectual and educational relationship between African and African-American studies and offer complementary, if not coordinate programs. My own preference for separate area studies programs follows the position of the opponents to the "cultural diversity" requirement noted above. It is important for students to learn about other cultures generally, for all the reasons I have given; but it is also important that they learn to understand and appreciate each culture for its own cultural distinctiveness and historical contributions. The same applies to the relationship between African and African-American studies. The two are obviously intertwined in such crucial ways that it is impossible to teach one without the other, but each area and people are also distinct and deserve to be portrayed with due respect. Similarly, the wave of multiculturalism now sweeping the United States is certainly to be welcomed for expanding our historical vision and raising critical issues, but we must be careful to develop coherent programs lest

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ethnic studies merely b e c o m e s an exercise of a d d i n g more subjects to a red e f i n e d , albeit spicier, melting pot. G r e g s o n D a v i s makes a significant contribution to this debate in Chapter 1 in his a r g u m e n t f o r /nfercultural studies, e m p h a s i z i n g the degree to which c o m p a r a t i v e a p p r o a c h e s can transform the way we all think, and his ideas should be in the f o r e f r o n t of all our discussions of multiculturalism. Developing an undergraduate African studies program in a new or exp a n d i n g institution, w h e r e there are f e w c o n f r o n t a t i o n s with established areas over resources, is certainly the fastest way to d e v e l o p a new program; but most of us are presently confronted with shrinking resources and increasingly bitter competition over access to them, and so we have to develop our programs slowly, capitalizing on what w e have and on opportunities as they arise. Williams College first initiated a generic area studies program to serve as an umbrella for recruiting new faculty and establishing new areas. As a coherent program it w a s a s h a m b l e s , but it did serve its intended purpose of encouraging departments to shift appointments and recruit faculty in new areas, as well as providing a f o c u s for existing faculty w h o had interests in them. In the end, only a few of the participants in any of the areas were new faculty hired specifically to teach it. Most were existing faculty w h o were interested in developing an area-focused course in their discipline, but their contributions allowed us to expand our coverage to include such often neglected areas as art, music, and theater. T h e one key element for a successful program, we discovered, was the need f o r a f u l l - t i m e historian for each area to p r o v i d e the solid core of courses around which a variety of others could be o f f e r e d . There were two reasons for this. First, only the history d e p a r t m e n t , in spite of its generally conservative reputation, w a s sufficiently large, foresighted, and g e n erous enough to make full-time appointments in what were initially feared as minor areas. T h e s e c o n d reason w a s that history tends to be the most c o m p r e h e n s i v e and interdisciplinary of the disciplines normally included in area studies p r o g r a m s , and thus c o m f o r t a b l y s e r v e s as the core discipline for the entire area. T h e development of our area programs was thus highly d e p e n d e n t on the g o o d w i l l of one d e p a r t m e n t , but the new areas proved so popular that the department grew by leaps and b o u n d s as a result of its c o m m i t m e n t s . A s each area e x p a n d e d and reached a critical mass of faculty and courses, it left the ( c o m b i n e d ) area studies p r o g r a m ; and eventually, separate programs were established in A f r i c a n and Middle Eastern studies, Asian studies, Russian studies, and Latin American studies. Faced with declining enrollments, several of the foreign language departments have since followed suit to establish their o w n interdisciplinary area studies programs. T h e first step in establishing African studies, then, is to gather whatever r e s o u r c e s o n e can to establish a presence on c a m p u s , and, o n c e established, to use that presence to compete actively for available resources.

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Frequently this has to be d o n e t h r o u g h a series of tactical alliances w i t h i n d e p a r t m e n t s or w i t h o t h e r p r o g r a m s . W i t h i n the H i s t o r y D e p a r t m e n t , w e f r e q u e n t l y t r a d e d o f f a n e w A m e r i c a n i s t or E u r o p e a n i s t f o r an a d d i t i o n a l n o n - W e s t e r n i s t until w e w e r e a b l e to c o v e r most of the m a j o r world areas. Similarly, all the area s t u d i e s p r o g r a m s f o r m e d an a l l i a n c e to support e a c h o t h e r ' s n e e d s in turn. O n c e e s t a b l i s h e d , h o w e v e r , the p r o b l e m s of t e a c h i n g A f r i c a n history or A f r i c a n s t u d i e s d o not e n d . T o o o f t e n a p r o g r a m is p r i m a r i l y a o n e - m a n or o n e - w o m a n s h o w , with a n u m b e r of c o o p e r a t i n g c o l l e a g u e s , leading to p r o f o u n d l o n e l i n e s s a m o n g f u l l - t i m e p r o f e s s i o n a l s in the area. Other colleagues in o n e ' s discipline rarely u n d e r s t a n d w h a t an A f r i c a n i s t does s u f f i c i e n t l y to s h a r e r e s e a r c h ; w h i l e area c o l l e a g u e s in o t h e r d i s c i p l i n e s are o f t e n f o c u s e d o n their d i s c i p l i n e s . O n l y t w i c e at W i l l i a m s C o l l e g e did I h a v e c o l l e a g u e s w i t h w h o m 1 c o u l d really s h a r e m y w o r k , a n d each w a s there only f o r a short time. O b l i g a t i o n s to s t u d e n t s , o n e ' s d e p a r t m e n t , a n d the college are also frequently so time c o n s u m i n g that o n e has little time to m a k e c o n n e c t i o n s with o t h e r s , m u c h less d o o n e ' s o w n r e s e a r c h . Finally, u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s or institutions rarely p r o v i d e the institutional support r e q u i r e d to r e m a i n a c t i v e in o n e ' s f i e l d , a n d they are o f t e n less than s y m p a t h e t i c to f r e q u e n t r e q u e s t s f o r l o n g a n d e x p e n s i v e trips to the f i e l d (a situation that is d i f f e r e n t for A f r i c a n i s t s as c o m p a r e d w i t h U.S. historians, w h o can, a f t e r all, t a k e A m t r a c k to W a s h i n g t o n f o r a l o n g w e e k e n d ) . W h i l e such loneliness o f t e n e n c o u r a g e s us to c o n t i n u e to see o u r s e l v e s as o c c u p y i n g the m a r g i n s of o u r d i s c i p l i n e a n d the c u r r i c u l u m , w e h a v e c o m e to o c c u p y a f a r m o r e central r o l e in both than w e think. O u r f a i l u r e to r e c o g n i z e this f a c t a n d to c a p i t a l i z e on it h a s a l l o w e d o t h e r s to s e e us in similarly m a r g i n a l t e r m s . R e c o g n i z i n g our o w n potential is thus e s s e n tial if w e are to play the c e n t r a l r o l e in the u n d e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m of w h i c h w e are c a p a b l e .

NOTES 1. 1 am grateful to Rowan Ireland, Sheila Spear, and Richard Waller for their helpful suggestions, to Lidwien Kapteijns for her thoughtful and thought-provoking commentary, and to a number of the participants at the conference for their suggestions. 2. A task Gregson Davis has accomplished marvelously in Chapter 1. 3. I take Kapteijns' point here. She questions (in Chapter 10) whether other historians, much less some of our colleagues in African studies, were listening, but notes that British and U.S. social historians such as Keith Thomas, E.P. Thompson, and Rhys Isaac have explicitly made reference to important insights they gained from reading African materials, and 1 have often traded books and ideas with colleagues in U.S., Asian, European, and Latin American history. 4. For an introduction to African historical methodology, see, e.g., my Kenya's Past: An Introduction to Historical Method in Africa (Burnt Hill, UK:

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L o n g m a n , 1981). For oral traditions, see Jan Vansina, Oral Tradition as History ( M a d i s o n : University of W i s c o n s i n Press, 1985) and Joseph Miller, ed., The African Past Speaks: Essays on Oral Tradition and History ( H a m d e n , C o n n . : Archon, 1980). For political e c o n o m y , see Claude Meillassoux, Maidens, Meal, and Money: Capitalism and the Domestic Community (New York: C a m b r i d g e University Press, 1981), a m o n g others. 5. E.G. Seligman, Egypt and Negro Africa: A Study in Divine Kingship (London: Routledge, 1934); C h e i k h Anta Diop, The African Origins of Civilization: Myth or Reality? ( N e w York: L. Hilla, 1974). 6. J. F. A. Ajayi and M. Crowder, eds., History of West Africa ( N e w York: Columbia University Press, 1972). 7. The importance of Africa in A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n thought is a topic desperately in search of an author, but changes in that thought are reflected in c h a n g i n g terms of s e l f - r e f e r e n c e f r o m African in the sixteenth to eighteenth c e n t u r i e s to Negro or Colored in the nineteenth and Black, Afro-American, and African-American in the twentieth, as noted by Joseph E. Holloway, in the introduction to his Africanisms in American Culture (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991). 8. As we have been recently reminded by Valentine Mudimbe, The Invention of Africa: Philosophy and the Order of Knowledge (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988) and K w a m e Anthony Appiah, In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture ( N e w York: Oxford University Press, 1992). 9. See, for example, Lawrence Levine, Black Culture and Black Consciousness (New York: O x f o r d University Press, 1977) or Charles Joyner, Down by the Riverside: A South Carolina Slave Community ( U r b a n a : University of Illinois Press, 1984). For an important theoretical approach, see Sidney Mintz and Richard Price, The Birth of African-American Culture (Boston: Beacon Press, 1992). 10. Lest my c o m m e n t s be wrongly interpreted as dismissive of A f r o c e n t r i c i t y ' s contribution to the study of A f r i c a , h o w e v e r , let me reiterate that I feel that Afrocentricity is a valid m o d e of discourse for s t u d y i n g Africa and the diaspora, that it o f f e r s a critical corrective to Eurocentric interpretations, and that it presents an important critique of African historiography. It remains as important, however, critically to assess Afrocentric perspectives and interpretations as it is for any other approaches to the African past. 11. A s Joel Samoff r e m i n d s us in an incisive review of several m o d e r n T a n zanian studies in the International Journal of African Historical Studies 2 (1991): 432-441. 12. See, for example, Steven Feierman, Peasant Intellectuals: Anthropology and History in Tanzania (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990); Isaria N. Kimambo, Penetration and Protest in Tanzania: The Impact of the World Economy on the Pare, 1860-1960 ( L o n d o n : J a m e s C u r r e y , 1991); Abdul S h e r i f f , Slaves, Spices, and Ivory in Zanzibar: An Integration of an East African Commercial Empire into the World Economy, 1770-1873 ( L o n d o n : J a m e s Currey, 1987); and J a m e s Giblin, The Politics of Environmental Control in Northeastern Tanzania (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992). T h e dominant perspective in African historiography has s w u n g between imperial and local foci, s h i f t i n g from colonial to nationalist in the 1960s, the world e c o n o m y and d e p e n d e n c y in the 1970s, and back to local politics within an e x p a n d i n g international a r e n a in the 1980s. 13. They can be equally revolutionary for Third World students, as G r e g s o n Davis relates from his own experience in Chapter 1. 14. For bias and perspective, see John Smail, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies; for intellectual development, William G. Perry, Jr., in The Modern American College, ed. Arthur W . Chickering (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1981): 7 6 - 1 1 6 .

10 Teaching African History in U.S. Colleges: A Discussion of Thomas Spear Lidwien

Kapteijns

T h e r e is a Somali p r o v e r b that says: In the p r e s e n c e of a king, one must watch o n e ' s hand; in the presence of a s c h o l a r , one must watch o n e ' s tongue; and in the presence of a saint, o n e must watch o n e ' s intent. 1 Our audience, as African historians, includes all three types of authority; as w e reflect on our teaching of African history in U.S. colleges, we must therefore watch hand, tongue, and heart, for our actions as teachers and administrators, our knowledge and w i s d o m , and our moral and political values are all under scrutiny. In Chapter 9, " F r o m Periphery to Center: A f r i c a n History in the U n d e r g r a d u a t e C u r r i c u l u m , " T h o m a s Spear sketches the contours of this vast subject matter. In this chapter I will e n g a g e and add to some of the issues raised by him. S p e a r examines three important d i m e n s i o n s of teaching A f r i c a n history to U.S. undergraduates. First, he analyses the most significant intellectual and historiographical d e v e l o p m e n t s in the field of A f r i c a n history since 1960; in a second section he explains the educational b e n e f i t s U.S. undergraduates derive f r o m a thorough e x p o s u r e to African history; and in a third section he locates the teaching of A f r i c a n history in its c o n t e m p o rary U.S. context of social, political, and intellectual p o w e r s t r u g g l e s . Spear deals, less explicitly and extensively, with two other themes: what A f r i c a n historians in the United States teach about A f r i c a ; and (here e x p r e s s i n g his opinions) what A f r i c a n historians, as scholars and teachers, should and should not do. I will address each of these five t h e m e s in turn.

AFRICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY SINCE 1960 In his c o n c i s e and insightful survey of historiographical d e v e l o p m e n t s , S p e a r notes how historical research " d e c e n t e r e d itself": historians of A f r i c a m o v e d away f r o m a concern with E u r o p e a n actions in A f r i c a and shifted their focus to how A f r i c a n s , in d y n a m i c interaction with each other

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and outsiders, shaped and e x p e r i e n c e d their o w n history. Historians of A f r i c a also moved a w a y from an empiricist political history of great men and great events toward the history of longer-term processes of change as they a f f e c t e d groups of people. Thus, they c a m e to see A f r i c a n societies not as monolithic but as t h e m s e l v e s socially stratified a l o n g the a x e s of age, gender, ethnicity, and class, or otherwise. Historians of A f r i c a developed a theoretically more c o m p l e x reasoning about causality, context, and meaning, and a more inclusive v i e w of reality, including e c o l o g i c a l , economic, social, and cultural realities. Thus, historians of A f r i c a have, over the last thirty years, o f f e r e d important new insights both into the diverse historical e x p e r i e n c e s and modes of social organization of precapitalist A f r i c a n societies and into the diverse w a y s in which these societies chose (or were f o r c e d ) to reforge their material and cultural realities in the crucible of the colonial encounter. When thinking about cultural studies, one may argue that the historiography of A f r i c a " d e c e n t e r e d , " or shifted f o c u s , twice; first, from the superficial level of political events to underlying processes of socioeconomic and e c o l o g i c a l change; then, from an analysis and reconstruction of socioeconomic changes to that of the interface between material reality and culture. Of those w h o have worked on culture, not all were elitist, idealist (in the sense of assigning causality to ideas alone), and deconstructionist, as S p e a r might seem to i m p l y . One should note that these historians did much work to remedy both earlier idealism and materialist reductionism. 2 A f r i c a n historians have been innovative both in their use of a w i d e array of interdisciplinary research techniques and m e t h o d o l o g i e s and in their adoption of innovative theoretical foci (on gender, agriculture, consciousness, the invention of "tradition," and so forth). S p e a r ' s claim that A f r i c a n historians have i n f l u e n c e d the w i d e r discipline of history, h o w e v e r , needs further elaboration and documentation. M a n y of the insights w e applied to A f r i c a derive ultimately from p r o g r e s s i v e European social history (the A n n a l e s school in France, labor studies in B r i t a i n , and s o forth). It seems to me that w e Africanists read at least some historical studies about Early Europe, Native A m e r i c a n s , and Latin A m e r i c a , but I still have to meet a European or U . S . historian w h o reads our w o r k s . We may all breathe the same paradigmatical air and catch the s a m e paradigmatical viruses, but while w e read their s t u f f , they don't read ours. W e may have been, in s o m e w a y s , at the f o r e f r o n t of the discipline, but I w o n d e r w h o noticed. E v e n our bridges to A f r i c a n i s t colleagues with a more contemporary f o c u s such as d e v e l o p m e n t issues are rickety at best. T h e i r i n s u f f i cient attention to the p o w e r inequalities within A f r i c a n communities and their tardy realization that development aid often benefited some at the e x pense of others is evidence of their blindness to history and their deafness to what w e had to say about it. With regard to our teaching, w e have not s u c c e e d e d (and m a y b e not seriously attempted) to theorize (that is to say, to g i v e a coherent and

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systematic interpretation o f ) the historical e x p e r i e n c e s of all of A f r i c a . North Africa is generally not included and is left to Middle Easternists or European historians. If this point seems nonpolitical, it really is not, for it rests upon and conceals old and pernicious value j u d g e m e n t s . In perpetuating it, we fail to deal explicitly with old racist stereotypes and thus fail to e n g a g e an educational need of m a n y of our s t u d e n t s . T h e topic of the slave trade is an even clearer example. In historical analyses of the 1960s and 1970s—as was widely p e r c e i v e d — t h e topic b e c a m e a plaything in the hands of c o n s e r v a t i v e historians w h o , hiding b e h i n d c o m p l i c a t e d but highly imperfect quantitative methods, pushed a specific political agenda: that of playing d o w n the t r a d e ' s s i g n i f i c a n c e . N e w e r studies, d o i n g full justice to the complex and deep impact of the slave trade, have c o m e into existence but have not yet been m a d e accessible to a wider audience. We must address the needs of all our students, including those of A f r i c a n descent w h o wish to analyze and determine their own relationship to the subject matter of African history.

THE EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OF STUDYING AFRICAN HISTORY Spear gives an excellent analysis of the b e n e f i t s that u n d e r g r a d u a t e students might derive from studying African history. Apart from filling a void in their historical k n o w l e d g e , apart f r o m c o r r e c t i n g stereotypical views and prejudices that negatively affect their views of A f r i c a n s and people of A f r i c a n descent, A f r i c a n history can teach students how to think. It can teach students how to think analytically by e n c o u r a g i n g students to adopt a toolkit of analytical concepts of their own and by e n h a n c i n g their awareness of the complex w a y s in which social institutions and s o c i o e c o n o m i c processes constrain individual c h o i c e s a n d in w h i c h material realities shape and are shaped by cultural ones. A f r i c a n history can teach students to think critically by c o n f r o n t i n g them with a variety of historical perspectives and asking them to d e v e l o p their own coherent moral, political, and intellectual understanding of the world. T h e richness and diversity of social organization and cultural expression in A f r i c a n history, as w e have c o m e to teach it, constitute a valid and valuable educational experience in their o w n right. W h e n used to stimulate analytical and critical thinking, these courses deserve an important place in our curriculum. S p e a r ' s analysis of the educational v a l u e of A f r i c a n history is insightful and eloquent and will be quoted by anyone in need of advocating or d e f e n d i n g the sign i f i c a n c e of the field. H o w e v e r , S p e a r is not fully p e r s u a s i v e in a r g u i n g why and how A f r i c a n history is more valuable to undergraduates than, for example, Chinese or Latin American history. This is a point that can only be properly e x a m i n e d in the context of h o w w e teach A f r i c a n history at U.S. colleges. Spear gives us the general principles of his approach to

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socioeconomic history as well as s o m e specific examples f r o m his syllabus on precolonial A f r i c a n history, but this is not e n o u g h . In a discussion of A f r i c a n history in the u n d e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m , the c o n t e n t s m u s t — sooner or l a t e r — b e a crucial f o c u s of reflection. I will address this issue further below, a f t e r an examination of the political and social context of teaching A f r i c a n history in this country.

LOCATING THE TEACHING OF AFRICAN HISTORY IN ITS U.S. CONTEXT Spear e x a m i n e s several d i m e n s i o n s of the c o n t e m p o r a r y U.S. context of the teaching of African history. In this context, one power struggle focuses on resources. S p e a r ' s argument presents the Africanist historian as an ally of other a d v o c a t e s of b r o a d e n i n g and d i v e r s i f y i n g canon and curriculum through the inclusion of cultures and p e o p l e s f o r m e r l y e x c l u d e d and despised as culturally, politically, economically, and socially less successful. Spear defines three schools of thought as the e n e m y : (1) the conservatives, w h o resent any politicization of the curriculum and d e f e n d their own, traditionally accepted subjects as representative of true, w o r t h w h i l e culture and civilization; (2) the deconstructionists, w h o are maybe rather casually and harshly characterized by Spear; and (3) the A f r o c e n t r i s t s , w h o are characterized as believers in the racial determination of culture. T h e practical d i m e n s i o n of the struggle for r e s o u r c e s must r e m a i n undiscussed here; however, the competing claims for truth, and the wider social, political, and intellectual struggles for power deserve further analysis. Within the scope of this chapter it is impossible to do justice to the debate on either deconstructionism or A f r o c e n t r i s m . H o w e v e r , the latter can not just be pushed aside by d e f i n i n g it as an important episode in the annals of A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n thought. In institutions less privileged and less educationally s o u n d than W i l l i a m s or W e l l e s l e y C o l l e g e s , A f r o c e n t r i s m interferes with the t e a c h i n g of A f r i c a n history (and with the educational and intellectual benefits) in the w a y s specified by Spear. W e must address the needs of A f r i c a n i s t s at b e l e a g u e r e d educational institutions and the power struggles g o i n g on in a c a d e m e and quasi a c a d e m e . Furthermore, while resisting Afrocentrist theories proposing the racial determination of culture, w e must constructively e n g a g e those elements of the Afrocentrist program that rightly challenge or indirectly reveal (1) real s h o r t c o m i n g s in A f r i c a n history as w e have taught it and are currently teaching it; and (2) real injustices in the w a y s in which field and p r o f e s sion institutionally fit into the wider U.S. education system. With regard to institutional inequalities, the last thirty years have witnessed an increased participation of Africans in the discourse about African history that had long been dominated and monopolized by outsiders. Serious

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imbalances still exist, and their context and causality are highly c o m p l e x and are certainly not reducible to discrimination against black people by whites. T h e existence of the imbalance, however, in the context of wider disparities b e t w e e n black and white people in the United States and the world, invites a struggle for power, a struggle between competing truths in which s o m e are victims and others are p o w e r m o n g e r s . In o n e of its aspects, A f r o c e n t r i s m represents such a struggle. T h u s , while we must prevent A f r i c a n history f r o m b e i n g intellectually brutalized in the service of any political agenda, we must m a k e the African history that we teach be a tool in analyzing and addressing those inequalities. In this way, A f r o c e n trism is relevant to all historians of Africa in this country; and to the extent that its political appeal already reaches into Nigeria and other parts of Africa, it is part of the annals of African history as well.

THE CONTENT OF TEACHING AFRICAN HISTORY Spear does not explicitly address what historians of Africa at U.S. colleges teach or should teach. He himself is a social historian who, in his teaching, e m p h a s i z e s basic social organization—types of society and d i f f e r e n c e s in social stratification within African societies. He pays attention to the wider cultural and s o c i o e c o n o m i c contexts of historical events and p h e n o m e n a , to the relationships between structure/process and individual action, and to the w a y s in which cultural values are socially and historically constructed. He is in f a v o r of explicit conceptual f r a m e w o r k s and coherent p r o g r a m s . He is against hard-core deconstructionisms and Afrocentrism and calls for an Africa-centeredness that does not sacrifice the centrality of A f r i c a n s as agents of history to analytical attention to o u t s i d e contexts and actors. Spear c o n v e y s the analytical methods, approaches, and toolkit of this educational p a c k a g e to his students by f o c u s i n g in each c o u r s e on a limited n u m b e r of case studies with a limited a m o u n t of historical narrative. It seems to me that most students would learn a great deal f r o m taking such a course and might well learn about critical and analytical thinking as described by Spear under "educational and pedagogical perspectives." H o w e v e r , Spear s m o o t h s over s o m e serious s h o r t c o m i n g s in our teaching of African history. If we can take the state of our textbooks as a s y m p t o m of the w e a k n e s s of African history teaching in the United States, then that teaching is very weak indeed. With the exception of the field of South A f r i c a n history, w e have no proper texts, partly p e r h a p s b e c a u s e A f r i c a n history is not yet a widely taught or highly valued part of the und e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m , but also b e c a u s e historians of A f r i c a have not f o u n d (or looked f o r ) a n s w e r s indispensable to any c o m p r e h e n s i v e , theoretically rigorous, and coherent A f r i c a n history text. T h e most crucial issues c e n t e r on periodization and geographical f o c u s . If o n e e x a m i n e s the

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old standard texts by Davidson, Oliver and Fage, Hallett, July, Gailey, or the last, and probably best, collectively authored African History (Curtin, Feierman, and Thompson), one may find oneself in agreement with the judgement of two historians writing about "The Periodization of Precolonial African History": W h a t these w o r k s h a v e in c o m m o n is a failure or refusal to address the l o g i c o f the historical p r o c e s s that brought A f r i c a f r o m P i t h e c a n t h r o p u s to the e v e o f the c o l o n i a l a g e . A l l agree that the c o l o n i a l era w a s indeed a period in A f r i c a n history, but w h a t c a m e b e f o r e can o n l y be d i s c u s s e d w i t h i n the Procrustian f r a m e w o r k o f an arbitrary t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l c o n ceptual grid, w h i c h partitions the c o n t i n e n t into a h a l f - d o z e n peculiar g e ographical r e g i o n s , within e a c h of w h i c h the f l o w of time is c h o p p e d into c o n v e n i e n t b l o c k s o f c e n t u r i e s for no apparent r e a s o n . T h e reader is d r a g g e d around the c o n t i n e n t from region to region during B l o c k o f C e n turies O n e , then taken on a s e c o n d tour for B l o c k of C e n t u r i e s T w o , and s o forth. W i t h i n e a c h c u b i c l e of their g e o c h r o n o l o g i c a l grid, the authors s t u f f little c a p s u l e s u m m a r i e s of w h a t e v e r s p e c i a l i z e d m o n o g r a p h s happen to e x i s t for the time and p l a c e under c o n s i d e r a t i o n . T h e e f f e c t prod u c e d by a b o o k s o o r g a n i z e d is o n e of e x t r e m e empirical c o m p l e x i t y and analytical c h a o s . 3

Those who avoid analytical chaos give up on attempting a comprehensive examination of the historical experiences of all of Africa. South Africa has, due to its political relevance and to increased student interest, taken up some of the space it deserves in the undergraduate curriculum. Northeast Africa, however, crucial to an understanding of the African experience (among other things) because of the lateness of its incorporation into the world economy and the demise of its precapitalist forms of social organization, is always left out. Thus, Ralph Austen's recent African Economic History gives up on this area from the very start of his analysis: "Some regions not easily incorporated into general patterns (particularly the Nilotic Sudan and the adjoining Horn of Africa) receive little attention." 4 There are other areas whose historiography is somehow not considered relevant to "real" African history. North Africa as a whole is a case in point. I am not interested in imposing on anyone a periodization of precolonial social history that seems compelling to me. Periodizations must vary with the specific set of historical processes we study. However, the negative impact of our failure as African history teachers to arrive at sound, theoretically rigorous periodizations and our failure to focus on the historical experiences of all of Africa affect the quality and significance of African history in the undergraduate curriculum. There is one other problematic issue in our discipline that I must briefly raise. It concerns the use of theory and its application to the correct level of social analysis. Thus, Jack Goody, in his Technology, Tradition

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and the State in Africa (London: Oxford University Press, 1971) gets away with treating "a handful of low-level technological variables . . . as m a j o r d e t e r m i n a n t s of A f r i c a n social structure and historical p r o c e s s . " 5 Most African historians have o v e r c o m e the old " f e a r of theory." Theory is embedded in both our writing and our teaching but is rarely an explicit part of our A f r i c a n history c u r r i c u l u m . Yet b e i n g explicit about theoretical perspective and e x a m i n i n g how alternative theories reflect and derive f r o m different moral and political values and objectives is indispensable to our mission of t e a c h i n g critical and analytical thinking. I believe that every course in African history represents one historian shining a torch back into the A f r i c a n past. I do not believe that there should be only o n e kind of torch, lighting up only one kind of historical experience. But I do believe that African history teachers individually and together should throw light upon a subject matter that has internal cohesion and is inclusive of the historical experience of all of A f r i c a .

NOTES 1. The Somali text reads: Meet boqor joogo gacantaadaa la ilaashadaa, meel caalin joogana carrabkaaga, meel weli joogana niyaddaada. 2. Leroy Vail, ed., The Creation of Tribalism in Southern Africa (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989) and Martin Chanock, Law, Custom and Social Order: The Colonial Experience in Malawi and Zambia ( N e w York: Cambridge University Press, 1985) are but two examples. The topic was pioneered by anthropologists. 3. Jay Spaulding and Lidwien Kapteijns, "The Periodization of Precolonial African History," working paper, African Studies No. 125 (Boston: Boston University African Studies Center, 1987): 1. 4. Ralph Austen, African Economic History: Internal Development and External Dependency (Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heineman, 1987): 7. 5. Jack Goody, Technology, Tradition and the State in Africa (London: B o o k s Demand, 1971). This is further discussed in Jay Spaulding and Lidwien ^Kapteijns, "The Conceptualization of Land Tenure in the Precolonial Sudan: Evidence and Interpretation" (presented at the twentieth annual spring symposium entitled "State, Land and Society in Africa," held at the University of Illinois in April 1993).

11 Teaching African Science: Notes on "Common Sense," "Tribal War/' and the "End of History" Ben Wisner

This chapter is principally concerned with teaching undergraduates about Africa. It is, as the title suggests, about a great deal more as well, but these other themes emerge either as preconditions for successful teaching or reflections on the broader goals of undergraduate education. I will begin by suggesting that the educational goals one should strive for in teaching African science should be to enable students (1) to learn something about Africa and Africans, (2) to learn something about science, and (3) to learn something about themselves. This chapter argues that these three goals may not be mutually compatible, or at least that their simultaneous pursuit is not as easy as it seems. The difficulty arises because of multiple ambiguities: there is science in, about, and from Africa. Western scientists and Western-trained African scientists can do science in Africa on questions of physiology, astronomy, or geophysics that could as well be done elsewhere and have no role in attempts to understand Africa or in Africa's attempt to understand itself. An extreme example might be the siting in Zaire of the commercial satellite launching facilities by O T R A G . 1 These same scientists (irrespective of their national origin) can also study questions that bear uniquely or significantly on African realities: sickle-cell anemia, the Great Rift Valley, or tsetse flies, for instance. I call this science about (or sometimes with a slightly different connotation, for) Africa. Methods and thought paradigms remain Western. Finally, there is a popular or vernacular science in Africa. This is science from Africa. It is not strictly non-Western, especially since much of the vernacular practice of agriculture, healing, fishing, and so forth has been interacting for years with Western influences. Yet the basis of this practice is often traditional understanding of the world (ontology), of the social production of knowledge (epistemology), and the use of language (taxonomy). The use of the preposition from is meant to signify that this body of knowledge constitutes a potential contribution to global human culture. Usually it is not recognized as such; at times "ethnoscience" is

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u s e d as a w e d g e b y o u t s i d e r s t o o b t a i n t h e c o n f i d e n c e o f the f a r m e r s , f o r e s t e r s , a n d b l a c k s m i t h s that t h e y w a n t to c o n v e r t , i m p r o v e , or m o d e r n i z e . G r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s h a v e b e e n u s e d to learn the v e r n a c u l a r l a n g u a g e a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f s o i l p r o c e s s e s , a n d s o o n , o n l y to h a v e t h i s k n o w l e d g e u s e d in the p a c k a g i n g a n d m a r k e t i n g o f W e s t e r n a g r o n o m i c a d v i c e . T h i s f u n c t i o n a l i s t a p p r e c i a t i o n o f e t h n o s c i e n c e f i t s n i c e l y into the w o r l d v i e w of E u r o - A m e r i c a n t r i u m p h a l i s m . A f t e r the E n d o f H i s t o r y t h e r e is n o t h i n g left to d o but to e n g a g e in s m a l l , p o s t c o l o n i a l w a r s ( e . g . , I r a q ) and to c o n d u c t " s o c i a l m a r k e t i n g " 2 in o r d e r to c o n v i n c e the other W o r l d O r d e r in b o d y and m i n d . To convince

to j o i n the N e w

can mean "to c o e r c e , " "to win

o v e r b y a r g u m e n t or e x a m p l e , " a n d a h o s t o f o t h e r t h i n g s . R e s i s t a n c e t o " d o m i n a t i n g k n o w l e d g e " is v e r y s t r o n g a n d s u b t l e . 3 T o this e x t e n t , n o t m u c h has c h a n g e d s i n c e F a t h e r P l a c i d e T e m p e l s 4 a t t e m p t e d to u n d e r s t a n d the w o r l d v i e w o f the c o l o n i z e d A f r i c a n ( w h o at the t i m e o f his b o o k w a s still v e r y r e s i s t a n t ) s u f f i c i e n t l y t o m a k e the E u r o p e a n c i v i l i z i n g m i s s i o n a c c e p t a b l e . 5 T h e s e t h r e e w a y s o f i n t e r p r e t i n g the p h r a s e African

science

are not the s a m e , a n d w h i l e they all h a v e s o m e v a l u e in t h e m s e l v e s and f o r t e a c h i n g , a c o n f u s i o n a m o n g t h e m l e a d s to p o o r r e s u l t s in the c l a s s r o o m . H u m a n b e i n g s in A f r i c a are " a g e n t s " or " p e r s o n s " in m o r a l a n d h i s t o r i c a l t e r m s l i k e e v e r y b o d y e l s e . 6 H o w e v e r , in a c a d e m i a t h e y are o f t e n treated as " p o p u l a t i o n s , " " c u l t u r e s , " or " s y s t e m s , " d e p e n d i n g on the e p i s t e m o l o g i c a l s t a n c e a d o p t e d . L i k e w i s e , these h u m a n b e i n g s inhabit " p l a c e s " that a r e o b j e c t i f i e d a n d a b s t r a c t e d as " f i e l d s i t e s , " " m u s e u m s , " or " r e s e r v e s , " d e p e n d i n g o n the k i n d o f t e a c h i n g or r e s e a r c h . P e r s o n a n d p l a c e are o f t e n c l o s e l y i d e n t i f i e d in A f r i c a , w h i c h p a r t i a l l y e x p l a i n s w h y e x p u l s i o n a n d r e f u g e e s t a t u s is s o t r a u m a t i c f o r A f r i c a n s 7 and a l s o e x p l a i n s t h e o f t e n r e m a r k a b l e d e p t h o f l o c a l e c o l o g i c a l

knowl-

e d g e . F o r i n s t a n c e , C o h e n a n d O d h i a m b o * d e s c r i b e the r e l a t i o n s h i p o f p e r son a n d p l a c e as f o l l o w s : For the person o f S i a y a [ W e s t e r n K e n y a ] , " l a n d s c a p e " is not a r e f e r e n c e to the p h y s i o g n o m y o f the terrain. Rather it e v o k e s the p o s s i b i l i t i e s and l i m i t a t i o n s o f s p a c e : e n c o m p a s s i n g the p h y s i c a l l a n d , the p e o p l e on it, and the c u l t u r e t h r o u g h w h i c h p e o p l e w o r k out the p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f the land.

L o c a l r e s i d e n t s a r e a w a r e o f a w i d e v a r i e t y o f m i c r o e n v i r o n m e n t s to w h i c h the o u t s i d e r m a y b e c u l t u r a l l y b l i n d . C h a m b e r s 9 lists the f o l l o w i n g examples: •

Home gardens

•

V e g e t a b l e and horticultural patches

•

R i v e r b a n k s and riverine strips

•

L e v e e s a n d natural t e r r a c e s

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

175

Valley bottoms Wet and dry water courses Alluvial pans Artificial terraces Silt trap fields Raised fields Water harvesting in its many forms Hedges and windbreaks Clumps, groves, or lines of trees or bushes Pockets of fertile soil (termitaria, former livestock pens, etc.) Sheltered corners or strips, by aspect of slope, configuration, etc. Plots protected from livestock Flood recessional zones Small flood plains Springs and patches of high ground water and seepage Strips and pockets of impeded drainage Lake basins Ponds, including fishponds Animal wallows

Diane Rocheleau 1 0 points out that, with commercialization, rural women in Africa have often lost formal access to land and grow food for their children in many such niches between and among spaces that are officially recognized as "productive" and controlled by men. Recent attempts to introduce North American students to such realities (that is, to Africans as persons and to Africa as places), even through experiential learning, fail. In the classroom, existential agency or personhood and place are forced into functionalist models of adaptive systems: "livelihood systems," "drought-coping systems," or "therapy management groups." This is a weakness of some of the best of the literature recommended to students: works such as The Greening of Africa, Famine That Kills, or Camping with the Prince.lx Although these books go well beyond the doom-and-gloom approach to Africa, they remain functionalist. However, they also portray Africans as caring, active, and intelligent in pursuit of their well-being. This is a good start. There are many severe impediments to the understanding of Africa and its contribution to the world. It does not diminish the significance of ethnocentrism and racism as obstacles to point out that there is another, related, problem: Euro-Americans are often imprisoned by a series of myths about progress, development, technology, and science. In the United States and Europe, most of us grow up accepting, uncritically, a worldview in which Western rationality, scientific method, and technical problemsolving are seen as the ultimate evolutionary products of history. The common story is that Europe and the United States achieved "development" and

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"progress" through correct thinking and hard work—and maybe a favorable climate; 12 and that the rest of the world, including Africa, is underdeveloped and must develop (modernize)—must become like "us." U.S. and European undergraduates share these attitudes with their African counterparts. Many African leaders and intellectuals see modernization as "the application of the results of modern science for the improvement of the conditions of human life." 13 In his book Africa Tomorrow, former Organization of African Unity (OAU) Secretary-General Edem Kodjo envisions an Africa highly industrialized, mining all its mineral wealth, pulsating with the energy of many nuclear power stations. 14 Philosopher Peter Bodunrin 15 takes a whole series of assumptions for granted in asserting: "No one laments the lack of African physics. African mathematicians have, as far as I know, not been asked to produce African mathematics. No one has asked that our increasing number of expressways be built the African way." Another African philosopher, Oyeka Owomoyela 16 puts his finger on the issue by noting that a number of his colleagues propose (or assume) a cascade of logical dependency: development depends on science, science depends on philosophy. 1 do not disagree; however, the important thing is to look carefully at what one means by development. A critique of the myth of "modernizing development" and the remaking of the planet in the image of Los Angeles County, complete with expressways—a nonsustainable, life-threatening, energy-and-waste-intensive human ecosystem—demands careful consideration of what science from Africa has to offer. This, in turn, nourishes the vigorous debate concerning the existence and contours of African philosophy and its place in the world. No one denies that there is indigenous science in Africa. Most agree that African cultures have science defined as the accumulation of experience of the physical and biological world, discussion and symbolic manipulation of that world, and the passing on of accumulated knowledge. 17 Even more broadly, science can be defined as "ways of observing, describing, explaining, predicting and controlling events in the natural world." 18 In this sense, it is not controversial to assert that African science exists. Even more rigorous institutional definitions of science can be defended. From the early fourteenth century, the Islamic mosque of Sankore in Timbuktu (in ancient Mali) was a center of research and teaching in astronomy, geography, history, law, and surgery. 19 Diop provides details of the institutionalized study and accumulation of knowledge in such fields as geometry, algebra, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry. 20 The modern equivalent may be the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, where director Thomas Odhiambo has pulled together a diverse group that includes people from many scientific disciplines and also social scientists. Elsewhere, in such technology development centers as

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Kanje, in Botswana, 21 and in farmer-training centers in Uyole, Tanzania, 2 2 ordinary citizens, indigenous experts, and Western-trained scientists collaborate in solving problems. These are the new institutional locations on the pioneering edge of science. The resistance to accepting the everyday practice of Africans as science is more subtle. African knowledge of the natural world is often considered to be second-class knowledge. It is not theorized abstractly (at least not in the way it is in the West) and it is not professionalized (again, not in a Western manner). Just as the wisdom of elders (sagacity in Oruka's terms 23 ) and collective beliefs are not given the status of philosophy by some African philosophers, 24 the discussion of weather, seed varieties, or the behavior of insects by rural people, or the practice of healing by local experts, is not seen as real science. I will take the position in this chapter that science from Africa, vernacular or popular science, is definitely science. Furthermore, in combination with Western science it can help Africans to break out of the impasse created by three "disappointing decades of development." 2 5 More than this: I believe that the emergence of such combined or hybrid science, bred of mutual respect, in participatory action-research situations, can point the way to a new science for all people. This would be a problem-focused science—very concrete but also reflective. Moreover, it would be a committed science. The children whose lives we are trying to save, the land we are trying to restore, are our children, our land. 2 6 We feel connected to them. There is an emotional component to our commitment to using our knowledge and skill in their behalf: it involves emotions like compassion and empathy. There is also anger, that the children and the land have been so abused. Inspired by a feminist philosophy of science, this new science in Africa would be one of the pioneering locales where "hand, brain, and heart" are combined. 2 7 Harding sees the overcoming of the separation of intellectual and manual labor in the late feudal era in Europe as the event that marked the birth of Western science. 2 8 She speculates that the next major breakthrough may be the integration of emotional labor, conventionally termed women's work. There is no reason why it should remain exclusively a woman's domain. The problem-focused science discussed below under the subheading Key Areas has already taken on this character in some cases. The playful exchange of rice seed and maintenance of experimental plots in Sierra Leone described by Richards, 29 or the deeply felt gender conflicts over the choice of tree species for family woodlots in western Kenya described by Bradley, 30 include the emotional with the intellectual or manual labor. Project workers in these cases accepted and entered into these cases of geographically located and humanly situated praxis. What emerges from such scientific work is something quite different from that which takes place exclusively in a laboratory or field station. Difference is celebrated—the

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different standpoints determined by gender, class, age, culture—but it is still intelligible. T h e result is not chaotic relativism. What makes understanding and communication possible is the problem-focus and mutual respect for the dignity of common struggle. African and non-African scientific approaches meet in mutual respect in an " i n n o v a t i v e d i a l o g u e . " 3 1 There is theoretical underpinning for such shared action-research; namely, "structuration t h e o r y , " 3 2 "situated i n t e r - s u b j e c t i v i t y , " 3 3 and "thoughtful practice."34 It is nearly thirty years since agronomist R e n e Dumont wrote o f A f r i c a ' s " f a l s e start." 3 5 T h e oil-price shocks o f the 1 9 7 0 s , civil wars, growing mountains o f public debt incurred in order to finance war and pay for oil imports, luxury consumption by the elite, and prestige projects have brought on economic collapse. Dumont's earliest warnings concerned the importation of inappropriate technology and models of development. T h e internationally negotiated Structural Adjustment Programs ( S A P s ) signed by country after country in the 1 9 8 0 s have reinforced those external influences and models, leading to an even tighter stranglehold over A f r i c a . 3 6 T h e burden o f the S A P s has been felt most heavily by the poor, especially women and children. 3 7 Subsidies on staple foods and agricultural inputs such as fertilizer have been reduced or phased out. Public services such as education and health have been slashed. Nutrition is deteriorating. Infant and child mortality is increasing. Under these circumstances, the priority for ordinary Africans today is survival. 3 K If science is to have any relevance to their lives, it will have to move into the back streets and cattle bomas, sit alongside the inventors o f improved charcoal-burning cooking stoves in their open-air workshops, and walk alongside rice farmers as they visit a neighbor to see the result o f a varietal trial. At the community and national scale, the survival struggle takes the form of programs for, in the most favorable cases, environmental restoration—the reclamation o f soil, vegetation, and water resources and the protection of endangered plant and animal species. In the war-torn, least favorable cases, there is, in addition, the challenge of national reconstruction. In Somalia, for instance, besides the cost in human lives, the war has decimated livestock and wild animal herds, encouraged regrowth o f tsetse fly habitat, spilled toxic substances (often caused in the shelling of cities), accelerated deforestation, and has caused many other ecological effects. War has destroyed all trace o f maps, reports, and rainfall and riverflow data. A great effort at recovery will be required. 3 9

War, Science, Tribe, Nation, Planet: The Need for a New

Science

B e c a u s e one has to be clear about the great obstacles to understanding posed by " t h e development story," I will take a few pages to explore some o f this territory—real and surreal, historical and mythic. I will, as W o l f -

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g a n g Sachs puts it, dig a bit into the ruins of twentieth-century d e v e l o p ment, although I cannot claim to make original contributions to an e m e r g ing "archaeology of the development idea." 4 0 Reflect on the relationship between science and war. 4 1 On a s u p e r f i cial level, it seems that science has contributed toward improving the machines of war for a very long time. Catapults and smart b o m b s would both seem to be children of science in the service of war. Galileo calculated cannon ballistics for his prince; scientists at Bell Labs or General Electric do the equivalent for their prince. In a m a n n e r — a simplified m a n n e r — t h i s is true. However, in the late twentieth century t w o important d i f f e r e n c e s take one deeper into the issue. First, the so-called civilian application of science has given rise to a technostructure that d e p e n d s on a vast array of raw materials, many of them f r o m overseas: uranium, tin, chrome, oil, and so on. T h e s e imports also include b i o l o g i c a l s — i n the f u n d a m e n t a l f o r m , increasingly, of wild genes and other genetic material. 4 2 T h e machines of war in the late twentieth century are engineered in large part for defense of the supply lines of the technostructure. This reveals a very close connection between bellicose and peaceful a p p l i c a t i o n s of modern science; closer, in fact, than the so-called spin-offs of war in the f o r m of atoms-forpeace, the commercial aerospace industry, t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , imaging, and computing. Even the most sympathetic reader might object at this point that there is "another" science—a science concerned with understanding the cosmos, our planet, nature, and with improving human life. This is also certainly true, up to a point; yet at a deeper level, even this aspect of science is "at w a r . " It is war for the hearts and minds of the masses of human beings in "underdeveloped" countries w h o will only progress when they become like us; when they think like we do. Such progress is problematic. There are two very troubling ideas at the root of Western thinking about progress that have to be considered b e f o r e one can address A f r i c a n science. T h e first is a close connection between progress and control. T h e purpose of science in the West has been thought of as increasing control. V a n d a n a Shiva, herself a Western-trained theoretical physicist, cites Renaissance sources to s h o w how science was c o n ceptualized as forcing n a t u r e ' s secrets f r o m her: not merely reading the socalled book of nature but ravishing and controlling nature. 4 3 T h e Western ideal is still to control such natural forces as rivers, insects, and wild fires, to eliminate risk and uncertainty. 4 4 These imperatives have given rise (literally) to s o m e 35,000 high d a m s that c o m m o n l y flood useful land, displace people, breed disease, and disrupt downstream ecology and human affairs. Many of these d a m s are silting up very quickly because of upstream soil erosion and will provide their b e n e f i t s f o r only a fraction of their planned lifetimes. The drive to control has created the pesticide treadmill. In the United States each year, billions of dollars' worth of agrochemicals

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are sprayed on crops, and yet the level of crop-loss to pests is as it was in the 1950s. Attempts to control wildfire culminated in the great fire in Yellowstone, described in Chase's detailed narrative, Playing God in Yellowstone.45 Playing God is not an exaggerated phrase. In its extreme form, the compulsion to control becomes what Ed Regis 46 calls "hubric science" in his wonderful book Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition. At the extreme, it is assumed that science should be capable of conquering death (through molecule-sized robots that "heal" by reconstructing the brain and body atom by atom, for instance). From this point of view, everything in the universe is raw material to be used. The goal of human existence is to "go everywhere and do everything." Regis describes preparations by members of a Last Proton Club for a party at which members (by then rendered immortal by downloading themselves into computers) will converge to watch the last piece of nuclear matter decay. A charter member of the club, Keith Henson, says: "If the party got big enough, the bean dip alone would form a black hole. . . . Where do you park fifty billion starships? . . . Where are you going to find a big enough party hotel? . . . I expect to convert a whole galaxy into beer cans." 4 7 This may be a joke (although it's hard to tell from the text), and is, of course, an extreme statement to say the least. But I would argue that the tendency to emphasize control of nature leads in precisely this direction. Related to the drive toward control is the somber realization that, to create and to build, one must first destroy. Goethe's Faust must first cause two old people who live in a fishing cottage to die before he can realize a master plan for the development of a Utopian seaside complex with the help of Mephisto. He is the prototypical regional planner. According to the dominant Western position, to "modernize" people, old ways of thought, old patterns of relating with nature and with each other must be destroyed. Colonial science in Africa set out to control nature and to modernize what it interpreted as childlike, primitive practices of African farmers, pastoralists, and healers. Colonial authorities in the shape of the Gesundheitspolizei (nineteenth-century health police) applied public health regulations with the force of an occupying army (which, in fact, they were). Forced cultivation of export crops such as cotton was required, and, when hunger resulted, scientifically planned cultivation of famine crops such as cassava was recommended by nutrition experts of the League of Nations. 4 8 Wildlife and livestock were assigned to scientifically designed spatial compartments and not allowed to mix as they had done before. 4 9 When the system inevitably broke down, the director of the Frankfurt zoo called on the United Nations to take over a large portion of northern Tanganyika and manage it on behalf of the animals—otherwise, he said, die Schwartzen (Blacks) would destroy the wildlife. 5 0 The writings of Grzimek, that former director of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, reveal a great deal about the misapprehension of African

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person and place that still distorts Western understanding. Places in Africa have been celebrated as exotic landscapes, filled with great beauty 5 1 or great danger and nastiness, 5 2 but have not been recognized as homes, known and loved in their mundane, everyday specificity. Certain features like Ngorongoro Crater are abstracted and idealized as dramatic backdrops against which Wagnerian heroes fly around in light aircraft saving animals. The people, too, are abstracted. Their specific qualities and gifts and weaknesses disappear behind the names they are given: "the poachers," whom the professor's pilot-son Michael would have liked to machine-gun; the "negro botanist" who is pictured with Michael. 5 3 We may believe that we are living in another age from Faust, from Grzimek, and from the colonialists and developers responsible for such great economic and environmental disasters as the Office Niger, the Groundnut Scheme, the Aswan High Dam, or the disastrous introduction of Nile perch into Lake Victoria. Today, we mostly agree that Small Is Beautiful and that one should build on the basis of indigenous knowledge. (The latter has even been granted the status of an abbreviation in the literature, ik, as a sign of conventional acceptance.) But what has really changed? As noted earlier, functionalist use of African popular science does not imply its acceptance as "real" science. At best, many development workers think of African solutions to problems of pests, water supply, irrigation, or childhood diarrhea as "second best" (low-cost solutions). At worst, the linguistic categories and modes of thought and communication about the natural world are co-opted for purposes of "social marketing." 5 4 The same type of consultancy firm that helped Nestlé to sell breast-milk substitute is now helping UNICEF to sell the breast! Something is wrong. Whereas the colonial scientist and administrator thought of Africans as irrational, is it an improvement, or even a change, that the neocolonial expert terms them rational? The naming is still externally applied in reference to a system ("Western rationality," "market behavior") whose universal value is unquestioned by the one who names. For Lévi-Strauss to call African and other non-Western thought and technology "concrete science" was both a concession to the humanity of the other and an assertion that they remain other. Bricolage55 is not, for Lévi-Strauss, the same as "engineering." 5 6 What I am beginning to recognize in the field in Africa, in the few rare cases where Western-trained scientists and local people collaborate in equal partnership, is a new bricolage. These solutions, far from being second best, may well be better than high-tech solutions. Given the enormous environmental challenges to be faced by Europe, North America, Japan, the Asian NICs, 5 7 and the industrial enclaves and megacities of the rest of the world, such a new science is necessary. A citizen-based, problemfocused approach to such problems returns science to the community, rescues it from the factory-like industrial science production, and returns it to

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the realm of craft, 5 S where democratic control is possible. This new, or revived, science would liberate us all from the deskilling "shadow work" documented for so many years by Ivan Illich. 59 However, to allow the possibility of such a new science, one has to give up the illusion that Western science is fundamentally already as highly evolved as it can be (in a way similar to that in which Western market economies are supposed to have triumphed over communism and are, therefore, evolved and superior—hence the so-called "end of history"). That is, one has to reject the assumption that while empirical details may still accumulate, and while models, techniques, and theories may change, the method, the fundamental metaphysical and epistemological basis of Western science is unchanging and needs no change. Westerners need to admit that their science is a tribal story. Science and myth are not that far apart. Our Big Bang theory of creation, for instance, is no different from creation myths of the Kikuyu or Zulu. Does one prefer the Big Bang because it is supported by an elaborate system of mathematics? Is it preferable because these mathematics are understood and discussed by a tiny elite in Western society? Do we disparage the African stories and call them myths because they are understood and discussed by the masses? 6 0 It is hard for Westerners to give up the uniqueness and superiority of their cultural system; no harder, however, than facing the true magnitude of the threat to human and many other kinds of life on this planet produced by the industrial revolution and its aftermath. 61 What is possibly hardest is to see Euro-Americans not only as one of many tribes, but as a particularly vicious and dangerous tribe. The explosion of military conquest and mercantile exploitation that erupted from a tiny edge of Europe some five hundred years ago was unprecedented. 6 2 The tight connection between war and science that made this expansion possible (the white diaspora and conquest) marked and distorted science down to the present moment. I rather suspect that the vicious circle connecting an overextended, resourcehungry technostructure to the military system necessary to protect overextended supply lines (and to a science establishment required to provide the military technology) has trapped the West (certainly the United States) into a terminal loss of flexibility. I hope not! It may be that our last best hope is Africa, where we might learn humility and the new science necessary to muddle through the twenty-first century.

KEY AREAS OF STUDY The foregoing introduction provides a justification for, or at least an explanation of, a particular view of key areas for teaching. These areas would focus on science from Africa and science about, or, more precisely, for Africa. These Africa-related sciences are unlike colonial science in

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Africa, which was concerned to control A f r i c a n land and A f r i c a n people, to m a k e them malleable and useful for the purposes of the colonizer, and unlike " m o d e r n i z i n g " science that has s o u g h t to r e m a k e A f r i c a n places into close approximations of European towns and mid-Western f a r m s , and A f r i c a n s into "black men with white m a s k s . " T h e alternative is an applied science that grapples with problems directly concerned with human needs.

Environmental

Science

Soil and vegetation studies. A c o m b i n a t i o n of " d e v e l o p m e n t " policies, e c o n o m i c crisis, war, and frequent droughts has left the soil of large areas of sub-Saharan Africa eroded, vegetation degraded, reservoirs filled with silt, w i l d l i f e depleted. A great deal of ecological restoration is r e q u i r e d . However, restoration without knowledge is not possible. Research is therefore required, and, given the urgency of the situation, often this takes the form of "action r e s e a r c h " — w o r k that attempts to be self-critical and selfcorrecting even as steps are taken simultaneously to reverse e n v i r o n m e n tal degradation and extend the k n o w l e d g e base. S o m e of this work already combines indigenous knowledge and Western m e t h o d s . A g o o d e x a m p l e is various soil t r e a t m e n t s used to induce r e g e n e r a tion of vegetation f o r f o d d e r and fuel in semiarid K e n y a . 6 3 A team f r o m the A f r i c a n Centre f o r T e c h n o l o g y S t u d i e s , C o m m o n w e a l t h S c i e n c e C o u n c i l , and K i n g ' s College, L o n d o n , e x p e r i m e n t e d with a variety of t e c h n i q u e s for c o n s t r u c t i n g m i c r o c a t c h m e n t s in the flat l o w l a n d s of the s e m i a r i d B a r i n g o district and " r i p p i n g " the b a r e h a r d p a n in the rocky f o o t h i l l s . This, c o m b i n e d with f e n c i n g and trials of o v e r f i f t y potential tree s p e c i e s for use in a f f o r e s t a t i o n , p r o v i d e d the basis f o r greatly enhanced grazing and provision of w o o d f u e l and grass for thatching r o o f s . T h e T u r k a n a Rural D e v e l o p m e n t P r o g r a m m e f u r t h e r to the north in Kenya has similar elements. 6 4 C o m p a r a b l e approaches, especially the use of m i c r o c a t c h m e n t s , have been used in many parts of A f r i c a , i n c l u d i n g the Sahelian W e s t A f r i c a n countries, as well as in the countries of the Horn, 6 5 although not a l w a y s in a citizen-based, participatory manner. M a n y A f r i c a n f a r m e r s and pastoralists have considerable experience with i n d i g e n o u s soil and water conservation technologies, 6 6 but this experience is not often tapped in projects. Likewise, a controversial project in central Tanzania excluded all livestock f r o m a highly degraded, hilly, mixed herding and f a r m i n g area m e a suring 11,300 hectares. S o m e 85,000 animals w e r e moved to lower-lying areas in 1979. By 1986 much of the natural vegetation had r e g r o w n , fuel wood w a s available to f a r m i n g families, and the locally occurring depressions, mbuga, f o r m e r l y used for d r y - s e a s o n c r o p p i n g but c o v e r e d with sand b e f o r e destocking, were moist and used f o r f a r m i n g a g a i n . 6 7 From

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an ecological point of view, these results are not surprising. A number of experimental plots in various parts of Africa have shown remarkable recovery in a few years. 68 As Alan Berg has recently observed concerning nutrition research, what is often missing is not knowledge of why something happens or does not happen, but the how of practically applying the answers to the why question. 6 9 In the case cited above, how does one approach the destocking question in situations where animals may be the only security people have? A great deal of work on revegetation and soil conservation work is underway in Africa today. Overviews are available in both Kerkof and Grainger. 7 0 Rocheleau et al. and Harrison review approaches involving more community participation. 71 Water-resource studies. Water is a limiting factor in many aspects of life in Africa, especially affecting agriculture and health. Given disappointing results from large-scale dams and irrigation projects—high cost, poor maintenance, limited benefits for a small number of tenants and workers, and severe health impacts, including increased malaria and bilharzia—as well as a shortage of funds for investing in such megaprojects—there has been more interest in indigenous methods of water management. These include water harvesting 7 2 and traditional floodwater regression farming. The latter includes a wide variety of systems in many parts of Africa that take advantage of seasonal river-flooding to plant crops in the moist soil as the flood retreats. 73 Domestic water supply has received a great deal of attention because of the United Nations Decade for Water Supply and Sanitation (1981-1990). While some of the Water Decade activities involved community participation in building and maintaining water systems, 74 there have been fewer attempts to integrate local knowledge of water supply into the design phase. For instance, women in groups with a history of mutual labor exchange and democratic control in the Laikipia District of Kenya were able to construct a large number of roof rainwater catchment systems for one another. 75 These systems included 500-gallon ferroconcrete tanks (thin-walled tanks made of concrete reinforced with chicken wire) that the women became expert in constructing. As successful as this Swiss-financed project seems to have been, the women did not contribute to the design of the water systems. Exceptions include fascinating reports from Mali and Sudan. In Mali, Guggenheim and Fanale 7 6 based a water supply program on traditional Dogon water-siting knowledge and improvements in well design developed with the local participants. In Sudan, herbal products traditionally gathered and used to clarify domestic water were systematically tested and a system was designed to increase their effectiveness together with local women. 7 7

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185

Studies

As noted above, from the early 1960s it b e c a m e fashionable to recognize the order contained in the apparent chaos of A f r i c a n polycultures. M e a n while, agricultural economists continued to try to simplify these systems, introducing export crops and using linear p r o g r a m m i n g techniques to work out the "optimal" land use to maximize farm income. When it came to "dev e l o p m e n t , " traditional s y s t e m s such as s h i f t i n g cultivation were seen as stagnant, having perhaps an internal logic but potential to produce no more than what Allan called " n o r m a l surplus." 7 " T o reiterate a t h e m e already struck, it is one thing to appreciate the logic and complexity of traditional agriculture as a completed cultural product (like a nicely woven basket or ebony carving) and quite another to see the traditional as a contemporary system with its own research and d e v e l o p m e n t m e c h a n i s m built in. Paul Richards w a s possibly one of the first to fully appreciate that A f r i c a n farmers conduct experiments and that they share and criticize the results of their experiments and those of neighbors. 7 9 B e g i n n i n g with the s t u n n i n g failure of m o d e r n i z a t i o n to protect the majority of small f a r m e r s and pastoralists f r o m the ravages of drought in the late 1960s, a n u m b e r of attempts were m a d e to integrate indigenous, d r o u g h t - c o p i n g strategies and g o v e r n m e n t actions. For instance, W i s n e r and Mbithi found a very large repertoire of potential coping m e c h a n i s m s a m o n g farmers in eastern Kenya." 0 Many others have written on the necessity of understanding the small f a r m e r ' s and pastoralist's w a y s of coping with the environment and using this as the starting point for designing improvements. Much of this recent work has centered around the limited objective of improving early-warning s y s t e m s to predict f a m i n e , i m p r o v i n g f a m i n e relief, or better fitting national government food and agricultural policies to the realities of ordinary farmers and pastoralists.^ Increasingly, h o w e v e r , the need to involve f a r m e r s in all aspects of agricultural r e s e a r c h — c r o p breeding, work on tillage, pest control, and so o n — i s b e c o m i n g r e c o g n i z e d . A l s o missing f r o m normal science applied to A f r i c a n agriculture has been a c o n c e r n with crops and a n i m a l s that were seen as unimportant e c o n o m i c a l l y . T h e s e tended to be crops of nutritional importance to w o m e n ( w h o in the main are those responsible f o r f e e d i n g their families), and a n i m a l s such as c a m e l s , goats, and sheep that are not as important as beef in export m a r k e t s . R e c e n t l y there has been more attention paid to such f o o d crops as roots and tubers of importance in many A f r i c a n diets, and date palms; and to a n i m a l s such as the c a m e l . Horowitz and Jowkar have reviewed the literature of the role of w o m e n in pastoral p r o d u c t i o n , an aspect very m u c h n e g l e c t e d in d e v e l o p m e n t projects. 8 2

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Juma studied the cycle in which farmers in the B u n g o m a district of Kenya sought possibly useful plants in the forest zone of Mt. Elgon, returned home, grew them experimentally at home, shared the results with neighbors—some receiving great praise and prestige—and later symbolically returned them to the wild forest, in order to perpetuate them.1*3 To my knowledge, very few Western scientific workers concerned with the preservation of African germplasm have grasped the excitement and openendedness of such truly African science. Applied

Zoological

Studies

Thomas Odhiambo is one African scientist who believes strongly both in the potential for science to lead an African recovery and that indigenous knowledge must be integrated into science in Africa.* 4 The International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology ( I C I P E ) that he directs works in this spirit. Its research on tsetse flies, for instance, has been very effective. 85 This work is based on experiments with a variety of flytraps using color, reflectivity, and sexual attractants. Local residents were included in the research teams. By contrast, research and programs to understand and to control river blindness in West Africa have proceeded in a more conventional manner. X6 This has involved spraying vast areas of seven West African countries repeatedly with insecticides in order to kill the black fly that vectors the parasites that cause the disease. While large areas have been declared free of the fly and open again to agriculture, whether this ecological situation can be sustained is open to question, as are the long-run consequences of such massive use of insecticide. In most countries, there is little integration of local knowledge of wildlife into biological research or into programs for conservation. The situation remains much as that described by Gerald Durrell in The Zoo in My Luggage.*1 In the late 1940s, Durrell hunted animals in Cameroon for his private zoo. According to his account, friendly, simple, somewhat bemused "natives" helped him to find the animals, and he toasted his successes in whiskey that he shared with the local c h i e f — t h e Fon of Bafut, w h o had organized the labor required to seek this " f i n e beef," to use the c h i e f ' s patois as reported by Durrell. An exception to this state of affairs is Operation Campfire in Zimbabwe under which local residents are economic beneficiaries of wildlife tourism and are involved in animal census-taking and the study of wildlife. Fish, both freshwater and marine, are a highly underutilized food resource in Africa. Data for one FAO map produced in the early 1980s suggested that the average fish consumption in most African countries was only a few pounds per capita. Little is known about freshwater fishing resources. In retrospect, some disastrous consequences of so-called development projects such as the creation of artificial lakes or the introduction of

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species into natural lakes are c o m i n g to light. For instance, the Nile perch w a s introduced into Lake Victoria in East A f r i c a as a large, c o m m e r c i a l species. It fed on the small fish (haplochromines) that had been the staple product of s m a l l - s c a l e f i s h i n g and which also kept algae g r o w t h under control. Now that the s m a l l e r fish are nearly e l i m i n a t e d f r o m the lake, algae has b l o o m e d , and o x y g e n levels in this great body of w a t e r — o n which s o m e 3 0 million p e o p l e in Kenya, T a n z a n i a , and U g a n d a d e p e n d e c o n o m i c a l l y — h a v e fallen to nearly zero, which adds to the d e m i s e of f i s h . 8 8 Research on the biology of A f r i c a n lakes and rivers is accelerating, 8 9 but this is an area w h e r e there has not yet been much attempt to involve fishermen and their f u n d of knowledge in research. Engineering

Studies

No doubt there are d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n S u p e r C o l l i d e r and Star W a r s technology on the one hand and grain drying and storage structures built with local materials in Africa. T h e former are more expensive, and the engineering calculations required are more c o m p l e x . But is the e n g i n e e r i n g and physics p e r f o r m e d by B i g Science better in any w a y ? If the satisfaction of h u m a n n e e d s is taken as a criterion, it might be a r g u e d that the grain-silo p r o j e c t is, in fact, better s c i e n c e . S o m e might o b j e c t that s m a s h i n g atoms reveals a deeper level of physical reality than one has access to in daily experience. Here, however, we return to the issue of myth. If one feels more secure in o n e ' s world, more satisfied aesthetically perhaps, in a reality c o m p o s e d of quarks and gluons, w h o can object? But w e must recall that a reality c o m p o s e d of angels and d e m o n s felt right to our European a n c e s t o r s . A l s o , w e s h o u l d entertain the possibility that w o r k on the grain-silo p r o b l e m reveals a deeper level of h u m a n and social reality. Certainly this s e e m e d to be the case to a mixed team of researchers w h o w o r k e d in a T a n z a n i a n village in 1976, as a brief a c c o u n t of this work will reveal. 9 0 T h e losses of f o o d to pests ( u p to 30 percent) had been identified by villagers in the w e s t e r n , central district of M o r o g o r o , in the U l u g u r u mountains. T h e villagers were responding to a survey by a national develo p m e n t N G O ( n o n g o v e r n m e n t a l organization), the C o m m u n i t y D e v e l o p ment Trust Fund of Tanzania ( C D T F ) . Dutch government f u n d i n g w a s obtained by the C D T F for an e x e r c i s e in d e s i g n i n g , together with these villagers, i m p r o v e d storage s y s t e m s . A team w a s f o r m e d : as a S w a h i l i speaker with e x p e r i e n c e in c o m m u n i t y nutrition and f o o d s y s t e m s I w a s leader; we also had a Mexican f o o d technologist with experience of smallscale storage, t w o T a n z a n i a n experts in adult e d u c a t i o n (one of them a gifted artist), an expatriate administrator of the C D T F with e x p e r i e n c e in credit, marketing, and institutional development. T h e team shared a c o m mon methodological starting point based on the writings of the Brazilian

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adult e d u c a t o r P a u l o F r e i r e , 9 1 w h o by c h a n c e w a s in T a n z a n i a shortly bef o r e w e b e g a n o u r w o r k and w h o k i n d l y r e v i e w e d our p l a n s . T h i s team w o r k e d w i t h c o u n t e r p a r t s c h o s e n by the v i l l a g e . T h e e n l a r g e d

team

w o r k e d f o r three months. First, a h o u s e - t o - h o u s e s u r v e y w a s c o n d u c t e d to ascertain the variety of w a y s in w h i c h p e o p l e w e r e s t o r i n g g r a i n . P h y s i c a l m e a s u r e m e n t s of temperature and h u m i d i t y in the s t o r a g e structures w e r e taken as w e l l as a c e n s u s o f pests and e s t i m a t e s of d a m a g e to stored c r o p s . D u r i n g this first p h a s e , g r o u p d i s c u s s i o n s of s t o r a g e p r o b l e m s and p r e v i o u s attempts to deal w i t h them w e r e held in f o u r residential z o n e s of the v i l l a g e . T h e s o c i a l infrastructure f o r these g r o u p s w e r e p r e e x i s t i n g adult literacy study groups. P h a s e t w o i n v o l v e d d e s i g n i n g an i m p r o v e d s y s t e m of s t o r a g e . A g a i n d i s c u s s i o n g r o u p s w e r e the " w o r k s h o p . " P h y s i c a l data w a s d i s c u s s e d . T h e artist in the team p r o d u c e d a s e r i e s of g r a p h i c s , and the d e s i g n s w e r e criti c i z e d in the g r o u p s . P r o t o t y p e s f r o m other countries ( e . g . , M e x i c o and N i g e r i a ) w e r e introduced, c r i t i c i z e d in terms of local k n o w l e d g e , and elements of them incorporated or rejected. T h e range of local k n o w l e d g e ran f r o m a n i m a l b e h a v i o r — f o r e x a m p l e , rats w e r e reported to j u m p h i g h e r than the level of the rat-guards on s i l o s t i l t s — t o local m e t e o r o l o g i c a l c o n d i t i o n s — f o r e x a m p l e , it w a s pointed out that storms w o u l d b l o w rain horizontally under the r o o f s of one p r o p o s e d d e s i g n . Other input w a s of the order of materials s c i e n c e , r e g a r d i n g the strength and r e s i s t a n c e to termite attack of local tree s p e c i e s u s e f u l as supports and b e a m s . P h a s e three i n v o l v e d b u i l d i n g s e v e r a l of these new s y s t e m s with v i l lagers at the h o m e s of volunteers. In the c o u r s e of the w o r k , a great deal of c o n t e x t u a l k n o w l e d g e w a s p r o d u c e d — r e l e v a n t to both the " h o w " of imp r o v i n g s t o r a g e and the " w h y " of s t o r a g e l o s s . F o r i n s t a n c e , it b e c a m e k n o w n that poorer v i l l a g e r s s u f f e r e d s e a s o n a l hunger and had to sell their labor to richer neighbors in return f o r f o o d . T h i s occurred j u s t as the f i e l d s w e r e b e i n g p r e p a r e d f o r the m a j o r m a i z e planting. T h e p o o r e r v i l l a g e r s c u l t i v a t e d the f i e l d s of the richer, as w e l l as their o w n f i e l d s . A s a result, the rich w e r e a b l e to plant both e a r l i e r and in greater q u a n t i t y . T h e p o o r h a r v e s t e d less m a i z e a n d — a v e r y r e l e v a n t f a c t — h a d to h a r v e s t it later. W h e n the team s t u d i e d r a i n f a l l r e c o r d s f o r this a r e a , they f o u n d that the p o o r w e r e f o r c e d b y this c i r c u m s t a n c e to h a r v e s t their m a i z e d u r i n g the rainiest month of the year! W e t grain is notoriously d i f f i c u l t to store, b e i n g m o r e s u b j e c t to insect attack and to m i l d e w . T h e poor, in addition to harv e s t i n g l e s s , had g r e a t e r s t o r a g e l o s s e s and thereby s u f f e r e d s e a s o n a l hunger. T h i s w a s a v i c i o u s c i r c l e . T h e e n g i n e e r i n g and f o o d - s c i e n c e c h a l l e n g e of d e s i g n i n g i m p r o v e d s y s t e m s w a s t h e r e f o r e g i v e n a b r o a d e r c o n text. W h a t c o u l d be done to a d d r e s s the d i f f e r e n t storage needs of rich and p o o r ? T h i s q u e s t i o n w a s d i s c u s s e d in v i l l a g e m e e t i n g s , and a s y s t e m of

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subsidies w a s w o r k e d out that m a d e it possible for the poor to a f f o r d the modest cost of the improved system. Work on a wide variety of engineering problems at neighborhood and village level in A f r i c a provides a wealth of entry points for thinking about a new hybrid science that incorporates c i t i z e n s ' k n o w l e d g e and is controlled by them. Marilyn Carr describes a n u m b e r of design-solutions used by w o m e n ' s g r o u p s in A f r i c a in her b o o k , Baker, Blacksmith, Roofingsheet Maker. . . ,92 W o m e n ' s participation in the design phase is not universal in the cases she cites, but as w o m e n gain experience with low-cost technology there is no reason why they should not b e c o m e coinvestigators in the process of further elaboration and innovation. Calestous J u m a , director of the African Centre for T e c h n o l o g y Studies in Nairobi, similarly has a high opinion of the m e t a l s m i t h s and other inventors in the so-called informal sector in Kenya (the "open air sector," f r o m jua kali, literally "[under] the very hot s u n " sector). T h e s e inventors are self-taught or are graduates of training schools or "village polytechnics." A m o n g their designs is an energy-efficient, charcoal-burning cooking stove with a ceramic insert that has b e c o m e both f a m o u s and popular with users and experts alike. 9 3 Energy

Studies

Most energy c o n s u m e d in Africa c o m e s f r o m b i o m a s s . W o o d (and w o o d converted to charcoal), together with crop residues and, occasionally, dried animal m a n u r e constitute as much as 70—90 percent of the national energy balance of many countries. 9 4 T h e c o m m e r c i a l energy sector is usually d o m i n a t e d by transport a n d d e p e n d s on imported petroleum (except in a f e w o i l - p r o d u c i n g countries such as Nigeria and A n g o l a ) . Coal, hyd r o p o w e r , and imported diesel fuel are used to generate electricity that is fed into tiny grids, mostly providing a f e w large towns and industrial enclaves (e.g., mining) with intermittent power. S o m e rural hospitals and district headquarters have small, diesel generators. T h e g a p between the levels of per capita energy consumption in most of A f r i c a and those of industrial countries is e n o r m o u s . H o w e v e r , b e f o r e such observation leads to despair, it is important to note two things. First, energy consumption in industrial countries is unsustainably high, wasteful, and not necessary for the maintenance of human welfare. Second, the satisfaction of basic human needs, as measured, f o r instance, by the Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI), may require as little energy as one kilowatt per capita if it is used efficiently. 9 5 Science about Africa, conducted with no contribution f r o m indigenous knowledge, includes numerous surveys using geological, petrological, and other earth and atmospheric sciences to find fossil fuel deposits or sources

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of g e o t h e r m a l , wind, and hydro p o w e r . Certainly, s o m e increase in the c o n s u m p t i o n of these energy s o u r c e s is n e e d e d in A f r i c a . T h e p r o b l e m focused, citizen-based kind of scientific inquiry that I am proposing does not deny the importance of these energy sources. On the other hand, f r o m the point of view of m e e t i n g human needs in the crisis that faces A f r i c a today, future research should help to design more efficient end-use devices (stoves, grain driers and mills, f o r m s of local bulk transportation, plows, lighting devices, and cooling-sterilization-refrigeration devices that are essential f o r rural health centers, f o r instance). In addition, research is required on the more e f f i c i e n t t r a n s f o r m a t i o n of locally available energy s o u r c e s (solar, wind, mini- and s m a l l - s c a l e h y d r o p o w e r , more e f f i c i e n t kilns for converting bulky wood to charcoal, and so on). Biomass energy consumption by rural people in Africa, and by urban dwellers w h o use charcoal produced in ever-more-distant rural zones surrounding the cities, is causing deforestation, erosion, and the silting up of rivers. Hence, programs focused on wood fuel and multipurpose tree production are one of the highest priorities. 9 6 A n o t h e r key area for research is the question of how farm b y p r o d u c t s can b e c o m e energy sources and how the b y p r o d u c t s of energy t r a n s f o r m a t i o n (e.g., slurry f r o m m e t h a n e generation) can b e c o m e inputs into f a r m i n g (e.g., biofertilizer). Much research into such interconnections exists in Latin A m e r i c a and Asia, but work on the so-called food-energy nexus has just begun in Africa. 9 7 Some, but not enough, of the research in these key areas has been conducted with citizen participation. S o m e improved stove design has been credited to rural w o m e n . 9 8 An i n g e n i o u s hot-box that used dried b a n a n a leaves for insulation was designed in Rwanda by a team that included local w o m e n . T h e area in which the h o t - b o x originated is very densely p o p u lated, and cooking fuel is scarce; however, a m a j o r staple crop is beans, a f o o d that requires a long cooking-time. (Other r e s e a r c h 9 9 had shown that such f o o d s tend to b e replaced by lower-quality f o o d as w o o d fuel and w o m e n ' s time b e c o m e scarce.) In the R w a n d a situation, the proposed system was to begin to cook the beans over the conventional three-stone (improved) stove, but then to transfer the pot to the insulated box before going out to the fields to work. On her return the w o m a n finds the pot of b e a n s nicely cooked. This same team studied the wide range of traditional varieties of beans that w o m e n planted, selected t h o s e with shorter c o o k i n g time, and bred a bean that required 4 0 percent less cooking fuel. 1 0 0 Not all priorities are w o r k e d on at the grassroots level, h o w e v e r . An important energy question at the macro level involves the planetary energy budget, global warming, and climate change. A g r o u p of Kenyan scholars is presently trying to forecast the c o n s e q u e n c e s of climate c h a n g e in Kenya. 1 0 1 Such exercises will eventually need to be put alongside w o r k at the level of h o u s e h o l d c o p i n g m e c h a n i s m s (see the earlier discussion of drought, for instance).

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Health

191

Studies

As with agriculture, indigenous knowledge of health and disease has often met with scant respect from outsiders. Just as traditional farming systems were seen as static, cultural products with little or no developmental potential, so African herbalism, bonesetting, midwifery, and mental health practice have been seen as limited. True, one g r o u p — m i d w i v e s — h a v e been professionally recognized, and although this was part of a process of selecting them for retraining it can result in a useful blending of practices. Aseptic technique was a valuable addition to the traditional birth attendant's repertoire. Its acquisition did not, by good fortune, cost the African midwife the renunciation of her entire worldview and approach to interpersonal caring as it might have in colonial days. (By asserting the essentially scientific nature of African practice in relation to the natural world, I should not be taken as implying that these systems are perfect. Such romanticism would be mistaken. All systems have their strengths, weaknesses, limits, gaps in knowledge, and confusions.) Health and health care are in crisis in Africa. 1 0 2 Health-care financing has collapsed. Immunization c a m p a i g n s focused on childhood diseases such as measles that interact synergistically with malnutrition are faltering. Chronic malnutrition is rampant. Food security is tenuous. Childhood diarrhea is a major killer. Environmental disruption due to war has caused the resurgence of tsetse-vectored sleeping sickness; and the creation of artificial lakes for hydropower and irrigation has caused more malaria. The dams have also brought more bilharzia. 1 0 3 In addition, there are many health problems faced by millions of Africans that do not even rank mention among the top priorities listed by outside agencies, mostly because they are not objects of biomedical research or are costly to address in economic or political terms. A m o n g these are disability (including the social and psychological rehabilitation of youth forced to fight or otherwise caught up in A f r i c a ' s wars as child soldiers). Among disabilities at least one cause of blindness is being addressed, vitamin A deficiency, but others, such as trachoma, are not. The former can be treated with a " m a g i c bullet" (a megadose of vitamin A), while the latter requires investments in water supply and sanitation. Other hidden health priorities are a variety of concerns shared by w o m e n — f o r instance, infertility, domestic violence, and rape. 1 0 4 Occupational and industrial health is rarely considered important in Africa, where the assumption is that industry is relatively unimportant. However, mines, plantations, ports, and the transport and construction industries are all very dangerous and often unregulated. In addition, recent attempts to export toxic waste in large quantities f r o m European industries for disposal in Africa are bound to continue, and if they succeed, a new generation of health hazards will arrive. 1 0 5 This is not an exaggerated fear. In the midst

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of the civil war in Somalia, the warlord controlling the former capital city, Mogadishu, has agreed to allow a Swiss firm, Achair Partners, to store and burn 500,000 tonnes of waste a year near the city. There are also allegations that, under the cover of chaos, Italian companies are dumping toxic waste off Somalia's coast. 1 0 6 The widespread commitment in African countries to primary health care (PHC) and community-based health care (uneven and underfunded as it may be) provides the basis for rapid increase in popular participation in health research in these priority areas. 1 0 7 The most virulent African viruses must remain the subject of specialized and highly technical research; 1 0 8 however, it is well-established that community health workers can be trained to do basic epidemiological research on malnutrition, diarrhea, tuberculosis, and so forth, and that this work can serve as the basis of community health programs. 1 0 9 Indigenous methods of controlling and arranging protection from mosquitos has sometimes been integrated into malaria-control programs. 1 1 0 Increasingly, there is a call for, and experiments with, involvement of local women in research on the epidemiology and control of HIV infection. 1 1 1

TEACHING METHODS AND RESOURCES I mentioned a number of valuable published resources in the previous section; however, a manageable selection for use in a one-semester undergraduate course might include the works listed below. 1 1 2 A suggested syllabus follows the list. Resources Texts • Thomas Bass, Camping with the Prince. [TB] • Fantu Cheru, The Silent Revolution in Africa. [FC] • Paul Harrison, The Greening of Africa. [PH] • Calestous Juma, The Gene Hunters. [CJ] • Bill Rau, From Feast to Famine. [BR] • Else Skj0nsberg, Change in an African Village [Optional: see Methods below] • Ben Wisner, Power and Need in Africa. [BW] Reserve Resource: •

Chapters and

Papers

W. Beinhart (1984), "Soil Erosion, Conservationism, and Ideas about Development: A Southern African Exploration, 1900-1960." [WB]

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• Jorge H. Hardoy and David Satterthwaite, Squatter Citizen, chapters 3 - 5 . [HS] • Bernard and Michael Grzimek, Serengetti Shall Not Die, chapters 1, 2, 8, 16. [BMG] • Calestous Juma (1989a), "Intellectual Property Rights for Jua Kali Innovations." [CJ-2] • Thomas Odhiambo (1967), "East Africa: Science for Development." [TO] • Randall Packard (1989), chapter 7, "Segregation and Racial Susceptibility: The Ideological Foundations of Tuberculosis Control, 1913-1938." [RP] • Tsenay Serequeberhan (1991), "African Philosophy: The Point in Question." [TS] • Vandana Shiva (1989), chapter 1, "Development, Ecology, and Women." [VS-1] • Vandana Shiva (1989), chapter 2, "Science, Nature, and Gender." [VS-2] • Megan Vaughan (1991), chapter 2, "Rats' Tails and Trypanosomes: Nature and Culture in Early Colonial Medicine." [MV] • Rodger Yeager (1986), "Land Use and Wildlife in Modern Tanzania." [RY] Video Man-Made Famine" [MMF] Syllabus Week

Topic Part I:

Resources

Overview

1

The African Crisis

2 3 4

The Meaning of "Development "Science" and "Development" Is There an African Science? Part II: Case

B R I ; FC1; PH2, 3; BW pp. 13-23 BR2, 3; BW1; V S - 1 VS-2; TO BRIO; CJ1; T S

Studies

5 6

Restoring the Land Managing Water

7

Conserving Wild Genes

8

Securing the Food Supply

PH7, 8, 10; W B BW3; T B pp. 87-116; PH9 RY; T B pp. 51-86; CJ4, 6; BMG BW5; BR8, 9; T B pp. 117-186; MMF

194 9 10 11

REASSESSMENTS A N D NEW DIRECTIONS

Providing Shelter T r a n s f o r m i n g Energy Healing the Sick

B W 3 ; HS B W 7 ; P H 1 1 , 12 B W ; T B pp. 2 2 7 - 2 7 6 ; M V ; RP

Part III: Policy Issues 12 13 14

Roles of G o v e r n m e n t and Business Role of International Aid Democratic Control of Science & " D e v e l o p m e n t

CJ-2; F C 3 - 6 ; BR5, 6 CJ3, 6; FC2; B R 7 B W 8 ; B R Ì I , 12; FC7; CJ7

Methods Class discussion is vital. T h e connection b e t w e e n s c i e n c e a n d daily life should be continually brought back to the experience of the students. The topics involving case studies, such as land restoration, water management, f o o d security, energy, and health, should be opened up by inquiring about the students' homes and experience. Has their land been restored or is it in need of restoration? A Superfund site, perhaps? Where does the water they drink c o m e f r o m ? How safe is it? Will there always be enough? Where in the United States might there be w a t e r s h o r t a g e s ? W h e r e d o e s our f o o d c o m e f r o m ? How is it produced? Have sludents ever experienced an " e n ergy crisis"? Have they heard of one? What is a c h i l d h o o d disease? W h o has had one? Was it serious? Why or why not? (Measles killed more children in the Sahel during the famine years 1 9 6 7 - 1 9 7 3 than did hunger.) T e a m s of two to four students should choose topics f r o m Part II and research a particular technology or scientific question using primary literature. What is the relevance of this scientific paper to the crisis in A f r i c a ? Groups, in turn, report to the class. In large research universities or m e t ropolitan settings, it should be possible to locate African graduate students willing to make guest appearances in the class at appropriate times. I have also f o u n d that team-teaching is valuable. At H a m p s h i r e College, I have for five years been teaching a course (more general than that outlined above, but similar) entitled " T h e World Food C r i s i s . " I a l w a y s teach with one of my colleagues trained in biological sciences. This provides the in-depth b a c k g r o u n d needed to field s t u d e n t s ' q u e s t i o n s a n d gives support for one-on-one sessions with students w h o s e project options are more strongly oriented toward the natural science end of the social science/natural science continuum. In an advanced class, or one with highly motivated students, the text listed as optional, Change in an African Village, should be read in its entirety alongside the other weekly readings during the first four weeks. During Part II of the course, each m a j o r topic should be related in c l a s s

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discussion to material in the village of Kefa, portrayed in the book. Conversely, discussion can start with concrete topics in the book (e.g., economic activities such as raising pigs or healing stomach pains), and then students can be asked what "science" is applicable. A valuable source of supplementary material for class discussion is a collection of case studies of Nordic development projects dealing with environmental problems available from the Panos Institute. 1 1 3 Ten of the fourteen case studies documented are in Africa, and the accounts give background information as well as independent critiques of the projects' strengths and weaknesses. Versions of this course taught as a senior seminar or other advanced learning activity could include the requirement that each participant follow and interact with a computer conference on the international network, E C O N E T . This system has numerous conferences on forestry, water resources, energy, agriculture, wildlife, and health at any given time. I noted early in this chapter that undergraduate field visits to Africa often, fail. Students may enjoy them, but failure in the context of this chapter means that they have not learned what they could about science, about Africa, and about themselves. The reason for this is that very few overseas programs place students in citizen-based, problem-focused, action-research situations. Contact with science and African communities tends to be compartmentalized. Typically, students participate in something like counting giraffes or elands in a commercial game-ranching operation (this is the "science" bit) and later visit an African family for a "home stay." The latter constitutes contact with the community. The two parts of the visit are not connected. The ideal situation would be placement with a family that is engaged in a community self-help project that involves citizens themselves as coinvestigators in areas such as child health, food science, water treatment, agroforestry, or renewable energy. But more than this is required to take maximum advantage of the learning possible while visiting Africa. I would suggest that, before and after such a journey, students work in similar citizen-based, problemfocused situations at home. There are a wide variety of community groups at work on air and water pollution, waste disposal, recycling, urban gardening, food access through food banks and prepared-food salvage programs, child health issues such as removal of lead paint, A I D S education, and so on. At first glance there may seem to be a world of difference between women building ferro-cement water storage tanks for roof-rainwater catchment in Kenya and parents researching and protesting lead poisoning of their children in New Jersey. There are, however, many similarities that concern the role of science, the role of the citizen, power, communication, and control over one's life. There are groups such as Global Exchange and I R E D (International Network for Educational Development) 1 1 4 that specialize in connecting grassroots groups in this country

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with counterparts in Africa. Kevin Danaher, of Global Exchange, has written a very useful resource guide to building people-to-people ties with Africa, Beyond Safaris.115

DIFFICULTIES AND OPPORTUNITIES One of the most obvious difficulties of this approach to African science is its interdisciplinary nature. A problem-focus, especially one that involves local people and respects their knowledge and participation, tends to cut across academic disciplinary boundaries. This is apparent in the model syllabus, where readings also often cut across historical time in their treatment of colonial science, developmentalist or modernizing science, and contemporary problem-focused science. Interdisciplinarity is also evident in the way that key areas are identified (see the second section of this chapter). For instance, climate is not discussed under Environmental Science but under Energy Studies. In these and most other key areas, work at a wide range of scales is recognized: studies that attempt to model climate change or water balance at a continental scale at one extreme; others that deal with specific cultural responses to drought or vernacular techniques for well-digging at the other. None of this fits nicely in academic niches labelled geophysics or biochemistry. There may, consequently, be a feeling on the part of some science faculty that such a course is not doing justice to "science." Moreover, in order to provide the socioeconomic, cultural, and political context within which science has meaning in Africa today, the books I have cited contain much material from the social sciences and humanities. This might provoke an even more extreme reaction from some colleagues, to the effect that the wolf of radical social criticism is masquerading in the clothing of innocent, sheeplike science. Administratively, efforts to overcome the above objections with a team approach that involves a natural scientist and social scientist may be stymied if full teaching credit toward their required load is not given to both teachers. This is a general problem, faced by those attempting innovative team approaches, especially in interdisciplinary areas such as African studies, women's studies, and environmental studies. At a deeper level, the weight of uncriticized assumptions about the unity of science, its value-neutrality, the transcultural validity of its methods, and so forth, are very hard to counterbalance. This problem was discussed early in the chapter. Also discussed at the outset was the assumption that development and progress are real and positive. Some of the literature cited under each of the key areas listed above discusses a number of negative effects of so-called development on African lives, livelihoods, and landscapes. Each of these negative social or ecological consequences,

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and the entire series for that matter, could be dismissed as costs that are outweighed by greater benefits. Certainly one hears this reaction. It is hard to find c o m m o n ground in such an a r g u m e n t . N o one has yet drawn up a definitive balance sheet of this kind for any A f r i c a n nation, much less for the c o n t i n e n t . Costs tend to a c c u m u l a t e on the side of the poor, the less vocal, and less visible. T h e y also tend to accrue to f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s in unpredictable ways. Elsewhere, I have shown that even on as basic a criterion as infant mortality, Africa had begun to lose the alleged benefits of so-called development by the mid-1980s. 1 1 6 Apart f r o m this, s o m e w o u l d reject a " b a l a n c e s h e e t " a p p r o a c h to African development out of hand. Historian Walter Rodney made this arg u m e n t , for instance, on the basis that the A f r i c a n masses need to determine what development is in the first place. 1 1 7 Balance sheets are usually based on someone e l s e ' s definition of " d e v e l o p m e n t . " Opportunities On the other hand, the time is ripe for a radical rethinking of Western academic understanding and approaches to both Africa and to science. Both Africans and students are tired of the doom-and-gloom view. African voices are calling for respect and autonomy. Even the most well-meaning systemsanalysis of African crisis imposes an alien structure on Africans' lived reality. Real people do not inhabit graphs and diagrams, the boxes connected by arrows that many of us, including myself, are fond of drawing. To move forward, beyond the myths of development, all of us need to learn from each other. W e need to listen to Africa. 1 1 8 In the case of science, this means we need to m o v e out of laboratories into urban neighborhoods and villages. We need to adopt a radically participatory mode of research in which local knowledge plays a key role. 1 1 9 Such a problem-focused approach offers the opportunity to e m p o w e r our students to deal creatively, in a similarly participatory manner, with people in this country as they confront the massive challenges posed by pollution, poverty, and homelessness. This is a time of considerable restlessness a m o n g scientists. W o m e n in science are often uncomfortable, and they have sought to understand their dis-ease in a feminist critique of male s c i e n c e . 1 2 0 Both f e m a l e and male scientists w e l c o m e the talk of a peace dividend and of e c o n o m i c c o n v e r sion f r o m war to peace applications of science and technology. However, they are b e c o m i n g impatient as time goes by with little follow-through in budgetary terms. Big Science remains king despite setbacks for the supercollider and space programs. This restive a t m o s p h e r e a m o n g many scientists and science students presents the opportunity for courses that provide not only a critical perspective on " n o r m a l " science but also discuss applications to p e o p l e ' s basic p r o b l e m s and the d e m o c r a t i c control of science priorities.

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REASSESSMENTS A N D NEW DIRECTIONS

CONCLUSION: IKEM'S CHILD By way of conclusion, I will return to the three goals of teaching A f r i c a n science mentioned at the beginning. If one were to think about African science in the w a y s I have suggested, what would students learn about science? What would they learn about t h e m s e l v e s ? What would they learn about Africa? About " n o r m a l " science, students might learn that it is not what they think it is and that it is not all that it c o u l d be. Certainly, it is possible to appreciate the fact that the Western story is only one of many when o n e looks at the history and c o n t e m p o r a r y activities of science in, about, and from Africa. Called into question can be both the standard Popperian notions (strict, rule-based m e t h o d s of observation, hypothesis formation, and falsification) and K u h n ' s reinterpretation. 1 2 1 But this should not plunge the student into a bottomless morass of relativism. Students can also learn that " h y b r i d " sciences are constantly being created in the fields, w o r k s h o p s , villages, r e f u g e e c a m p s , favelas, barrios, and other squatter settlements in the megacities of the late twentieth century. S t u d e n t s can also learn that myth and science are not opposites; that both seek to unify and systematize experience. T h e possibility of a much more open science in the twenty-first century parallels d i s c u s s i o n s of the possibility of a m a j o r revolution in grassroots d e m o c r a c y and the e m e r g e n c e of a new civic culture. 1 2 2 A glimpse of the possibility is visible in the Chinese program for integrating the efforts of Western biomedical and traditional Chinese medical research. Both b e n e f i t e d , and new, surprising things w e r e discovered. 1 2 3 About themselves, students can also learn a good deal. If only through print and electronic media, in meetings with A f r i c a n s w h o c o n f r o n t their p r o b l e m s and struggle with t h e m , it is possible for students to i m a g i n e themselves also in a problem-solving role. The problems Africans are confronting may appear extreme, but they are not qualitatively different f r o m the o n e s North Americans and Europeans c o n f r o n t . Learning to p e r c e i v e the unity, or interrelatedness, of person and place in Africa, students can learn to see themselves, as persons, in such relations with their homes, and places. I agree strongly with David Orr when he writes of the importance of place in pedagogy. The advantages he notes are that place-based study integrates experience and intellect, counters the widespread tendency toward overspecialization, and p r o v i d e s the basis for "an applied ethical sense toward habitat." 1 2 4 By this, I think Orr means the same thing as the " c o n n e c t e d n e s s " to people-in-places I referred to earlier while d i s c u s s i n g the integration of mental, manual, and emotional labor. A b o u t A f r i c a , the student can learn that it is not all dust and cattle bones, lions, mosquitos, dictators, wild-eyed, teenaged soldiers, and starving babies. 1 2 5 It is possible to learn that A f r i c a is c o m p o s e d of p l a c e s w h e r e people live; that it is not merely a place of exotic e c o s y s t e m s

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BEN WISNER

characterized by torrid inhospitability ("the White M a n ' s G r a v e " ) or unimaginable riches ( " K i n g S o l o m o n ' s Mines"). Like all other places, A f r i c a ' s places have environmental strengths and limitations in relation to the satisfaction of human needs. Ordinary people have a great deal of knowledge of these strengths and limitations. For the most part, Western science has ignored this local k n o w l e d g e and has worked as handmaiden to the external interests or elite local interests that were concerned less with meeting human needs than with extracting minerals, hydropower, fossil fuels, cash crops, livestock, and forest products from A f r i c a . It is also possible to learn that African scientists, intellectuals, and other leaders are working hard to understand A f r i c a ' s crisis and to map out a coherent vision of the future. 1 2 6 It is also possible to frame this new awareness of the potential of A f r i c a n places and of a more humanistic role for science in the context of a greater understanding of A f r i c a n people and their potential. I will close on this note with a highly e v o c a t i v e passage from the end of A c h e b e ' s novel Anthills of the Savannah.121 A group of w o m e n are mourning the death of a man w h o tried to fight against corruption, arbitrary use of political power, and the arrogant distance of government officials from the needs of ordinary people. 1 2 8 T h e man, Ikem, w a s finally shot down by a drunken soldier when he tried to save a young girl the soldier was abducting. The w o m e n , as they mourn, dedicate t h e m s e l v e s to the same struggle for justice and sustainability that Ikem fought. I k e m ' s child has just been born. They name her Amaechina: May-the-path-neverclose. Someone objects:

"But that's a b o y ' s name." " N o matter." " G i r l fit . . . a l s o . " " I t ' s a b e a u t i f u l n a m e . T h e Path o f I k e m . " " T h a t ' s r i g h t . M a y it n e v e r c l o s e , n e v e r o v e r g r o w . " " D a s right!" " M a y it a l w a y s s h i n e ! T h e S h i n i n g P a t h o f I k e m . " " D a t na w o n d e r f u l n a m e . " " N a fine name s o . "

The women continue to discuss: " I n o u r t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i e t y . . . the f a t h e r n a m e d the c h i l d . . . . W h a t d o e s a m a n k n o w a b o u t a c h i l d a n y w a y that he s h o u l d p r e s u m e to g i v e it a name. . . ." " N a true m y b r o t h e r . . . . N a w o m a n d e c o m e tell m a n s a y na h i m b o r n the c h i l d . T h e n the m a n b e g i n m a k e inyanga ther. N a yeye

and b e g i n a n s w e r f a -

father w e b e . "

" E x a c t l y . S o 1 think o u r t r a d i t i o n is f a u l t y t h e r e . It is r e a l l y s a f e s t to a s k the m o t h e r w h a t her c h i l d is or m e a n s o r s h o u l d b e c a l l e d . "

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REASSESSMENTS A N D NEW DIRECTIONS

Later an o l d m a n c o m e s in a n d is v i s i b l y s h o c k e d that the w o m e n h a v e n a m e d the child. "Who gave her the name?" "All of us here." "All of you here . . . all of you are her father?" "Yes, and mother." T h e s e w o m e n are a s s e r t i n g t h e m s e l v e s in a w a y that h e a l s t h e m s e l v e s a n d c a n heal A f r i c a . In s p e a k i n g a b o u t the "path" t h e y are d i s c u s s i n g m o r e than an i n f a n t ' s n a m e . T h e y are r e f e r r i n g to the f u t u r e , to A f r i c a ' s f u t u r e . In g i v i n g t h e infant girl a b o y ' s n a m e , b y p r o n o u n c i n g t h e m s e l v e s all b o t h m o t h e r a n d f a t h e r — w o m e n organized,

not a l o n e — t h e y , and the l i v i n g

w o m e n o f A f r i c a l i k e t h e m , d e c l a r e that the c o n s t r u c t i o n o f A f r i c a ' s f u t u r e is a l s o t h e i r right. T h i s c h a p t e r is d e d i c a t e d to t h e s e w o m e n a n d t o t h e street children, dry-land farmers, miners, s t e v e d o r e s , cattle and

goat

herders, e x c o m b a t a n t s o f the liberation m o v e m e n t s , w h o , through their s t r u g g l e s , are g i v i n g birth t o a n e w s c i e n c e f o r all h u m a n k i n d .

NOTES 1. Orbital Transport-und Raketen-Aktiengesellschaft, based in Munich, is a commercial satellite launching corporation that leased a 39,000-square-mile territory within Zaire. This is an area about the size of the state of Virginia. The lease expires in 2 0 0 1 . E. Regis, Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition (Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1990). 2. R. Manoff, Social Marketing: New Imperative for Public Health ( N e w York: Praeger, 1985). 3. J. Scott, Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance ( N e w Haven: Yale, 1985); F. Marglin and S. Marglin, eds., Dominating Knowledge: Development, Culture, and Resistance (Oxford: Clarendon, 1990). 4. P. Tempels, Bantu Philosophy (Paris: Présence Africane, 1959). 5. E. Wamba-Dia-Wamba, "Philosophy in Africa: Challenges of the African Philosopher," in African Philosophy: The Essential Readings, ed. T. Serequeberhan ( N e w York: Paragon House, 1991): 2 1 1 - 2 4 6 . 6. V. Mudimbe, The Invention of Africa (Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 1988); T. Serequeberhan, "African Philosophy: The Point in Question," in African Philosophy: The Essential Readings, ed. T. Serequeberhan ( N e w York: Paragon House, 1991): 3 - 2 8 . 7. B. Harrell-Bond, Imposing Aid: Emergency Assistance to Refugees ( N e w York: Oxford University Press, 1986). 8. D. Cohen and E. Odhiambo, Siaya: The Historical Anthropology of an African Landscape (London: James Currey, 1989): 9. 9. R. Chambers, "Microenvironments Unobserved," Gatekeeper Series no. 22. (London: International Institute for Environment and Development, 1990): 6 - 7 . 10. D. Rocheleau (panel contribution at Annual Meeting of the A s s o c i a t i o n of American Geographers, San D i e g o , April 1992, in session organized by L. Yapa and B. Wisner on the theme "'Development' as Destruction").

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11. P. Harrison, The Greening of Africa: Breaking Through in the Battle for Land and Food (New York: Penguin, 1987); A. De Wall, Famine that Kills (Oxford: Clarendon, 1989); T. Bass, Camping with the Prince and Other Tales of Science in Africa (New York: Penguin, 1990). 12. E. Jones, The European Miracle ( N e w York: C a m b r i d g e University Press, 1981). See J. Blaut, Diffusionism: The Colonizer's Model of the World (New York: G u i l f o r d , 1992) and J. Blaut et al., 1492: The Debate on Colonialism, Eurocentrism, and History (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1992) for a brilliant critique of what Blaut calls "cultural racism," the position that it is the superior rationality of Western thinking and institutions that a c c o u n t s for e c o n o m i c and material accumulation. 13. K. Wiredu, " H o w Not to C o m p a r e A f r i c a n T h o u g h t with Western T h o u g h t , " in African Philosophy: An Introduction, ed. R. Wright (Lanham, M D : University Press of America, 1984): 1 5 3 - 1 5 4 ; O. O w o m o y e l a , " A f r i c a and the Imperative of Philosophy: A Skeptical C o n s i d e r a t i o n , " in African Philosophy: The Essential, Readings, ed. T. Serequeberhan (New York: Paragon House, 1991). 14. E. K o d j o , Africa Tomorrow (New York: Marrow, 1988). 15. P. Bodunrin, "The Question of African P h i l o s o p h y , " in African Philosophy: The Essential Readings, ed. T. Serequeberhan, ( N e w York: Paragon House, 1991): 68. 16. O w o m o y e l a , "Africa and the Imperative," 162. 17. B. Wisner, "Introduction: Science and Technology in A f r i c a , " in Science Across Cultures: An Annotated Bibliography of Books in Non-Western Science, Technology, and Medicine, ed. H. Selin (New York: Garland, 1992). 18. K. D u g a n , "Introduction: Science and T e c h n o l o g y in A s i a , " in Science Across Cultures: An Annotated Bibliography of Books on Non-Western Science, Technology, and Medicine, ed. H. Selin ( N e w York: Garland, 1992). 19. T . Odhiambo et al., Hope Born Out of Despair: Managing the African Crisis (Nairobi: Heinemann Kenya, 1988): 66. 20. C . A. Diop, Civilization or Barbarism (Brooklyn: Lawrence Hill Books, 1981): 2 3 1 - 3 0 8 . 21. B. Wisner, " B o t s w a n a , " in Energy and Development in Southern Africa: SADCC Country Studies, Part 1, ed. P. O ' K e e f e and B. M u n s l o w (Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies and the Beijer Institute, 1984). 22. E. Marealle, "Research for Peasant F a r m e r s " (in P a n o s Institute, dossier no. 5, 1987). 23. H. Oruka, "Sagacity in African Philosophy," in African Philosphy: The Essential Readings, ed. T. Serequeberhan (New York: Paragon House, 1991): 4 7 - 6 2 . 24. See the debate in S e r e q u e b e r h a n , African Philosophy, especially contributions by Serequeberhan and W a m b a - D i a - W a m b a that emphasize the importance of the political and survival struggles of the masses as a source of ideas that philosophers can (and should) systematize; and Oruka, Sagacity and O w o m o y e l a , Africa and the Imperative, w h o , in d i f f e r e n t ways, d e f e n d the so-called illiterate culture of the masses as philosophy. 25. B. Wisner, Power and Need in Africa: Basic Human Needs and Development Policy (London: Earthscan Publications, 1988): 1 3 - 2 3 . 26. T h e we in this section is intentionally a m b i g u o u s . It certainly refers to teams—research and action teams, to be sure—but it also refers to the fact that all k n o w l e d g e and action are social, not individual. We can be a team composed of local people and Western-trained African scientists, students on vacation from the university, "barefoot" scientists of many kinds with just a few months' formal training as d y n a m i z e r s of locally based action-research in s o m e area like sanitation,

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malaria control, crop protection, or grain storage. We could be extended to include expatriate, Western-trained scientists, volunteers, or students doing field-work. In a more general way, in regard to local survival issues in the United States and Europe, we generally means citizens; but again, not just the formally trained, because the approach of the new science should be participatory here as well. Such U.S. teams could also include visiting African scientists. 27. H. Rose, "Hand, Brain, and Heart: A Feminist Epistemology for the Natural Sciences," in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 9, no. 1 (1983). 28. S. Harding, The Science Question in Feminism (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1986). 29. P. Richards, Coping with Hunger: Hazard and Experiment in an African Rice-Farming System (London: Allen and Unwin, 1986). 30. P. Bradley, Woodfuel, Women and Woodlots. (London: Macmillan, 1991). ( C a m b r i d g e : M I T Press, 1983): 31. A. Pacey, The Culture of Technology 149-159. 32. A. Giddens, The Constitution of Society (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984). 33. S. Kruks, Situation and Human Existence (London: Unwin Hyman, 1990). 34. D. Curtin and L. Heldke, eds., Cooking, Eating, Thinking: Transformative Philosophies of Food (Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 1992). 35. R. Dumont, False Start in Africa (New York: Praeger, 1966). 36. R. Dumont and M.-F. Mottin, Stranglehold on Africa ( L o n d o n : André Deutsch, 1983). 37. On the impacts of structural adjustment in A f r i c a , see G. Cornia, G. R. Jolly, and F. Stewart, eds., Adjustment with a Human Face, 2 vols. ( N e w York: Oxford University Press, 1987); D. Bell and M. Reich, eds., Health, Nutrition and Economic Crises: Approaches to Policy in the Third World (Dover, MA: Auburn House Publishing, 1988); Wisner, Power and Need; B. Onimode, ed., The IMF, the World Bank, and the African Debt, 2 vols. ( L o n d o n : Zed Press, 1989): 198; D. Elson, " H o w is Structural A d j u s t m e n t Affecting W o m e n ? " Development 1 (1989): 6 7 - 7 4 ; W. Weissman, "Structural A d j u s t m e n t in Africa: Insights from the Experience of Ghana and Senegal," World Development 18, no. 12 (1990): 1621-34; B. Rau, From Feast to Famine (London: Zed Press, 1991). 38. D. Taylor and F. Mackenzie, eds., Development from Within: Survival in Rural Africa (London: Routledge, 1992). 39. B. Wisner, "Jilaal, Gu, Hagaa, and Der: Living with the Somali Land, and Living W e l l " (paper commissioned for the conference " T h e Somali Challenge," Centre for Applied International Negotiations, Geneva, under the sponsorship of St. Lawrence University, the Ford Foundation, and the U.S. Institute of Peace, 1992). 40. W . Sachs, introduction to The Development Dictionary, ed. W. Sachs (London: Zed, 1992): 1 - 5 . 41. J.D. Bernal, Science in History (New York: Macmillan, 1954). 42. C. Juma, The Gene Hunters: Biotechnology and the Scramble for Seeds (London and Princeton: Zed and Princeton University Press, 1989). 43. V. Shiva, Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, and Development (London: Zed, 1989), Chap. 2. See also D. H a r a w a y , Simians, Cyborgs, and Woman: The Reinvention of Nature ( N e w York: Routledge, 1991); C. Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution (San Francisco: Harper and R o w , 1980). 44. K. Hewitt, Interpretations of Calamity (London: Allen & Unwin, 1983); A. Kirby, ed., Nothing to Fear: Risks and Hazards in American Society (Tucson: Arizona University Press, 1990).

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45. A. Chase, Playing God in Yellowstone (San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1987). 46. Regis, Great Mambo Chicken. 47. Regis, Great Mambo Chicken, 279. 48. M. Little, "Imperialism, Colonialism and the New Science of Nutrition: The Tanganyika Experience, 1925-45," Social Science and Medicine 32, 1 (1991): 11-14. 49. W. Muiruri, "Bio-Economic Conflicts in Resource Use and Management: A Kenyan Case Study," Geo-Journal 2 (1978): 3 2 1 - 3 3 0 ; M. Parkipuny, "Some Critical Aspects of the Maasai Predicament," in African Socialism in Practice, ed. A. Coulson (London: Spokesman, 1979): 136-157; C. Odegi-Awvondo, "Wildlife Conservation and the Decline of Pastoralism in Kenya," African Journal of Sociology 2 (1982): 74-83. 50. M. Parkipuny, "The Ngorongoro Crater Issue: The Point of View of the Indigenous Maasai Community of Ngorongoro," (paper for the International Congress on Nature Management and Sustainable Development, University of Groningen, 1988, 4 citing B. Rensberger, The Cult of the Wilds [New York: Anchor, 1973]): 4. 51. B. Grzimek and M. Grzimek, Serengeti Shall Not Die (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1960). 52. P. Gourou, The Tropical World (Longmans: Green, 1953). 53. Grzimek and Grzimek, Serengeti, 160, 294. 54. B. Wisner, "Doubts about 'Social Marketing,'" Health Policy and Planning 2, no. 2 (1987): 178-179. 55. The term "bricolage" implies tinkering, jury-rigging, making do in an unsystematic way. 56. C. Lévi-Strauss, The Savage Mind (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1966); Mudimbe, Invention of Africa. 57. In newly industrializing countries, such as Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea, pollution and resource degradation have reached very high levels. 58. Harding, Science Question. 59. I. Illich, Tools for Conviviality (London: Calder and Boyars, 1973) and Shadow Work (Boston: Marion Boyars, 1981). 60. On the similarities between science and myth, see Feyerabend, Against Method (London: Verso, 1975); and R. Horton, "African Traditional Thought and Western Science," Africa 37(1967): 87-155. 61. Despite scientific disagreement over details, there is little doubt that the last 150 years of industrial activity (in manufacturing, agriculture, fishing, and forestry) has resulted in global warming, upper atmospheric ozone depletion, marine pollution, overfishing, acid precipitation, water and air pollution, soil contamination, salinization, erosion, decrease in wetland ecosystems, deforestation, and loss of genetic diversity. 62. J. Blaut, Diffusionism; and Blaut et al., 1492. 63. P. De Groot, A. Field-Juma, and D. Hall, Taking Root: Revegetation in Semi-Arid Kenya (Nairobi: African Centre for Technology Studies Press, 1992). 64. P. Ngunjiri, "In a Dry Land" (in Panos Institute, dossier no. 8, 1987). 65. Harrison, Greening of Africa. 66. J. Beyer, " A f r i c a , " in World Systems of Traditional Resource Management, ed. G. Klee (New York: Halsted, 1954): 5 - 3 7 ; B. Wamalwa, "Indigenous Knowledge and Natural Resources," in Gaining Ground: Institutional Innovations in Land-use Management in Kenya, ed. A. Kiriro and C. Juma (Nairobi: African Centre for Technology Studies Press, 1989): 4 5 - 6 6 ; C. Reij, "Indigenous Soil and

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Water Conservation in Africa" (Gatekeeper Series no. 27, London: International Institute for Environment and Development, 1991). 67. G. Leach and R. Mearns, Beyond the Woodfuel Crisis: People, Land and Trees in Africa (London: Earthscan Publications, 1988): 1 5 6 - 1 5 9 . 68. For example, see H. Pereira et al., "Hydrological Effects of Changes in Land-use in S o m e East African Catchment Areas," East African Agriculture and Forestry Journal 27 (1962): 4 2 - 7 5 . 69. A. Berg, "Sliding Toward Nutrition Malpractice" (Martin Forman Memorial Lecture, mimeo, 1991). 70. P. Kerkof, Agroforestry in Africa (London and Washington: Panos Institute, 1990); A. Grainger, The Threatening Desert: Controlling Desertification (London: Earthscan Publications, 1990). 71. D. Rocheleau, F. Weber, and A. Field-Juma, Agroforestry in Dryland Africa (Nairobi: International Council for Research in Agroforestry, 1988); Harrison, Greening of Africa. 72. A. Pacey and A. Cullis, Rainwater Harvesting: The Collection of Rainfall and Runoff in Rural Areas (London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1986); C. Barrow, Water Management in Developing Countries (London: Longman, 1985). 73. J. Beyer, "Africa." in World Systems of Traditional Resource Management, ed. G. Klee, ( N e w York: Halsted, 1954): 5 - 3 7 . 74. J. Mukela, "Piped Water by the People" (in Panos Institute, dossier no. 11, 1987); B. Omoro, "Marginal Soil, Marginal Farms" (in Panos Institute, dossier no. 1, 1987); C. Kerr, ed., Community Health and Sanitation (London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1989. 75. C. Wacker, "Participatory Development Planning for Sustainable Development with W o m e n ' s Groups in Kenya," in Women and the Environment, ed. A. Rodda, (London: Zed, 1991): 1 4 1 - 1 4 6 . 76. H. Guggenheim and R. Fanale, "Water Storage Through Shared Technology: Four Projects A m o n g the D o g o n in Mali," Assignment Children 45/46 (1975): 151-166. 77. S. AI Azharia Jahn, Proper Use of African Natural Coagulants for Rural Water Supplies (Eschborn: GTZ, 1986). 78. W. Allan, The African Husbandman (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1965). 79. P. Richards, Indigenous Agricultural Revolution (London: Hutchinson, 1985) and Coping with Hunger. 80. B. Wisner and P. Mbithi, "Drought in Eastern Kenya: Nutritional Status and Farmer Activity," in Natural Hazards, ed. G. White ( N e w York: Oxford University Press, 1974): 8 7 - 9 7 . 81. P. Walker, Famine Early Warning Systems (London: Earthscan Publications, 1989); A. De Wall, Famine that Kills, (Oxford: Clarendon, 1989); J. Oguntoyinbo and P. Richards, "Drought and the Nigerian Farmer," Journal of Arid Environments 1, (1978): 1 6 5 - 1 9 4 ; M. Watts, Silent Violence: Food, Famine and Peasants in Northern Nigeria (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983); T. Downing, K. Gitu, and C. Kamau, eds., Coping with Drought in Kenya (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1989); M. Glantz, ed., Drought and Hunger in Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987); M. Mortimore, Adapting to Drought: Farmers, Famines and Desertification in West Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989); B. Wisner, "Too Little T o Live On, T o o Much to Die From: Lesotho's Agrarian Options in the Year 2000," in Transforming Southern African Agriculture, ed. A. Seidman, K. Mwanza, N. Simelane, and D. Weiner (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1992): 8 7 - 1 0 4 . 82. J. Guy er, "Women's Work and Production Systems: A Review of T w o Reports on the Agricultural Crisis," Review of African Political Economy 27/28 (1984): 1 8 6 - 1 9 2 ; T. Gammell, Date Palms in Kenya: An Economic Resource for

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Arid and Semi-arid Areas (Nairobi: African Centre for Technology Studies Press, 1989); A. Hjort af Ornas, ed., Camels in Development: Sustainable Production in African Drylands (Uppsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1988); M. Horowitz and F. Jowkar, Pastoral Women and Change (Binghamton, NY: Institute for Development Anthropology, 1992). 83. C. Juma, Biological Diversity and Innovation: Conserving and Utilizing Genetic Resources in Kenya (Nairobi: African Centre for Technology Studies Press, 1989). 84. T. Odhiambo, "East Africa: Science for Development," Science 158 (1967): 876-881; T. Odhiambo, "Designing a New Science-led Development in Tropical Africa" (paper presented at the Summer Institute for African Agricultural Research, Madison, Wl, 1990); Odhiambo et al., Hope Born Out of Despair. 85. T. Bass, Camping with the Prince and Other Tales of Science in Africa (New York: Penguin, 1990). 86. J. Hunter, "Progress and Concerns of the World Health Organization Onchocerciasis Programme in West Africa," Social Science and Medicine 15D, (1981): 261-275. 87. G. Durrell, The Zoo in my Luggage (New York: Viking, 1960). 88. S. Okie, "Lake Victoria Faces Death by Asphyxia," Guardian (London), 8 July 1992, p. 10. 89. Bass, Camping, 9 0 - 1 1 5 . 90. B. Wisner et al., "Designing Storage Systems with Villagers," African Environment 3 (1979): 8 5 - 9 5 ; E. Mduma, "Appropriate Technology for Grain Storage at Bwakira Chini Village," in Participatory Research: An Emerging Alternative Methodology, ed. Y. Kassam and K. Mustafa (New Delhi: Society for Participatory Research in Asia, 1982): 198-213; B. Wisner, D. Stea, and S. Kruks, "Participatory and Action Research Methods," in Advances in Environment, Behavior, and Design, ed. E. Zube and G. Moore, vol. 3, (New York: Plenum Press, 1991): 271-296. 91. P. Freire, Education for Critical Consciousness (New York: Continuum, 1992). 92. M. Carr, Blacksmith, Baker, Roofing-sheet Maker . . . (London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1984). 93. C. Juma, "Intellectual Property Rights for Jua Kali Innovations," in Innovation and Sovereignty, ed. C. Juma and J. Ojwang (Nairobi: African Centre for Technology Studies, 1989): 123-144; R. Clarke, ed., Wood-stove Dissemination (London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1985). 94. To give four examples, in the early 1980s the contribution of biomass (wood, charcoal, and crop residues) in the total energy budget of Kenya was 74 percent; for Somalia it was 89 percent; for Mozambique, 89 percent; and for Tanzania 91 percent. However, there are exceptions, such as Botswana, where coal is important even for domestic use, and biomass accounts for only 44 percent. B. Munslow et al., "Energy and Development on the African East Coast: Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique," Ambio 12, 6 (1983): 335; and Wisner, "Botswana," 92. 95. For discussions of basic human needs and how (and how not) to measure their satisfaction, see M. D. Morris (inventor of the PQLI), Measuring the Condition of the World's Poor (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1979); Wisner, Power and Need; and L. Doyal and I. Gough, A Theory of Human Need (New York: Guilford, 1991). The PQLI is an index made up from statistics on life expectancy, infant mortality, and adult literacy. Morris found that, when combined, these statistics serve as a good surrogate for a wide range of other welfare measures. J. Goldemberg et al., "Basic Needs and Much More with One Kilowatt Per Capita," Ambio 14, 4 - 5 (1985): 190-200.

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96. B. Wisner et al., "A Matrix-Flow Approach to Rural Domestic Energy: A Kenyan Case Study," in Demands on Rural Lands, ed. C. Cocklin, B. Smit, and T. Johnston, (Boulder: Westview Press, 1987): 2 1 1 - 2 3 8 ; Leach and Mearns, Beyond the Woodfuel Crisis. 97. B. Wisner, "Report on the Second International Symposium," in FoodEnergy Nexus and Ecosystem, ed. T. Moulik (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1988): 9 - 5 2 . 98. Clarke, Wood-stove Dissemination; Wisner, Power and Need. 99. E. Cecelski, Linking Energy with Survival (Geneva: 1LO, 1987). 100. K. Shellie-Dessert and G. Hosfield, "Implications of Genetic Variability for Dry Bean Cooking Time of Tropical Dry Bean Cultivars: Screening Method and Relevance to Firewood Use in Central Africa," Ecology of Food and Nutrition, 1990. 101. W. Ottichilo et al.,Weathering the Storm: Climate Change and Investment in Kenya (Nairobi: African Centre for Technology Studies Press, 1992). 102. B. Wisner, "Health of the Future/The Future of Health," in Twenty-first Century Africa: Towards a New Vision of Self-Sustainable Development, ed. A. Seidman and F. Anan (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1992): 149-181. 103. Malaria resurgence is a particularly troubling problem. The Western medical community does not have an answer except to wait for a vaccine! Bradley (D. Bradley, "Malaria—Whence and Whither?" in Malaria: Waiting for the Vaccine, ed. G. Targett [New York: Wiley, 1991]: 18-22) has referred to the 1980s as a period of chaos from the point of view of malaria control. On the impact of development policies and of environmental disruption on health, see Lee (J. Lee, The Environment, Public Health, and Human Ecology: Considerations for Economic Development [Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985]), and Cooper Weil (D. Cooper Weil et al. The Impact of Development Policies on Health: A Review of the Literature [Geneva: WHO, 1990]). The negative impacts of development projects in AFrica, especially the hazards of large-scale water developments, have been documented for a long time (C. Hughes, and J. Hunter, "Disease and 'Development' in Tropical Africa." Social Science and Medicine 3 [1970]: 443-493; B. Wisner, "Health and the Geography of Wholeness," in Geography of Contemporary Africa, ed. G. Knight and J. Newman [Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976]). It is a scandal and great shame that in light of very clear, agreedupon models for anticipating health problems (M. Birley, Guidelines for Forecasting the Vector-Borne Disease Implications of Water Resource Development (PEEM Guideline Series 2, Geneva: Joint WHO/FAO/UNEP/UNCHS Panel of Experts on Environmental Management for Vector Control [PEEM] 1989) and guidelines for provision of health safeguards (M. Tiffen, Guidelines for the Incorporation of Health Safeguards into Irrigation Projects through Intersectoral Cooperation (PEEM Guideline Series 1, Geneva: Joint WHO/FAO/UNEP/UNCHS Panel of Experts on Environmental Management for Vector Control, 1989) that dams are still built without safeguards and are celebrated as successes even when the surrounding population is sick with malaria and bilharzia (A. Ngaiza, "Mtera Dam" [in Panos Institute, dossier no. 13, 1987]). 104. A. Raikes, "Women's Health in East Africa," Social Science and Medicine 28, 5 (1989): 447-460; M. Turshen, "Gender and Health in Africa," in Women and Health in Africa, ed. M. Turshen (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1991): 107-124. 105. P. O'Keefe, "Toxic Terrorism" Review of African Political Economy 42 (1988): 8 4 - 9 0 . 106. A. Hartley, "U.N., Italy Probe Toxic Waste Dumping in Somalia," Reuter News Reports, 1992; United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) "Disposal of Hazardous Wastes in Somalia: Statement by UNEP Executive Director Dr.

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Mostafa K. Tolba," UNEP Press Release, 9 September 1992 (Nairobi: UNEP). 107. Wisner, Power and Need, chap. 2. 108. Bass, Camping, 227-282. 109. D. Werner, and B. Bower, Helping Health Workers Learn (Pa!o Alto: The Hesperian Foundation, 1982). 110. C. MacCormack, "Human Ecology and Behaviour in Malaria Control in Tropical Africa," in Applied Field Research in Malaria in Africa, ed. World Health Organization (Geneva: WHO, 1984): 81-88. 111. B. Grundfest Schoepf et al., "Gender, Power, and Risk of AIDS in Zaire," in Women and Health in Africa, ed. M. Turshen (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1991): 187-204. 112. The initials following titles are used in the subsequent suggested syllabus. 113. The Panos Institute may be contacted at 1405 King Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314. 114. Contacts in the United States are: Global Exchange, 2141 Mission Street, Rm. 202, San Francisco, CA, 94110; and IRED—North, 8319 Haddon Drive, Tokoma Park, Md., 20912. 115. K. Danaher, Beyond Safaris: A Guide to Building People-to-People Ties with Africa (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1991). 116. Wisner, Power and Need, chap. 2. See also Cornia et al., Adjustment with a Human Face; B. Onimode, ed., The IMF, the World Bank, and the African Debt, 2 vols. (London: Zed, 1989); Wisner, "Health of the Future." 117. W. Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (London: Bogle L'Ouverture Press, 1972). 118. P. Pradervand, Listening to Africa: Developing Africa from the Grassroots (New York: Praeger, 1989). 119. B. Wisner, D. Stea, and S. Kruks, "Participatory and Action Research Methods"; R. Chambers, A. Pacey, and L. Thrupp, eds., Farmer First: Farmer Innovation and Agricultural Research (London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1989); D. Kalyalya et al. Aid and Development in Southern Africa: A Participatory Learning Process (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1988). 120. H. Longino and E. Hammonds, "Conflicts and Tensions in the Feminist Study of Gender and Science," in Conflicts in Feminism, ed. M. Hirsch and E. Keller (New York: Routledge, 1990): 164-183; Harding, Science Question. 121. T. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1970). 122. E. Boulding, Building a Global Civic Culture (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1988). 123. P. Feyerabend, Against Metho (London: Verso, 1975). 124. D. Orr, Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992): 131. 125. If these stereotypes seem exaggerated, consider French geographer Pierre Gourou's negative assessment: We who live in temperate lands find it difficult to realize how baleful Nature can be to man or to understand that in unreclaimed regions water may swarm with dangerous germs, myriads of blood-sucking insects may inject deadly microbes into the human body and the very soil may be harmful to the touch. 126. A. Mabogunje, The Development Process: A Spatial Perspective (New York: Holmes and Meier, 1981); Odhiambo, et al. Hope Born Out of Despair; C. Achebe et al. Beyond Hunger in Africa: Conventional Wisdom and an African

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Vision (Nairobi and London: Heinemann Kenya and James Currey, 1990); F. Cheru, The Silent Revolution in Africa (London: Zed, 1989). 127. C. Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah (New York: Anchor, 1987). 128. Achebe, Anthills, 206-209.

12 Science from Africa and Science About Africa: Comments on Ben Wisner Celia

Nyamweru

In commenting on Ben Wisner's detailed and stimulating chapter, it is necessary to bear in mind our central objective: to contribute to the teaching of African studies at the undergraduate level in North American universities. After his initial differentiation between science in, about, and from Africa, Wisner stresses the importance we should give to the last of these three, vernacular or popular science from Africa, in our teaching of North American college students. I am far from rejecting this point of view. I would, however, like to point out the need to preserve a more balanced picture of African science in our teaching. We need to make our North American students aware that Western science is present in Africa, as part of the intellectual apparatus of many Africans. We should make our students aware of the element of contrast that is so much a part of all African society: within one family and generation, there may be individuals who have lived out their lives in an essentially traditional, indigenous context and others who have become fully incorporated into the global intellectual community. It is too easy, in undergraduate teaching about Africa, to overconcentrate on the so-called primitive and the exotic, especially in view of the many films about Africa that focus on the "disappearing worlds" of pastoral and hunter-gatherer groups. We do not easily find films about the daily life of a young African who works as a laboratory technician or a land-surveyor—or indeed as a university physics professor. In the introductory slide presentations to a course I teach on Kenya, I show several slides of village life (cultivators and pastoralists, women collecting water and firewood); but I also show a slide of a weather-station observer (who, incidentally, is a woman) photographed as she takes a temperature reading, and one of a land-surveyor at work with a transit. I believe it is necessary for our students to recognize that Africa—for better or for worse—has access to a very wide range of modern science and technology, and that the expertise and control of this science and technology is to a considerable

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extent in the hands of indigenous Africans. Given the cultural baggage that many of our students bring to class, it is perhaps salutory for them to learn that there are Africans living and working in Africa who have higher scientific qualifications and technical skills than they (our students) may ever achieve. Wisner also gives little attention to science about or for Africa. Here, again, I would like to raise a mild caveat. North American students need to understand the physical realities of the African continent, and these physical realities must be expressed in scientific terms—through geology, soilscience, ecology, hydrology, climatology, and the like. Unfortunately, in most U.S. universities these subjects tend to be separated (in terms of department and program structure) from the social sciences and humanities, which provide African studies programs with the majority of their students and courses. Trained as a physical geographer, I believe that any consideration of a region, a nation, or an ethnic group must begin with an evaluation of natural resources and environmental constraints. I have learned over the years, however, that such a "scientific" explanation of the physical realities underlying African life is not much appreciated by the majority of my students, who heave an audible sigh of relief when we move away from the boring stuff to "the real people" of Africa. Yet, unless they have some understanding of the physical realities of the African environment, how can we expect our students to appreciate the challenges facing the continent's inhabitants? To teach regional case studies of, say, a water conservation project is a superficial exercise unless the students appreciate the physical as well as socioeconomic realities underlying the degradation of ecosystems. We need to continue to teach science about Africa, and we should not be unduly concerned that, of necessity, we must do this according to Western methods and paradigms. This, indeed, will provide the foundation for what, according to Wisner, is the core of teaching African science: the teaching of science from Africa. I agree that we need to convey to our students an understanding of and respect for indigenous knowledge-systems. We must show these knowledge-systems as science and not as folklore, countering the prevalent mindset under which, as Wisner points out, "the discussion of weather, seed varieties, or the behavior of insects by rural people . . . is not seen as real science." But let us have our students set the indigenous African perceptions side by side with the perceptions of Western science; which returns me to the point made above—that of the need for our students to understand the Western interpretation of the African environment, which will provide the necessary comparison with the indigenous knowledge-systems. Although we should show the richness and relevance of indigenous knowledge-systems, we must not exaggerate their importance, especially to current development strategies in much of Africa. Indigenous knowledgesystems have provided a rich and rewarding research frontier for generations

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of expatriate graduate students, but they have not generally received adequate respect in Africa itself. I remember visiting a highly respected and successful traditional herbalist in Meru District, Kenya. He told me that during the colonial era he and his colleagues had been called to attend patients at the King George VI Hospital for Africans: this had not continued after independence, when the hospital became the Kenyatta National Hospital. Aklilu Lemma, the Ethiopian scientist responsible for drawing the attention of the world scientific community to the molluscicidal properties of the endod plant (Phytolacca dodecandra), had this to say in an American Association for the Advancement of Science publication: "Even our own government officials, who rely on foreign assistance and external advice, may be unduly influenced concerning local research." 1 Lemma goes on to recommend the training of African scientists through the integrated application of traditional and modern technologies. Wisner rightly stresses that the main problem for ordinary Africans is survival, and that science in Africa must address itself to the daily problems of African lives in "the back streets and cattle bomas." But I do not think we as teachers should present an image of Africa that is exclusively focused on the struggle for survival; nor should we limit all African scientific research to the application of basic principles originally derived elsewhere. Here I think it is appropriate to quote from the words of two distinguished African scholars: Bede Okigbo, director of the United Nations University Programme on Natural Resources in Africa, draws attention to "the disappointing fact that African universities conduct mostly applied research, and very little basic research"; 2 and Thomas Odhiambo, director of the International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, points out that We scientists are supposed to have a keen sense of awe and wonder at the rich phenomenological heritage of nature. H o w to have a true understanding of natural phenomena, and to explain their causal relationships, is a matter that concerns all scientists of whatever persuasion and from whatever geographical zone. 3

Odhiambo stresses the overwhelming richness of Africa's plant and animal life and the need for more work on these topics, especially in view of the increasing rate of extinctions brought about by human disruption of the environment. North American students show strong interest in studies relating to animal behavior, extinctions, and human evolution, and these topics are likely to be an important part of African studies courses for many years to come. In these areas, basic research and fieldwork of global significance continue to be carried out in Africa. I do not think that anyone would limit such research to non-African scholars, nor restrict African researchers to applied topics. On the contrary, many of us have been concerned that the great names in African ecology, animal behavior, and

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paleoanthropology have for too long been those of non-Africans, and it is s a t i s f y i n g now to see that an increasing n u m b e r of y o u n g A f r i c a n scientists are entering these fields. For e x a m p l e , recently Kadzo K a n g w a n a , a Kenyan w o m a n , has been d o i n g research on e l e p h a n t b e h a v i o r in A m boseli National Reserve; and other young Kenyan scholars are looking into the interaction of h u m a n s and wild animals, and the involvement of local communities in decision-making about wild-animal resources. This brings me to my final point. I would venture to submit that many North American college courses about A f r i c a may still rely on reading lists c o n t a i n i n g a very small p r o p o r t i o n of w o r k s by A f r i c a n authors. 1 would go further and say that, in the social sciences and humanities, this imbalance may be less than it is in the biological and earth sciences. I would be far f r o m s u g g e s t i n g that only A f r i c a n s can produce valuable writings about A f r i c a , but r e a d i n g lists heavily loaded with n o n - A f r i c a n names must surely send a not-so-subliminal message to our North American students. Ben W i s n e r ' s c h a p t e r is e x c e p t i o n a l : he identifies a w i d e range of s o u r c e s by A f r i c a n scholars. Let us hope that the financial stresses f a c i n g many African universities and research institutions do not unduly slow the progress of research by African scholars, in all fields, and that the results of this research continue to be m a d e available to the academic community in all parts of the world.

NOTES 1. Quoted in Science in Africa; D.C.: A A A S , 1991): 3 3 - 3 4 . 2. Ibid.: 87. 3. Ibid.: 7.

Achievements

and Prospects

(Washington,

13 Information Dynamics for African Studies: Resources in Libraries and Beyond Gretchen Walsh

T h e library resources available to students and faculty for curriculum and research are as important a factor in the success o f an undergraduate program in African studies as they are in the success o f a graduate program. When the undergraduate program is an adjunct o f a graduate program and shares access to a research-level library collection, the main concern o f faculty and library staff is that students learn to use these resources to the best advantage. When the library available to students taking courses related to Africa is basically an undergraduate collection, the primary concern is one of selection. What materials are essential to support class assignments? What materials will capture students' imaginations and make Africa a reality for them? T h e interplay of several factors affects the strength and utility o f a library collection supporting the study of Africa: the budget allocation; the people who make decisions concerning the development o f the collection; the materials that can be acquired; and access to materials and information outside the library. T h e dynamics o f this interplay and the strategies that can be employed to assure information for the study of Africa is the focus o f this chapter. Libraries are clearly an essential part o f the education process. One is likely to find some laudatory description o f the library in c o l l e g e or university brochures, and all academic libraries describe their mission as supporting the curriculum and the research o f students and faculty. Despite their value, however, because it is hard to quantify the benefit they give for money spent, libraries often suffer more deeply than other units o f the university when budgets are cut. Most academic libraries have experienced severe financial constraints for the past five years. A combination of factors—the demographic trough following the baby boom, the small pool o f traditional c o l l e g e - a g e students, and the overall r e c e s s i o n — h a s reduced both tuition revenues and income from endowments and grants. For libraries, this situation is exacerbated by continuing high rates o f inflation

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f o r b o o k s a n d j o u r n a l s , c o m b i n e d w i t h the e f f e c t o f a w e a k d o l l a r c a u s i n g f o r e i g n p u b l i c a t i o n s to c o s t e v e n m o r e . A l s o d r i v i n g up l i b r a r y c o s t s a r e a u t o m a t i o n o f l i b r a r y f u n c t i o n s a n d the n e e d to s u p p l y i n f o r m a t i o n in n e w electronic formats. In this s i t u a t i o n , t h e r e is c o n s i d e r a b l e c o m p e t i t i o n f o r a l l o c a t i o n o f the library b u d g e t a m o n g different s u b j e c t s . T h e s c i e n c e s must c o p e with publ i c a t i o n c o s t s f a r h i g h e r than t h o s e o f the s o c i a l s c i e n c e s a n d h u m a n i t i e s . B y and l a r g e , h o w e v e r , the s c i e n c e d e p a r t m e n t s b r i n g in m o r e g r a n t s than the s o c i a l s c i e n c e s a n d h u m a n i t i e s , a n d a r e t h u s u s u a l l y m o r e f a v o r e d in the b u d g e t d i v i s i o n . In t i m e s o f b u d g e t c o n s t r a i n t s , l i b r a r y s t a f f m u s t try to g e t the g r e a t e s t b e n e f i t f r o m e a c h p u r c h a s e . T h i s c a n r e s u l t in m o r e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n the g e n e r a l i s t , m a i n s t r e a m m a t e r i a l s — t h o s e

l i k e l y to b e u s e d b y

large

n u m b e r s o f s t u d e n t s . F i e l d s w i t h l o w e n r o l l m e n t s , a n d v e r y s p e c i a l i z e d or e x o t i c m a t e r i a l s l i k e l y to b e u s e d b y o n l y a f e w s t u d e n t s , t e n d to b e g i v e n shorter shrift. A n A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o g r a m o f w h a t e v e r s t a t u r e , w h e t h e r it is w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d o r f l e d g l i n g , w h e t h e r it has e s t a b l i s h e d a b r o a d r a n g e o f c o u r s e s or o f f e r s o n l y a f e w e a c h y e a r , c a n f i n d it d i f f i c u l t in this e n v i r o n m e n t to p e r s u a d e the l i b r a r y to a c q u i r e t h e m a t e r i a l s that t h e f a c u l t y d e e m n e c e s s a r y f o r m e a n i n g f u l t e a c h i n g and s t u d e n t r e s e a r c h . T h e c u r r e n t b u d g e t situ a t i o n m e a n s that f a c u l t y c a n n o t a s s u m e that the l i b r a r y w i l l a u t o m a t i c a l l y a c q u i r e k e y p u b l i c a t i o n s , o r e v e n that f a c u l t y s u g g e s t i o n s c a n a l w a y s b e a c t e d u p o n f a v o r a b l y . H o w e v e r , as g l o o m y as t h e s i t u a t i o n is, A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o g r a m s c a n w o r k s u c c e s s f u l l y w i t h l i b r a r y s t a f f to d e v e l o p a c o l l e c t i o n that s u p p o r t s c u r r i c u l u m a n d s t u d e n t r e s e a r c h . T h e p a r t n e r s h i p o f an a c a d e m i c p r o g r a m a n d the library c a n t a k e m a n y f o r m s , b u t the e s s e n t i a l e l e m e n t is the i d e a o f p a r t n e r s h i p i t s e l f . E m p h a s i z i n g t h i s p o i n t m a y b e p r e a c h i n g t o the c o n v e r t e d , s i n c e in m y e x p e r i e n c e A f r i c a n i s t s are virtually u n i v e r s a l l y c o o p e r a t i v e with librarians and library programs. N e v e r t h e l e s s , strategies for e f f e c t i v e partnership can always benefit from review. A n a d v e r s a r i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p in t h e m a t t e r o f f u n d a l l o c a t i o n is c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e , but t h e A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o g r a m c a n a n d s h o u l d c o m m u n i c a t e c l e a r l y to the l i b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n the n e e d s o f its s t u d e n t s in t e r m s o f library resources. T h e p r o g r a m should also m a k e a c o n c e r t e d e f f o r t to i n c l u d e p r o v i s i o n f o r a d d i t i o n a l l i b r a r y r e s o u r c e s in g r a n t p r o p o s a l s , p a r t i c u l a r l y if t h o s e p r o p o s a l s are f o r n e w b r a n c h e s o f c u r r i c u l u m o r r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s in a r e a s f o r w h i c h the l i b r a r y h a s n o t b e e n c o l l e c t i n g . B y

and

l a r g e , r e s o u r c e s f o r t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f m a t e r i a l s s h o u l d g o to the l i b r a r y a n d not g o i n t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f d e p a r t m e n t a l r e a d i n g r o o m s . T h e v i s i o n o f a student lounge stocked with key journals and essential, " c o r e " readings is b e g u i l i n g ; h o w e v e r , a l t h o u g h a s t u d e n t l o u n g e p r o v i d e s t h e s e t t i n g f o r f r u i t f u l d i s c u s s i o n , d e p a r t m e n t a l l i b r a r i e s e s t a b l i s h e d in t h e m a r e s e l d o m

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cost-effective. It is better, in the long run, to build the collection in the main library. It is important to establish a rapport with the library staff responsible for selecting materials for the program. T h i s may include some involvement in the design of that process. B e c a u s e African studies is interdisciplinary, responsibility for collection development may be shared by several librarians, each selecting materials for an academic discipline. This is not the optimal arrangement. Better coverage and more coherent collection strategies are possible if one selector oversees development and management for the African studies collection. One selector implies one budget fund, which can present difficulties when the arrangement is first introduced. T h e money may have to c o m e from other subject funds, such as anthropology, political science, history, e c o n o m i c s , and/or other disciplines forming the core of the African studies curriculum. Setting this initial budget figure can be crucial, since it is the baseline for all future budget negotiations.

The Budget What is a reasonable figure? That depends on the purpose o f the c o l l e c tion; primarily, on whether the emphasis is on curriculum or research, and what level of research is to be supported. A m o n g the major Africana research collections, budgets range from around $ 7 0 , 0 0 0 to $ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 per year. T h e lower the budget, the more tailored the collection has to be to current needs. Only the few libraries with high budgets can continue to pursue the ideal, mythical as it is, o f c o l l e c t i n g " e v e r y t h i n g . " Let us assume library support o f an undergraduate program o f African studies to be between $ 5 , 0 0 0 and $ 1 0 , 0 0 0 . At this level, a respectable undergraduate collection can be built and maintained, particularly if certain basics are already in the collection and the subject disciplines included in the African studies program are also relatively strong and well maintained in the library collection. If the person responsible for building and maintaining the African studies collection has a strong background in African studies, selection o f materials presents few problems. This serendipitous situation is unlikely, so the faculty should be ready to work c o l l e g i a l l y with the librarian to build the collection. This should include not only lists o f books to buy, but participation o f the librarian in departmental meetings, particularly those planning curriculum or projects in new areas where the library may not have resources to meet new demands. Library staff should be sent notices o f lectures and events, and included in social o c c a s i o n s . In other words, the librarian should be welcomed as part o f the African studies campus community and given every opportunity to see the program in action, the better to understand its library resource needs.

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Council

The African Studies Association's Africana Librarians Council (ALC) can be useful to the librarian. The ALC meets during the fall African Studies Association (ASA) meeting and also has a spring meeting of its own, usually at the campus of one of the member librarians. They discuss and act on concerns of acquisitions, bibliography, cataloging, and other issues affecting Africana librarianship. While the spring meetings provide more time for formal and informal discussion, the book exhibits at the fall meeting are particularly useful for librarians and there may be panels of interest as well. If feasible, departmental funding for travel to an ASA meeting can be money well spent. The librarian may or may not want to add ASA membership to her other professional organizations, but an institutional membership in ASA will bring the ASA News, which carries considerable bibliographic and other useful information. The Africana Libraries Newsletter (ALN) published by the Africana Librarians Council is free of charge. It provides bibliographic information and other news focused on libraries. The membership of ALC is comprised mainly of librarians from research libraries and meetings, and articles in ALN tend to focus on matters and concerns of research libraries. This may be tangential to the concerns of undergraduate libraries. The agenda of the ALC is shaped by its members, so increased attendance of librarians from nonspecialist libraries and communication of their interests to the membership could broaden the focus of ALC discussions and the content of ALN. Another group within ASA might be able to offer useful advice and materials. The Outreach Council is a group that concentrates on the need to bring awareness of Africa to the community at large. Emphasis has tended to be on school levels K through 12, but the council's work in reviewing and evaluating text and trade books, films, and other audiovisual materials, as well as developing curricula and doing workshops with teachers, librarians, journalists, and others make them a good group to contact. For Africana librarians, in addition to attending ASA meetings, it can be fruitful to take part in regional African studies organizations, or symposia and conferences. Undergraduate libraries have particular concerns, and a panel or working group on libraries and library resources in a local or regional African studies organization may be particularly effective in helping librarians formulate strategies for building the collection and meeting the needs of students and faculty. If the African studies program is formally or informally part of networks of other undergraduate African studies programs, librarians can use those networks for information sharing. Librarians are likely to be members of the American Library Association (ALA). However, the ALA has no group that focuses on African

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studies, or area studies in general, for undergraduate collections. The Asian and African section of the Association of College and Research Librarians (a subgroup of A L A ) concentrates on material f r o m , rather than about, Asia and Africa, but that would be the group to contact for possible panels or roundtables on collection development for those areas in undergraduate libraries. Information

on Africa

Let us assume the campus partnership is established: the African studies faculty and librarian, working as a team, have established a reasonable budget and know what the information needs of students and faculty will be, from the syllabi of the courses offered, term paper assignments, and so on. The questions now are: What is out there for the library to acquire? How can the librarian become aware of it? How can that material be evaluated; that is, will it fit the need of students and faculty that have been defined? There is no lack of information published about Africa. 1 The Library of Congress's U.S. Imprints on Sub-Saharan Africa: A Guide to Publications Cataloged at the Library of Congress, v o l u m e 6/7, 1990/91, lists 1,648 monograph titles published between 1988 and 1991, mostly 1990 or 1991. (The 1 9 8 8 - 1 9 8 9 entries comprise those left out of the volumes for those previous years.) This is not a complete list of everything published on Africa in the United States, but it is a good indication of the volume and variety of publications on Africa. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to explore the political economy of publishing, but it is important to note that the choices publishers make can cause difficulties for librarians trying to tailor a collection to specific curriculum needs. Publishers—university presses as well as trade houses— want sales at least big enough to break even. Thus, they tend to publish titles with potentially broad appeal. This has meant, for instance, more books on South Africa, or very broad reviews of popular topics such as w o m e n ' s or environmental issues, and fewer intensive studies of less wellknown areas or issues. Some information can be hard to find in published form. No African studies collection, even a modestly sized undergraduate collection, should be limited to U.S. imprints on Africa. It is essential that students realize, not just from lectures but subliminally from example, that Africa is not just a continent to be studied, that it has citizens w h o study both themselves and the rest of the world. African publications—scholarship, fiction, news analysis—should share shelf space with U.S. or European books. There are book shortages in Africa, and the publishing industry there s u f f e r s from severe problems. Neverthless, there is a vigorous and exciting publishing scene, particularly in Nigeria, Kenya, and Senegal,

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and many other countries produce publications worthy of note. The important thing is to give students a substantial taste of information published in Africa by Africans, and to incorporate African publications into the working collection for undergraduates. With so many publications, both U.S. and African, available, some criteria for selection are essential. Development of the collection will be based largely on the topics needed by the students, but assessment of the quality of information and scholarship is also needed. The periodical Choice offers reviews of a considerable number of books about Africa, most of them U.S. imprints but not all: it includes books published in Africa if they are distributed in the United States. This publication is favored by libraries because of the currency of its reviews. Most of the academic journals for African studies carry significant numbers of book reviews, although these often appear months or years after the book has been published. For books published in Africa, the reviews in African Book Publishing Record (ABPR) provide a good basis for selection. It also provides a printout of recent publications. Other sources of lists with description and some subject information include Joint Acquisitions List of Africana, published by Northwestern University's Africana library, and Accessions List Eastern Africa, published by the Library of Congress Nairobi Field Office. The winners of the Noma award, presented each year for books of excellence published in Africa on any topic, are listed in ABPR. Winners of this award, or recipients of honorable mentions, should be considered "musts" if their subjects are appropriate to the collection. Obtaining books from Africa can be difficult, but several firms make it possible for any library, specialist or general, to add African publications to their collections. The African Books Collective (ABC), a cooperative of Anglophone African publishers, has a high-quality line of scholarly works, fiction, and children's books. They provide excellent service from their office in Oxford, England. A good source for those publications not supplied by ABC is African Imprint Library Services (AILS), a U.S. importer of books from Africa and the Caribbean. AILS also offers an approval service that can be tailored to fit specific needs, as well as filling firm orders from their lists. Some African publishers have co-publishing or distribution arrangements with U.S. or British publishers, from whose catalogues African books can be ordered. The purpose of this chapter is to explore strategies rather than to recommend books, but it will be useful to look at some specific titles to build a hypothetical model collection based on the budget range of $5,000 to $10,000. The cornerstone of any collection is its reference works. I have often said—only partially in jest—that 1 could run a successful African studies library with a few key reference works, a telephone, and a photocopy machine. Having become more technologically aware, I would

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change that now to a PC with a modem and printer. The reference works I consider essential are: Africa South of the Sahara. (London: Europa). Annual. About $350 per year. This work contains essays for each country on geography, recent history, and economic conditions. It provides, for each country, a directory, a compilation of statistics, and a select bibliography. Introductory chapters cover earlier history and regional organizations. The statistical information is included in the Europa Yearbook, but the essays justify a separate purchase. North African countries appear in the same publisher's annual Middle East and North Africa. Africa Contemporary Record. (New York: Africana). Annual. $375 per year. Since 1968, Colin Legum and staff have compiled essays for each country of Africa, describing events of the reporting year—political, economic, cultural/social. One section provides commentaries on contemporary issues and foreign relations, another reprints key documents. The series is currently behind schedule—1988-1989 appeared in 1992. Legum has retired and Marion Doro is now the editor. It now appears that the series will continue. If it does, it is invaluable, especially if it gets back up to date. Acquiring the back run would be worthwhile, although expensive. Encyclopedia of the Third World. (New York: Facts on File). Fourth edition, 1992, $225. Good country maps and general information. Combines well with Africa South of the Sahara for most preliminary work and students' short papers. Atlas of Africa. (New York: Free Press, 1973). The front section contains continental maps illustrating climate, vegetation, geological formations, and political history, among other topics. Two maps are provided for each country—physical features on one; natural resources, industries, and other information on the other. This splendid work has not been revised for over twenty years, so country and place names are dated, as are some boundaries and colonial relationships. Despite this, it is an essential atlas. However, although still in print recently, it is not in the current Books in Print. Two historical atlases complement Atlas of Africa, and each other. These are Historical Atlas of Africa, edited by J. F. Ade Ajayi and Michael Crowder (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985), $95; and J. D. Fage, An Atlas of African History (New York: Africana Publishing, 1978), $45. These are the basics. There are also several monographic series that are useful for either the reference collection or the bookstacks. The Country Study series, formerly called Area Handbooks, were originally written by the Department of Defense and are now done by the Library of

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Congress. They provide an excellent array of information, and are relatively inexpensive, in the $15—$25 range. Not all countries are covered. The Historical Dictionary series published by Scarecrow Press combines historical information in a useful dictionary format with extensive bibliographies. Again, not all countries are covered, and some volumes are outdated. Revised editions are available or planned, in the $25-$30 range. A third series worth having is the World Bibliographical Series published by ABC Clio. Not all countries are covered. Prices vary widely, in the $40-$80 range. Bibliographies. Bibliographies should be a major part of any reference collection. Guides for selection beyond the standard guides, such as Sheehy's Guide to Reference Books and Balay's 1992 update, include Scheven's Bibliography of Bibliographies for African Studies and the annual list of Africana reference works which appears in African Book Publishing Record. There has been considerable, well-deserved concern on the part of Africana librarians over the declining quality of reference books, particularly bibliographies. Partly because libraries are consistent markets for bibliographies and partly because bibliographies are the stepchildren of scholarly writing, there are few established standards. Those that exist are often ignored. Bad reference books will sometimes be recommended because they are the only ones available, or because the reviewer does not look beyond what the author says the book provides. For instance, in Balay's 1992 supplement to Sheehy, I found two titles recommended that I had reviewed very critically because of their inaccuracy and general poor quality, and another that had been used as a prime example of bad bibliography in David Henige's articles critiquing current standards of bibliography writing. Looking at the budget, it is important to note that two of these key reference works are annuals and that together they cost more than $700 per year. That is 15 to 20 percent of our hypothesized Africana budget, for just two volumes. The others I mentioned add up to nearly $500, not counting a selection of titles from the several series cited. Journals. The rest of the budget could be quickly spent on a few journals. Selection of journals and other serials should precede consideration of monographic series since the serial commitment is ongoing and will continue year after year. In the past, the nature of serials gave them an inertial weight in libraries—they were continued because they had been started, and because the collection already had A: number of volumes in the collection. The rising costs of serials have necessitated cutting serial titles—indeed, without reduction of serials there might not be any money at all for monographs. Thus, the inertia these days is against the addition of new serial titles. The African section of Katz's Magazines for Libraries includes sixty-five titles, selected for their general utility. The number of journals

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dealing with Africa is much larger: major African studies libraries have between five hundred and a thousand or more journal subscriptions. The shape of the journals collection will depend a great deal on how it is to be used. It is best to have a balance of several types. One group would cover current events, news, and raw data, both general and geographically specific. This group would include titles such as Africa Report, $34; New African, $70; and Africa News, $48. Economist Intelligence Unit Country Reports and Country Profiles are very expensive (for Africa the costs are over $4,000 even with an educational institution discount), but these are nevertheless excellent sources of economic and political information. The reports are quarterly and the profiles annual. A subscription to the reports includes the annual profiles. The profiles also seem to be sold separately. Also in the raw-data grouping are AED/African Economic Digest, $330; and Africa Research Bulletin, both the economic, financial, and technical series; and the political, social, and cultural series —$410 for both (also available separately). A second area to cover is the scholarly—general and specific to either discipline or geographic area. Some titles include: Africa, $120; Journal of Studies, African History, $91; International Journal of African Historical $65; Journal of Modern African Studies, $113; African Affairs, $90; and Journal of Southern African Studies, $94. Another grouping is special interest and activist journals. These would be selected to tailor the collection to the specialities of the program. Titles in this category might include any of the many anti-apartheid journals and newsletters, dissident newsletters, and journals produced by immigrant and refugee groups. Special interest is not limited to politics, of course. Many UN publications, such as Desertification Control, Ceres, and Prospects, offer low-cost information of considerable interest in the fields of environment, agriculture, and education. Among the journals in the collection should be at least some representative titles published in Africa. The task of obtaining serials from Africa has the reputation of being extremely difficult, but in many cases, particularly for those titles most appropriate for undergraduate collections, subscriptions can be quite straightforward. In Boston University's experience, the major serials agent, Faxon, can supply many titles. These include Weekly Review, $160, a Kenyan newsmagazine; and Afrique Developpement/African Development, $35, published by CODESRIA. Among publications that have proved reliable on direct subscription are Newswatch, $104, a Nigerian newsmagazine; and Work in Progress, approximately $50, a news source from South Africa. Of particular interest to college students would be Wits Student, a student paper from the University of the Witswatersrand, $49. Subscriptions to African newspapers should be considered, particularly for countries where Study Abroad programs exist. The costs of

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REASSESSMENTS AND NEW DIRECTIONS

subscriptions vary enormously, from over $900 for the Daily Times of Nigeria, through $400 for the Daily News from Tanzania, to $18 for Voz di Povo from Cape Verde. Subscriptions can be handled in a number of ways. Of Boston University's fifteen subscriptions, Faxon handles most; a local agent supplies the Daily Times, and the Library of Congress' Nairobi Field Office supplies two papers from Kenya; AILS supplies a paper from Uganda and has in the past supplied two from Zaire; and a few other subscriptions are arranged directly with the publishers. More

About

the

Budget

Even these few titles, offered only as examples and not as a core collection of essential journals, would consume a large portion of the budget; in fact, they would wipe it out if the EIU Country Reports and Profiles are included. There are far more good journals than most libraries can acquire. No single selection strategy can be recommended: this is a matter for faculty and library to work out, including what percentage of the budget to spend on serials. Taking the arbitrary, but not uncommon, level of 50 percent for serials, and assuming that the two annual reference works are purchased, our hypothetical collection has from $2,100 to $4,600 to spend on journals and the same amount for books. This means perhaps twenty to forty journal titles in the $50 to $100 range, and fifty to a hundred books per year. If the library is starting from scratch, with no material on Africa already in the collection, a grant or other special funding may be in order to amass the core collection. Building

a

Collection

Beginning an African studies collection can be difficult. There are few guides for core collections. One is Africa South of the Sahara: A Bibliography for Undergraduate Libraries, which was published in 1971 and is quite outdated. Many of the titles recommended are likely to be out of print. The African titles in Books for College Libraries provide some guidance. More to the point is Nancy Schmidt's "Checklist for Updating Holdings on Africa in Community College Libraries, 1988 update," ASA News vol. 22, no. 1 (January/March 1989): 45-49. Schmidt's guide is especially useful since it is designed specifically for those libraries selecting only a few African titles per year, rather than those that are striving to cover all of Africa at a research level. Even these guides are dated: a lot has been published since 1988. African Book Publishing Record carries each year a checklist of reference works and bibliographies, compiled by members of the African Studies Association's Africana Librarians Council. As noted earlier, more information on library materials on and from Africa appears in Africana Libraries Newsletter and ASA News.

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All guides for building library collections are subjective, and for African studies the possibilities for idiosyncrasy seem especially pronounced. To build a successful collection, selection is always going to be a series of decisions based on the specific needs of students within the program, the courses offered, and the term papers and other research assigned. The way to judge if the selection is on the right track is to measure how much the collection is used and how many research questions can and cannot be answered by the sources within the collection. There are a number of ways of measuring use and utility of a collection, but the results from the standard approaches are not always valid for African studies. The kinds of survey techniques described in library literature are usually timeconsuming, and most libraries depend on the subjective, day-to-day observations of library staff to assess library use and user satisfaction. Indexes. Assessing use of African studies materials is a challenging task because of the way library research has changed and developed in the last few decades. Access to information has become increasingly automated. Only a few decades ago, paper indexes were the state of the art, making research easier by compiling references from hundreds of journals to articles on broad subject areas such as biology, psychology, and so forth, and providing access through a controlled vocabulary of index terms. Over the past two decades, these paper indexes were put into electronic databases accessible through major vendors, reaching researchers for the most part through searches conducted by librarians. More recently, the trend has been to put these databases on CD ROM, which is still available mainly through libraries, but searchable by the researchers themselves. CD ROM technology also makes full text accessible and searchable. Another recent approach is the Table of Contents index services. These computerized databases are often mounted as a choice on online catalogs and can be searched for keywords in the titles of articles. While not as fully indexed as other databases, which provide access to words in the abstract as well as the descriptors, this system gives wide access to a large number of journals. Undergraduates come to college increasingly computer literate, having learned in high school how to use the electronic databases available to them, and they expect these services to be available for all college research. While these developments make research much faster and easier (it remains to be determined if the results of research show a similar improvement in quality), it also sets the stage for the mistaken assumption that the electronic databases cover everything there is to know, or that what is available electronically is somehow better than what might be found through more traditional strategies. These assumptions bode ill for African studies research projects. Africa has never been well served in indexes. There are a few indexes or serial bibliographies that cover Africa: Africa Bibliography, International

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African Bibliography, Current Bibliography on African Affairs, and Current Contents Africa (a compilation of tables of contents of journals rather than an index). These tend to cover mostly Africanist journals, rather than combing more general journals for the occasional African article, and are by no means complete, even for the specialized literature. Recent studies have shown that there is surprisingly little overlap among them. None of these is available electronically. Of the major, subject-based databases, none covers Africa adequately for research. Although such databases as ERIC, Psych Abstracts, PAIS, and so on do yield material on Africa, one can never assume that one has found all there is to be f o u n d simply by using those indexes because the number of Africanist journals included is always relatively small. The increasingly popular Table of Contents services cover only the most widely used journals. While this number may be large (UnCover, for instance, includes 10,000 titles), there are seldom more than a dozen African titles. The real problem is that many of the best journals that should be in the collection are not indexed reliably and often not indexed at all. In particular, few African journals are indexed. An exception is the service offered by the Library of Congress Nairobi Office, Quarterly Index to Periodical Literature, Eastern and Southern Africa. For the rest of Africa, indexing is sparse indeed. A journal indexing Nigerian periodicals produced one volume, then ceased. This means that, in order to research Nigerian political events using the Nigerian newsmagazine Newswatch, the student must plow through volume after volume of the original paper copies to find articles pertaining to his topic, and this can proceed only after he has identified that journal as the most likely source for the information sought. Collection development for African studies is, then, quite intimately bound with bibliographic instruction. As much as can be afforded, the specialized indexes and indexes should be part of the collection, even though this inevitably means reducing the number of journals that contain the articles cited. The choice must be made as to whether to have resources themselves in the collection, or tools that provide information about resources that might then be borrowed or copied elsewhere. T o some extent materials, particularly journal titles, should be selected because they are indexed, but important journal titles that are not indexed should not be left out. Students must be taught to depend less on electronic aids for African studies research and to learn to wade through the material. In-house guides and bibliographies are very important tools. The creation of these might even be set as a class exercise so that successive generations of students would both contribute to the expanding facilities and have the use of them.

Shelf Room for Conflicting

Views

My own philosophy of collecting Africana is to put into the collection examples of many approaches to the important issues in African nations. The

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m o s t o b v i o u s e x a m p l e is a p a r t h e i d in S o u t h A f r i c a . In t h e w o r s t d a y s , the S o u t h A f r i c a n g o v e r n m e n t w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y g e n e r o u s to c o l l e g e a n d s c h o o l l i b r a r i e s in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s in t e r m s of b o o k s a n d m a g a z i n e s . T h e s e h a n d s o m e , w e l l - e x e c u t e d i t e m s of c o u r s e p o r t r a y e d S o u t h A f r i c a as t h e m o s t r e a s o n a b l e a n d h a p p y of c o u n t r i e s . S i n c e t h e s e m a t e r i a l s w e r e f r e e a n d a p p a r e n t l y of high q u a l i t y , it w a s a m a t t e r of c o n c e r n to m a n y A f r i c a n i s t s that t h e s e m i g h t be the o n l y b o o k s o n A f r i c a in s o m e libraries. Some activists advocated outright rejection. A better course w o u l d h a v e b e e n a l s o to a c q u i r e material f r o m the A f r i c a n N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s a n d as m a n y of the o t h e r a n t i - a p a r t h e i d g r o u p s as p o s s i b l e . S o m e p u b l i c a t i o n s of e x t r e m e r i g h t - w i n g w h i t e g r o u p s s h o u l d a l s o h a v e a p l a c e on the s h e l v e s . S o u t h A f r i c a is not the only area with c o n f l i c t i n g i d e o l o g i e s and a g e n das in A f r i c a . T h e r e is c o n s i d e r a b l e heat b e t w e e n the K e n y a n g o v e r n m e n t a n d d i s s i d e n t s , civil w a r in L i b e r i a , a n d p o l i t i c a l s t r i f e in C a m e r o o n , to n a m e o n l y a f e w a r e a s . If p u b l i c a t i o n s of the v a r i o u s s i d e s c a n be o b t a i n e d — e i t h e r t h r o u g h m e r c h a n t s or f a c u l t y / s t u d e n t s t r a v e l i n g in the area, they s h o u l d be a d d e d to the c o l l e c t i o n . (I w o u l d not, h o w e v e r , a d v i s e aski n g a n y o n e , a h e a d of t i m e , to p i c k u p such m a t e r i a l s . In s o m e c o u n t r i e s , p o s s e s s i o n of c o n t r o v e r s i a l literature can h a v e s e r i o u s c o n s e q u e n c e s . ) O f t e n , o r g a n i z a t i o n s of A f r i c a n s living in the U n i t e d S t a t e s will p r o d u c e n e w s l e t t e r s or b r o a d s i d e s on issues back h o m e . T h i s kind of m a t e r i a l can really get s t u d e n t s e x c i t e d about d o i n g r e s e a r c h . It is a l s o the kind of m a terial that requires that s t u d e n t s are g r o u n d e d in critical r e a d i n g . T e a c h i n g a b o u t this may be d o n e in the c l a s s r o o m , but it s h o u l d a l s o be part of the b i b l i o g r a p h i c instruction process.

Remote

Access

W h e n t h e c o l l e c t i o n has b e e n built as w i s e l y as p o s s i b l e to the e x t e n t of the b u d g e t , w h e n all f e a s i b l e i n d e x e s a n d a i d s to a c c e s s h a v e b e e n p u r c h a s e d or d e v e l o p e d , w h e n the s t u d e n t s ( a n d f a c u l t y ) k n o w h o w to u s e the c o l l e c t i o n a n d e x t r a c t the last d r o p of i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m it, h o w c a n o n e deal w i t h the i n e v i t a b i l i t y that s o m e r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s c a n n o t b e c o m p l e t e d s a t i s f a c t o r i l y w i t h t h e r e s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e in t h e l i b r a r y ? I n t e r l i b r a r y loan has a l w a y s m a d e m a t e r i a l s f r o m o t h e r l i b r a r i e s a v a i l a b l e ; a n d m a n y of t h e T a b l e of C o n t e n t s s e r v i c e s p r o v i d e f e e - b a s e d d o c u m e n t d e l i v e r y . T h e r e is a l s o the C o o p e r a t i v e A f r i c a n a M i c r o f o r m s P r o j e c t , loc a t e d at the C e n t e r f o r R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s in C h i c a g o — a large c o l l e c t i o n of p r i m a r y r e s e a r c h m a t e r i a l s on m i c r o f i l m that c a n b e b o r r o w e d by members. Increasingly, library c a t a l o g s (both n a t i o n w i d e a n d internationally) are c o m p u t e r i z e d and can be accessed f r o m r e m o t e locations. T h i s can be d o n e f r o m a P C with a m o d e m , but a c c e s s to an Internet c o n n e c t i o n l o w e r s the cost c o n s i d e r a b l y . T h e Internet is a n e t w o r k of c o m p u t e r n e t w o r k s w i t h , as

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backbone, the federally f u n d e d NSFnet. Through standardized protocols of computer c o m m u n i c a t i o n , an Internet connection allows the user to telnet to a distant computer, such as a l i b r a r y ' s online catalog, login, and use it as if at its k e y b o a r d . Many libraries have set up g a t e w a y s so that this is possible f r o m the terminals of the library catalog. Directories of Internet addresses for library catalogs have been compiled by Billy Barron and Art St. George and are available electronically. Accessing the library catalog directly enables the student to locate specific books and get the necessary identifying i n f o r m a t i o n f o r interlibrary loan. S o m e libraries have additional aids to access m o u n t e d on the catalog, and s o m e have files of uncataloged materials. An e x a m p l e of the utility of this kind of long-distance access is provided by a visiting researcher w e had at Boston University last year. A professor called f r o m Kent State University in O h i o to d e t e r m i n e our library hours. He had used the Boston University catalog f r o m a terminal at Kent State, printing out items he w a n t e d to look at. He arrived the next morning, having driven through the night, armed with a thick printout and accompanied by several family m e m b e r s . They fanned out through the library, g a t h e r i n g b o o k s and j o u r n a l s f r o m the stacks. T h e p r o f e s s o r skimmed through them, tagging p a g e s for c o p y i n g . By 5 P.M. they were packing up reams of photocopies, having used their eight hours in our library to the m a x i m u m advantage. Other resources available on the Internet include databases, discussion groups, and n e w s services. Internet c o n n e c t i o n s are possible to many countries in A f r i c a , although they are not as widespread as they are here and are m u c h more e x p e n s i v e on the A f r i c a n side. T h e kind of c a r e f r e e and s o m e t i m e s f r i v o l o u s use of electronic c o m m u n i c a t i o n e n j o y e d in the United States could cost African colleagues a great deal of m o n e y . T h e information available on Internet is vast, but it is also confusingly arranged. S o m e technologies provide tools for exploring. O n e is Gopher, which searches directories of files; another is W i d e Area I n f o r m a t i o n Server ( W A I S ) , which f i n d s k e y w o r d s in the files themselves. It is not a user-friendly system, largely because it is rapidly growing and completely idiosyncratic. T h e availability of all this information electronically—while it is a very interesting world of information to be e x p l o r e d — r a i s e s questions of copyright and o w n e r s h i p , as well as very serious q u e s t i o n s of credibility and validity. T h e d y n a m i c s of i n f o r m a t i o n f o r A f r i c a n studies are c o m p l e x . C o n siderable effort must go into providing the environment in which students can learn about A f r i c a . Faculty and librarians working together can overc o m e the vicissitudes of budgets, the problems of acquisitions, and the inadequacy of indexes to create an educational environment in which Africa will b e c o m e real for students.

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NOTES 1. For the convenience of readers, this note gives a consolidated list of the books and journals mentioned in this chapter. There is also a list of addresses that will be of use in obtaining materials on Africa. Accessions List, Eastern Africa. Nairobi, Kenya: Library of Congress Office, 1971-. Africa Bibliography. Manchester, Eng.; Dover, N.H.: Manchester University Press, 1984-1989 (annual). Edinburgh, Scotland: University of Edinburgh Press, 1990-. Africa South of the Sahara: a Bibliography for Undergraduate Libraries by Peter Duignan and others. Williamsport, Pa.: Bro-Dart, 1971. Foreign Area Materials Center (University of the State of New York), Occasional Publication no. 12. African Book Publishing Record. Oxford, Eng.: Hans Zell, 1975Books for College Libraries: A Core Collection of 50,000 Titles. 3rd ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1988. Choice. Middletown, Conn.: Association of College and Research Libraries, 1964-, Current Bibliography on African Affairs. Farmingdale, N.Y.: Baywood Pub. 1962-. Current Contents Africa. Oxford, Eng.: Hans Zell, 1978-. Guide to Reference Books, 10th edition. Edited by Eugene P. Sheehy. Chicago: American Library Association, 1986. Guide to Reference Books, covering materials from 1985 to 1990. Supplement to the 10th edition, ed. Robert Balay. Chicago: American Library Association, 1992. International African Bibliography. London: Mansell, 1971-. Joint Acquisitions List of Africana. Evanston, 111.: Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies, 1962-. Magazines for College Libraries, 7th edition. Bill Katz and Linda Sternberg Katz, eds. New Providence, N.J.: Bowker, 1992. Nigerian Periodicals Index. Jos, Nigeria: Committee of University Librarians of Nigerian Universities, 1986-. Quarterly Index to Periodical Literature, Eastern and Southern Africa. Nairobi, Kenya: Library of Congress Office, 1991—. Scheven, Yvette. Bibliographies for African Studies 1970-1986. London: Hans Zell, 1988; U.S. Imprints on Sub-Saharan Africa: A Guide to Publications Cataloged at the Library of Congress. Volume 6/7, 1990/1991. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1992.

Books and Guides for Internet

Resources

Barron, Billy. UNT's Accessing On-Line Bibliographic Databases, ftp from: ftp.unt.edu (anonymous) in directory: /pub/library, file name: libraries.ps (postscript version). Krol, Ed. The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly and Associates, 1992. La Quey, Tracey. The Internet Companion: A Beginner's Guide to Global Networking. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1993.

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Rittner, Don. Ecolinking: Everyone's Guide to Online Environmental Information. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press, 1992. St. George, Art. Internet-accessible Library Catalogs and Databases, ftp from ariel.unm.edu ( a n o n y m o u s ) in directory: /library, f i l e n a m e : library.ps (postscript version).

Addresses African Books Collective The Jam Factory 27 Park End Street Oxford X O l 1HU England African Imprint Library Services 236 Main Street Falmouth, M A 0 2 5 4 0 (508) 540-5378 African Studies Association Credit Union Building Emory University Atlanta, G A 30322 (404) 329-6410 Africana Libraries Newsletter Joseph Lauer, Editor Africana Library Michigan State University Libraries East Lansing, MI 5 8 8 2 3 (517) 255-2397 Cooperative Africana M i c r o f o r m s Project Center For Research Libraries 6050 South Kenwood Avenue Chicago, IL 60637 (312) 955-4545 Library of Congress Field O f f i c e P.O. Box 30598 Nairobi, Kenya

PART T H R E E PROGRAMS ABROAD

14 Developing an Approach to Integrated Study in a Non-Western Context: The St. Lawrence University Kenya Semester Program Paul W. Robinson & W. Howard Brown St. L a w r e n c e University in New York State has, during the past two d e c a d e s , d e v e l o p e d o n e of the finest l o n g - s t a n d i n g u n d e r g r a d u a t e Study A b r o a d programs in A f r i c a . T h e Kenya Semester Program was f o u n d e d in 1 9 7 4 and has since introduced s o m e o n e thousand university students to the study and e x p e r i e n c e of A f r i c a . This chapter describes and discusses our approach to developing an integrated study of culture and development within the context of East Africa. T h e f u n d a m e n t a l goals of the St. L a w r e n c e program are t w o f o l d : to integrate the variety of formal and informal learning experiences o f f e r e d in the program in order to achieve a coherent, c o m p r e h e n s i v e a c a d e m i c prog r a m ; and to integrate the semester in Kenya with the broader curriculum at St. Lawrence University in New York. T h e a c a d e m i c and experiential structure of the program has evolved with invaluable input by the Kenyan faculty, home-stay hosts, student participants, and the faculty and administration at St. L a w r e n c e University. This self-evaluative, developmental process is ongoing: East Africa continues to change, and new issues emerge. St. Lawrence, seeking to achieve the goals of liberal education in contemporary circumstances, has, since 1964, developed numerous off-campus, a c a d e m i c p r o g r a m s o u t s i d e the United States—in Austria, C a n a d a , D e n m a r k , England, France, Japan, Spain, India, and Costa Rica, as well as in Kenya. These serve to broaden the perspective of U.S. students and to inc r e a s e their awareness of other societies and of the interdependence of the m o d e r n world. Presently, approximately one-third of the student body participates in o n e or more of these programs while at the university.

THE PROGRAM'S STRUCTURE AND GOALS T h e general educational aim of the Kenya S e m e s t e r P r o g r a m is to introd u c e U.S. university s t u d e n t s to d i f f e r e n t v a l u e s and cultural traditions,

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p r o m o t i n g cross-cultural u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h r o u g h the disciplined study of A f r i c a n history, a n t h r o p o l o g y , l a n g u a g e , politics, g e o g r a p h y , literature, and ecology. Students are challenged to b r o a d e n their view of the world, and themselves, through critical examination of and personal reflection on their experience in East A f r i c a . T h e y take part in both experiential and a c a d e m i c learning situations. This integrated structure is intended to present students with an African perspective on a range of issues. S t u d e n t s actively participate in K e n y a ' s rich cultural diversity, through rural and urban h o m e s t a y s , field study courses, internships, free and directed travel, and through an integrated a c a d e m i c program in which both field and classroom learning are stressed. Kenya faces a wide variety of social, economic, political, environmental, and cultural issues, and these must be confronted by students. Cultural integration and understanding remain a m o n g the primary educational objectives of the program. T h e theme of the semester program (and indeed the organizing focus for the African studies minor at St. L a w r e n c e ) is " D e v e l o p m e n t and Cultural Change in A f r i c a . " C o u r s e s in Kenya supplement the curriculum on the h o m e campus, with a particular f o c u s on East A f r i c a . T h e s e have inc l u d e d the f o l l o w i n g : an a n t h r o p o l o g y c o u r s e on the prehistorical backg r o u n d to East A f r i c a ; a g e o g r a p h y c o u r s e e x a m i n i n g the nature and dev e l o p m e n t of the physical e n v i r o n m e n t s of Kenya and their human occupation; a history c o u r s e on social, e c o n o m i c , and political development, f r o m the precolonial period to the end of British rule in Kenya; a second history course on ecological disasters and survival strategies, particularly a m o n g pastoralist groups; and a third on the history and culture of the Swahili coast; one government course c o m p a r i n g the postindependence d e v e l o p m e n t strategies in T a n z a n i a and Kenya; and another e x a m i n i n g p o s t i n d e p e n d e n c e civil society in Kenya; a c o u r s e on w o m e n , e n v i r o n m e n t , and d e v e l o p m e n t ; and biology c o u r s e s in tropical e c o l o g y and African grassland ecosystems. Instruction in Kiswahili is an important aspect of the c u r r i c u l u m : s t u d e n t s are e n c o u r a g e d to begin their study at least one semester b e f o r e they arrive in Kenya and are required to take Kiswahili (unless already fluent) w h e n there. They may also c o n t i n u e taking Kiswahili when they return to the main c a m p u s . R i g o r o u s l a n g u a g e instruction c o m b i n e d with i m m e r s i o n e x p e r i e n c e m e a n s that m a n y students are conversant in b a s i c Kiswahili within eight w e e k s of arrival in Kenya. 1

Home-Stays T h e Kenya S e m e s t e r begins, a f t e r a three-day orientation, with a rural home-stay, an experience of total immersion designed to provide students with an immediate context for developing empathy between them and their hosts. For eight days, s t u d e n t s live with K e n y a n families, s h a r i n g in the

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full range of their lifestyles in both traditional and modern contexts. Host families are selected f r o m the rural middle class. Average family holdings tend to be five acres or less. Occupations of hosts include farming, primary and s e c o n d a r y teaching, veterinary services, medicine, local administration, and public and private service. T h e Kenya program has arranged h o m e - s t a y s for three or more consecutive years in the same communities. Sustained involvement has proven to be a strong asset. Hosts are increasingly familiar with our goals and at ease in having U.S. students in their homes; hence, students are able to ask questions freely, and the level of learning has dramatically increased. The program is popular in the communities, and large numbers of people apply to be hosts. Following each s e m e s t e r ' s home-stays, a seminar evaluates the students' experience and learning. Student Peter Demerath reported: I learned a lot about K e n y a and m y s e l f . O f t e n the former h e l p e d with the latter. [ T h e rural h o m e - s l a y ] w a s the m o s t i n c r e d i b l e w e e k o f m y life. I w a s [very m o v e d ] by the r e l a t i o n - b a s e d s o c i e t y ; it g a v e m e n e w faith in m a n ' s n e e d s for c o n n e c t i o n s — a n e e d o f t e n s u b l i m a t e d by our s o c i e t y . . . c o m i n g here w a s the best thing I ' v e d o n e in m y life.

A second, urban, home-stay, of longer duration, takes place in the following w e e k s as students take up their a c a d e m i c classes in Nairobi. This four-week period allows students to understand the processes of modernization and urbanization in Kenya and facilitates the development of close, long-term relationships with K e n y a n s . Hosts are selected f r o m all ethnic groups that m a k e up Kenyan society, including Asians and Europeans. Field

Study

In addition to participating in a c a d e m i c courses and h o m e - s t a y s , all students do t w o t w o - w e e k field-study courses a m o n g pastoralists in T a n z a nia and Kenya. T h e courses are designed to facilitate a direct confrontation with the d y n a m i c s of society, social change, land use and development. T h e f o u r t e e n - d a y Tanzania field-study course provides students with an integrated perspective on issues of ecology, wildlife conservation, and development in K e n y a ' s neighbor. Tanzania has, since independence, pursued policies based on ujamaa socialism, and only within the past several years has begun to shift toward a more capitalist, market e c o n o m y . Traveling through several distinct e n v i r o n m e n t s , including regions continuously inhabited by h u m a n s for more than three million years, students examine p r o c e s s e s of d e v e l o p m e n t and c h a n g e . T o p i c s c o v e r e d include archaeology, human evolution, Maasai pastoralist ecology, geology, geography and plant ecology, and wildlife ecology and conservation. T h e f o c u s is on resource utilization, development priorities, and local participation in

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d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g . S t u d e n t s have contact with the pastoral Maasai. T h e y have discussions with both traditionally based communities and local management (previously ujamaa) committees. During this time students begin to c o m p a r e the f u n d a m e n t a l l y d i f f e r e n t strategies f o r political and econ o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t pursued by Kenya and T a n z a n i a . T h e field c o u r s e takes students through the highland environs of Mt. Meru to the southern Maasai steppe and the 0 1 D o n y o S a m b u and T a r a n g i i r e area; to the N g o r o n g o r o Conservation Area and Olduvai G o r g e ; and to the Serengeti and the regions south of Lake Natron, including the active v o l c a n o , Ol D o n y o Lengai. A second field-study course explores facets of the complex physical, biotic, and social e n v i r o n m e n t s in w h i c h the S a m b u r u cattle pastoralists live. T h e course is an intimate field study hosted and largely taught by m e m b e r s of the highly traditional, pastoralist S a m b u r u of Kenya. In this field-learning situation, students study the complex dynamics of traditional social organization and pastoralist e c o l o g y , together with c o n t e m p o r a r y social, political, and environmental development issues. Students have extended contact with the highland and lowland pastoralist S a m b u r u . T h e c o u r s e includes d i s c u s s i o n s with elders and h o m e - s t a y hosts and f o r m a l teaching. During the first w e e k , students are guided on foot through three S a m buru lowland habitats—montaine, riverine, and dry thorn bushland. T h e y see the pastoral environment and its resultant lifestyle and are expected to use the information gained in subsequent study of the highland S a m b u r u . This is during the second week, when students share settlement and herding life and explore highland forests with S a m b u r u warriors as guides. Interpretive lectures are given by the field c o u r s e leaders. T h e s e include such topics as S a m b u r u survival strategies, pastoralist strategies, lifecycles, philosophy and c o s m o l o g y , and d e v e l o p m e n t and m o d e r n i z a t i o n . C o m m e n t i n g on her time in this region, student Julie Convisser said: During my too-short two-week stay with the pastoralist Samburu peoples, I faced so many challenges: challenges to my ideas about the relationship of love and sex; about romantic love and marriage; about ownership; about the essence of time. [I learned] of an entirely new set of relationships for which the " g i v e " is a c o m m i t m e n t to the happiness and welfare of [others] and satisfaction gained f r o m being a secure m e m b e r of a stable and c o h e sive larger social group. [I] began to understand their words about the qualitative d i f f e r e n c e between the kind of self-centered love of youth and the highly rewarding love that grows out of and is the basis for a family.

Both field c o u r s e s are intellectually, experientially, and physically c h a l l e n g i n g . T h e y d e m a n d that s t u d e n t s gather and process i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m disparate and unconventional sources. Students begin to realize that knowledge and understanding d e m a n d interdisciplinary competence.

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The Final

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Month

In the final month of the s e m e s t e r , s t u d e n t s elect either an i n t e r n s h i p or ind e p e n d e n t s t u d y — t h e s t y l e a r r a n g e d to suit a s t u d e n t ' s a c a d e m i c f i e l d of specialty and interest. T h e t i m i n g and f o r m a t a l l o w s t u d e n t s to h a v e t i m e in a n d a w a y f r o m N a i r o b i . P r o j e c t s are a s s i g n e d t h r o u g h o u t the c o u n t r y . By this t i m e , s t u d e n t s h a v e s u f f i c i e n t l a n g u a g e a n d c u l t u r a l s k i l l s to b e p r o d u c t i v e interns. W h e r e p o s s i b l e , s t u d e n t s live with K e n y a n f a m i l i e s d u r i n g their internships, w h i c h m a x i m i z e s interaction with and sensitivity to local issues. I n t e r n s h i p s / i n d e p e n d e n t study m a y h a v e a p r e p r o f e s s i o n a l f o c u s , but this is not m a n d a t e d . T h i s period of study and service o f f e r s students o p p o r t u n i t i e s for p r o f e s s i o n a l g r o w t h , p e r s o n a l c h a l l e n g e , a n d s e l f d i s c o v e r y p e r h a p s u n p a r a l l e l e d in their u n d e r g r a d u a t e c a r e e r s . S t u d e n t s can a p p l y a c a d e m i c l e a r n i n g to practical e x p e r i e n c e . T h e y c a n m e a n i n g fully c o n t r i b u t e intellectual a n d p h y s i c a l skills, albeit in a s m a l l w a y , directly to Kenya. I n t e r n s h i p s h a v e b e e n c o n s i s t e n t l y h i g h l y e v a l u a t e d by s t u d e n t s ; indeed, many students are d r a w n to the p r o g r a m b e c a u s e of this aspect of the c u r r i c u l u m . Student L a u r e n A b r a m s said: "It is important that [ w e ] students get a c h a n c e to g i v e s o m e t h i n g back to a country from w h i c h [ w e ] h a v e g o t t e n s o m u c h . I am really g l a d that I g o t the c h a n c e to d o that."

In m a n y internships, s t u d e n t s are c h a l l e n g e d to the limits of their f o r mal t r a i n i n g and abilities. T h i s is our e x p e r i e n c e . In very m a n y c a s e s , they have been able to m a k e a real c o n t r i b u t i o n to their hosts a n d to K e n y a . In most instances, students put a lot of e f f o r t into the internships, and the prog r a m has established c o n s i d e r a b l e credibility a m o n g international o r g a n i zations, government ministries and parastatals, nongovernmental organizations, financial and business institutions, and individuals. Few other institutions can d u p l i c a t e this r e c o r d . For s t u d e n t s w h o w a n t an alternative to f o r m a l , i n d i v i d u a l l y a r r a n g e d i n t e r n s h i p s or i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d y , f i e l d c o u r s e s m a y b e o f f e r e d that d e v e l o p i s s u e s e x p l o r e d d u r i n g the s e m e s t e r . T h o s e w i t h a b a c k g r o u n d in h i s t o r y a n d / o r d e v e l o p m e n t s t u d i e s c a n d o a f o u r - w e e k f i e l d c o u r s e in A f r i c a n d e v e l o p m e n t . T h e s e s t u d e n t s d o b a c k g r o u n d r e a d i n g in d e v e l o p m e n t a n d visit projects that r a n g e f r o m t h o s e o r g a n i z e d by the W o r l d B a n k to s m a l l - s c a l e o p e r a t i o n s initiated by n o n g o v e r n m e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n s . S t u d e n t s are o f t e n i n v o l v e d e i t h e r in the w r i t i n g of p r o j e c t p r o p o s a l s o r in p r o j e c t a s s e s s m e n t . T h e s e f i e l d c o u r s e s h a v e f o c u s e d on d e v e l o p m e n t init i a t i v e s in d r y l a n d r e g i o n s a n d on c o n t i n u i n g p r o b l e m s of h u n g e r , r e f u g e e s , and e c o l o g i c a l crises. S t u d e n t s with b a c k g r o u n d in cultural history a n d / o r a r c h a e o l o g y h a v e the o p t i o n of doing a f o u r - w e e k field c o u r s e on K e n y a ' s coast. T h i s c o u r s e

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visits many of K e n y a ' s important a r c h a e o l o g i c a l sites as well as M o m b a s a , L a m u , and Paté. T h e f o c u s is o n the d e v e l o p m e n t of S w a h i l i c u l t u r e a n d the Indian O c e a n trade. Not all of the s t u d e n t s ' t i m e is s t r u c t u r e d . I n d e p e n d e n t travel a n d time f o r c o n t e m p l a t i o n e n h a n c e a n d d e e p e n the e x p e r i e n c e . J u l i e C o n v i s s e r , a s t u d e n t already q u o t e d a b o v e , s a i d of her " f r e e " time: I did much of my learning by sitting and observing what was going on around me. I have come to realize that doing, moving, and even questioning are not necessarily the most fruitful ways to spend an hour learning; that just being a silent observer can be the best means to gain the most from an experience. After hours of sitting in the shade of an acacia tree with my Samburu brother as he contemplates his grazing cattle; after hours spent quietly shelling groundnuts with my Western Province mother and sisters; after hours spent waiting in bank queues in Nairobi while the teller catches up on his colleague's social calendar—I have come to know that time is not yours to waste or save or spend; it isn't what you have, it is what you live in. Life is not measured by what you gel done. Life is doing.

St. L a w r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y m a i n t a i n s a s t u d y c e n t e r in N a i r o b i w h e r e the p r o g r a m ' s o f f i c e , d i r e c t o r s ' a n d s t a f f ' s residences, and s t u d e n t h o u s i n g are situated. W e have s e m i n a r r o o m s a n d a small but c o m p r e h e n s i v e library of 1 , 2 0 0 v o l u m e s . S t u d e n t s c a n live at the s t u d y c e n t e r d u r i n g e x a m i n a t i o n w e e k a n d in e m e r g e n c i e s . St. L a w r e n c e c o u r s e s are held at the Y M C A , c l o s e to the U n i v e r s i t y of N a i r o b i , a n d s t u d e n t s have r e a d i n g p r i v i l e g e s at the u n i v e r s i t y library as w e l l as a c c e s s , f o r p a r t i c u l a r c o u r s e s , to s p e c i a l c o l l e c t i o n s and l a b o r a t o r y f a c i l i t i e s . S t u d e n t s are e n c o u r a g e d to m e e t a n d interact with K e n y a n u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t s . A d j u n c t t e a c h i n g f a c u l t y are d r a w n f r o m the U n i v e r s i t y of N a i r o b i , Kenyatta University, and f r o m o t h e r i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s o p e r a t i n g in K e n y a . All c o u r s e s are o f f e r e d t h r o u g h the a u s p i c e s of a n d a c c r e d i t e d by St. L a w r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y . S t u dent N. B o d u r t h a said of the a c a d e m i c aspect of the s e m e s t e r : Although sitting in a Nairobi classroom was never quite as exciting as milking a goat outside a manyatta . . . it was more satisfying than a similar class [in the United States]. Suddenly we could challenge each other and our professors with real experiences and observations rather than something someone saw in the last issue of Newsweek and reshaped to fit their argument. . . . Often what we had seen or done was so intriguing that assigned readings and lectures [became much more] relevant.

SELECTION OF STUDENTS, ORIENTATION, AND EVALUATION R e v i e w a n d s e l e c t i o n of s t u d e n t s f o r the K e n y a n S e m e s t e r is b a s e d o n a c o m b i n a t i o n of a c a d e m i c r e c o r d s , letters of r e c o m m e n d a t i o n , a p p l i c a t i o n

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essays, and personal i n t e r v i e w s . A p p l i c a t i o n is o p e n to s t u d e n t s f r o m any college or university, a n d d u r i n g recent years o v e r o n e - h a l f of the particip a n t s in the p r o g r a m h a v e b e e n d r a w n f r o m i n s t i t u t i o n s o t h e r t h a n S t . L a w r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y . T h e p r o g r a m d i r e c t o r s h a v e c o n t i n u e d to s e e an inc r e a s i n g l y s t r o n g i n t e l l e c t u a l c o m m i t m e n t a n d d e e p e n i n g of t r a i n i n g in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s on the part of s t u d e n t s . W e b e l i e v e this is d u e b o t h to a continually i m p r o v i n g s e l e c t i o n p r o c e s s and to a s t r o n g e r p r o g r a m . In recent years, the n u m b e r of w o m e n in the a p p r o x i m a t e l y thirty s t u dents a c c e p t e d each s e m e s t e r has steadily i n c r e a s e d . T h e c u r r e n t f e m a l e m a l e ratio is t w o - t o - o n e . T h e g r e a t e r p a r t i c i p a t i o n of w o m e n m a y b e att r i b u t e d to a n u m b e r of f a c t o r s : a g r e a t e r t e n d e n c y on the part of m e n t o w a r d p r e p r o f e s s i o n a l c o u r s e s of study that g e n e r a l l y h a v e less flexibility for study a b r o a d ; g r e a t e r p a r t i c i p a t i o n by men in athletics, w h i c h a g a i n red u c e s the t i m e they can s p e n d a b r o a d ; and positive c h o i c e s by w o m e n toward i n n o v a t i o n in their c u r r i c u l u m c h o i c e s . Participation in the p r o g r a m by minorities, including A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d e n t s , rarely has e x c e e d e d ten p e r c e n t of the t o t a l . S e v e r a l i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r s m a y b e s i g n i f i c a n t in e x p l a i n i n g the d e g r e e of p a r t i c i p a t i o n by m i n o r i t i e s . First, the p e r c e n t a g e of m i n o r i t y s t u d e n t s a t t e n d i n g m o s t of the c o l l e g e s a n d u n i v e r s i t i e s f r o m w h i c h s t u d e n t s have t r a d i t i o n a l l y b e e n s e lected c l o s e l y p a r a l l e l s the p e r c e n t a g e of s t u d e n t s p a r t i c i p a t i n g in the Kenya p r o g r a m . S e c o n d , f i n a n c i a l c o n s t r a i n t s m a y be a d e c i d i n g issue f o r students w h o w o u l d like to a p p l y but d o not. T h i r d , a n d p e r h a p s m o s t importantly, t h e r e may be a p e r c e p t i o n by minority s t u d e n t s that the p r o g r a m , in its d e s i g n , m e t h o d o l o g y , a n d s t u d e n t c o m p o s i t i o n , d o e s not a d d r e s s their n e e d s ; that it is p r i m a r i l y f o r w h i t e , u p p e r - m i d d l e - c l a s s s t u d e n t s . T h e s e are s i g n i f i c a n t c o n c e r n s a n d the p r o g r a m is a d d r e s s i n g t h e m . T h e nature of e a c h g r o u p , i n c l u d i n g the ethnic, e c o n o m i c , a n d racial diversity r e p r e s e n t e d , h a s p r e s e n t e d s i g n i f i c a n t c h a l l e n g e s to the p r o g r a m ' s a p proach and m e t h o d o l o g y . O u r c o m m i t m e n t c o n t i n u e s to be to p r e s e n t stud e n t s with an A f r i c a n a p p r o a c h , m a i n t a i n i n g this as a b a s e l i n e a g a i n s t w h i c h e a c h a s p e c t of the p r o g r a m is m e a s u r e d . All s t u d e n t p a r t i c i p a n t s have to put a s i d e their i n d i v i d u a l b i a s e s and p r e j u d i c e s a n d w o r k , both individually a n d c o r p o r a t e l y , to u n d e r s t a n d issues f r o m an A f r i c a n p e r s p e c tive. In m a n y cases w h e r e p r o b l e m s of interpretation, c o n t e x t , a n d m e t h o d o l o g y h a v e a r i s e n , t h e s e c a n b e t r a c e d d i r e c t l y t o the i n a b i l i t y o r u n w i l l i n g n e s s of the s t u d e n t s i n v o l v e d to s t e p o u t s i d e the l i m i t a t i o n s a n d b o u n d s of their o w n e x p e r i e n c e .

Orientation S t u d e n t s a r e p r e p a r e d f o r the K e n y a S e m e s t e r P r o g r a m in t w o p h a s e s : in the U n i t e d S t a t e s , d u r i n g the s e m e s t e r prior to their d e p a r t u r e f o r K e n y a ; and in K e n y a , i m m e d i a t e l y u p o n arrival. T h e i r first three d a y s at the s t u d y c e n t e r in N a i r o b i i n c l u d e i n t e n s i v e Kiswahili s t u d y ; e x e r c i s e s d e s i g n e d to

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familiarize students with cross-cultural interaction, situations and ethics; health and health care; K e n y a n laws and regulations; and the p r o g r a m ' s design and schedule. T h e sessions stress practical application of

both

c l a s s r o o m a n d f i e l d l e a r n i n g , a n d s t u d e n t s e m e r g e p r e p a r e d f o r t h e i r rural home-stays,

which

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f o l l o w , and for the remainder o f

the

program. T h e p r o g r a m a t t e m p t s to a n t i c i p a t e p r o b l e m s r e l a t i n g to c u l t u r e s h o c k a n d s o c i a l c o n v e n t i o n , g i v i n g s t u d e n t s a c c e s s to t a k e c a r e o f i n d i v i d u a l n e e d s . In a d d i t i o n , a s e r i e s o f f o r m a l s e m i n a r s ( h e l d p e r i o d i c a l l y t h r o u g h out the s e m e s t e r ) g i v e s students the opportunity to r e v i e w , reflect upon, c o n t e x t u a l i z e , and integrate the various c o m p o n e n t s o f the program. T h e s e seminars, which offer group support, are invaluable. S t u d e n t s a r e a c t i v e l y e n c o u r a g e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e s e m e s t e r to d i s c u s s a c a d e m i c and personal matters with program staff. T h e faculty-administrators a n d c o o r d i n a t o r h a v e h a d e x t e n s i v e e x p e r i e n c e in E a s t A f r i c a . A r e w a r d i n g a s p e c t o f p r o g r a m a d m i n i s t r a t i o n has b e e n the c l o s e and e x t e n d e d c o n t a c t w i t h s t u d e n t s a n d K e n y a n s . It a f f o r d s o p p o r t u n i t i e s to p a r t i c i p a t e w i t h t h e m in s i t u a t i o n s that l e a d to a g r e a t deal o f p e r s o n a l a n d i n t e l l e c t u a l g r o w t h . M u c h o f t h e d i r e c t o r s ' t i m e is s p e n t w i t h s t u d e n t s a n d K e n y a n s , e i t h e r a s i n d i v i d u a l s o r o n a g r o u p b a s i s . L e a r n i n g c a n b e s l o w , a n d in m a n y c a s e s d i f f i c u l t , and it is n e c e s s a r y f o r s t a f f to be both open and f l e x i b l e .

Evaluation E v a l u a t i o n o f t h e p r o g r a m is d o n e in a n u m b e r o f w a y s a n d is a p r o c e s s in w h i c h all t h o s e w h o p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e p r o g r a m ( d i r e c t o r s , f a c u l t y , s t u d e n t s , h o m e - s t a y h o s t s , a n d s t u d e n t s , a m o n g o t h e r s ) h a v e a p a r t . Input f r o m all p e r s p e c t i v e s is s o l i c i t e d . It is p a r t o f a c o n t i n u o u s e f f o r t to i m p r o v e t h e program. T w o students contributed the f o l l o w i n g :

The first thing that comes to mind when I consider what I've gained from this semester is independence and confidence in my ability to handle myself in any situation. T h e s e feelings grew continuously over the semester—Lauren Abrams. It is hard to define what I ' v e learned this semester. I ' v e learned about a Third World country in general; I've learned about life and my own i d e a s — I ' v e been able to shed misconceptions. I have a stronger, more real idea o f who I am, what is important in life and what isn't. I know that I'll be able to use these few months as a solid base for the rest o f my life. It is a positive f e e l i n g — a good one to have, facing [the future]—Alexandra Kammerer. E v a l u a t i o n is an o n g o i n g p r o c e s s t h r o u g h o u t e a c h s e m e s t e r . T h e d i r e c t o r s a s s e s s e a c h s e g m e n t o f e a c h s e m e s t e r ' s c u r r i c u l u m as it o c c u r s . T h i s is d o n e f o r m a l l y t h r o u g h p a r t i c i p a t i o n in f i e l d c o m p o n e n t s , t h r o u g h

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a t t e n d a n c e at c l a s s r o o m lectures, a n d t h r o u g h a s s e s s m e n t of s t u d e n t reaction to the p r o g r a m . W e a l s o a t t e m p t , e a c h s e m e s t e r , t h r o u g h d i s c u s s i o n a n d c o r r e s p o n d e n c e , to s e c u r e e v a l u a t i o n s a n d s u g g e s t i o n s f o r i m p r o v e ment f r o m f a c u l t y , h o m e - s t a y hosts, a n d o t h e r s . S t u d e n t s are e n c o u r a g e d to d i s c u s s all a s p e c t s of the p r o g r a m w i t h f a c u l t y a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , a n d t h i s f e e d b a c k is later u s e d in c o m p i l i n g written e v a l u a t i o n s . S e m i n a r s a l s o h e l p in a s s e s s i n g s t u d e n t r e a c t i o n s to the p r o g r a m . T h r o u g h this p r o c e s s , it is p o s s i b l e to i d e n t i f y b o t h s t u d e n t r e a c t i o n s a n d p o t e n t i a l p r o b l e m s a n d to i n c o r p o r a t e t h e s e i n t o s t u d e n t c o u n s e l i n g a n d p l a n n i n g for the f u t u r e . Following the completion of classes and e x a m i n a t i o n s , evaluation of individual i n s t r u c t o r s / c o u r s e s is d o n e by s t u d e n t s and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . T h e s e evaluations f o l l o w the f o r m a t used in the university in N e w Y o r k . T h e results are discussed individually with faculty and then sent to the Kenya Semester c o m m i t t e e in N e w Y o r k . Faculty are expected to consider the evaluations in assessing their courses for content, presentation, and e x a m i n a t i o n . T h e p r o g r a m director uses the e v a l u a t i o n s in a s s e s s i n g f u t u r e c o u r s e o f f e r ings and in s u g g e s t i n g i m p r o v e m e n t s . Students also c o m p l e t e a c o m p r e h e n sive program evaluation f o r m , w h i c h f o c u s e s on the role of the directors, the center, logistics, home-stays, internships, and other noncurricular matters. M i n d f u l that the p r o g r a m has an impact on K e n y a n s , the directors give f o r m a l attention to a s s e s s i n g the e f f e c t s of the cross-cultural l e a r n i n g upon K e n y a n p a r t i c i p a n t s in the p r o g r a m — p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e f a m i l i e s that a r e involved in the rural, urban, a n d S a m b u r u h o m e - s t a y s . M e e t i n g s are held with each g r o u p to d i s c u s s the p r o g r a m a n d its i n v o l v e m e n t in these c o m munities and to d i s c u s s any p r o b l e m s that m i g h t h a v e e m e r g e d . T h e s e d i s c u s s i o n s have d e e p l y c o n f i r m e d our belief that cross-cultural l e a r n i n g is a t w o - w a y p r o c e s s . H o w e v e r , it a l s o a p p e a r s that the e f f e c t s upon s t u d e n t s m a y b e m u c h m o r e p r o f o u n d than they are o n the K e n y a n hosts. N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g this, K e n y a n s involved with the p r o g r a m e v i d e n c e d a very g o o d u n d e r s t a n d i n g of their r o l e s as i n s t r u c t o r s w h o d e m o n s t r a t e their lifestyles and v a l u e s to the s t u d e n t s . In e a c h instance, a n d within each c o m m u n i t y in w h i c h w e h a v e b e e n i n v o l v e d , t h e r e h a s r e s u l t e d an inc r e a s e d p e r s o n a l , c u l t u r a l , a n d n a t i o n a l p r i d e . T h e r e h a s a l s o b e e n an inc r e a s i n g c o m m i t m e n t a n d interest in the p r o g r a m , a n d w e h a v e l o n g w a i t ing lists of p e o p l e w a n t i n g to p a r t i c i p a t e .

RECIPROCITY: SCHOLARSHIP AND TRAINING St. L a w r e n c e University has f o r a n u m b e r of y e a r s r e c o g n i z e d the i m p o r tance of r e c i p r o c i t y of o p p o r t u n i t y a n d has t h u s r e g u l a r l y m a d e a v a i l a b l e training o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r K e n y a n s t u d e n t s . At p r e s e n t , St. L a w r e n c e University o f f e r s t w o f u l l , f o u r - y e a r u n d e r g r a d u a t e s c h o l a r s h i p s t o K e n y a n

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students annually and one graduate scholarship. In effect, this provides for nine fully sponsored students on c a m p u s in 1994. T h i s p r o g r a m has g r o w n out of the St. Lawrence University Kenya Scholarship Program that w a s implemented in 1 9 8 1 - 1 9 8 2 . In those years, the university made the c o m m i t m e n t to admit one promising Kenyan student per year on full scholarship, to a m a x i m u m of four students present at the university. T h e s c h o l a r s h i p provided all university f e e s . In 1984, in recognition of the o u t s t a n d i n g a c a d e m i c a c h i e v e m e n t s of the Kenya Scholarship recipients, of the role of the Kenya Semester Program in educating U.S. students in A f r i c a n studies, and of the p r e s s i n g needs of Kenyans for opportunities to pursue university degrees, the university doubled the annual intake of Kenyan students on full s c h o l a r s h i p . T h e program of graduate masters' scholarships, for two-year courses of study, was a d d e d in 1990, and one Kenyan graduate student is in residence at all times. T h e s e scholarship recipients are expected to teach Kiswahili at introductory and advanced levels. In addition, a number of Kenyan students have studied at St. Lawrence University on a private basis. Many of these students have received scholarship f u n d i n g in addition to the f o r m a l Kenya S c h o l a r s h i p described above. T h e r e are also other f o r m s of training for Kenyans. Kenyan a d j u n c t faculty teach in the Kenya Semester Program, and they find this valuable professionally, intellectually, and personally. Several Kenyan adjunct faculty have been o f f e r e d visiting professorships at the university c a m p u s in New York during their sabbaticals. It is proposed that f u n d i n g for this kind of faculty exchange be continued, and we hope to institutionalize such an exchange within the next two to three years. A number of Kenyans have been o f f e r e d training opportunities during the p r o g r a m ' s field courses. Scholarships have been provided for Kenyans to participate in the biology field course, and participants were taught field research m e t h o d o l o g i e s in c e n s u s i n g . T h e scholars w e r e d r a w n f r o m the Kenya Wildlife Service, staff f r o m the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and behavioral research staff. 2 S c h o l a r s h i p s have also been o f f e r e d to K e n y a n s on the history and d e v e l o p m e n t field course, in which the instruction included field m e t h o d o l o g i e s in project design and assessment. In 1994, the St. L a w r e n c e University Kenya S e m e s t e r P r o g r a m has s u c c e s s f u l l y c o m p l e t e d its twentieth year of c o n t i n u o u s operation in Kenya. M o r e than o n e thousand university students have been introduced to A f r i c a n studies in a practical and sensitive manner. It has d e v e l o p e d into o n e of the finest, most rigorous p r o g r a m s of its kind in the T h i r d World. T h e Kenya Semester Program is in the forefront of undergraduate, non-Western area studies curriculum development. It is on the cutting edge of multidisciplinary, cross-cultural educational p h i l o s o p h y . S t u d e n t s

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consistently demonstrate considerable personal, intellectual, and spiritual growth during their semester in Kenya, which in and of itself is a d e m o n stration of the p r o g r a m ' s success. Well in excess of 10 percent of program alumni are estimated to have c o n t i n u e d to pursue studies or careers with African and/or international content. T h e program is c o m m i t t e d to the comprehensive integration of classroom and experiential learning, and to a multidisciplinary perspective to learning. In the field, students must confront many relationships between widely varied areas of interest and study, and they must learn the m e t h o d ologies f o r critical e x a m i n a t i o n of primary data. Such learning is predicated on the immediacy and reality of the o b s e r v e d — a n d this way of learning is fundamentally exciting. T h e immediacy of the real world often presents intellectual d i l e m m a s of interpretation and u n d e r s t a n d i n g to which students must respond. For true learning to take place, an attitude of openness must be discovered and cultivated. T h e methodological tools that students learn to use in a program such as this are applicable to processing and understanding the issues—cultural, political, and e c o n o m i c — t h a t divide the world. T h e s e students c o n f r o n t seminal issues of development and cultural change that f a c e East A f r i c a n societies. T h e y begin to a c q u i r e the intellectual and personal r e s o u r c e s needed to deal with those issues—both for Africa and for the world.

NOTES 1. For full d e s c r i p t i o n s o f current c o u r s e o f f e r i n g s in K e n y a , c o n t a c t St. L a w r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y ' s O f f i c e o f International Education. 2. W h e n the K e n y a S e m e s t e r P r o g r a m w a s initiated, and p e r i o d i c a l l y s i n c e , St. L a w r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y has inquired o f the University of Nairobi regarding formal a f f i l i a t i o n . T h e University of N a i r o b i administration r e c o m m e n d e d that formal a f filiation on an institutional b a s i s w a s inappropriate, due to the s i z e and nature o f the K e n y a S e m e s t e r Program. T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f N a i r o b i has neither the s t a f f nor the f a c i l i t i e s to be directly i n v o l v e d with the p r o g r a m . T h e p r o g r a m is r e v i e w e d and a u t h o r i z e d by the O f f i c e o f the P r e s i d e n t o f K e n y a and h a s b e e n granted " s t a n d i n g a p p r o v a l " by the g o v e r n m e n t to o p e r a t e in K e n y a — s u p p o r t that S t . L a w r e n c e U n i v e r s i t y has greatly appreciated.

15 Nowhere to Hide: Perspectives on an African Foreign-Study Program Sandra E. Greene

Study Abroad programs in the United States have traditionally been categorized according to their organizational characteristics. 1 Among the groups so defined are the university-integrated programs, in which U . S . students enroll directly into one o f the institutions o f the host country, where they take courses from the established curricular offerings, live and eat with local families or their fellow students, and participate in the social life of the campus and the community in which the university is located. Kalamazoo C o l l e g e ' s African foreign-study program is such a program.

THE KALAMAZOO PROGRAM Pedagogical

Foundations

In 1962, when Kalamazoo College launched its foreign-study program, the most widely accepted approach to c o l l e g e learning was classroom oriented. T h e c o r e component was highly structured, in-classroom contact with a professor who imparted information. Most often, this was done through lectures, demonstrations, and carefully designed assignments. Foreign study, on the other hand, at least in the minds o f many in the Midwest, was associated with sightseeing, guided-tours, and a superficial exposure to a different culture. Partly in response to the educational norms of the time, and the wish to avoid any hint o f frivolous overseas adventures, Kalamazoo C o l l e g e opted to establish a foreign-study program in which the student was placed in the position o f having to approach learning largely according to the pattern established at K a l a m a z o o College. There was, of course, the added component o f experiencing constant interaction with individuals and groups from the host country. T h e primary emphasis was on Europe, but, in what was considered quite a daring move at the time, the c o l l e g e also opted to open a center in A f r i c a — i n Sierra Leone.

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E n t h u s i a s m about A f r i c a grew thereafter a m o n g U.S. s t u d e n t s as many countries during the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s discarded the yoke of c o l o n i a l i s m . In response, Kalamazoo expanded the number of African sites, and by the mid1970s, the college had established six more centers, one each in Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, and in Sierra Leone a second center, at Njala, upcountry. Whereas emphasis in the European programs was on language develo p m e n t , 2 K a l a m a z o o College d e f i n e d the value of the A f r i c a program more broadly as the e x p o s u r e of the students to a culture much different f r o m that f o u n d in the United States. Thus, while the administrators of the program acknowledged the need for foreign-language training and for students to master information about Africa in the classroom, whether at the college or in Africa, they also designed the program to facilitate cross-cultural learning through cultural immersion. Students were not just placed in African university classrooms with their African peers: they were housed in residence halls with African roommates, a situation that forced them to c o n f r o n t on a daily basis for their entire stay of six to twelve months the cultural similarities and d i f f e r e n c e s that existed b e t w e e n t h e m s e l v e s and their peers. T h i s pedagogical approach is based on an understanding of intercultural education that distinguishes between cognitive, intellectual, affective, and emotional learning—and values all four modes. As described by Sikkema and Niyekawa, in this approach the essential d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n passive and active u n d e r s t a n d i n g lies in intellectual and rational understanding on the one hand and affective or emotional understanding on the other. P a s s i v e understanding can be . . . a c h i e v e d to a s i g n i f i c a n t extent by studying the literature, philosophy, religion, history or art of a particular culture. At a time w h e n international cooperation is essential for survival, learning to s e e p e o p l e of other cultures as . . . similar [and] different is essential. [But] it is m u c h easier to understand and accept cultural differe n c e s at the rational level than at the emotional level w h e r e reactions are not usually under c o n s c i o u s control. A c t i v e understanding requires the d e v e l o p m e n t at gut level o f an attitude of a c c e p t a n c e , respect, and tolerance of cultural d i f f e r e n c e s . T h i s can hardly be a c c o m p l i s h e d through traditional c l a s s r o o m methods, bec a u s e learning in the c l a s s r o o m takes place primarily at the intellectual l e v e l . D e s c r i p t i o n s and a n a l y s e s of other cultures and p e o p l e s m a y be presented, but the student d o e s not experience the embarrassment of making mistakes or the j o y of s u c c e s s f u l l y f u n c t i o n i n g in another culture. 3

In the K a l a m a z o o C o l l e g e A f r i c a n Studies P r o g r a m , these kinds of e m p h a s i s on both cognitive and affective learning have been the principle s h a p i n g f a c t o r s . T h e y shape both the structure and content of the predeparture orientation session, the in-country experience, and the program admissions process. In the f o l l o w i n g overview of the K a l a m a z o o A f r i c a n

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S t u d i e s P r o g r a m , I w i l l b r i e f l y r e v i e w t h e s e t h r e e a s p e c t s o f the p r o g r a m , t h e i r i m p a c t o n the s t u d e n t s , t h e h o s t c o u n t r y , a n d t h e h o m e c a m p u s . I w i l l then d i s c u s s t h e c o n t i n u i n g c h a l l e n g e s that f a c e t h e p r o g r a m a s it s t r i v e s t o e n h a n c e the quality o f intercultural education.

PREDEPARTURE ORIENTATION T h r o u g h o u t the thirty y e a r s that the c o l l e g e has o p e r a t e d the A f r i c a prog r a m , p r e p a r a t i o n s f o r t h e v i s i t t o A f r i c a h a v e t a k e n p l a c e d u r i n g the s u m m e r q u a r t e r , a r e g u l a r t e r m in t h e y e a r - r o u n d K a l a m a z o o a c a d e m i c c a l e n d a r . D u r i n g t h i s q u a r t e r , s t u d e n t s a r e r e q u i r e d t o e n r o l l in at l e a s t o n e i n t r o d u c t o r y c o u r s e in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . T h e list o f c o u r s e s o f f e r e d u s u a l l y i n c l u d e s at l e a s t f i v e c o u r s e s f r o m t h e d i s c i p l i n e s o f h i s t o r y , p o l i t i c s , s o c i o l o g y a n d a n t h r o p o l o g y , l i t e r a t u r e , b i o l o g y , a n d art a n d m u s i c . T h e c o l lege s u p p l e m e n t s these c o u r s e s with a r e q u i r e d - a t t e n d a n c e ,

nine-week,

f i l m - a n d - l e c t u r e s e r i e s that c o m b i n e s b o t h s p e c i f i c a n d g e n e r a l i n f o r m a tion a b o u t t h e i s s u e s a n d c o n c e r n s , b o t h h i s t o r i c a l a n d c o n t e m p o r a r y , that e x i s t in A f r i c a . A l w a y s i n c l u d e d in t h e s e r i e s a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s on t h e S o u t h A f r i c a n situation; on c o u n t r y - s p e c i f i c or r e g i o n - s p e c i f i c

concerns

a b o u t e c o l o g y a n d p o l i t i c a l e c o n o m y ; o n d e v e l o p m e n t s in c o n t e m p o r a r y art a n d m u s i c ; a n d o n h e a l t h i s s u e s . S t u d e n t s a l s o a t t e n d a g e n e r a l f o r e i g n study o r i e n t a t i o n , a s w e l l a s c o n t i n e n t - s p e c i f i c and c o u n t r y - s p e c i f i c o r i e n t a tions, led by administrators, faculty, student alumni o f the A f r i c a f o r e i g n study p r o g r a m , and c i t i z e n s o f the host c o u n t r y . A l l are d e s i g n e d

to

prepare the students intellectually for the cultural e x p e r i e n c e o f living o v e r s e a s and the s p e c i f i c c o n d i t i o n s they will f a c e . In t h e 1 9 8 0 s , t h e A f r i c a n S t u d i e s P r o g r a m a d d e d t o t h e o r i e n t a t i o n a p r o g r a m t h a t e n c o u r a g e s s t u d e n t s to d e v e l o p i n t e r c u l t u r a l s o c i a l

skills.

S t u d e n t s a r e d i v i d e d i n t o g r o u p s f o r a n u m b e r o f " c u l t u r e s i m u l a t i o n s . " In o n e s u c h c r o s s - c u l t u r a l g a m e , B a F a - B a F a , t h e s t u d e n t s h a v e to l e a r n h o w to o p e r a t e in a s o c i e t y in w h i c h t h e y c a n n o t u n d e r s t a n d t h e

language,

where their inherited social skills prove ineffective, and where there are f e w a i d s to a s s i s t t h e m in t h e i r e f f o r t s t o i n t e r a c t w i t h the c u l t u r e . 4 T h e g a m e s are f o l l o w e d b y d i s c u s s i o n s about how m u c h o f the culture the students p e r c e i v e d and understood, how m u c h w a s lost to them, how they h a n d l e d t h e s i t u a t i o n s in w h i c h t h e y w e r e p e r s o n a l l y i n v o l v e d , a n d w h a t a l t e r n a t i v e s t h e y m i g h t c o n s i d e r in the f u t u r e . 5

The In-Country

Experience

T h e u n i v e r s i t i e s i n t o w h i c h t h e s t u d e n t s a r e p l a c e d in A f r i c a c o n s t i t u t e a s u p e r f i c i a l l y f a m i l i a r e n v i r o n m e n t in w h i c h t h e y c a n c o n t i n u e t h e e d u c a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e t h e y h a v e h a d in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . B u t it is a l s o t h e s i t e

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of i n t e n s e c u l t u r e c o n t a c t . F o r e x a m p l e , the p r o g r a m d i r e c t o r m a k e s s u r e that the U . S . s t u d e n t s are a s s i g n e d r o o m m a t e s f r o m the host c o u n t r y , and that e v e r y e f f o r t is m a d e to s c a t t e r the s t u d e n t s t h r o u g h o u t the r e s i d e n c e h a l l s in o r d e r to d i s c o u r a g e the natural t e n d e n c y f o r s t u d e n t s to c l i n g tog e t h e r . E a c h s t u d e n t h a s a local p r o f e s s o r a s a c a d e m i c a d v i s o r , but u s u a l l y the level o f c o n t a c t is m i n i m a l . S t u d e n t s are e x p e c t e d to take principal res p o n s i b i l i t y f o r g e t t i n g t h e m s e l v e s t h r o u g h the c o u r s e r e g i s t r a t i o n p r o c e s s , e n r o l l i n g in c o u r s e s that b u i l d on their f o u n d a t i o n in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s or their m a j o r f i e l d o f s t u d y . S c i e n c e s t u d e n t s , f o r e x a m p l e , are a d v i s e d to enroll in f i e l d c o u r s e s that c a n n o t b e d u p l i c a t e d at h o m e , but it is u p to the s t u d e n t to f i n d o u t w h a t t h o s e c o u r s e s a r e , w h e r e they a r e o f f e r e d , and w h e n . In r e c e n t y e a r s , the p r o g r a m h a s a r r a n g e d f o r there to b e o f f e r e d credit-bearing educational field trips and internships with local artists, a g r i c u l t u r a l i s t s , a n d s c h o o l s a n d h o s p i t a l s . E v e n if s t u d e n t s c o n f i n e their p r i n c i p l e a c t i v i t i e s to the u n i v e r s i t y , they s o o n learn that the p e r s p e c t i v e s o f the p r o f e s s o r a n d the s t u d e n t s , the c o n t e n t o f the c o u r s e , a n d the extent o f f a c u l t y s u p e r v i s i o n o f s t u d e n t w o r k c a n b e j a r r i n g l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m that w h i c h they a r e u s e d to. H o w e v e r , the m o s t c h a l l e n g i n g e x p e r i e n c e s for U . S . s t u d e n t s o c c u r in the r e s i d e n c e h a l l s a n d in their interaction with the c o m m u n i t y o u t s i d e the u n i v e r s i t y . On a r e g u l a r b a s i s , hour a f t e r hour, d a y a f t e r d a y , month after m o n t h , s t u d e n t s m u s t learn to h a n d l e c o m m o n but u n f a m i l i a r s o c i a l situations s u c h a s : 1. H a v i n g to b e m u c h m o r e c o n s c i o u s o f their b e h a v i o r , in a situation in w h i c h they a r e not s u r e w h a t p r o p e r b e h a v i o r is, but w h e r e the i m p e r a t i v e to f i n d out is g r e a t b e c a u s e o f n e g a t i v e r e a c t i o n s by fellow students 2. M a n a g i n g a city t r a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d m a r k e t i n g s y s t e m in w h i c h the n o v i c e c a n b e taken a d v a n t a g e o f within the f l e x i b l e p r i c i n g s y s t e m 3. C o p i n g with m o r e traditional a t t i t u d e s a n d s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i v e s t y l e s a m o n g host c o u n t r y s t u d e n t s in the c o n t e x t o f m a l e / f e m a l e a n d f e male/female relations 4 . H a n d l i n g the l o n g h o u r s in w h i c h t h e r e is n o r e a d y - m a d e , f a s t p a c e d e n t e r t a i n m e n t s y s t e m into w h i c h they c a n e a s i l y insert themselves 5 . L e a r n i n g w h e n they s t a y in v i l l a g e s ( a s m a n y s t u d e n t s d o d u r i n g s c h o o l v a c a t i o n s ) , the rural ( a s d i s t i n c t f r o m u r b a n ) e t i q u e t t e that obtains 6 . F a c i n g the d i s c o m f o r t o f p o w e r o u t a g e s a n d w a t e r s h o r t a g e s ( e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g e x a m p e r i o d s a n d o n p a r t i c u l a r l y hot d a y s ) 7 . C o p i n g — i f they a r e w h i t e - s k i n n e d — w i t h their c o n s p i c u o u s n e s s , without b e c o m i n g p a r a n o i d , a n d interacting with b l a c k s a s both their p e e r s a n d their s u p e r i o r s , p e r h a p s f o r the first time in their l i v e s

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8. D e a l i n g — i f they are b l a c k U.S. s t u d e n t s — w i t h their e x p e c t a t i o n s a n d the reality of their r e l a t i o n s h i p with the host culture L o c a l l y b a s e d U.S. c i t i z e n s , w h o h a v e e x p r e s s e d a w i l l i n g n e s s to d o s o , s e r v e as a r e s o u r c e w i t h w h o m the s t u d e n t s c a n d i s c u s s m o r e p e r s o n a l q u e s t i o n s and c o n c e r n s d u r i n g their a d j u s t m e n t p e r i o d . M o s t o f t e n , h o w ever, this person d o e s not r e s i d e on the c a m p u s . It is, t h e r e f o r e , u p to stud e n t s to a d j u s t to their s i t u a t i o n s — a t the s a m e t i m e as they are s t r u g g l i n g with the desire ( p u r p o s e l y instilled d u r i n g the p r e d e p a r t u r e o r i e n t a t i o n ) to d o w e l l in their c o u r s e s ; not to a s s o c i a t e s o m u c h w i t h c o m p a t r i o t s ; a n d not to a p p e a r as tourists, u n i n t e r e s t e d in the p e o p l e e x c e p t f o r w h a t they can s e e f r o m a d i s t a n c e , b u y i n g s o u v e n i r s , t a k i n g p h o t o g r a p h s , a n d t h e n departing.

Success

Indicators

A s n o t e d a b o v e , this s t r u c t u r e e x i s t s f o r b o t h c u l t u r a l a n d e c o n o m i c reasons. It is consistent with the p h i l o s o p h y b e h i n d a cultural i m m e r s i o n prog r a m in w h i c h s t u d e n t s are f o r c e d to d e v i s e for t h e m s e l v e s strategies that will f a c i l i t a t e their o w n l e a r n i n g within an u n f a m i l i a r university e n v i r o n ment in A f r i c a ; 6 and the m i n i m a l s t a f f i n g o v e r s e a s - m a k e s it financially and structurally possible to maintain a strong, o n - c a m p u s p r o g r a m that e x p o s e s s t u d e n t s to A f r i c a w h i l e a v o i d i n g e x p e n d i t u r e s that s i m p l y d u p l i c a t e t h e s t a f f i n g at K a l a m a z o o . T h e s a v e d r e v e n u e is u s e d by K a l a m a z o o C o l l e g e to f i n a n c e an e x c h a n g e p r o g r a m . S t u d e n t s f r o m the u n i v e r s i t i e s in A f r i c a that our s t u d e n t s h a v e attended may s p e n d an a c a d e m i c year at K a l a m a z o o , most o f t e n as a transition year b e f o r e e n t e r i n g a U.S. g r a d u a t e s c h o o l . O t h e r a r r a n g e m e n t s h a v e the c o l l e g e deposit the o v e r s e a s tuition a n d r o o m and b o a r d f e e s in a f u n d that supports g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s b e i n g s p o n s o r e d by the g o v e r n m e n t of the host c o u n t r y . In this w a y , both the c o l l e g e a n d the o v e r s e a s university have a vested interest in m a i n t a i n i n g the p r o g r a m . T h e s u c c e s s of this a p p r o a c h is attested to by a n u m b e r of i n d i c a t o r s . (1) T h e p r o g r a m has been in c o n t i n u e d e x i s t e n c e f o r thirty y e a r s . (2) T h e n u m b e r of s t u d e n t s w h o h a v e s u b s e q u e n t l y c o n t i n u e d their e d u c a t i o n in g r a d u a t e school by s p e c i a l i z i n g in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s (or in a field c o n c e r n e d with a n o t h e r T h i r d W o r l d a r e a ) is relatively h i g h . C u r r e n t i n f o r m a t i o n on K a l a m a z o o C o l l e g e a l u m n i of the A f r i c a p r o g r a m indicates, f o r e x a m p l e , that in the thirty-year history of the p r o g r a m , at least o n e s t u d e n t on a v e r a g e e v e r y year c o m p l e t e d g r a d u a t e w o r k in the a r e a s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e . Of the thirty-six k n o w n i n s t a n c e s , sixteen o b t a i n e d m a s t e r s ' d e g r e e s ; t w e n t y r e c e i v e d the d o c t o r a t e . ( 3 ) T h e p r o g r a m is a l s o r e c o g n i z e d a m o n g the f a c ulty, s t a f f , and s t u d e n t s at the c o l l e g e as the o n e w h i c h has the most p r o f o u n d e f f e c t on the p a r t i c i p a n t s , p r o v i d i n g t h e m w i t h an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of

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the world and t h e m s e l v e s u n m a t c h e d b y o t h e r p r o g r a m s . ( 4 ) V e r y f e w students e x i t the p r o g r a m b e f o r e its s c h e d u l e d e n d . ( 5 ) M a n y f o r m e r p a r t i c i pants ( a n d still o t h e r s w h o have e x p e r i e n c e d A f r i c a o n l y through the r e c o l l e c t i o n s o f their f r i e n d s a n d / o r the A f r i c a o n - c a m p u s a c t i v i t i e s ) opt to return ( o r g o f o r the first t i m e ) to A f r i c a i m m e d i a t e l y after g r a d u a t i o n as P e a c e C o r p s v o l u n t e e r s and as r e s e a r c h e r s w o r k i n g on s e n i o r t h e s e s or post-B.A. projects.

THE SELECTION PROCESS Cultural i m m e r s i o n in A f r i c a , e v e n in a s e t t i n g as s u p e r f i c i a l l y f a m i l i a r as a university, is not for e v e r y student. F o r o n e thing, these are u n i v e r s i t i e s in w h i c h support s e r v i c e s are limited. S t u d e n t s must be able to handle all o f the s i t u a t i o n s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e , and m o r e ; t h e y must want to b e c h a l l e n g e d and at the s a m e t i m e b e o p e n - m i n d e d e n o u g h to withstand the inc l i n a t i o n to fall b a c k on the c o m m o n c u l t u r a l d i s t a n c i n g t e c h n i q u e s o f s t e r e o t y p i n g , p a t e r n a l i s m , and e t h n o c e n t r i s m . In light o f t h e s e d e m a n d s and the l i m i t e d f i n a n c i a l c o m m i t m e n t f o r s i g n i f i c a n t in-country personal support structures, K a l a m a z o o C o l l e g e has d e v e l o p e d a rigorous s c r e e n i n g p r o c e s s in an attempt to limit the program to t h o s e w h o have the p e r s o n a l , i n t e l l e c t u a l , and p h y s i c a l ability to m a n a g e the e x p e r i e n c e s u c c e s s f u l l y . S t u d e n t s i n t e r e s t e d in A f r i c a p r i n c i p a l l y as an e x o t i c tourist a d v e n t u r e are a u t o m a t i c a l l y e l i m i n a t e d . A p p l i c a n t s with a fuller interest in A f r i c a , w h e t h e r e n r o l l e d at K a l a m a z o o C o l l e g e or a n o t h e r institution, must i n d i c a t e w h y they are interested in p a r t i c i p a t i n g and s u b m i t a b i o g r a p h i c a l s t a t e m e n t , transcripts, and letters o f r e c o m m e n dation. At the interview (in person or by t e l e p h o n e ) students must d e m o n strate s o m e k n o w l e d g e a b o u t the c o u n t r y in w h i c h they wish to study and i n d i c a t e that they have c o n s i d e r e d the c h a l l e n g e s , personal and p h y s i c a l , that they will e n c o u n t e r . A f t e r a c c e p t a n c e , s t u d e n t s must

continually

d e m o n s t r a t e their a b i l i t y to t a k e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e m s e l v e s — m e e t i n g d e a d l i n e s f o r the s u b m i s s i o n o f passport a p p l i c a t i o n s , f o l l o w i n g i n o c u l a tion s c h e d u l e s , and t a k i n g s e r i o u s l y the predeparture orientation s e s s i o n s .

CONTINUING CHALLENGES In the m o r e than thirty y e a r s that K a l a m a z o o C o l l e g e has b e e n s e n d i n g s t u d e n t s to study in A f r i c a , m u c h has c h a n g e d — i n A f r i c a , in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , and in U . S . s t u d e n t c u l t u r e . T h e p e r i o d b e t w e e n the e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s , w h e n the c o l l e g e initiated the p r o g r a m , and the late 1 9 7 0 s , when there was the first w o r l d o i l - s h o c k , s a w A f r i c a n e c o n o m i e s s u f f e r t e r r i b l y . R i s i n g fuel c o s t s led to d e c l i n e s in p r i c e s f o r A f r i c a n g o o d s on the w o r l d m a r k e t .

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Student protests led to temporary government closures of universities to which the college had been sending students. In the early 1980s through the early 1990s, economic difficulties, and the marginal political position of Africa in world affairs, made Africa seem to be, in the minds of many U.S. students, a place that was irrelevant to their lives. Media coverage focused almost exclusively on spectacular disasters, ignoring other African issues, thus reinforcing stereotypic images of the continent. Students who, nevertheless, participated in the program faced far greater difficulties than had their predecessors. Food, water, and electricity shortages, and limited health care and transportation caused by the local economic difficulties, made the experience of studying in Africa additionally challenging. This affected enrollments in the Kalamazoo program. The most significant drop occurred among Kalamazoo College's own students, who had easy access to information about the difficulties in Africa. But the number of students from other institutions also declined.

Table 14.1 Student Participation in the Kalamazoo Africa Program, 1962-1992 1962-1972

1973-1982

1983-1992

K a l a m a z o o students S t u d e n t s from other s c h o o l s

167 28

306 105

82 88

Total

195

411

170

In the decade of the late 1970s through the late 1980s, significant changes were also occurring in U.S. student culture that made students less prepared for the Africa experience. One e x a m p l e is in the area of use of " f r e e " time. Both families and U.S. educational institutions have come to provide so much ready-made entertainment for students in the United States that many undergraduates are unequipped to handle the large amounts of unstructured time they have in A f r i c a . Similarly, the highly structured nature of U.S. e d u c a t i o n — s o m e say students are s p o o n - f e d — makes it difficult for students to benefit from the European-based university systems in Africa. Students are expected to take more responsibility for educating themselves, both inside and outside the classroom. A third factor is the impact that the feminist m o v e m e n t has had in the United States on students' understanding of appropriate behavior between men and women. Many, and perhaps most, of the w o m e n who in recent years have participated in the Kalamazoo College Africa program view themselves as socially progressive on gender issues, and they tend to associate with male students who hold similar views. When these women arrive in African universities, they are often unprepared for the persistent attention that

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f r e q u e n t l y is d i r e c t e d their w a y b y s o m e o f the m a l e s t u d e n t s . T h e s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n c l a s h e s w i t h their n o t i o n s , both c u l t u r a l a n d p o l i t i c a l , of h o w men a n d w o m e n d o and s h o u l d c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h o n e a n o t h e r . T h e i r l i m ited e x p e r i e n c e w i t h s u c h s i t u a t i o n s p r o v i d e s them w i t h f e w m o d e l s f r o m w h i c h to d e r i v e c o p i n g s t r a t e g i e s . T h e s e d i f f i c u l t i e s are not n e w , but o v e r the y e a r s I h a v e n o t i c e d that U . S . w o m e n students, p a r t i c u l a r l y those w h o h a v e c o n s c i o u s l y e m b r a c e d the f e m i n i s t m o v e m e n t , h a v e b e e n

having

g r e a t e r a n d g r e a t e r d i f f i c u l t y d e a l i n g w i t h this attention. I attribute this to the c h a n g e s o c c u r r i n g in U . S . c u l t u r e — c h a n g e s that d o not c o i n c i d e w i t h those o c c u r r i n g in A f r i c a . T h e s e d e v e l o p m e n t s p r e s e n t n e w c h a l l e n g e s to the s t r u c t u r e of the K a l a m a z o o p r o g r a m . P e r h a p s the m o s t w o r r i s o m e are in the a r e a s of g e n der and r a c e r e l a t i o n s . B o t h are d i f f i c u l t s u b j e c t s in w h i c h to e n g a g e s t u dents, w h e t h e r i n - c o u n t r y o r in the orientation p e r i o d , w i t h o u t h a v i n g stud e n t s r e s o r t to f e a r f u l , s i l e n t w i t h d r a w a l , d e f e n s i v e n e s s , o r

hostility.

E x p e r i e n c e s o v e r s e a s c a n h e i g h t e n the t e n s i o n s that s u r r o u n d these i s s u e s ; and t h e s e t e n s i o n s , in turn, c a n a f f e c t the r e l a t i o n s both b e t w e e n the s t u dents and the hosts and a m o n g the U . S . students t h e m s e l v e s . I f , f o r e x a m p l e , a w h i t e f e m a l e student p a r t i c i p a t e s in the A f r i c a p r o g r a m b e c a u s e of a g e n u i n e interest in A f r i c a , but h a s f a i l e d to c o n f r o n t and d e a l w i t h i m a g e s r e c e i v e d f r o m U . S . c u l t u r e that instill an u n c o n s c i o u s f e a r o f b l a c k m e n , her i n a b i l i t y to c o p e w i t h the d i f f e r e n t patterns of m a l e / f e m a l e relations c a n h a v e s e r i o u s c o n s e q u e n c e s f o r the entire g r o u p . In a w o r s t - c a s e s c e n a r i o , it w i l l ruin her e x p e r i e n c e , r e i n f o r c e in her o w n m i n d the n e g a tive s t e r e o t y p e s she has r e c e i v e d f r o m the U n i t e d S t a t e s , p r o m p t her w h i t e , m a l e c o l l e a g u e s to adopt the s a m e attitude a n d to t a k e on the r o l e of p r o t e c t o r a g a i n s t b l a c k m a l e s , a n d at the s a m e t i m e s e r i o u s l y a l i e n a t e b l a c k U . S . s t u d e n t s — a t a t i m e w h e n they are h a v i n g their o w n a d j u s t m e n t d i f f i c u l t i e s . T h e d i f f i c u l t y is c o m p o u n d e d i f , b e c a u s e o f h o u s i n g c o n s t r a i n t s , the a d m i n i s t r a t o r s of the p r o g r a m h a v e to p l a c e all the U . S . s t u d e n t s in the s a m e r e s i d e n t i a l site. T h e t e n s i o n s then b e g i n to r e i n f o r c e o n e another a n d f o r s o m e p a r t i c i p a n t s c a n lead to e a r l y e x i t f r o m the p r o g r a m o r a s e n s e o f d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n . O f t e n , neither the s t a f f o v e r s e a s n o r the a d m i n i s t r a t o r s at h o m e are trained or e m o t i o n a l l y p r e p a r e d to h a n d l e these d i f f i c u l t i e s ; y e t to i g n o r e these i s s u e s c a n lead o n l y to a d d i t i o n a l p r o b l e m s f o r the students a n d the p r o g r a m . T r a i n i n g p r o g r a m s a r e a v a i l a b l e , h o w e v e r . S t a f f intere s t e d in b e i n g trained s h o u l d e x p l o r e the p o s s i b i l i t i e s w e l l b e f o r e the students depart f o r A f r i c a . 7 A s e c o n d c h a l l e n g e s t e m s f r o m the f a c t that, w h i l e e x p e r i e n t i a l , p r e d e p a r t u r e orientation s e s s i o n s c a n p l a y an i m p o r t a n t role in p r e p a r i n g s t u d e n t s , d i f f e r e n c e s still e x i s t b e t w e e n the s i m u l a t i o n a n d the e d u c a t i o n a l setting in w h i c h students w i l l b e p l a c e d . In m a n y w a y s , the f o r m a t of both the e x p e r i e n t i a l and the intellectual c o m p o n e n t s o f the p r o g r a m , with their predetermined assignments and structured experiential e x e r c i s e s , w o r k s

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against e n c o u r a g i n g students to learn how to d e f i n e their o w n p r o j e c t s , how to work more independently. T h e principle e f f o r t s so far m a d e to address this situation have involved encouraging students to d e f i n e a project during their stay and to carry it out under the supervision of a local advisor. For this to happen on a more systematic basis, and for the in-country staff to be better able to handle gender and race issues, c h a n g e s are needed in the way the college has defined the relationship between the local advisors and the students. Training must be m a d e available, a l o n g with more support staff. This will require the college to reevaluate the financial structure of the program. In the past, much more support has been given to the development of on-campus personnel than to the d e v e l o p m e n t of the overseas c o m p o n e n t . Both are critical to a self-sustaining p r o g r a m . A third area of c h a l l e n g e involves language instruction. K a l a m a z o o College has experimented with a number of f o r m a t s to enable students to b e c o m e quickly integrated into local cultures through their use of local language. S u m m e r courses in Krio, Swahili, Seswati, and Wolof have been offered at the college, and arrangements are frequently m a d e for continued study in-country. Ideally, however, African languages should be included as an integral part of the preparation for an African foreign-study experie n c e — j u s t as European-language training has always been an integral part of the European foreign-study p r o g r a m . For the Europe program, student eligibility is contingent upon the s u c c e s s f u l c o m p l e t i o n of at least t w o quarters of instruction in the relevant language. Neither the college administration, nor the European language faculty, have b e e n enthusiastic about such a m o v e with regard to Africa, however. This is due, in part, to numbers. T h e r e has never been a sufficient number of students to sustain the p e r m a n e n t addition of A f r i c a n languages to the c u r r i c u l u m . 8 In addition, the university-based nature of the program makes it particularly vulnerable to problems within the host country. A year of language training in Swahili, for example, could be seen by students as a year of wasted e f f o r t if they d o not have the opportunity to go to Kenya because the University of Nairobi is closed. However, the African Studies P r o g r a m must remain c o m m i t t e d to providing s o m e language training, if only in limited f o r m , and to e x p l o r i n g other options. A fourth area continues to challenge the Africa p r o g r a m : its relationship with A f r i c a n universities. Most Study A b r o a d p r o g r a m s advertise t h e m s e l v e s as e x c h a n g e p r o g r a m s : theoretically, both the h o m e and the host institutions benefit f r o m an exchange of students (and s o m e t i m e s faculty). M o r e c o m m o n l y , however, this exchange is o n e - w a y . U.S. students enroll in a foreign university, but few foreign students f r o m the host institution affiliate with the U.S. college or university; similarly with faculty. This problem is particularly acute in Africa programs like that at Kalamaz o o College. Several explanations are o f f e r e d to account f o r this situation: (1) the s a v i n g s obtained ( f r o m the d i f f e r e n c e in the a m o u n t paid by the

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students to the U.S. college to participate in the overseas program and the amount paid by the U.S. college to the A f r i c a n institution for enrolling the U.S. student) do not cover the costs that the U.S. institution must absorb in order to enroll s i g n i f i c a n t n u m b e r s of A f r i c a n s t u d e n t s — b e c a u s e the financial needs of these students are so great; (2) f u n d s to support having an African faculty m e m b e r at the U.S. university are limited; (3) administrators are reluctant to alter the structure of a program that they view as being successful even though those structures conflict with the theoretical goals of the program by giving unequal advantage to the U.S. institution. These f a c t o r s should not p r e e m p t a t t e m p t s to meet the stated goals of an exchange program, h o w e v e r . T h e r e is another concern in this matter of U . S . - A f r i c a n university relations. It involves the way in which foreign-study programs (including the Kalamazoo p r o g r a m ) m a n a g e relations with people in host countries w h o are employed to carry out administrative and educational services. If these relations are managed by the program staff rather than the administrative offices of the U.S. college, it can lead to significant disparities between the pay o f f e r e d to part-time e m p l o y e e s of the c o l l e g e w h o are based in the United States and those e m p l o y e d in the host c o u n t r y . T h e e x i s t e n c e of this disparity will inevitably b e c o m e k n o w n , given the ease o f . m o d e r n c o m m u n i c a t i o n . T h i s can lead to significant tensions between U.S. program administrators and African employees. These tensions are heightened by the d i f f e r e n c e s in culture, race, and e c o n o m i c position of the t w o groups. T h r o u g h care in the structuring of the relationship, these disparities should be minimized or eliminated. There is a fifth challenge—involving student readjustment to the home culture. A n y o n e w h o spends significant a m o u n t s of time overseas experiences d i f f i c u l t i e s " r e e n t e r i n g . " As part of its traditional, c o g n i t i v e approach to the experience, the Foreign Study O f f i c e at Kalamazoo College (which handles the European program and oversees the one in Africa) used to organize a reentry session in which students were encouraged to discuss their o v e r s e a s e x p e r i e n c e s in terms of what they had learned about their country as a field of study. N o structured f o r u m existed to help them to exa m i n e how the o v e r s e a s e x p e r i e n c e a f f e c t e d their perceptions of t h e m selves and their o w n c u l t u r e . Most s t u d e n t s f o u n d it difficult to discuss this with f r i e n d s and f a m i l y b e c a u s e of a g a p in understanding about the depth to which they had b e e n a f f e c t e d . M o r e recently, s o m e e f f o r t has been m a d e to m o d i f y this situation. R e t u r n i n g students break into small groups and speak about their personal reactions, but this occurs only once, and in my opinion does not adequately address the needs of the students to sort out the experience. 9 T h e r e are limits to what any program can do, of course, and students must d o s o m e of this on their own, over time; nevertheless, I believe it w o u l d be valuable to gather the students (perhaps six months a f t e r their return, a n d prior to their involvement as previous-par-

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ticipant resources for a new, predeparture set of students) s o that they can again review how the experience has affected them. This w o u l d help them to assess what they saw in themselves and in their culture that they had not seen before, and what, with greater hindsight, they saw as the positive and negative aspects of the experience. For the College to do this, an increased number of African studies faculty and administrative staff w o u l d have to serve as facilitators, but several positive objectives w o u l d be a c c o m plished: students w o u l d have a forum in which to share their experiences; the faculty and staff w o u l d b e c o m e more involved in the overseas experience (it w o u l d be more than something that takes the students away from them for six to nine months)—and they would, hopefully, c o m e to value the personal changes and intellectual growth that had occurred in the students. Faculty could then take advantage of these new skills by using the most accomplished students as facilitators and thus improve the cross-cultural interactions on their own campus.

NOTES 1. See Craufurd D. Goodwin and Michael Nacht, Abroad and Beyond: Patterns in American Overseas Education (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988), chap. 3, for a typology of foreign-study programs. 2. See Joe K. Fugate, "Kalamazoo College: Study Abroad and Foreign Language Learning," in Integrating Study Abroad into the Undergraduate Liberal Arts Curriculum, ed. Barbara Burn (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1991), in which the former director of Kalamazoo College Foreign Study Office discusses the foreign language emphasis within the Kalamazoo program, as well as others. 3. Mildred Sikkema and Agnes Niyekawa, Design for Cross-Cultural Learning (Yarmouth, Mass.: Intercultural Press, 1987): 3, 4. See also Ronald Fry and David Kolk, "Experiential Learning Theory and Learning Experiences in Liberal Arts Education," in New Directions for Experiential Learning: Enriching the Liberal Arts through Experiential Learning #6, ed. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1979). 4. For more information on cross-cultural simulation games, see R.E. Horn and A. Cleaves, eds., The Guide to Simulation/Games for Education and Training, 4th edition (Beverly Hills: Sage, 1980); and Sandra Mumford Fowler, "Intercultural Simulation Games: Removing Cultural Blinders," in Experiential and Simulation Techniques for Teaching Adults, ed. Linda H. Lewis (San Francisco: JosseyBass, 1986). The author of BaFa-BaFa, R.G. Shirts, has designed a number of games with cross-cultural implications. His firm, Simile 11, can be contacted at Box 910, Del Mar, CA 92014. 5. During the summer of 1992, the Foreign Study Office (which handles the European predeparture orientation and oversees the Africa orientation) began a separate pilot program. If successful, it will be extended to include the Africa orientation, adding field ethnographic exercises, challenging "rope courses" that require students to come to grips with their physical limitations, encouraging them to push through inclination to distrust others about whom they have preconceived notions, and simulations involving male-female relations. 6. For a discussion of the philosophy behind cultural immersion programs, see Goodwin and Nacht, Abroad and Beyond, chap. 3.

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7. O n e such training program is a d m i n i s t e r e d by the Intercultural C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Institute. The institute can be reached at 8 8 3 5 S . W . C a n y o n Lane, Suite 2 3 8 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 2 5 . 8. T h i s difficulty can be attributed to a number of factors: ( 1 ) administrators at the c o l l e g e have limited the extent to w h i c h the A f r i c a program can expand; ( 2 ) financial c o m m i t m e n t by Kalamazoo C o l l e g e remains small; and ( 3 ) o n l y limited e f f o r t s are made by the c o l l e g e a d m i s s i o n s o f f i c e to recruit first-year students on the basis of an interest in the Africa program. 9. For e x a m p l e s o f reentry exercises, see Margaret Pusch and N e s s a L o w e n thal, Intercultural Interactions: A Practical Guide ( W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . : N A F S A , 1 9 8 8 ) ; and Richard W. Breslin et al. Intercultural Interactions: A Practical Guide ( B e v e r l y Hills: Sage, 1986).

16 "The Walk Liberating": Africa Abroad as an Undergraduate Experience Joseph W. Pickle, Jr.

With my c o m m e n t s here, w e m o v e f r o m o n e o f the oldest, best o r g a n i z e d A f r i c a A b r o a d p r o g r a m s run by a s m a l l liberal arts c o l l e g e ( C h a p t e r 1 5 ) to another p r o g r a m — o n e o f the n e w e s t . T h e o r g a n i z i n g and o p e r a t i n g app r o a c h o f this p r o g r a m is d i f f e r e n t f r o m that o f K a l a m a z o o — t h o u g h we h a v e l e a r n e d m u c h f r o m it. T h e d i f f e r e n c e s are m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g f o r this b o o k than are the m a n y s i m i l a r i t i e s and points o f i n d e b t e d n e s s . S o I will tell the story f r o m m y p e r s o n a l p e r s p e c t i v e as o n e o f the f o u n d e r s o f the A s s o c i a t e d C o l l e g e s o f the M i d w e s t Z i m b a b w e P r o g r a m . I am not an A f r i c a n . M o r e i m p o r t a n t l y , I am not an A f r i c a n i s t . E v e n w o r s e , I ' m an o l d B a p t i s t m i n i s t e r ! A n d s o , I start with a t e x t . M y text is f r o m a p o e m by A . R . A m m o n s , " C o r s o n ' s I n l e t . " T h e p o e m d e s c r i b e s a solitary w a l k a l o n g an inlet. It uses the o b s e r v a t i o n s m a d e during the w a l k as a m e t a p h o r f o r the s i m u l t a n e o u s path o f r e f l e c t i o n s on the p o e t ' s o w n t h o u g h t , w o r k , and s e l f - c o n s c i o u s n e s s . P e r c e p t i o n s o f nature and o f the m i n d at w o r k are w o v e n t o g e t h e r in a w a y that rings true to l i f e . I o f f e r it here as a m e t a p h o r f o r a p a r t i c u l a r l y undergraduate, liberal arts a p p r o a c h to study in A f r i c a . P e r h a p s a f e w l i n e s c a n s u g g e s t the p o w e r o f the whole: 1 went for a walk over the dunes again this morning to the sea, then turned right along the surf rounded a naked headland and returned along the inlet shore. . . . the walk liberating, I was released from forms, from the perpendiculars, straight lines, blocks, boxes, binds of thought. . . . I allow myself eddies of meaning: yield to a direction of significance running like a stream through the geography of my work. . . .

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so I am willing to go along, to accept the b e c o m i n g thought, to stake off no b e g i n n i n g s or ends, establish no walls. . . . I see narrow orders, limited tightness, but will not run to that easy victory: still around the looser, wider f o r c e s w o r k : 1 will try to fasten into order e n l a r g i n g grasps of disorder, w i d e n i n g scope, but e n j o y i n g the f r e e d o m that S c o p e e l u d e s my grasp, that there is no finality of vision, that I have perceived nothing c o m p l e t e l y , that t o m o r r o w a new walk is a new walk. 1

T h e themes I want to touch on are suggested by phrases like "the walk liberating," "yield to a direction of significance," "willing to go along," and " S c o p e eludes my grasp." I c o n f e s s I got into this by accident, and it is a confession of self-indulgence. I wanted to go back, once 1 had visited Africa. I f o u n d ways to keep going back, and if I can find any more ways, I will. My confession is also of an active arrogance. My liberal arts education at Carleton College led me to believe 1 could learn to do most anything—even to apprehend and appreciate A f r i c a . A n d because 1 believe in liberal education, I could not see why my liberally educated colleague Solomon Nkiwane (Colorado College) and I could not just set up a program in Zimbabwe. Why not? Since the essence of liberal education is the cultivation of an "appreciative c o n s c i o u s n e s s , " 2 study of A f r i c a in A f r i c a is particularly fitting. Such a walk is liberating, not only f r e e i n g us a n d our students f r o m the shackles of provincialism of politics and culture, but also enabling a double vision, a sense of m e a n i n g f u l d i f f e r e n c e . My first trip to Africa was in 1987. I found my way serendipitously to Z i m b a b w e and spent time with S o l o m o n N k i w a n e and many of his colleagues at the University of Z i m b a b w e . From that visit emerged an informal link that allowed us to start a tentative faculty exchange to bring several colleagues to C o l o r a d o College to teach. Our hope w a s to find yet another way to o v e r c o m e faculty provincialism and continue to internationalize the faculty. W e m a d e a little h e a d w a y . As the college struggled with issues of divestment and as more of us struggled for a way to respond to the moral and political controversies in a meaningful, educational way, the dean of the college suggested that he would be open for a proposal for a study program in Africa in the s u m m e r of 1989. Our tenuous link b e c a m e a bond of opportunity. Dr. N k i w a n e and I o r g a n i z e d and directed a nine-week program that had eleven u n d e r g r a d u a t e participants. Utilizing his contacts and experience as senior lecturer in Political and Administrative Studies and deputy dean of the Faculty of Social Studies in the University of Z i m b a b w e , w e were able to establish a close, informal, w o r k i n g relationship and to draw

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upon some of the most distinguished lecturers of the university. Our program was intended to be introductory but substantial. W e arranged for the students to study Shona (more as a cultural resource than with the expectation thai six weeks would bring significant c o m m a n d ) and two other courses: Issues of Political and Economic Development (a course directed by Dr. Nkiwane); and Cultural Identity in Independent Z i m b a b w e (a course coordinated by me). The last three weeks were devoted to independent projects on topics ranging from cave painting to railroads, and from wildlife management policy to the status of women in Zimbabwe. We tried to connect what our students learned specifically abom Zimbabwe to issues in Southern Africa and to contemporary political change in South Africa. We sought to enhance study and research skills in crosscultural context. My model was the Associated Colleges of the Midwest ( A C M ) program in Pune, India, in which my son had participated. Solomon N k i w a n e ' s model was his own experience as an international student at C o l o r a d o College. Our students benefitted from extended homestay with A f r i c a n families. We encouraged personal, independent travel throughout Zimbabwe—in Harare on the bicycles we had everyone bring, and outside Harare, by hitchhiking, train, and bus. W e encouraged individual travel outside of Zimbabwe as much as possible. As a first e f f o r t , it was s u c c e s s f u l . The president of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest came to see what we were doing and, with us, became enthused about Zimbabwe and the possibilities of a consortium-wide African studies program. She persuaded us to treat our e f f o r t as a pilot project and to plan a full semester program for the consortium. The ACM includes fourteen liberal arts colleges: Beloit, Carleton, Coe, Colorado, Cornell, Grinnell, Knox, Lake Forest, Lawrence, Macalester, Monmouth, Ripon, St. Olaf, and the College of the University of Chicago. In 1991, our first institute had sixteen students; in 1992 there were twenty-three; eighteen in 1993; and we project twenty-four in 1994. Since 1991, we have begun to provide options for service projects or internships at the end of the program. Each year, a faculty member from one of the U.S. institutions serves as visiting co-director, at least in part on the assumption that not only students can benefit f r o m "the walk liberating." Charles Darwin once observed that it was a good thing that he had not been trained fully as a biologist when he traveled on H M S Beagle, else he would have missed much of what he found because he would have "known what to look for." In that sense, one needs to make a virtue of what otherwise might be a devastating weakness. Because I am an amateur (in the strict sense of that word), I had no choice but to "yield to a direction of significance." Because we had to yield, we learned the liberating value of new (to us certainly, but also to experts) directions of significance. But it was still hard. Academicians believe they ought to be in control—especially of the content of their courses!

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W e tried hard not to bring our courses to A f r i c a . Even S o l o m o n Nkiwane recognized that he could not simply teach in Z i m b a b w e the courses he would teach in the United States. And, of course, we did not simply assume that the very slightly modified English curriculum of the University of Z i m b a b w e comprised significance! We learned that we had to yield to directions of significance that emerged in response to the concatenation of current events, available resources, student dispositions, and surprising new student insights and interests. W e have learned to adapt the program to the o p p o r t u n i t i e s as we have m o v e d b e y o n d the university c a m p u s , Harare, and M a s h o n a l a n d into rural areas, B u l a w a y o , and other cultural communities. Specifically, that meant calling on others ( f r o m outside the university as well as f r o m w i t h i n ) to share, f r o m their perspectives and contexts, what we, too, k n e w . It meant using Zimbabwean books, m a g a z i n e s , and n e w s p a p e r s . It meant not merely a d j u s t i n g to the frustrations and inconveniences (telephones, local transportation, bureaucracies, and all the rest), but turning them into occasions of contact and reflection. It meant finding and cultivating new contacts for ourselves and our students, and it meant trusting our s t u d e n t s to f i n d directions and s i g n i f i c a n c e s w e had not thought of. A colleague had admonished our first g r o u p of students to "let A f r i c a teach y o u . " We f o u n d that he w a s right, and that, if w e let go enough, they would. And so w e learned to be "willing to go along, to accept the b e c o m i n g " possibilities. The University of Z i m b a b w e was not used to having U.S. undergraduates. We entered into contact with the university in Z i m b a b w e in a m a n n e r and a time d i f f e r e n t f r o m those in which, I think, either St. L a w r e n c e or K a l a m a z o o (chapters 14 and 15) began in Kenya. T h e university was already feeling crowded, with admissions limited to about 10 percent of those technically eligible. Though the vice chancellor welcomed and assisted our program in many w a y s , the university did not want to have our students in their classes. That has since changed, I think, for a variety of financial reasons. But they w e r e willing for us to set up p r o g r a m s and provide us with space. All our c o n t a c t s were d e v e l o p e d informally by and through S o l o m o n N k i w a n e , and in contacts I developed in regular trips to Harare. W e cannot r e c o m m e n d this p r o c e d u r e to those with n e r v o u s d e a n s and large institutional bureaucracies, but it worked for us. We were able to accept, more than I would otherwise have been able, the pattern, rhythm, and pace of A f r i c a n w a y s of w o r k i n g . W e f o u n d individuals and institutions open and f r i e n d l y , but w e shamelessly drew on all the goodwill and personal contacts w e could. (It did not hurt that Dr. N k i w a n e had taught in graduate seminars many of the most interesting and effective officials in a n u m b e r of Z i m b a b w e a n government o f f i c e s ! ) W e also faced the question

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of a l t e r n a t i v e m o d e l s . By the t i m e w e r e t u r n e d to the U n i t e d S t a t e s with the first A C M g r o u p in 1991, not o n l y w a s there a c o n t i n u i n g S c h o o l f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l T r a i n i n g a n d an o c c a s i o n a l D u k e U n i v e r s i t y p r o g r a m , but S c r i p p s C o l l e g e had a p r o g r a m , a n d the C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y system, the University of M i c h i g a n , and the University of R i c h m o n d w e r e negotiating a n d establishing u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m s . W e w e r e i n f l u e n c e d by the e x p e r i e n t i a l m o d e l u s e d by the S c h o o l f o r I n t e r n a t i o n a l T r a i n i n g , w h o s e H a r a r e - b a s e d p r o g r a m I t h i n k is q u i t e g o o d . A l t h o u g h that m o d e l w o u l d not be generally a c c e p t a b l e to the f a c u l t i e s of o u r c o n s t i t u e n t c o l leges, it p r o v i d e d impetus to f i n d our o w n a p p r o p r i a t e w a y s to e n h a n c e the experiential d i m e n s i o n of o u r A f r i c a p r o g r a m . T h e o t h e r m o d e l s — p l a c i n g s t u d e n t s in U n i v e r s i t y of Z i m b a b w e c l a s s e s , s t u d y tours, c o m p o s i t e s of i n d e p e n d e n t c o u r s e s a n d u n i v e r s i t y c o u r s e s , a n d so o n — s u g g e s t a w i d e r a n g e of p o s s i b l e a p p r o a c h e s to und e r g r a d u a t e S t u d y - i n - A f r i c a p r o g r a m s . I think that is g r e a t . W e all o u g h t to e x p l o r e w a y s of w a l k i n g into A f r i c a that are natural and a p p r o p r i a t e to us. W h a t w e e n c o u n t e r will be m u c h t o o varied, rich, p r o b l e m a t i c , a n d exciting to be g r a s p e d in any but a p r e l i m i n a r y , p r o m i s i n g w a y . " S c o p e , " in any u l t i m a t e s e n s e , " e l u d e s my g r a s p , " a n d not o n l y m i n e , that of each of us. A f r i c a n i s t s know "that there is n o finality of v i s i o n . " U n d e r g r a d u a t e s , and o f t e n their teachers, d o not. It is hard to w e a r our moral a n d political c o n v i c t i o n s lightly e n o u g h to let other w a y s be seen and heard. O n e of our s t u d e n t s d i s s o l v e d into t e a r s of f r u s t r a t i o n and a n g u i s h in her f i n a l oral e x a m . S h e admitted to herself for the first t i m e that she c o u l d not r e c o n c i l e her r e s p o n s e s to the radically d i v e r g e n t a c c o u n t s of her S h o n a host f a m i l y a n d her N d e b e l e host f a m i l y c o n c e r n i n g the t i m e of t r o u b l e s in t h e early 1980s. S h e longed for s o m e t h i n g m o r e final, m o r e c e r t a i n . W e need in various w a y s to r e m e m b e r that w h a t w e u n d e r t a k e is to let A f r i c a in its diversity a n d r i c h n e s s h e l p us a n d o u r s t u d e n t s , b l a c k a n d white, c o m e to " a c c e p t the b e c o m i n g t h o u g h t , " c o m e to let g o of o u r ideological and cultural certainties, c o m e to a c k n o w l e d g e that w e " h a v e perc e i v e d n o t h i n g c o m p l e t e l y . " P e r h a p s then w e will be r e a d y to r e t u r n a n d share a r i g h t in the p r o m i s e of " a new w a l k " in A f r i c a .

NOTES 1. A. R. Ammons, The Selected Poems, Expanded Edition (New York: W. W. Norton, 1986): 43-46. 2. The phrase is from Bernard Meland's remarkable book, Higher Education and the Human Spirit (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953): see especially 48-78.

17 Inside or Outside the University? The Conundrum of U.S. Undergraduates in Africa Neal W. Sobania

The number of U . S . undergraduates who study abroad as part o f their academic experience is small; and the number studying in Africa is smaller still. T h e Liaison Group for International Education in their 1 9 8 9 " E x change 2 0 0 0 R e p o r t " calculated that only 7 4 8 students (or 1.2 percent) of the 6 2 , 3 4 1 who studied overseas in 1988/89 were in Africa. One impact of these numbers is that there are few students returning from study in Africa to encourage their peers to do the same. Set alongside a number o f other issues that need to be considered when encouraging students to study in Africa, or developing new programs in Africa, one cannot be overly optimistic about the prospect for substantially expanding these numbers. Still, there is student and institutional interest, and courses on Africa are more widely available on campuses than ever before. T h i s b r i e f chapter is designed to raise a set o f issues for which no easy answers e x i s t . It is not intended to single out particular Study Abroad programs, African universities, or African governments, nor to criticize the c h o i c e s that they have made or had to make. T h e continent is enormous; and the variety o f circumstances faced by individual countries is broad indeed. Rather, it is intended as one U . S . international education d i r e c t o r ' s perspective o f the i s s u e s — i s s u e s with which I must contend as I actively encourage U . S . students to consider study in Africa. If an institution is going to accept the credit its students earn o v e r s e a s and allow f i n a n c i a l aid to travel to o v e r s e a s programs (without which most students could not participate), there must be convincing evidence of the quality o f the overall experience available to students. Further, options presented to students must be defended to faculty c o l l e a g u e s who are most concerned about the quality o f education being provided, especially as the m a j o r i t y are c o n v i n c e d that no o n e can provide this better than they themselves. And one must respond to parental concerns about where their daughters and sons want to study, especially as regards health and safety.

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W h o are the students that we have targeted for study in A f r i c a ? It is a guiding principle of Study A b r o a d p r o g r a m m i n g that overseas study must articulate with the o n - c a m p u s a c a d e m i c e x p e r i e n c e , but w h a t is the o n c a m p u s course base f r o m which w e build? In the past, there w a s an overriding assumption that few students going to Africa had m u c h b a c k g r o u n d in A f r i c a n studies. As a result, m a n y Africa programs have required a significant o n - c a m p u s period of c o u r s e work and orientation (e.g., the programs of Kalamazoo College that prepare students for direct placement in African universities). Other programs are purposefully designed as a broad introduction to Africa. T h e Z i m b a b w e program of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (Chapter 16) and the various field-study p r o g r a m s of the School for International T r a i n i n g represent this model. Each of these programs is essentially an " A f r i c a 101" o f f e r i n g , although each can also acc o m m o d a t e better prepared students. T h e significant expansion of courses related to A f r i c a in the 1970s and 1980s in the undergraduate curriculum suggests that there should, in fact, exist a significant g r o u p of undergraduates w h o are better p r e p a r e d to study in A f r i c a . W h i c h p r o g r a m s o f f e r these students an " A f r i c a 3 0 1 " o p t i o n ? A n d if these are not the students being attracted to study in A f r i c a , why not? At the very least it would be useful to have research results that suggest what the a u d i e n c e f o r these p r o g r a m s is or could be, but it is only recently that serious research has found its way into the Study A b r o a d field. T h e study of a language as part of an A f r i c a p r o g r a m (or any Study A b r o a d p r o g r a m ) f i n d s ready e n d o r s e m e n t as a necessary, integral c o m ponent of overseas study. Few will disagree with the need f o r this if students are expected to gain cultural insights f r o m their experience. But this is based on a model for Study A b r o a d in Europe in which students carry on the study of languages readily available on the home c a m p u s . O f f e r i n g s of A f r i c a n languages for u n d e r g r a d u a t e s are limited and unlikely to include e n o u g h students to sustain a p r o g r a m in m a n y p l a c e s outside S w a h i l i - s p e a k i n g areas. If i n t r o d u c t o r y l a n g u a g e c o u r s e s are o f f e r e d in A f r i c a as part of the Study A b r o a d p r o g r a m , are there o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r students to continue their study of the language once back on the h o m e c a m p u s ? Does the program have an obligation to assist in this e n d e a v o r ? If language study ends with the e n d of the o v e r s e a s p r o g r a m , what d o e s this have to say about quality? Ideally one would like to place U.S. undergraduates on the c a m p u s e s of African universities, and in the past this has been done with confidence: c o n f i d e n c e that the education U.S. students would receive w a s at the very least equivalent to that o f f e r e d on the h o m e c a m p u s . T h e position of African university education today, however, is not, even in the most prosperous of countries on the continent, what it w a s ten or twenty years ago. It is no use pretending that it is. A f r i c a n higher e d u c a t i o n is at the least u n d e r f u n d e d . G o v e r n m e n t s must m a k e spending c h o i c e s , a n d higher e d u c a t i o n is but a small part of

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the e q u a t i o n . A n d b e c a u s e u n i v e r s i t i e s r e p r e s e n t real s o u r c e s of political instability a n d s t u d e n t s need to be kept u n d e r control, s i g n i f i c a n t p o r t i o n s of university b u d g e t s are taken u p with f u n d i n g s t u d e n t h o u s i n g a n d f o o d , in part to limit c a u s e for d i s c o r d . L i b r a r i e s , l a b o r a t o r i e s , f a c u l t y s a l a r i e s , and basic m a i n t e n a n c e have all s u f f e r e d ; and so, in turn, h a v e research and e d u c a t i o n a l q u a l i t y . N e w c a m p u s b u i l d i n g m a y s u g g e s t o t h e r w i s e , but t h e s e are m o r e o f t e n i n d i c a t o r s that g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e f o r c e d i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s of s t u d e n t s upon u n i v e r s i t i e s — o r that c a m p u s e s are b e i n g d e c e n tralized as part of political decisions to k e e p students d i s p e r s e d a n d o u t s i d e the c a p i t a l . At the s a m e t i m e , the p r o c u r i n g of a university d i p l o m a has taken on a life of its o w n , the sine qua non of q u a l i f i c a t i o n a n d p r o m o t i o n . T h e res u l t i n g p a p e r - c h a s e a d d s f u r t h e r to the politically c h a r g e d a t m o s p h e r e in w h i c h e d u c a t i o n operates. T o k e e p s e c o n d a r y school s t u d e n t s c o n t e n t , e v e r increasing n u m b e r s find a d m i s s i o n to u n i v e r s i t y . T o a b s o r b t h e s e e x p a n d ing intakes, c l a s s s i z e s increase; a n d new u n i v e r s i t i e s are e s t a b l i s h e d . T o k e e p the c a m p u s a t m o s p h e r e c a l m , s t u d e n t s are p r o m o t e d and a w a r d e d d e grees. An e v e r e x p a n d i n g spiral of a w a r d i n g d i p l o m a s to l e s s - q u a l i f i e d stud e n t s leads inevitably d o w n w a r d . B u d g e t s a r e not e x p a n d e d ; l a b o r a t o r i e s a n d l i b r a r i e s are not m a i n t a i n e d . N o w h e r e in the e q u a t i o n are f a c u l t y a d d e d or their s a l a r i e s inc r e a s e d to c o m p e n s a t e f o r the i n c r e a s e d w o r k l o a d . F a c u l t y w h o o n c e e a r n e d a r e s p e c t a b l e salary f i n d it n e c e s s a r y to t a k e o t h e r j o b s to s u p p o r t their f a m i l i e s . A n d as they are a m o n g the best a n d the brightest the c o u n tries h a v e to o f f e r , i n t e r n a t i o n a l f i r m s a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n s a n d o v e r s e a s b a s e d n o n p r o f i t s are only too p l e a s e d to hire t h e m f o r r e s e a r c h a n d training, a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , and translation. If these j o b s are taken in a d d i t i o n to a faculty a p p o i n t m e n t , into w h i c h j o b are e n e r g i e s p l a c e d ? H o w thinly can o n e individual be s t r e t c h e d ? A s trained f a c u l t y l e a v e the u n i v e r s i t y , their p o s i t i o n s o f t e n g o unfilled. P e r i o d i c r e c r u i t i n g trips f o r university staff are m a d e to E u r o p e a n d N o r t h A m e r i c a to lure e d u c a t e d c i t i z e n s h o m e , but t h e r e is little w i t h w h i c h to lure t h e m . U n d e r s u c h c i r c u m s t a n c e s , e v e n with the best intentions of d e d i c a t e d faculty a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , w h a t kind of quality c a n b e m a i n t a i n e d ? T h e e q u a t i o n is f u r t h e r c o m p l i c a t e d by the action of U . S . S t u d y A b r o a d p r o g r a m s that d r a w off A f r i c a n f a c u l t y to teach U.S. s t u d e n t s . On the o n e h a n d , the U.S. c r e a t e s an o p p o r t u n i t y f o r f a c u l t y b e c a u s e they can use well the d o l l a r s o f f e r e d ; but with w h a t i m p a c t on their o w n , A f r i c a n , s t u d e n t s ? W i t h the d e c l i n e of quality at A f r i c a n universities, w h e t h e r real or p e r c e i v e d , U . S . institutions m o v e to e s t a b l i s h their o w n S t u d y A b r o a d p r o g r a m s . T h e " i s l a n d " p r o g r a m s t h u s e s t a b l i s h e d , t h o s e in w h i c h U . S . s t u d e n t s study w i t h o t h e r U.S. s t u d e n t s , taught by U . S . - b a s e d f a c u l t y or in a l o c a t i o n to w h i c h A f r i c a n l e c t u r e r s c o m e , r e p r e s e n t a c o m m o n S t u d y A b r o a d f o r m a t . S u c h p r o g r a m s have s o m e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a d v a n t a g e s , a n d they a s s u a g e t h e c o n c e r n s of the U . S . f a c u l t y o v e r q u a l i t y of e d u c a t i o n .

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But what happens to the quality of the experience? How much contact can our students have with their African university peers? What happens to the possibilities of participatory learning? How do U.S. students form the friendships through which they learn the cultural and political cues that assist them in adapting to their overseas experience? These "island" programs often recommend themselves to U.S. parents since they offer a sense of security. Parental ideas about Africa—the stereotypes in the minds of parents—are a factor to contend with in encouraging undergraduates to study in Africa. Not only students, parents, too, are fed by U.S. media coverage of Africa—coups, crime, and corruption, to use words from a cover story in Time magazine. To many parents, the more tightly held the student's hand, the more acceptable the program. Without such assurances of security, the parental role is often to urge students to explore options in Europe. A safety net can be built into any program—indeed, they exist even in European programs—but if fears are to be mollified and student numbers increased, clearly a middle-ground needs to be sought. If the conditions and nature of the African classroom experience are not the same as they were and can no longer be relied upon for a total academic experience, then other forms of learning need to be employed. Field studies and opportunities for realistic independent studies need to be developed as part of the overall learning experience. Another serious issue that needs to be considered is that of credible reciprocity. What is there in our organizing of Study Abroad programs in Africa for Africa and Africans? One cannot in good conscience have a program that serves only North American undergraduates. When we place U.S. undergraduates in African universities, our students are taking places that would otherwise provide African students with their only real chance at betterment. How do we respond to that situation? What is our obligation? Too often we focus on balanced reciprocal exchange—a not unusual model in European exchanges—and dismiss it because of the cost. Greater creativity is required, especially when the programs are sponsored by private liberal arts colleges where graduate scholarships for African students are simply not an option. One idea that might be considered is the hosting of junior university staff. Most African universities today train their own M.A. students and often the Ph.Ds, too. This may severely limit the exposure these young faculty have to other educational systems, pedagogical styles, and even models of departmental collegial relations and operation. Programs might therefore want to consider providing short-term visiting faculty positions to colleagues from universities in which a Study Abroad program is located. A number of private liberal arts colleges have small scholarship programs for international students. Do these scholarship programs give priority to students who apply from countries in which Study Abroad programs operate? Is the Study Abroad program actively involved in the identifying of potential students?

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Finally, w h a t does the f u t u r e hold for S t u d y A b r o a d in A f r i c a ? T h e emerging f o c u s in institutional accreditation on assessment of learning will shortly o v e r t a k e Study A b r o a d . T h i s e m p h a s i s on student learning outc o m e s — w e k n o w w e e n h a n c e student learning, but how do w e d e m o n strate w e are d o i n g w h a t w e claim to d o — i s in part b e i n g driven by parents and legislators w h o want to know what the return on their investment in education is. W h a t are the goals and learning objectives in A f r i c a programs? A n d w h a t m e t h o d s will be used to m e a s u r e these intended outcomes? Since the goals and objectives for cognitive learning and attitudinal c h a n g e are d i f f e r e n t , multiple a s s e s s m e n t m e t h o d s will need to be developed. Assessment a f f o r d s an opportunity for all those i n v o l v e d — f a c ulty, students, and administrators, Africanists and Study A b r o a d specialists—to work together openly and in a spirit of cooperation to respond to these issues. Program goals must be made explicit, as must the variety of learning m e t h o d s . More than ever before, the goals in Study A b r o a d will have to articulate with the o n - c a m p u s academic program, and, when they do, undergraduates will be well served.

PART FOUR THE EVOLUTION OF UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS IN AFRICAN STUDIES

18 Africa, Undergraduate Teaching, and Title VI African Studies Centers James C.

McCann

T h e task is to assess the state of U.S. undergraduate education on A f r i c a . Implicitly, it is to diagnose this education f i e l d ' s failure to thrive on U.S. c a m p u s e s and to transform U.S. public p e r c e p t i o n s and understanding of Africa. 1 have t w o p e r s p e c t i v e s on this. T h e first is that of the historian, a view of u n d e r g r a d u a t e e d u c a t i o n ' s e v o l u t i o n over time as a part of the wider growth of African studies since the 1950s. My second vantage point comes from my role as a product of two Title VI African Studies Programs (Northwestern and Michigan State) and my new role as director of a third. Clearly, Title VI centers are not the sum of A f r i c a n studies in the United States, but they have trained a substantial p e r c e n t a g e of the p r o f e s s o r i a t that is teaching u n d e r g r a d u a t e s today, and f o r forty years have a b s o r b e d the lion's share of U.S. federal resources on A f r i c a n studies. Given these perspectives, I want to raise a n u m b e r of critical issues on the evolution of undergraduate programs in African studies.

TITLE VI A N D LEADERSHIP IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION T h e Title VI portion of the National D e f e n s e Foreign Language and Area Studies Act of the early 1960s cast federal support for the study of Africa as primarily a f u n c t i o n of p r o d u c i n g g r a d u a t e - l e v e l c o m p e t e n c e in lang u a g e and area studies. T h e group of p r o g r a m s f o u n d e d in the early 1960s ( M i c h i g a n State, W i s c o n s i n , U C L A , Indiana, and O h i o U n i v e r s i t y ) e v o l v e d in direct r e s p o n s e to this federal p r o g r a m . T h e two oldest programs, Northwestern ( f o u n d e d in 1946) and Boston University ( f o u n d e d in 1953), had already e s t a b l i s h e d faculty research and g r a d u a t e training as their primary missions. Under the federal guidelines f u n d i n g w a s c o m p e t itive and reflected those institutions' ability to train graduate students and

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to develop new programs according to priorities set in the Department of Education. Over the years, these emphases and priorities have included language training, development links with professional schools, Outreach ( K - 1 2 ) , and underdeveloped fields of social science (economics, s o c i o l o g y ) and the natural sciences. Within these priority areas, only language training had a potential impact on undergraduate pedagogy, and even in that area the intent of African language development was the production of area studies expertise at the graduate level. Undergraduate enrollments only became a factor of evaluation in the 1980s. The Department of Education required reporting on undergraduate enrollments and numbers of courses with Africa in the course title as necessary but not sufficient criteria for funding. The emphasis on Africa-in-the-title courses pushed the addition of some courses; but it never recognized—and even discouraged—investing resources in the integration of Africa material into existing courses. Title VI centers did, in fact, offer large numbers of undergraduate courses in African studies and encouraged faculty to expand those offerings. In the late 1960s, many programs introduced large interdisciplinary courses, often using the guest-lecture format as their primary response to increased student interest. Integration of programs, however, c a m e relatively late. Northwestern introduced its Undergraduate Certificate in African Studies in 1973, Michigan State in 1 9 7 9 - 1 9 8 0 . Boston University added an undergraduate minor in African studies in 1980. Ironically, these programs came when enrollments in Africa courses were declining. They received little campus visibility. They were also conceptually limited; that is, they served primarily to recognize students who took a requisite number of existing courses, including the core interdisciplinary courses, rather than reexamining or challenging the nature of undergraduate education on Africa itself. Centers tended to see undergraduate training as an administrative rather than an intellectual/pedagological challenge. This tendency for the Title VI centers to emphasize both graduate education and an intellectual agenda based on research should not be surprising. The selection criteria for funding, though broadly based in assessing total resources, favors large research universities in which undergraduate teaching and innovation ranks relatively low in faculty performance evaluation. Such programs have been the foundation of research, publication, and library resource development on African studies (and area studies as a whole). The major question is whether we can harness and direct those faculty resources and experiences effectively into an infusion of new ideas on teaching Africa to undergraduates. Whatever the record of the past for Title VI centers, any reconception of how to address the task of undergraduate education must take into account the concentration of resources and experience in the major centers.

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INTELLECTUAL LEADERSHIP FOR THE RECONCEPTION OF AFRICA IN THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM I would argue strongly that the b a s i c thrust o f c h a n g i n g the role o f A f r i c a in undergraduate curricula must b e intellectual in its foundations; that is, not be b a s e d on administrative restructuring, w h i c h c o m e s down to s i m ply adding more courses. T h i s r e c o n c e p t i o n I b e l i e v e is not likely to emerge from the recent debates over multiculturalism and c o r e curricula in which inclusion o f A f r i c a material into undergraduate c u r r i c u l a is mandated from a b o v e . T h o s e debates, at their c o r e , are c o n f l i c t s over power, authority, and ideology within c a m p u s politics and U . S . politics in general. T h e y are not, in their e s s e n c e , about the study and understanding

of

A f r i c a . F e w if any A f r i c a n studies c e n t e r s and p r o g r a m s are in the forefront o f that movement, though many may be in sympathy with its g o a l s . I am in a g r e e m e n t with S t a n l e y F i s h , one o f the most v i s i b l e s p o k e s persons for the a c a d e m i c left, w h o argues that the primary issue in such c a m p u s d e b a t e s is power and not inquiry about and t e a c h i n g about nonWestern s o c i e t i e s . Rather than concentrating on efforts to increase the numbers o f A f r i c a c o u r s e s , I b e l i e v e there should be a parallel m o v e m e n t to e x p l o r e and illustrate the extent that the study o f A f r i c a can contribute new conceptual frameworks for interdisciplinary approaches to problems in social s c i e n c e s and new critical frameworks for the humanities. T h e s e approaches should have their impact on already e x i s t i n g courses and in thematic curricula, not merely area s p e c i f i c c o u r s e s . In the s a m e way in w h i c h Outreach g o a l s have s h i f t e d — f r o m addressing s t e r e o t y p e s and adding A f r i c a units to K - 1 2 curricula to making A f r i c a " n o r m a l " — u n d e r g r a d u a t e curricula need to include A f r i c a not only in specialized area studies c o u r s e s but to infuse A f r i c a into a broad spectrum o f c o u r s e s .

The Contribution

of Africanist

Scholarship

My point here is best illustrated by looking at the w a y s in which A f r i c a n ist s c h o l a r s h i p has a f f e c t e d disciplinary paradigms in a n u m b e r o f fields and pioneered interdisciplinary research methodology as a w h o l e . T h i s has particularly been the c a s e in e x p l o r a t i o n s o f the relationship between art, language, and literature, on the one hand, and social c h a n g e on the other. S c h o l a r s have c o m e to understand s o c i a l life, culture, and politics as organized around s y m b o l s w h o s e m e a n i n g must be studied in order to make sense of, and identify, the organization and its underlying principles. African studies has a long history o f contributions to this form o f understanding that can link the h u m a n i t i e s with s o c i a l s c i e n c e . T h e S o c i a l

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Science Research Council in the late 1980s began to explore these relationships. In that effort, anthropologist/historian T i m o t h y Weiskel argued that Africanist scholarship has been fundamental to interdisciplinary scholarship in general. He pointed out that Africanist, sociocultural anthropologists' classic work on kinship and family s t r u c t u r e — a n d more recent studies of g e n d e r — h a s been the foundation for larger theoretical literature in anthropology, social history, and challenges to neoclassical microeconomics. In the field of linguistics, research on African languages has been important for understanding a range of important issues in noun class f o r m a tion, tone and aspect, and sociolinguistics. Joseph G r e e n b e r g ' s classic Language, Culture, and Communication d r a w s extensively on A f r i c a n i s t research to derive g e n e r a t i v e a p p r o a c h e s to linguistic p h e n o m e n a . Jack G o o d y ' s work on literacy and orality based on his field work in Ghana has b e c o m e the standard w o r k on the role of literacy in social and political change. It is in the humanities—art, literature, music, religion, classical studies—and their interdisciplinary study that Africa has the greatest potential to enrich u n d e r g r a d u a t e curricula. Here, C l i f f o r d G e e r t z ' s notion of " b l u r r e d g e n r e s " has both testified to and a d v o c a t e d a m o r e holistic approach to understanding the worlds of symbol and metaphor that connect art and literature, music and religion. Of all the disciplines in the humanities, literature is the largest and most p o w e r f u l in its role in u n d e r g r a d u ate teaching. Departments of English, which are a m o n g the largest on any c a m p u s but have been the site of fractious debates over method, will need to reassess their teaching in light of the w a n i n g of the postmodern, deconstructionist perspective. Work in the new historicism has led to a renewed interest in connections to the social s c i e n c e s — a context that is already familiar ground to A f r i c a n humanities and analysis of African material culture, music, and religion. Unlike social s c i e n c e a p p r o a c h e s to A f r i c a ( w h i c h can be p r o b l e m - o r i e n t e d and a h i s t o r i c a l ) humanities m a t e r i a l s — novels, film, plays, a r t — p r o v i d e richer texts for undergraduate classrooms and can e m p h a s i z e more universal e x p e r i e n c e . M o r e o v e r , in most programs, humanities and the arts have been traditionally underrepresented in faculty appointments and course coverage. In a period w h e n there a p p e a r s to be s o m e e x p a n s i o n in the f u n d i n g and perhaps the n u m b e r s of Title VI centers, it is important to rethink the directions of A f r i c a in the u n d e r g r a d u a t e c l a s s r o o m . Given their special access to o f f - c a m p u s resources and c o n c e n t r a t i o n s of activities, outreach programs, and so forth, Title VI centers can take a leadership role in expanding the teaching of Africa humanities curricula. T h e most productive approach, I believe, will be to infuse Africa into existing curricula, not just enlarge the n u m b e r of A f r i c a c o u r s e s . T h i s will require an explicit outreach effort across the c a m p u s and region to train and engage humanities faculty in d i s c u s s i o n s about the A f r i c a n h u m a n i t i e s . T h e most e f f e c t i v e

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m e c h a n i s m s for this will be s u m m e r s e m i n a r s ( f u n d e d on c a m p u s or through NEH or Title VI Outreach Priority f u n d s ) , t e a m - t e a c h i n g , and s p o n s o r i n g an intellectual d e b a t e on t e a c h i n g in the h u m a n i t i e s that addresses A f r i c a ' s past exclusion f r o m teaching of the classics, modern literature, music, and so on. Obviously, the e f f o r t will also require that university administrations be convinced of the value of team-taught courses, tolerance for low e n r o l l m e n t s in initial stages, and w i l l i n g n e s s to shift evaluation criteria from research to innovation in teaching. T h e s e criteria may be less easy at m a j o r research universities than liberal arts colleges, but will nonetheless likely be a sine qua non for success.

19 Accidents in African Studies: Africa in the Curriculum at the University of Richmond Louis

Tremaine

The accidents my title refers to are those by which Africa has slipped onto the campus and into the curriculum of the University of R i c h m o n d . T h e y have been, by and large, happy accidents, though it is only recently that I have c o m e to see them in that w a y . For several years now, the university has been lurching and stumbling toward what may, in the not-too-distant future, b e c o m e a formal A f r i c a n studies p r o g r a m . My intent is not to express relief that w e have s u r v i v e d the accidents, nor to speak about the program to c o m e : it is to discuss the benefits these accidents have brought to intellectual and academic life on our campus, for both faculty and students, and to consider how we might safeguard those benefits, should such a program ever befall us. The view I present is my own: I do not speak as a representative of my institution. S o m e of my c o l l e a g u e s share my interpretation of our recent collective history; others e m p h a t i c a l l y do not. W e are, with respect to African studies and related q u e s t i o n s , a university struggling with itself, and this is, of course, the case with many c o l l e g e s and universities. T h e struggle I want to describe, however, is not the usual story of shifting institutional priorities and c o m p e t i t i o n for scarce resources; rather, it is a struggle of ideas—one that has strengthened rather than sapped our overall effectiveness as a faculty, and, therefore, one that should be encouraged. T h e setting for this struggle, the University of R i c h m o n d , is a private, primarily undergraduate institution of about three thousand students. T h e e n d o w m e n t is strong and c l i m b i n g steadily. T h e student body is overwhelmingly white, well-to-do, politically conservative, academically successful, and oriented toward careers in business, medicine, and law. Our story of a c c i d e n t s in A f r i c a n studies b e g i n s with me. I w a s the first accident. When I joined the Department of English in 1981, I was the only A f r i c a n i s t on the f a c u l t y . A n d I w a s hired despite my interest in A f r i c a , not b e c a u s e of it, t h o u g h I w a s permitted to teach o n e c o u r s e in African literature every three semesters. A couple of years later, when the

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Political Science Department advertised for s o m e o n e to teach its methods course, it, too, turned up an A f r i c a n i s t — a n d she, too, produced a course on Africa. Although she moved on after a couple of years, and her course was e x p u n g e d f r o m the catalog, this pattern has continued. T h r o u g h some recent hirings, our faculty now includes Africanists in history, political science, sociology, English, French, and anthropology (in one case, Africanist-in-the-making would be a better description). T h r e e of these are Africans. In every one of the searches that brought these people to us, the j o b description either made no mention of Africa or listed Africa as one of two or more optional areas of interest. You could say that we just got lucky. But it was more than just luck (and not merely accidental) that most of these people, unlike me, b e g a n w o r k at R i c h m o n d in a climate that actively encouraged them to help expand our offerings on A f r i c a . For in the meantime, s o m e o n e had begun asking questions about what we were doing to p r o m o t e s o m e t h i n g called "international c o m p e t e n c e " in our students, and the question got asked often enough that a committee w a s empaneled to look into the matter. T h e particular c h a r g e given this c o m m i t t e e , as it turns out, w a s important in d e t e r m i n i n g the direction we have traveled since. W e were not asked in this c o m m i t t e e to create an international studies program (though we subsequently did), or to establish a series of area studies p r o g r a m s . W e w e r e not, in fact, asked to create a n y t h i n g at all. Rather, our charge was to study several related questions: • • • •

What is international c o m p e t e n c e ? Can undergraduates acquire it as part of their college training and experience? If so, are our undergraduates acquiring it? If they are not, w h a t might our university be c a p a b l e of d o i n g to help them acquire it?

T h e upshot, after two years of discussion and another year of implementation, w a s an O f f i c e of International Education with a f u l l - t i m e director and assistant. T h e s e people coordinate Study Abroad, recruit and support international students, o r g a n i z e cocurricular programs, assist in bringing foreign s c h o l a r s - i n - r e s i d e n c e to c a m p u s , organize annual faculty study tours abroad, and administer a m a j o r in international studies. The 140 or so students in this single, interdisciplinary major select o n e or another of several tracks or concentrations, defined by region or by a combination of disciplines, and take relevant courses in the various departments. But they also take two courses in c o m m o n : 1. An introductory c o u r s e that explores issues regarding the production of k n o w l e d g e about other cultures and about relations between cultures

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2. A senior seminar in which students in all the tracks, nearing c o m pletion of their studies, pool their training and perspectives to work together on a c o m m o n problem We have, then, institutionalized s o m e t h i n g called "international studies" at the University of Richmond. But what I want to draw attention to is that the model by which we have done so is one that resists enclosure, both institutional and intellectual. T h e International Studies Program is administered within the same o f f i c e that m a n a g e s all international activities on c a m p u s , and consequently international studies m a j o r s interact o f t e n and significantly with students outside the program. Within the program, there are strong connections a m o n g the various tracks, preventing their b e c o m ing isolated as separate programs. Responsibility for the m a j o r is exercised jointly by the director and a committee comprising the faculty advisors in the various tracks. Both the introductory course and senior seminar include material and f o c u s on problems relevant to all. Many of the same departmental courses satisfy requirements in more than one track, again encouraging in students a range of perspectives brought to bear on c o m m o n problems. At the s a m e time, m e m b e r s of the faculty teaching these courses are discouraged f r o m thinking of themselves as attached institutionally to one of these area interests as separate f r o m the others. By design, students in this program think of themselves as internationalists with an area concentration, rather than, for example, as Asianists or as Latin Americanists. Or, to return to our subject, as Africanists. No, there is not an Africa track, not yet. I think that it is c o m i n g and that it will, with perhaps a couple more happy accidents, replace the current Third W o r l d track fairly soon. But A f r i c a is very much present in the p r o g r a m , both through the specialized courses we do o f f e r and, j u s t as significantly, through its extensive incorporation into the c o m m o n courses. W h y is that incorporation important? T o answer that question I want to trace a different line of development in the R i c h m o n d c u r r i c u l u m — o n e larger in scale but consistent with the first in its o u t c o m e and e f f e c t s . W e have recently implemented a f u n d a m e n t a l revision of our general e d u c a tion curriculum. As a part of that revision, we have instituted a First-Year Core Course. In this course, students e n g a g e in research and reflection on f u n d a m e n t a l issues in human e x p e r i e n c e through the r e a d i n g of primary w o r k s drawn f r o m a variety of historical periods and cultural traditions. Currently, the c o u r s e e x a m i n e s d i f f e r e n t w a y s of f o r m u l a t i n g q u e s t i o n s about o r d e r and change, b r e a k i n g these t w o related c o n c e p t s d o w n into categories such as moral order, social order, and so on, and bringing to this study various sorts of texts from Europe, East Asia, the M i d d l e East, and Africa. This, as readers might already have anticipated, is w h e r e the struggle c a m e in, a n d it is an instructive o n e . T h e initial proposal f o r the new

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course came f r o m the faculty C u r r i c u l u m C o m m i t t e e . It reads in part as follows (readers will notice significant d i f f e r e n c e s f r o m the course 1 have just briefly described): [T]he t w o - s e m e s t e r core course w o u l d use primary texts to f o c u s on c e n tral questions regarding s e l f , s o c i e t y , and c o s m o s in s e l e c t e d periods in Western history, and would contrast the treatment of those questions with analogous d i s c u s s i o n s from a non-Western culture. . . . The Western tradition will be a constant f o c u s and backbone for the core course, if only because it is the tradition of the o v e r w h e l m i n g majority o f our students and faculty. For the first several years of i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , a different, n o n - W e s t e r n culture will be s e l e c t e d each year to serve as the s e c o n d , contrasting f o c u s for the c o u r s e . . . . W e e n v i s i o n that year by year w e will introduce such cultures as those found in China, Africa, Japan, Latin America, and India.

The Curriculum Committee passed this proposal to the O f f i c e of International Education for assistance in developing "other culture" modules for the grant application that was then being prepared. In d o i n g so, the c o m mittee understandably a s s u m e d that the idea w o u l d delight the hearts of the international studies faculty, w h o s e e f f o r t s in multicultural education would here find support and, indeed, be placed at the core of the new curriculum. Instead, a debate was opened regarding two difficult issues: 1. One issue was not simply whether the West is superior to the rest, but rather how difficult it is not to teach it as if it were. As noted above, the initial proposal not only describes Western culture as " o u r s , " but characterizes every other culture as " n o n - W e s t e r n " and casts it in the explicit role of contrasting case. Any n o n - W e s t e r n culture c o u l d be substituted freely for any other, indeed, would be, as the course developed. All are defined by absence, negation, and their quality of being alien: by what they are not as compared with what the West is and to what we are. 2. The other issue was: What are we doing when we use the word culture to divide human experience into categories to be thought about? And, therefore, what are we doing when we " t e a c h " these categories? The language of the original proposal treats such non-parallel terms as Japan, Africa, and the West as equally monolithic categories of culture that can be meaningfully c o m p a r e d on the basis of a few selected texts. These are hardly new issues. Yet in the situation I have described, they had a kind of e f f e c t i v e reality. T h e y posed a concrete, and indeed urgent, dilemma. S o m e of us said to ourselves, " I ' m happy to see Africa introduced at long last into the c u r r i c u l u m , but d o I want it at the price of unintentional but inevitable denigration and distortion?" T h e reaction of some of my colleagues w a s to want to tell the committee, " K e e p Western Civilization and give us a separate program so that we can teach Africa right."

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As I have noted above, the international studies e f f o r t at R i c h m o n d has, so far, resisted such e n c l o s u r e . Instead of e x p r e s s i n g such thoughts, the internationalists o f f e r e d a counterproposal to the committee. The result was that, by this accident in curriculum development, area studies specialists found themselves engaged in a conversation with colleagues f r o m very different f i e l d s and a broad r a n g e of disciplines about what it m e a n s to teach a world that includes A f r i c a . Instead of creating a s e l f - c o n t a i n e d module and t u r n i n g it over to an expert to handle, all these faculty were thinking about just why it is important that students attend to cultural products c o m i n g from Africa. T h e r e w a s much discussion. T h e c o n s e q u e n c e w a s the course I have described. That course now e s c h e w s all claims to be teaching or c o m p a r ing cultures—not because cultures should not be taught or compared, even by us, but b e c a u s e this course is not the place to do it. Instead, its o b j e c tive is a kind of intellectual training that teaches, a m o n g other things, that students should turn as readily to the work of A f r i c a n , Asian, or M i d d l e Eastern thinkers as they w o u l d to that of E u r o p e a n s or North A m e r i c a n s when they are faced with challenging intellectual problems. T h e q u e s t i o n s do not end there, of c o u r s e . W e have c o m e around to asking students to c o m p a r e ideas rather than cultures. But ideas arise within cultures and within history—are we not dangerously decontextualizing? I think the answer is that w e a r e — a n d that every educational m o v e we make has its intellectual dangers and trade-offs. In this case, those d a n gers are regularly e x a m i n e d and debated by faculty in the process of course d e v e l o p m e n t . Each s p r i n g s e m e s t e r and early s u m m e r , f a c u l t y preparing to c o m e into the course in the fall meet in a seminar to discuss the texts and the p u r p o s e s of the c o u r s e . W h e n the seminar incorporated A f r i c a n texts into its syllabus f o r the first t i m e — i n 1 9 9 1 / 9 2 — t h e s e texts produced o n g o i n g debates on several matters that the participants perceived to be problems: 1. We are forced to deal with these texts without a thorough appreciation of their historical and cultural background 2. In c h o o s i n g texts with oral sources w e are dependent on problematic m e c h a n i s m s of transmission and translation and cannot, therefore, guarantee the authenticity of our materials 3. Both (1) and (2) above raise additional questions as to how representative these texts and their authors are 4. S o m e texts may u n d e r m i n e the positive i m a g e of A f r i c a that we might like to promote These debates are salutary for at least t w o r e a s o n s . T h e first is that they force us to d e f i n e our p u r p o s e s very c a r e f u l l y , f o r o u r s e l v e s and for our students, f o c u s i n g on what we can d o well and responsibly in the c o u r s e

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a n d a r t i c u l a t i n g c a r e f u l l y w h a t w e a r e n o t a t t e m p t i n g to d o . T h e s e c o n d r e a s o n lies c l o s e r t o m y t h e m e . It is t h a t t h e c o n t e x t of t h e s e m i n a r ( a s of the c o u r s e itself) leads us to d o several t h i n g s : 1. A s k w h y w e a r e r a i s i n g t h e s e i s s u e s in r e g a r d t o A f r i c a n t e x t s a n d n o t to o t h e r s 2. P u t t h e s a m e q u e s t i o n s t o t h e t e x t s of w h a t w e c o n s i d e r m o r e f a miliar sources 3 . A s a r e s u l t , e i t h e r to d e f a m i l i a r i z e t h o s e s o u r c e s in s o m e v e r y c o n s t r u c t i v e w a y s o r to d i s c e r n t h e f l a w s in t h e q u e s t i o n s t h e m s e l v e s T h e s e details are e n o u g h , I think, to d e m o n s t r a t e the pattern that has e m e r g e d at R i c h m o n d w i t h r e g a r d to t h e t e a c h i n g o f A f r i c a . T h r o u g h a s e r i e s of w h a t I h a v e c a l l e d a c c i d e n t s , b o t h in h i r i n g a n d in s e l e c t i o n of c o u r s e m a t e r i a l s , A f r i c a h a s i n c r e a s i n g l y e s t a b l i s h e d a p r e s e n c e in o u r u n d e r g r a d u a t e c u r r i c u l u m . B u t it is a n u n c o n t a i n e d p r e s e n c e , a c t i n g in s u c h a w a y a s to t o u c h m e a n i n g f u l l y all o f o u r s t u d e n t s a n d a v e r y l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of o u r f a c u l t y a n d t o t a k e a s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t in t h e r e s e a r c h a n d r e f l e c t i o n that w e c o n s i d e r c e n t r a l to o u r w o r k a s an a c a d e m i c c o m m u n i t y . W i t h s o m e of m y c o l l e a g u e s , I a m c u r r e n t l y d e s i g n i n g an i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t u d i e s c o n c e n t r a t i o n o n A f r i c a . I t h i n k t h a t it is i m p o r t a n t to d o t h i s : it w i l l e s t a b l i s h a s t r o n g e r b a s e f o r c l a i m i n g i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e s o u r c e s ; it w i l l p r o v i d e a f r a m e w o r k f o r t h e s o r t of s t u d y t h a t d o e s r e q u i r e c o n t e x t u a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g ; a n d it w i l l e n c o u r a g e m o r e e x t e n d e d s t u d y of A f r i c a . B u t a n o t h e r r a t i o n a l e o f t e n c i t e d , t h e n e e d t o " l e g i t i m i z e " A f r i c a a s a n a r e a of s t u d y b y a s s i g n i n g it a n i n s t i t u t i o n a l n i c h e , d o e s n o t a p p l y at R i c h m o n d . T h a t w o r k w i l l a l r e a d y h a v e b e e n u n d e r t a k e n b y t h e v e r y d i f f e r e n t s o r t of i n s t i t u t i o n a l e n g a g e m e n t w i t h A f r i c a t h a t I h a v e d e s c r i b e d . A s an a c c i d e n tal d e v e l o p m e n t b e c o m e s a n i n c r e a s i n g l y i n t e n t i o n a l o n e , t h e r e f o r e , o u r c h a l l e n g e will be not to lose sight of w h a t w e h a v e g a i n e d by A f r i c a r u n l o o s e in o u r c u r r i c u l u m .

letting

2 0 Underdevelopment and Self-Reliance in Building African Studies: Some Pedagogical, Policy, and Practical Political Issues at the College of Charleston Jack Parson A c o m m i t t e e - l e d initiative c r e a t e d a m i n o r in A f r i c a n studies and thereby modestly institutionalized A f r i c a n studies at the C o l l e g e o f C h a r l e s t o n in C h a r l e s t o n , S o u t h C a r o l i n a , in 1 9 9 2 . T h i s d e v e l o p m e n t r e s u l t e d

from

p r o c e s s e s o f decision m a k i n g and i m p l e m e n t a t i o n d e a l i n g with three interrelated sets o f issues: p e d a g o g i c a l , p o l i c y , and p o l i t i c a l . D e c i s i o n s had to b e made about the design and articulation o f c o u r s e s in the A f r i c a n studies c u r r i c u l u m as well as about how to d e l i v e r t h e s e c o u r s e s to students; dec i s i o n s had to b e made about the g o v e r n a n c e o f the m i n o r and its r e l a t i o n ship to o t h e r programs on c a m p u s ; d e c i s i o n s had to b e m a d e about the purpose and role o f the new program in the w i d e r c o m m u n i t y . T h i s c h a p t e r reflects upon the p r o c e s s l e a d i n g to the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f the m i n o r , d r a w i n g out o f that p r o c e s s p e r s p e c t i v e s and c o n c l u s i o n s that are m o r e w i d e l y a p p l i c a b l e . T h e e l e m e n t s in t h i s r e f l e c t i o n include the c o n t e x t within w h i c h the p r o c e s s u n f o l d e d , a n a r r a t i v e on the u n f o l d i n g d e b a t e and s t e p s in d e c i s i o n m a k i n g , and a c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f p e d a g o g i c a l issues related to undergraduate A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . A m a i n c o n c l u s i o n is that the a p p l i c a t i o n o f m i n i m a l r e s o u r c e s , c o m b i n e d with a c a r e f u l p a c k a g i n g o f the e x i s t i n g c u r r i c u l u m , c r e a t e d a w o r t h w h i l e , i f m o d e s t , institutionalization o f A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . T h i s i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n , in turn, p r o v i d e d a point o f further organization within the c o l l e g e and local c o m m u n i t y .

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT CHARLESTON It is important to c o n t e x t u a l i z e the p r o c e s s o f c r e a t i n g and i m p l e m e n t i n g an A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r e s e n c e . I n s t i t u t i o n s v a r y t r e m e n d o u s l y in s i z e , m i s s i o n , and status (whether p u b l i c or private). T h e s e variations condition the s o u r c e s and availability o f f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s as well as the s o c i o e c o n o m i c c o m p o s i t i o n o f the student p o p u l a t i o n . T h e c o m p o s i t i o n , e x p e r i e n c e , and orientation o f the faculty are similarly c o n d i t i o n e d by these variations. T h e

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demographic, economic, and political complexion of the wider community served by the institution is an additional factor. T h e C o l l e g e of Charleston g o e s back more than two hundred years, laying claim to being the oldest municipal college in the United States. 1 Its most recent history begins in 1970, when it was a financially pressed, 450student, private, segregated college. It was s a v e d f r o m extinction by a state-level decision to d e v e l o p a public, f o u r - y e a r college to service the South Carolina low-country centered on Charleston, where the Civil War b e g a n — a n d where, it seems at times, it never e n d e d . Since 1970, now a public institution, the college has grown rapidly. T h e r e w e r e about five thousand students in 1980 and about nine thousand in 1992. Its academic programs continue to be primarily undergraduate. T h e college almost completely missed the so-called revolution of the 1960s in undergraduate education, retaining what is now sought by many schools—a strict set of general degree requirements that create a solid liberal arts foundation. All students at the college must complete two years of a foreign language, a year of a laboratory science, a year of mathematics, a year of English, twelve semester hours of humanities courses, six of social science, and a year of European history (often referred to incorrectly as a year of Western Civilization). It is generally a s s u m e d that these requirements arise f r o m the accumulated wisdom of mankind and, therefore, are unavailable for a m e n d m e n t . For some faculty, this package is unavailable for discussion. While this package of liberal arts requirements ensures an e x p o s u r e to a significant slice of the human e x p e r i e n c e , it also has a rigidity about it, working against the incorporation of experiences different f r o m those already incorporated. Its disciplinary base also works against the development of interdisciplinary courses and experiences. T h e curriculum, resources, "traditions," and many faculty of the institution are organized and occupied in the service of this idea of the liberal arts undergraduate curriculum—a noble endeavor, no doubt, in the context of a state university with a m i n u s c u l e e n d o w m e n t and s u b j e c t to state f u n d i n g in an economically disadvantaged state. Classes are still relatively small, are taught by a " r e a l " p r o f e s s o r , and are n u m e r o u s . T h e teaching load is normally twelve s e m e s t e r hours ( f o u r classes), o f t e n with three preparations each semester, at least in the social sciences. 2 T o use a wartime metaphor, these are the trenches of undergraduate teaching in the United States. T h e history of these p r o g r a m s is heavily w h i t e and f o c u s e d on the United States. T h e n o n - U . S . liberalizing c o m p o n e n t consists almost entirely of an exposure to Western European history and English (British) literature and, for the most part, the European literature of the language studied. 3 A student can graduate without ever being systematically exposed to any n o n - W e s t e r n or minority e x p e r i e n c e . My impression is that most do just that.

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This d o e s not mean that there is no interest in international studies. T h e r e is an international studies minor and an a d m i n i s t r a t i v e o f f i c e responsible for international programs, essentially Study Abroad (mostly to Europe), and looking after the roughly 125 international students w h o are at t h e college. M o r e o v e r , certain d e p a r t m e n t s are international in f o c u s , particularly a large L a n g u a g e s D e p a r t m e n t . But the c u r r i c u l u m , even in these departments, tends to be s k e w e d toward Western European studies. T h e History Department, indeed, o f f e r s courses for all areas of the world; but because virtually e v e r y o n e must spend the majority of their teaching time in History 101 and 102, European History, the d e p a r t m e n t for the most part has been unwilling to recruit faculty who do not o f f e r Europe as a strong area. 1 do not think this situation is unique to the College of Charleston, not by any means. But it is contradictory, that what appears as a well-rounded, broad, liberal arts background is geographically and temporally narrow in curricular terms. At worst, it sends the message that a well-educated person is the one w h o knows certain details of the Western European and U.S. experience. All other experiences are therefore either derivative f r o m this experience or irrelevant to it. M o r e o v e r , this institutionalizes a conservative view of what is and is not a legitimate avenue of inquiry down which s t u d e n t s should proceed. It idealizes the worth of the W e s t e r n European tradition and devalues other experiences, even those which may have been the f o u n d a t i o n s f o r Western E u r o p e a n history. Had the college imbibed more deeply of the critique of the Eurocentric tradition in the 1960s, it is possible that the Eurocentric view would not be taken so much for granted. On the other hand, I would note that, at places such as U C - B e r k e l e y where there was much turmoil, there is now a lively debate about "multiculturali s m " and "political correctness." It appears to me that s o m e of the senior academic o f f i c e r s of the college more readily recognize these limitations to the undergraduate experience than do many departments and their chairs. The a c a d e m i c officers, of course, do not have the s a m e vested interest in the curriculum status q u o as the faculty. They are more responsive to external stimuli—the c o m m u nity, the c o r p o r a t e e n v i r o n m e n t , and trends a b r o a d in the land that are brought to their attention mainly in the Chronicle of Higher Education. In relation to A f r i c a n studies at Charleston, the more important influences on the senior administrative e n v i r o n m e n t are c o m m u n i t y - b a s e d . T h e population of the Charleston c o m m u n i t y is a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 percent A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n . T h e student b o d y at the college is about 7 percent A f r i c a n American. While this proportion has remained fairly constant over the past f e w years, the g r o w i n g student body meant an absolute increase in the A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n presence, and it has begun to approach a critical mass. Beginning in 1990, s o m e A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n students articulated a d e m a n d for more relevant courses and programs, particularly the regular teaching

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of African-American history. This subject had not been regularly offered for several years. A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n students also formed an increasing student constituency in Africa-based courses. Also contextually important is the fact that the Avery Research Center is associated with the college. A v e r y ' s mandate includes research and programs on low-country African-American life and history. By 1991, an important dimension to this work was research establishing an important connection between the rice-growing culture of the low-country in the nineteenth-century era of slavery and rice-growing cultures on the Western African coast; hence, an intellectual and political linkage between AfricanAmericans and Africans and between A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n studies and African studies.

DEVELOPING A N AFRICAN STUDIES DIMENSION This intellectual, institutional, and political environment was the one in which an organized African studies dimension began to develop in 1990. The core faculty involved were the two Africanists on campus (myself and a colleague in African history, who is African) and a colleague in French (a Nigerian) with a strong interest in African literature and the creation of an African focus on campus. By 1992, this committee grew to seven, with the inclusion of two additional members from the French section of the Languages Department, one from the Spanish section (who is f r o m Ghana), and a linguist who is now in the English Department. The original core committee discussed and drafted a proposal creating an African studies program, a component of which was a minor in African studies. The minor would be composed of a new, freshman-level, interdisciplinary, required course entitled "Introduction to African Civilization;" two semesters of African history; and three additional elective, Africabased courses, which in practice were c o m p o s e d of existing courses I taught in political science; additional courses o f f e r e d in history; a course in anthropology; and less-frequently offered courses in African literature. The original program proposal also included: (1) the development of international exchange and linkage programs with A f r i c a n scholars and/or universities (particularly capitalizing on the historical association between the low-country and West Africa); (2) the facilitation of research through bringing to c a m p u s Africanist scholars for public presentations and research seminars and developing a link with the Avery Research Center; (3) the encouragement of the internationalization of the broader college curriculum; and (4) engagement in community outreach activities, including in the local school districts. T h e estimated annual budget to maintain a minimal program was $15,000 per year. This figure included provision for a one-course reduction and "tenth month" salary for a director, money to

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pay for o f f e r i n g two sections of the new course each semester, and f o r one Africanist scholar to be invited to c a m p u s each semester. In a meeting with senior a c a d e m i c officers, it b e c a m e clear that, while there was sincere intellectual support for this initiative, little material support was available. A n u m b e r of worthy p r o g r a m s w e r e f o r m i n g (e.g., w o m e n ' s studies), and all n e e d e d support. T h e r e w e r e not e n o u g h resources to support them all so none c o u l d be a d e q u a t e l y s u p p o r t e d . Had we portrayed the p r o g r a m as specifically m e e t i n g the needs of A f r i c a n American students and the A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n c o m m u n i t y , in the n a m e of African-American studies, there might have been more immediate interest in the proposal (see below). The upshot was that the committee had to decide whether to go forward with a more or less unfunded minor or do nothing. T h e decision to go ahead involved a significant c o m m i t m e n t to add work to already hard-pressed schedules, but that was the decision made. It was feasible only because the dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences agreed to f u n d the offering of one section of the new course each semester for two semesters. After that, it was expected to pay for itself through full enrollments. T h e r e w a s a particular, local necessity f o r the f u n d i n g of the new course: it is difficult to o f f e r interdisciplinary courses in an institution very firmly organized around disciplinary departments. Department faculty positions are related to the n u m b e r of students e n r o l l e d in d e p a r t m e n t a l courses. A n y o n e teaching a c o u r s e outside a d e p a r t m e n t , therefore, hurts the d e p a r t m e n t ' s enrollments, although collegewide there is no such effect. This does mean that, in releasing a faculty m e m b e r to teach a n o n d e p a r t mentally based, interdisciplinary course, a d e p a r t m e n t expects that c o m pensation will be paid in the f o r m of an a d j u n c t r e p l a c e m e n t salary. T h e way around the situation is to cross-list an interdisciplinary course as a departmental course. This is often done, but it distorts the departmental curriculum and sends a mixed message to students, w h o soon think of it as a departmental course. T h e committee insisted on maintaining the integrity of the 101 course as an interdisciplinary o f f e r i n g , and fortunately the dean agreed to provide t w o a d j u n c t course salaries f o r 1992/93. W i t h o u t that c o m m i t m e n t , w e could not have proceeded to create even a minor without undermining that first c o u r s e . No other r e s o u r c e s w e r e m a d e a v a i l a b l e in the f o r m of released time, other budgetary support, or c o m p e n s a t i o n . Additional activities and planning depend on the goodwill and time of the faculty involved and serendipitous f u n d i n g by the administration. In the present, restrictive budgetary climate, it is likely that in the i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e we can expect little support. T h e proposal for a minor w o u n d its way through the faculty g o v e r n a n c e p r o c e d u r e and w a s a p p r o v e d in late 1991. T h e introductory c o u r s e (and minor) w a s first o f f e r e d in the fall of 1992. By spring 1994, full e n r o l l m e n t (thirty s t u d e n t s ) had been a c h i e v e d , and the new c o u r s e

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seemed to be securely established. A grant proposal titled " M a k i n g Connections: Strengthening African Studies in the Liberal Arts Curriculum" was submitted for possible funding to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program of the U.S. Department of Education. Growing course enrollment and the possibility of external funding may allow the development of additional curriculum components and new activities envisaged in the original proposal for an African studies program, not merely a minor. This process raised several issues. First, we had to make a basic policy decision during the conceptualization phase about the articulation of African to African-American studies. Our discussions took place at a time when the long-felt need for some sort of African-American studies was receiving new attention, partially because students were pressing, rightly, for it—particularly students in the History Department. The African studies committee unanimously supported this development. The question was, what should be the relationship between African and African-American studies? The African studies drafting group made a conscious decision to create an African studies dimension organizationally and academically distinct from African-American studies. Simultaneously, we created the principle that those involved in both areas (in practice most o f us were involved in planning iri both areas) should, in their planning, identify all of those points at which the programs intersected and create joint and/or coordinated means for working together at those points. We reached this decision for two main reasons. First, while all members of the committee were supportive of developing a program in African-American studies, and recognized the role of an African studies curriculum in conjunction with a program of AfricanAmerican studies, none of us had any specific training directly related to offering African-American studies and little experience in teaching in programs of African-American studies where African studies was an integral component. 4 In addition, the college did not at that time have any AfricanAmerican studies specialists. The Avery Research Center was not a teaching department. Without expertise, we felt it would be a disservice, and arrogant, to create a program that purported to be in African-American studies when in fact it was devised and offered exclusively by Africanists. Second, aware of this limitation, in a context where the need for an African-American studies program was palpable, we were concerned that we might be forced to portray our work as meeting this demand. Therefore, we insisted that this was African, not African-American studies. This left no room for anyone at the college to assert that here was the program specifically meeting the needs of African-American students. We were not prepared to let the college curriculum and public relations operation o f f of that particular hook. I believed, and still do, that the potential process of empowerment possible with the creation of an African-American studies

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p r o g r a m w o u l d b e u n d e r m i n e d if t h e p r o g r a m i d e n t i f i e d f o r t h a t p u r p o s e b e c a m e that p r o c e s s ' s m a i n o b s t a c l e — a s an undiluted A f r i c a n studies program would surely be. S o w e d e c i d e d that the A f r i c a n s t u d i e s c o m p o n e n t s h o u l d be i n d e p e n d e n t a n d d i s t i n c t . B u t t h i s , in o u r t h i n k i n g , c r e a t e d t h e n e e d to s e e t o it that t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d i e s s h o u l d b e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y s t i m u l a t e d , a n d t h a t t h i s p r o c e s s s h o u l d i n c l u d e t h e a r t i c u l a t i o n of A f r i c a n and A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n studies. Each of us had been invited to serve on a w o r k i n g p a r t y o n A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d i e s c h a i r e d by an A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n e m e r i t u s p r o f e s s o r of E n g l i s h . T h i s g r o u p a l s o i n c l u d e d s t a f f f r o m t h e Avery Center as well as interested faculty f r o m college departments. T h e r e b e i n g only a h a n d f u l of A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s on the f a c u l t y a n d staff, a m a j o r i t y of m e m b e r s w e r e n o n - A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s . H o w e v e r , A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s p r o v i d e d t h e l e a d e r s h i p . T h e r e s u l t w a s t h e d r a f t i n g of a d o c u m e n t f o r an A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o g r a m t h a t i n c l u d e d a m i n o r in A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n studies incorporating A f r i c a - b a s e d courses. T h e resulti n g r e l a t i o n s h i p at C h a r l e s t o n is a v e r y h e a l t h y o n e . A f r i c a n a n d A f r i c a n American studies have distinct identities and purposes, but they are also i n t i m a t e l y r e l a t e d . F a c u l t y a p p r o v a l f o r t h e m i n o r in A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d i e s w a s c o m p l e t e d in l a t e 1 9 9 2 . D u r i n g 1 9 9 3 / 9 4 , t h e c o l l e g e b e g a n r e cruiting for a new director for the A v e r y Research Center, w h o will also be t h e d i r e c t o r of A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d i e s at t h e c o l l e g e . W i t h t h i s a p p o i n t m e n t , w e b e l i e v e t h e s t a t e w i l l b e s e t t o r e n d e r c o n s i d e r a b l e s e r v i c e to b o t h students and the surrounding c o m m u n i t y . 1 w i l l m e n t i o n t w o a d d i t i o n a l p e r s p e c t i v e s o n t h i s e x p e r i e n c e of e s t a b l i s h i n g a m i n o r in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . F i r s t , t h a t w h i l e o r g a n i z e d A f r i c a n s t u d i e s is n o w p a r t of t h e c u r r i c u l u m , its e x i s t e n c e is p r e c a r i o u s . T h e e m p e r o r , w h i l e n o t c o m p l e t e l y n a k e d , is a t b e s t b a r e l y p r e s e r v i n g h i s m o d e s t y . N o s t a f f m e m b e r s h a v e o n - l o a d t i m e t o e i t h e r t e a c h in o r m a n a g e t h e m i n o r a n d d e v e l o p n e w d i m e n s i o n s to it. F u n d i n g f o r t h e n e w b a s i c c o u r s e is not s e c u r e . T h i s is a n o t h e r w a y of s a y i n g t h e m i n o r h a s n o b u d g e t . A n d it is u n l i k e l y t h a t f u n d i n g f o r A f r i c a n s t u d i e s w i l l b e a h i g h p r i o r i t y . F a c ulty r e s o u r c e s at C h a r l e s t o n a r e t h i n l y s p r e a d , a n d t h e l o s s o f s u c h r e sources, even for short-term sabbaticals, can be crippling. T h e p r e c a r i o u s n a t u r e of t h e e f f o r t l e a d s d i r e c t l y t o a n e e d t o s e e k e x t e r n a l a s s i s t a n c e . T h a t s e a r c h a s s u m e s t h a t , if w e c a n g e n e r a t e e v e n m o d e s t c u r r i c u l u m d e v e l o p m e n t t h r o u g h n e w c o u r s e s in d e p a r t m e n t s , t h e r e will b e a g r o w i n g s t u d e n t F T E g e n e r a t e d b y A f r i c a n s t u d i e s c o u r s e s . If t h i s h a p p e n s , t h o s e d e p a r t m e n t s w i l l b e g i n t o h a v e a v e s t e d i n t e r e s t in A f r i c a n s t u d i e s . F r o m a c o l l e g e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n p o i n t of v i e w , t h e m i n o r w i l l t h e n p a y f o r i t s e l f . T h i s w o u l d r e s u l t in i n s t i t u t i o n a l c o m m i t m e n t , n o r m a l i z a t i o n of t h e p r o g r a m — a n d a b u d g e t ! M y s e c o n d t a k e o n t h e e x p e r i e n c e is t h a t , d e s p i t e t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s a n d s t r e s s i n v o l v e d in n e g o t i a t i n g t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e m i n o r , it w a s w o r t h it.

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T h e minor meets a real student need and d e m a n d . It increased the legitim a c y accorded to the study of the n o n - E u r o p e a n e x p e r i e n c e by institutionalizing it in the curriculum; and it has created a network a m o n g those on c a m p u s w h o have an interest in Africanist scholarship. T h e s e achievements are permanent, enriching the intellectual life of the institution and furthering its mission.

SELECTED PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES An important ancillary c o m p o n e n t to the development of A f r i c a n studies at the College of Charleston was a discussion of pedagogical issues. Many of these issues are well known, but 1 will reprise them in the context of my experience. I highly value the experiential c o m p o n e n t of certain c o u r s e s taught at Charleston. For nearly twenty years, I have taught a o n e - s e m e s t e r - l o n g undergraduate course on contemporary African politics to U.S. students. I also teach a variety of more specialized courses, particularly d e a l i n g with the Southern African region. This continues to be a frustrating business. I have c o m e to the conclusion that there are three, sometimes related, problems to be faced in the United States for teachers and students of basic A f r i c a n courses: the image of Africa, the U.S. context, and the lack of resonance. T h e stereotypes of A f r i c a in the context of U.S. history and culture often stand in the way of i m p a r t i n g / a b s o r b i n g k n o w l e d g e . A n d the content of most basic courses lacks resonance in the lives and minds of students. T h e most easily r e c o g n i z e d part of the problem is the e x i s t e n c e of p o w e r f u l and p e r v a s i v e s t e r e o t y p e s of A f r i c a that s t u d e n t s b r i n g — o f t e n not very c o n s c i o u s l y — t o African courses. W h e n students approach texts, lectures, and other material, there is a tendency to refract what they read, hear, and see through the prism of these s t e r e o t y p e s — w h a t they already " k n o w " about A f r i c a . T y p i c a l l y this " k n o w l e d g e " insists that A f r i c a is a " c o u n t r y " that is, in this image, either gloriously r o m a n t i c i z e d or hopelessly mired in primitive barbarism. If a lecturer teaches that, in B u g a n d a , traditional house construction is of mud and wattle and that, done correctly and maintained well, it will provide good a c c o m m o d a t i o n e f f i c i e n t l y and c h e a p l y , students may " l e a r n " that natives still live in m u d huts. T h e image of the either happy or immiserated savage is, therefore, reinforced. Students do not a l w a y s learn what w e t e a c h . Many students learn in the context of what they already " k n o w , " and this is often n e g a t i v e k n o w l e d g e . T e a c h e r s tend to think that the mind of the a v e r a g e student in an African survey course is a tabula rasa; in fact, it may be a black hole into which has already been sucked, and then imbedded, an e n o r m o u s quantity of distorted mis- and d i s i n f o r m a t i o n . N e w information is then e v a l u a t e d against the " k n o w n . " Information that c o n f o r m s to or reinforces preexisting

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notions is accepted; information that does not is rejected. Rejected material may be discredited on the g r o u n d s of a p r o f e s s o r ' s liberal (or other) biases. What w e think we teach is not always what students learn. My second observation is on the matter of context. We often forget, or try to ignore, the fact that we teach A f r i c a n courses in the United States of America. This enveloping historical and cultural context w e often treat as an e p i p h e n o m e n o n unrelated to our a c a d e m i c e n d e a v o r . W e like to think that, within the c o n f i n e s of " o u r " A f r i c a course, w e can forget about the cultural context in which it is o f f e r e d . Most Africanists wish to convey an African e x p e r i e n c e to students, which means e n d e a v o r i n g to shut out, as best we can, the culture of the country within which our c o u r s e is taught. The truth, of course, is that w e cannot divorce the content of courses, and the p r o c e s s e s of learning in those courses, f r o m the w i d e r culture, from the institutions and the society in which the teaching happens. Like it or not, A f r i c a n survey courses taught in the United States are o f f e r e d in a culture with a c o n t i n u i n g history of r a c i s m — a culture in which " A f r i c a " has had a special, though c o n t r a d i c t o r y , place. A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s may sometimes appropriate for t h e m s e l v e s the culture of the African continent and make it an undifferentiated reference point of identification and nostalgia. And why not? In the s a m e way that a Kennedy (or a R e a g a n ) appropriates the culture and identification of Ireland. For m a n y A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s , such an affiliation with, and even expropriation of, " A f r i c a " is an important piece of political identification, and s o m e t i m e s of action in the United States. T h e Back to A f r i c a m o v e m e n t , at least for the purpose of discovering and cultivating roots, is a positive, for many indispensable, feature of A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n life in c o p i n g with and c o n f r o n t i n g r a c i s m . On the other hand, for many w h i t e s the Back to A f r i c a m o v e m e n t m e a n s sending " t h e m " back to A f r i c a w h e r e they b e l o n g ! W h i t e racism is reflected in the Tarzan image. It is very p o w e r f u l , very pervasive, and very American. Each of these perspectives—that on context and that on s t e r e o t y p e s — is distortive. O n e is c o n s t r u c t i v e and positive, the other negative and destructive. Both are directly related to the study of Africa; and both are very A m e r i c a n . Both f i n d a place in the m i n d s of the student c o n s t i t u e n c i e s I know b e s t — n o t in all of them, but in most of them. T h e s e perspectives result f r o m the fact that there is a s i g n i f i c a n t layer of racism in U.S. society, and this racism itself a f f e c t s the process of learning about A f r i c a . C o u r s e s on A f r i c a cannot of t h e m s e l v e s c h a n g e society; but that society should not be ignored in teaching those courses. If we ignore the racism of U.S. society and the e m o t i v e s y m b o l i s m of " A f r i c a " in it, it may operate as a sore that can fester and g r o w to gangrenous proportions. I mentioned a third problem in introductory African courses: the lack of r e s o n a n c e b e t w e e n w h a t is taught and the daily lives and t h o u g h t s of

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students. Students do not always make the connection between the common humanity of Africans and themselves. Of all the genetic material of all the people in all the world, 99 percent of it is the same and it creates a common set of basic needs. Our common biology leads to needs for food, shelter, health care, clothing. The commonality of human existence leads to common underlying social, economic, and political issues: how to structure social interaction, how to produce the goods needed for life, how to live collectively in relative harmony. Africans, too, want to live comfortably, educate their children, perform worthwhile and creative labor, and enjoy in peace the fruits of their e f f o r t . They laugh and cry, rejoice in birth, and mourn at death. Too often, our common predicament and condition goes unrecognized. This absence of empathy, of ability to place oneself in someone e l s e ' s shoes and vicariously experience the life and feelings of another, is an obstacle; and as long as it exists, there will be an impenetrable wall between what students learn about Africa and the reality of life in Africa. After years of grappling with these issues, 1 have concluded that there is no magic bullet with which to make the problems go away. I cannot quickly change the societal context in which I offer classes. But also 1 cannot afford to ignore that context. Hence, 1 want to discuss three techniques I regularly incorporate into teaching. I will concentrate on one of these: the use of simulations. In basic courses, I always deal with stereotypes about Africa, first in general. Then, in particular, I deal with the role of images of Africa in relation to racial politics in the United States. First, I try to make students conscious of the stereotypes. At the first class meeting, and without explaining the purpose, I ask students to free-associate the first thing that pops into their minds when Africa is mentioned. We do this as a group, and two lists of words are created on the blackboard. One list contains words which convey positive images, and the other is negative characteristics. The students are not told the rationale for why some words are put in one list rather than the other. The negative list is always longer than the positive list. Then the word Europe is mentioned, and the names of one or two countries, usually including England, and another pair of lists is created. The lists on Europe and European countries are almost always 100 percent positive. Having explicitly developed the stereotypes, we discuss their content as "knowledge." This is broadened to a discussion of stereotypes in general and their widespread importance in day-to-day life. The means through which such stereotypes are reproduced and their use in the context of political power are also discussed, which allows for a discussion of the stereotypical images of Africa in the context of U.S. society and its politics. The desired outcome, not ever perfectly achieved in practice, is a classroom environment where the stereotypes and images are very conscious, creating in students a healthy skepticism in relation to what they

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read, see, and hear. It is also a healthy beginning in encouraging students to see the relevance of Africa and A f r i c a n studies to their own lives. T h i s process e n c o u r a g e s s t u d e n t s to relate their lives to a b r o a d e r world; but it is only a beginning in tackling the problem of the lack of reso n a n c e between the s t u d e n t s ' lives and the A f r i c a n e x p e r i e n c e . It is important that what students learn about A f r i c a should not be placed by students in a separate category of human experience, unrelated to their own. One technique here is to discuss with students the vocabulary used to describe things A f r i c a n . For e x a m p l e , it is important that students think of A f r i c a n s as people, not as " n a t i v e s , " and as people w h o have important ethnic identities beyond their tribal m e m b e r s h i p . T h e vocabulary used in discussing these issues turns out to be very important. This development of a c o m m o n vocabulary to discuss life in African countries leads to being able to discuss issues of political, e c o n o m i c , and cultural d e v e l o p m e n t in c o m p a r a t i v e t e r m s . Analogies and m e t a p h o r s rooted in the past understanding and experience of students are developed. For e x a m p l e , when discussing ethnic conflict in Africa, one can draw on the historical development of European nations rooted in ethnic identities. In current affairs, the situation in the f o r m e r Yugoslavia is tailor-made for a discussion of tribalism and the historical reasons why politics may bec o m e interethnic. The use of current e x a m p l e s from Europe not only illustrates the general point that ethnicity may be an important means of political mediation; it also demonstrates that these issues are alive and well in the contemporary, so-called developed world and are not to be regarded as indicative of societies at a lower or earlier stage of development. A comparative perspective may be introduced into many aspects of a survey course. T h e topic of political stability and instability is a l w a y s of interest to students. It is an important topic. Students tend to think of African polities as s o m e h o w inherently and wrongly unstable. When there is such need for e c o n o m i c progress, w h y c a n ' t this d i v i s i v e n e s s be put aside? In this context, I f i n d it useful to sketch, b r i e f l y , a l m o s t to the point of caricature, the earlier history of the United S t a t e s — t h e facts, inter alia, that it was f o r m e d as a result of armed rebellion, created a constitution (the Articles of C o n f e d e r a t i o n ) that failed miserably w i t h i n a decade of independence and w a s replaced by a constitution that, with the society as a whole, contained the seed of what b e c a m e a bloody civil war s e v e n t y - f i v e years after the rebellion against Britain. T h e path of the United S t a t e s to relative political stability w a s long and d i f f i c u l t . Most A f r i c a n countries are around thirty years old. Few have experienced anything like the social disorder r e p r e s e n t e d by the U.S. Civil W a r . M o r e over, it is important to deal with the c o n c e p t of political stability and unity in the current c i r c u m s t a n c e s of the United States. Civil rights issues, f o r example, still d e f i n e a society as yet unable to resolve inequities in the e c o n o m y and polity.

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S u c h an approach has the virtue of e n c o u r a g i n g students to consider the long-term as well as current history of Africa as part of a broad human experience not unlike their o w n . T h e danger, of c o u r s e — a s pointed out in an earlier c h a p t e r — i s that it implicitly e n c o u r a g e s students to think that the issues being faced in Africa are the same as those in the United States. If this happens, one loses the distinctive, historical, structural, and cultural contexts of A f r i c a n countries. T o avoid this, I try to indicate through the c o m p a r a t i v e material, which is scattered throughout the course, that w e should be thinking that the problems of development are more or less universal and then d e v e l o p the A f r i c a n material on those p r o b l e m s , only reprising the comparative perspective. T h e most e f f e c t i v e technique I have used in teaching about political, economic, and social development in Africa is that of the simulation. Simulations force students to d e v e l o p and play out a role as an A f r i c a n . They are required to shed their personal and national identities in order to approach b e c o m i n g s o m e o n e different f r o m themselves. They can, and most do, begin not only to think within but also to feel the situation of another whose life, at first blush, is unfamiliar and even exotic. I have used simulations in two course settings. A brief description of each may be helpful in illustrating the utility of such experiences. O n e is entitled " T h e Politics of Revolutionary C h a n g e in South A f r i c a , " o f f e r e d during the M a y m e s t e r term. M a y m e s t e r takes place during the last three w e e k s of May. O n e course is a f u l l - t i m e load for both faculty and stud e n t s — e a c h c o u r s e meets f i v e d a y s a week f o r three and one-half hours each day. So, the students are a captive audience. They can be expected to fix all of their attention on one subject. They can be expected to eat, live, and breathe that one course. With three and one-half hours each day, the students quickly get to know each other and the p r o f e s s o r . A c o r p o r a t e feeling about the class is quickly established. In May 1992, at the second meeting of the class, each student was assigned a character or role, such as Nelson Mandela or F.W. de Klerk. (The total number of roles depends upon both the current situation and the n u m ber of students in the class.) T h e assignment of roles was done by random d r a w i n g . 5 Class meetings leading up to a f o u r - d a y simulation w e r e designed to accomplish two things. O n e w a s to d e v e l o p the context f o r the c o n t e m p o r a r y situation (in May 1992, the context w a s the o n g o i n g C O D E S A talks in South A f r i c a ) . T h e second o b j e c t i v e w a s to assist students in developing their assigned character through reading, class discussion, and film. All students read both standard history and political science literature, but greater attention w a s given to biographical and autobiographical work and f i l m . A g o o d deal of class time w a s spent w a t c h i n g and then discussing documentary and theatrical productions. In Maymester 1992, the list of f i l m s v i e w e d included Last Grave at Dimbaza, Genera-

tions of Resistance, A World Apart, Cry Freedom, A Dry White Season,

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and Destructive Engagement. The biographical, autobiographical, and film material was an in-your-face educational experience that forced students to confront situations in both intellectual and personal terms. This created a context in which they could develop not only the factual content of their character or role; they also developed a stake in their character's personality. Later this facilitated the simulation. At the close of the period of preparation, each student presented his/her character's political personality orally to the class. They also presented a written paper to me as class leader. These presentations punctuated the transition from role development to the acting-out of those roles. The oral presentations gave each student the opportunity to be the character they would portray in the simulation, increasing their confidence. It also provided the opportunity for all the characters to reflect on the personality of their character in relation to the others. In Maymester 1992, the simulation itself ran over four days for three and one-half hours each day. The issues were limited to the more important debates in the CODESA talks, such as whether a constituent assembly would write a new constitution, what kind of interim government could be created, and what institutions would be written into a new constitution. The situation and parameters for the meeting were communicated through a mock issue of the Weekly Mail, a newspaper that was used throughout to guide and shape the simulation. While CODESA participants met, nonCODESA roles observed from a distance. Non-CODESA roles could, of course, communicate with participants directly, either overtly or privately. And all participants could issue press releases that might, or might not, be picked up by the Weekly Mail for publication. The role of editor of the newspaper is filled by faculty, who are also available for consultations with characters who are unsure of their positions. Direct interventions are to be avoided: they can best be handled through the newspaper. At the beginning, the students are always unsure of themselves. The temptation for faculty (a temptation to be resisted) is to intervene too often and too directly. My experience is that, after an initial rocky start, students quickly get into their roles, and the simulation takes on a life of its own. The period of the simulation is very intense and stressful. It becomes real. For the teacher it is nonstop and action packed. But the payoff is watching average students turn into characters of which they had no knowledge a few short weeks before. For the group collectively, the outcome is often a relatively comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the current situation. While the simulation is not in itself very good at developing a sophisticated conceptual perspective, it is good at getting students to deal with the nitty-gritty of practical politics and at involving them in that in a very personal way. Incidentally, the simulations often offer a déjà vu sense later, if events unfold in reality along the lines of the simulations. In May 1992, we found in our simulation that if the Third

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Force (see note 5) remained active and covertly w o r k e d with Inkhata, the C O D E S A talks broke d o w n . Within two m o n t h s , the reality in South Africa w a s that this happened. Students are always impressed w h e n s o m e thing like this occurs. Current events reinforce f o r students the value of what they learned during the simulation. Frequently, s t u d e n t s call me, m o n t h s after such a s i m u l a t i o n , to talk about how the real situation unfolded and their perspective on why the simulation was or w a s not theref o r e realistic. T h e ability of students to undertake that sort of analysis is for me significant reinforcement to continue developing the use of simulations. They are a valuable learning experience. A s e c o n d experiential learning event, in which I have regularly participated since 1981, is the National Model Organization of A f r i c a n Unity ( O A U ) , held yearly at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The model O A U was f o u n d e d in 1980 by Michael N w a n z e , of the Political S c i e n c e Department at Howard. Working with faculty advisors, he has continued to d e v e l o p it. The model OAU simulates a meeting of an international organ i z a t i o n — n o t unlike the U N — t h e m e m b e r s of which are nation-states. T h e "characters" in the simulation are, therefore, national delegations. Unlike a model U N , the model O A U puts Africa and A f r i c a n issues at the center of debate and discussion. For those interested in t e a c h i n g about Africa, it o f f e r s a unique opportunity to immerse students in such discussions. Student delegations c o m p o s e d of from five to seven students represent the m e m b e r states of the O A U . T h e model O A U is structured into four c o m m i s s i o n s ( e c o n o m i c , social, liberation and d e f e n s e , and m e d i a tion), and over a period of two and a half days the gamut of d e v e l o p m e n tal and political issues are discussed. A final day is then devoted to a plenary assembly of heads of state and government to pass final resolutions. A council of ministers meets concurrently with the c o m m i s s i o n s to deal with crisis situations. T h e crises build upon existing situations and then allows the council to deal with them. In 1992, the council dealt with t w o crises, one in Liberia and the other in South Africa. T h e fact that the venue is Washington D.C. allows students to be given a briefing at the e m b a s s y of the country they represent—a key experience. This is a four-day immersion in thinking and talking about Africa and African issues. Students are forced to identify, defend, and promote the national interests of the country they represent, s o m e t i m e s in c o o p e r a t i o n with other countries and s o m e t i m e s in conflict. By the end of the f o u r days, students are prepared to g o to the wall for causes that to them a few short w e e k s b e f o r e were only v a g u e ideas, if they thought about t h e m at all. Students see the world through African eyes, however imperfectly and haltingly. T h e y a l w a y s achieve s o m e level of e m p a t h y . S u c h learning is permanent. Participation in the model is the payoff for the teaching process that has taken place at home universities. (The Faculty Advisors' Handbook for

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the model describes it as an "extension of the classroom.") The preparatory period, before the model takes place, is excellent for developing student interest and interdisciplinary skills. At Charleston, the "delegations" 1 advise are enrolled in a three-credit-hour course entitled "International Regional Organizations." This course was custom created for this purpose. 6 The syllabus is the history, culture, economics, politics, and international situation of the country represented. The class meets as a lateafternoon seminar. Except for the earliest meetings, it is student-led, each student having been assigned to one or another commission or the council of ministers. The commission agenda structures individual research, the results of which are shared with the entire delegation. The goal of this preparation is to develop knowledge of the character of the country, enabling students better to portray particularity as diplomats from that country at the meeting of the OAU. 7 The period of preparation, reinforced by an embassy visit and followed by the model itself, constitutes the most satisfying teaching I have ever done. I feel I have had more of an impact on students through this than in any other way. Students temporarily become diplomats from Ghana or Botswana or Mozambique. It is often necessary afterwards to remind students that this experience was not "real," that it was acting. For weeks afterwards, students will stop by to talk about something related to their experience at the model. I have remained in touch with some of these students for years. I admit to an unabashed enthusiasm for using simulations in teaching—and in particular for the model OAU. These are the best means I have found to reach average students. My enthusiasm is tempered only by the recognition that there are limitations to what is taught and learned in the simulation process. It is not a substitute for a structured curriculum that teaches development theory and abstract analytical skills. It is also not appropriate if one firmly believes that social science should be taught as a cold, objective exercise: simulations generate passion toward social, economic, and political issues. The biggest difficulty for teachers is the fact that simulations are labor intensive and time consuming. You cannot teach large lecture sections in a simulation. They require a lot of time with relatively small groups. It does not generate large numbers of FTEs. The national model OAU is, of course, a premier event; but it is possible to scale it back for use on campus. I once did a Maymester course in which there was a simulation of a meeting of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC). Any regional grouping can be used for a small-scale simulation. Even the OAU could be run on a single campus with only a few modifications to the rules and preparatory material for the national model. Simulations can also carry learning about Africa into the K - 1 2 school system. I twice ran simulations from Ed Bigelow's Strangers in Their Own

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Country, presenting materia! on apartheid to middle-school students. In the spring of 1992, I w o r k e d with a social studies teacher in a rural m i d d l e school in McClellanville, South Carolina, to simulate a S A D C C m e e t i n g with a hundred or so sixth-grade students. Incidentally, this social studies teacher had graduated f r o m the college in about 1987 and had been a delegate to the model O A U while a student. S i m u l a t i o n s such as these have lasting impact b e y o n d that of a mere presentation on A f r i c a . H a v i n g run such a simulation once, teachers can subsequently do so on their own.

W O R K IN PROGRESS I am not at all sure that I wish to write a conclusion to this chapter. A f r i c a n studies at the College of Charleston and my e x p e r i e n c e in pedagogical tinkering are works in progress. My hope is that these will remain in the " f o r t h c o m i n g " category for a long time because that will mean that the institution and I are still s p e n d i n g energy on i m p r o v i n g the t e a c h i n g of African studies. But I will reach this conclusion: I believe we have been relatively s u c c e s s f u l , in our c u r r i c u l u m and teaching, b e c a u s e of a solid appreciation of the context in which we work. T h e minor in African studies was realistic in relation to the institution's resources and commitments. T h e m i n o r ' s curriculum accepted the limitations of existing course o f f e r ings but also identified opportunities for d e v e l o p m e n t as resources might b e c o m e available. My teaching perspective r e c o g n i z e d — e v e n if it did not a l w a y s s u c c e s s f u l l y o v e r c o m e — t h e realities associated with teaching at Charleston and in the U.S. context. Successful change began with a sound appreciation of the parameters that structured change and the opportunities to d e v e l o p within those parameters, including the opportunities that might ultimately c h a n g e the parameters themselves.

NOTES 1. This perspective on the c o l l e g e , its programs, African studies, and everything else is a professional but personal one. It in no way should be taken as a reflection of the official v i e w s of the college, its board of trustees and officers, or of the committee that coordinates the African studies minor. 2. Obviously the faculty are overworked. This, however, does not appear to be obvious to the c o m m i s s i o n on higher education, the state legislature, or the board of trustees. 3. The t w o most popular languages are French and Spanish. Faculty in the French and Spanish sections incorporate non-European sources in French and Spanish, particularly Spanish from Latin and South America. 4. Such experience w a s not entirely absent. In a visiting capacity, I, for example, taught African courses in the Black American Studies Department at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale during the 1979/80 academic year.

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5. In M a y 1 9 9 2 , t h e c l a s s c o n s i s t e d of t h i r t e e n s t u d e n t s . T h e r o l e s a s s i g n e d were: the National Party/State President (F.W. de Klerk), the State B u r e a u c r a c y / Security System/Third Force, White Public Opinion, The A N C (Nelson Mandela), the A N C (Cyril R a m a p h o s a ) , the A N C ( C o m r a d e s ) , the D e m o c r a t i c Party, the Inkhata F r e e d o m Party (Chief Buthelezi), the Pan A f r i c a n i s t C o n g r e s s , the A z a n i a P e o p l e s ' O r g a n i z a t i o n , the C o n s e r v a t i v e Party, the A f r i k a a n e r R e s i s t a n c e M o v e m e n t ( A W B ) , a n d the U n i t e d D e m o c r a t i c F r o n t ( U D F ) a n d its s u c c e s s o r s . 6. T h e r e is a l s o t h e M o d e l O r g a n i z a t i o n of A m e r i c a n S t a t e s ( w h i c h a l s o m e e t s in W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . ) , a n d o n e of m y d e p a r t m e n t a l c o l l e a g u e s at C h a r l e s t o n r e g u larly t a k e s d e l e g a t i o n s to t h e s e s i m u l a t i o n s . 7. T h e k n o w l e d g e g a i n e d a b o u t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s a n d i s s u e s is t h e k e y r e a s o n f o r t h e m o d e l O A U . B u t o t h e r t y p e s of l e a r n i n g o c c u r a s e p i p h e n o m e n a of t h i s m a i n p u r p o s e . A m o n g t h e s e is a w o r k i n g k n o w l e d g e of p a r l i a m e n t a r y p r o c e d u r e , negotiating skills, d i p l o m a t i c b e h a v i o r , and how to handle stress and f r u s t r a t i o n . For d e l e g a t i o n s f r o m the C o l l e g e of C h a r l e s t o n and s i m i l a r s c h o o l s , t h e r e is a l s o an e d u c a t i o n a l p a y o f f f r o m t h e v e n u e b e i n g at H o w a r d U n i v e r s i t y . S o m e of m y d e l e g a t e s are w h i t e , a n d f o r t h e m it is a l w a y s their f i r s t , a l w a y s i n s t r u c t i v e , e x p e r i e n c e at b e i n g a r a c i a l m i n o r i t y . It o f f e r s t h e m an i n t e r e s t i n g , if u n p r e d i c t a b l e , o p p o r t u nity to d e a l w i t h t h e p o l i t i c s of r a c e in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . F o r A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d e n t s o n the d e l e g a t i o n , it is e q u a l l y i l l u m i n a t i n g to b e c o m f o r t a b l e as a m a j o r ity in an i n s t i t u t i o n of h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n . F o r m e , it is a s u b s i d i a r y b u t i m p o r t a n t t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e to w o r k w i t h s t u d e n t s , m o s t l y f r o m S o u t h C a r o l i n a , in t h e s e c i r c u m s t a n c e s . It is not w i t h o u t s i g n i f i c a n t s t r e s s , b u t it is w o r t h w h i l e .

21 Program Building: Some Principles and Lessons Arthur D. Drayton

African studies at the University of Kansas ( K U ) has e n j o y e d measurable success in recent years. I want, in this chapter, to share some of the strategies that have served us in good stead. 1 But simply r e c o u n t i n g the m e a sures we took, in addition to being tedious, might give the misleading impression that it was all a neat succession of coolly calculated happenings. Overtures and experiments were not uniformly successful, and some things had to be tried twice and three times. T o be sure, conscious planning had to be done as if it were a campaign, and every now and then one grew tired of this insistent need to strategize. But equally, not a little of what we did was done because they appeared to be things that ought to be done, often for the sake of the program, but not seldom for the sake of the college or the institution. I want to present our experience in a way that also suggests s o m e of the principles that informed our strategies. I therefore begin by pointing to an important if obvious principle: one must be prepared w h e n e v e r necessary to step f o r w a r d in the best interest of the institution, even if doing so might indicate a temporary setback for o n e ' s o w n nascent program. The challenge facing any lonely Africanist, any group or c o m m i t t e e of Africanists, any e m b r y o n i c A f r i c a p r o g r a m s e e k i n g to e n h a n c e the study of A f r i c a on the c a m p u s , will vary a c c o r d i n g to c i r c u m s t a n c e s . Factors that d e t e r m i n e the nature of the c h a l l e n g e include the size of the institution, its ethnic profile, its geographical location and the sociopolitical implications of that, and, of course, o n e ' s o b j e c t i v e s . I will, therefore, provide a little of the background of the specific situation at KU. A large, white institution in the Midwest with a student body of about 29,000, KU has w i t n e s s e d a f a l l i n g - o f f in its A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n student population f r o m about 6 percent to about 3 percent. Although in the past few years the minority population as a whole has been on the increase, no noticeable growth is to be found in the A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n c o m p o n e n t . T h e decline, h o w e v e r , has been halted. W e are not blessed with the kind of

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demography that can, by itself, sometimes generate and even sustain a viable level of interest in Black studies. 2 Not only does the Midwest not have a particularly large concentration of A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s , but Kansas in particular is not exactly where you will go to find them, and in Kansas, not Lawrence. 3 Yet L a w r e n c e was not i m m u n e from the civil restiveness of the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and in 1970 a Department of African Studies came into being at KU as a result of those pressures. W h e n this department c a m e into being, the University of Kansas already had well established area studies p r o g r a m s — a m o n g them the Latin American program, already well known for being the first in the nation to have a Central American focus. Yet what KU dubbed African studies was in reality a Black studies program responding to the immediate needs and pressures of the time. T h e name of the program notwithstanding, it appears that the existence of area studies programs on the campus did not quicken any c o m m i t m e n t to the study of A f r i c a per se. What was initiated in the c l a s s r o o m s in 1971 was a Black studies program e m b r a c i n g continental Africa and the African diaspora, intended to create at KU "an opportunity to extend the field of intellectual inquiry" in directions hitherto neglected, and constituting, as did all Black studies programs at that time and since, a c h a l l e n g e requiring "a c o m p l e t e reorganization of the intellectual life and the historical outlook of the United States." 4 No doubt the initiators of the program worked in the space they were allotted (or, more likely, had s u c c e e d e d in creating). A g e n u i n e e f f o r t w a s made to provide as rich an array of courses as the f e w A f r i c a n i s t s and A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n i s t s on the faculty made possible. "Instructors" were identified to c o m p l e m e n t faculty resources, as were graduate teaching assistants. Nonetheless, it must have been a kind of lottery, as it must needs be in the absence of any institutional commitment to a timely and well-timed schedule for the recruitment and deployment of resources adequate for the realization of clearly defined o b j e c t i v e s . Few Black studies p r o g r a m s w e r e so blessed at the time of those nervous beginnings. It is to the credit of the program and the college that there was an e f f o r t to contain the ardor of the time in a m e a n i n g f u l structure, even if there was little evidence that the university was serious about providing m u s c l e . T h e s e two, potentially c e n t r i f u g a l , realities had predictably contrary results. On the o n e hand, some courses, m e r c i f u l l y , recurred fairly frequently; on the other, too many others were dependent on w h o h a p p e n e d to be on the g r o u n d in any given s e m e s t e r . While the open structure of the major could a c c o m m o d a t e that situation to some extent, the potential for a mishmash had to be frighteningly real. 5 T h a t at any rate w a s the situation w h e n I inherited the program in 1981, and something had to be done if adequate student participation and faculty c o m m i t m e n t were to be ensured. Part of the strategy, it seemed to me, w a s to m a k e Africa a visible and discrete component of the program. That fall, the n u m b e r of A f r i c a n courses available, including my own

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A f r i c a n literature course, w a s two. Clearly if A f r i c a w a s to be e f f e c t i v e l y studied w e had to make immediate h e a d w a y ; and w e did, even if at first it was nothing that might be termed spectacular. A s an interdisciplinary studies program w e w e r e necessarily dependent on resources in other departments, but the number of A f r i c a n i s t s , or f o r that matter A f r i c a n - A m e r i canists, w a s v e r y f e w . It w a s certainly the c a s e that s o m e of them w e r e very committed to the program, but there w a s not any w i d e s p r e a d enthusiasm such as would, for instance, ensure that w e would get to know about suitable, a v a i l a b l e courses without s o m e detective w o r k on our part. Indeed, how else will one know what c o u r s e s are out there, suitable f o r cross-listing and cross-referencing? True, one might put in place a mechanism whereby other departments may routinely o f f e r this information. B y all means do it, but don't make the mistake of relying on it. E v e r y semester it is necessary to get out there and dig up that information a n e w . Still, networking surely helps. It therefore did not take us long to r e c o g n i z e that w e had to rebuild our network. But networking must g o beyond discovering what exists and seek to identify potential and try to actualize it. In this latter endeavor, it helped to be able to make the case for the inclusion of A f r i c a n content in a g i v e n department's curriculum independent of the e x i s t e n c e of an A f r i c a n studies program: in other words, that A f r i c a does have a claim on that department's international t r a c k — w h i c h is patently demonstrable f o r most social science disciplines and not a f e w in the humanities. This w a s a position already adumbrated in the philosophy that g a v e birth to the prog r a m , though w e a k e n e d by s u b m e r g i n g A f r i c a in the broader f i e l d of B l a c k studies. From this position, h o w e v e r , it b e c o m e s e a s i e r in due course to persuade departments to keep A f r i c a n s t u d i e s ' needs in mind when recruiting. Even so, little of this can be achieved if the program does not first catch fire and o f f e r s o m e vision of real possibilities. At such a juncture, when one seems viciously circled in dilemma, much imagination, creativity, and e s p e c i a l l y persistence and s a c r i f i c e are required, f o r how else can one make the program e x c i t i n g and imbue it with potential in order to attract the kind of faculty participation that would have done it f o r you in the first place. It is prudent, of course, that from the v e r y beginning there be a concern not only with the availability of instructors but also of students. Here, too, looms the shadow of that v i c i o u s circle. On the one hand, the number, range, and quality of courses are particularly important if w e are to attract students and e s p e c i a l l y quality students. On the other hand, A f r i c a n i s t s resident in other departments w h o are needed to generate that curricular variety and quality are understandably p r e o c c u p i e d with the politics of preferment in their own departments and accordingly have other priorities. A lot of work is needed to pry them out of that posture, and it helps to be able to hold out the prospect of a crop of bright students keen to cultivate

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t h e f a c u l t y ' s v e r y o w n a r e a s t u d i e s i n t e r e s t s in a n i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y c o n t e x t . T h e c h a l l e n g e of f u l f i l l i n g these t w o c o n d i t i o n s , each a p p a r e n t l y a prerequ i s i t e f o r t h e o t h e r , c a n b e d a u n t i n g . U l t i m a t e l y it r e q u i r e s a lot o f l e v e r a g e t h r o u g h o u t t h e s y s t e m , a n d f o r t h i s a d e p a r t m e n t is u s u a l l y

much

better placed than a c o o r d i n a t i n g committee, better even than the c o n v e n t i o n a l a r e a s t u d i e s p r o g r a m , w h i c h o f t e n h a s f e w if a n y b u d g e t e d f a c u l t y , a n d , t h e r e f o r e , f o r all p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s is in e f f e c t a c o m m i t t e e . T h e l o n e l y A f r i c a n i s t o r t h e s m a l l g r o u p of p i o n e e r s s h o u l d s e r i o u s l y c o n s i d e r this o p t i o n , at least a s a n u l t i m a t e o b j e c t i v e . B a s i c a l l y t h e m o r e a u t o n o m y , the better the c h a n c e s of b u i l d i n g and s u s t a i n i n g a p r o g r a m of s u f f i c i e n t range and quality. H o w , t h e n , m i g h t t h e s t a t u s of " d e p a r t m e n t " h e l p ? I n d i r e c t l y , a m o n g o t h e r w a y s . B e i n g a d e p a r t m e n t naturally c o n f e r s on the p r o g r a m ' s leaders h i p the status of a c o l l e g e " m a n a g e r , " m e a n i n g by this no m o r e than the o p p o r t u n i t y a n d p r i v i l e g e t h a t c h a i r s m a y h a v e in a s s i s t i n g t h e d e a n in s h a p i n g t h e a f f a i r s o f t h e c o l l e g e . W h e r e t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y e x i s t s , a n d to s o m e e x t e n t it m u s t in m o s t i n s t i t u t i o n s o f s c a l e , c h a i r s m a k e " l e a d e r s h i p " c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the institution both f r o m w i t h i n their d e p a r t m e n t s

and

without. D o n e responsibly and selflessly, this can make n e t w o r k i n g easier. T h e r e is a w o r l d of d i f f e r e n c e in t h e e f f e c t o n a s t r u g g l i n g p r o g r a m b e t w e e n h a v i n g , o n t h e o n e h a n d , a c h a i r w h o p l a c e s his o r h e r i n t e l l i g e n c e , e x p e r i e n c e , a n d i n n o v a t i v e n e s s at t h e s e r v i c e of c o l l e a g u e s a n d t h e s c h o o l , and, on the other, o n e w h o inhabits the sidelines and turns u p only w h e n it is t i m e to b e g , t h r e a t e n , o r c a j o l e . O n e d o e s n o t h a v e t o b e a d e p a r t m e n t c h a i r to d o t h e f o r m e r ; a s t r u g g l i n g p r o g r a m s h o u l d at all t i m e s a v o i d h a v ing as leader s o m e o n e inclined to be the latter. R e s p e c t f o r the p r o g r a m can turn on this. D e p a r t m e n t a l a u t o n o m y is i m p o r t a n t in o t h e r w a y s t o o . T h e c o m m i t tee and the c o m m i t t e e - b a s e d p r o g r a m must necessarily d e p e n d entirely on r e s o u r c e s in o t h e r d e p a r t m e n t s . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , b e i n g a d e p a r t m e n t in y o u r o w n r i g h t g i v e s y o u c o n t r o l of y o u r o w n r e s o u r c e s , a n d , j u s t a s s i g nificantly, the right to negotiate those resources. Many f a c t o r s h a v e to be p r e s e n t , of c o u r s e , f o r s u c c e s s f u l n e g o t i a t i o n ; b u t y o u c a n n o t c o n t i n u e to be a department and a l w a y s c o m e a w a y e m p t y - h a n d e d f r o m that table. N o r can one maintain d e p a r t m e n t a l status and be forever d e p e n d e n t on other departments for o n e ' s academic program. As a department you identify (and d e f e n d ) your r e s o u r c e n e e d s — a n d , of co urse, enter into c o m p e t i t i o n f o r t h e m . T o t h e e x t e n t t h a t y o u o b t a i n t h o s e r e s o u r c e s , y o u a r e in c o n t r o l of y o u r c u r r i c u l u m , a n d t h i s is a n i m p o r t a n t a s s e t . B u t t h e r e is a f l i p s i d e t o t h i s , a n d it is t h a t d e p a r t m e n t s a r e n o t f o r e v e r . W e h a d a s h a r p r e m i n d e r o f t h i s f a c t d u r i n g a p r o g r a m r e v i e w in t h e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s w h e n t h e b o a r d of r e g e n t s r a i s e d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f o u r d i s m a n t l e m e n t . W h a t s a v e d t h e d a y w a s a c o a l i t i o n of t h e c o l l e g e , t h e u n i versity administration, and the department, which obviously constituted a

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new level of commitment to the program. For me, this near-adversity became a new point of departure. It w a s proof that w e w e r e doing something right and an assurance that w e w e r e by then already projecting a credible vision of the future. For this, w e were o b v i o u s l y indebted to renewed student interest, to a g r o w i n g body of f a c u l t y s y m p a t h e t i c to our activities, though not necessarily teaching f o r us, and lots of philosophical support. From that point on we were no longer in the business of proving that w e had a place at K U , but concentrated on o c c u p y i n g it f r u i t f u l l y . T h e w o r k that had brought us to this position included the d e v e l o p ment of four levels of networking, among students, f a c u l t y , chairs, and administrators. While it remains true that a black student population is not a prerequisite f o r an African studies program, there are several reasons w h y such a program is vital to them. If they are on campus, they are therefore a natural constituency. But it is sometimes the case that A f r i c a n - A m e r i can students see their mission on campus as e s c h e w i n g " b l a c k " courses if they are to breach the barriers that have stood between them and the white dispensation. Perhaps even more s t r a n g e l y , A f r i c a n students can s o m e times show a stupendous lack of interest in the A f r i c a n curriculum, as if by virtue of their origin they know all that is to be known about their continent. And yet, for most of them, it will be their only opportunity to study A f r i c a at this l e v e l . S o we held meetings with the B l a c k Students Union and the A f r i c a n Students A s s o c i a t i o n , together and separately; and spoke at their f u n c t i o n s when invited. I even traduced my principles and perf o r m e d the duties of a j u d g e at one of their beauty contests. W e also brought representatives from their association into our advisory board. But student leaders are a f u g i t i v e population, and the w o r k usually has to be done all o v e r again every year or two. T h e aim, h o w e v e r , w a s twofold: to build a political constituency, and to get them to identify lacunae that, if corrected, might make the program more a t t r a c t i v e — p e r h a p s even irresistible to them. At the s a m e time, individual faculty with anything remotely approximating an interest in A f r i c a n or diaspora a f f a i r s — b e it by virtue of past residence or a visit, or cultivated but now unpracticed expertise, or present expertise smothered by departmental priorities—all w e r e e n c o u r a g e d to get involved. T h e y were invited to our faculty seminars, to meet and make use of our visitors, to g i v e guest lectures in our c l a s s e s or invite our colleagues to do s o in theirs, to be involved in our projects, and so on. I met with chairs of core disciplines one-on-one; and when this s e e m e d to be getting us n o w h e r e , I asked the then dean to call a meeting of chairs at which he and I could discuss with them w a y s in which their departments might more e f f e c t i v e l y contribute to the program. T h e r e w e r e two such meetings: v e r y urbane, very understanding, endorsing all our o b j e c t i v e s , and even the principle of cooperation on which our argument w a s based. But none of this produced any early hard results. A f e w semesters later,

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h o w e v e r , w h e n the real b r e a k t h r o u g h b e g a n , I w a s to r e c o g n i z e the a b s o l u t e v a l u e o f all that e a r l i e r l e g w o r k . I recall that m y m o t h e r u s e d to test the q u a l i t y o f f l o u r b y t o s s i n g a little to the w a l l : if it w a s f l o u r o f g o o d q u a l i t y , s o m e w o u l d s t i c k to the w a l l ( a n d I g o t to c l e a n it o f f ! ) . L i k e g o o d f l o u r , t h o s e y e a r s o f e f f o r t left their m a r k . P e r s e v e r a n c e in a g o o d c a u s e u s u a l l y p a y s o f f in the e n d , if y o u c a n s t a y the c o u r s e . J u s t a s untiringly, w e w o r k e d on the q u a l i t y o f the p r o g r a m . P e r s u a d ing f a c u l t y in other d e p a r t m e n t s to m a k e their c o u r s e s a v a i l a b l e to our s t u d e n t s a s part of o u r p r o g r a m is m o r e e a s i l y d o n e if in their v i e w the s t u d e n t s a r e c a p a b l e a n d s e r i o u s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , a s late a s the e a r l y

1980s

there w e r e t o o m a n y s t u d e n t s w h o s a w A f r i c a n s t u d i e s a s a s o f t o p t i o n , a n d o u r h a n d f u l o f m a j o r s b o a s t e d t o o m a n y a t h l e t e s w i t h o u t the a b i l i t y a n d / o r t i m e n e c e s s a r y to n e g o t i a t e the d e g r e e . T h e r e w e r e , o f c o u r s e , v e r y m a n y s t u d e n t s w h o took o u r c o u r s e s to s a t i s f y g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s , but it w o u l d h a v e b e e n p e r i l o u s to rest o u r f u t u r e on b e i n g a s e r v i c e d e p a r t m e n t . S o w e had to d o s o m e t h i n g to attract g o o d s t u d e n t s in l a r g e r n u m b e r s , w h i c h m e a n t that w e h a d to d o s o m e t h i n g a b o u t the m a j o r : d e v e l o p i n g a p r o g r a m is m o r e than the p o l i t i c s o f the e n t e r p r i s e . H o w e v e r s m a l l the b e g i n n i n g s , the p r o g r a m m u s t b e e x c e l l e n t e n o u g h to earn the respect of students, faculty, and administrators alike. T h e a c a d e m i c viability o f o u r p r o g r a m w a s t h e r e f o r e a t o p priority. T o u n d e r s t a n d how w e p r o c e e d e d in this r e s p e c t it m i g h t b e u s e f u l first to rec a l l that the p r o g r a m I i n h e r i t e d w a s e s s e n t i a l l y B l a c k s t u d i e s , w i t h n o c l e a r identity a s A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n or A f r i c a n a n d no g u a r a n t e e o f c o n s t a n t b a l a n c e . I a m not s u r e that the q u e s t i o n o f a c o m p l e t e c o n v e r s i o n

to

A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o p e r e v e r a r o s e . N o r c o u l d there b e a n y q u e s t i o n o f red u c i n g , let a l o n e r e m o v i n g , the A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n c o n t e n t . N o n e t h e l e s s , it s e e m e d to m e that the t i m e h a d c o m e to o f f e r s t u d e n t s a d e g r e e that w o u l d b e m o r e m a r k e t a b l e by v i r t u e o f a m o r e s h a r p l y d e f i n e d a r e a of s t u d y . A t a t i m e o f s h r i n k i n g f i n a n c i a l r e s o u r c e s , in a w h i t e u n i v e r s i t y in K a n s a s ( a n d p e r h a p s a n y w h e r e e l s e in the M i d w e s t ) , it w o u l d h a v e b e e n f o o l h a r d y to a s k the institution to s u p p o r t t w o B l a c k p r o g r a m s . N o r w a s it o u r intention to r e d u c e the v i s i o n o f the o r i g i n a l f o u n d e r s o f the p r o g r a m , w h o h a d s e e n the w i s d o m o f p l a c i n g A f r i c a a s w e l l a s A f r o - A m e r i c a a n d the C a r i b b e a n in the K U c u r r i c u l u m . W e t h e r e f o r e s i g n a l l e d o u r intention, not o n l y to s t r e n g t h e n all three e l e m e n t s , but f o r m a l l y to r e c o g n i z e the triad in a new n a m e . A s it turned out, w e r e c e i v e d an e v e n s t r o n g e r s i g n a l f r o m the b o a r d o f r e g e n t s that w e w o u l d b e s p r e a d i n g o u r s e l v e s t o o thin. sapientibus

satis:

Verbum

we settled for A f r i c a n and A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n Studies as

n a m e a n d f o c u s . T h e C a r i b b e a n , i n c l u d e d in the p r o g r a m f r o m the o u t s e t , w a s not r e m o v e d or d i m i n i s h e d , but it w o u l d not c o m p e t e f o r r e s o u r c e s . T h e y o k i n g or s e p a r a t i o n o f the t w o c u r r i c u l a r a r e a s o f A f r i c a n

and

A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n c o n t i n u e s to b e d e b a t e d in m a n y c i r c l e s . I t h o u g h t I w o u l d e x p l a i n the v e r y p r a g m a t i c r e a s o n s w h y , in o u r c a s e , they c o m p r i s e

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an integral w h o l e . I s h o u l d a d d , h o w e v e r , that s e v e r a l o f o u r c o u r s e s enc o u r a g e an e x p l o r a t i o n o f l i n k a g e s a c r o s s the d i a s p o r a , w h i c h I h o p e is m o r e than m a k i n g a virtue o f n e c e s s i t y . W e a l s o t o o k s t e p s to r e c o n s t i t u t e o u r g o v e r n a n c e to r e f l e c t this c l e a r d u a l i t y . In k e e p i n g with o u r s t a t u s a s a d e p a r t m e n t , the a d v i s o r y b o a r d w a s e n c o u r a g e d to a d v i s e rather than run the p r o g r a m . T h i s is not likely to b e an o p t i o n g e n e r a l l y a v a i l a b l e to n a s c e n t p r o g r a m s , in w h i c h c a s e c a r e s h o u l d b e t a k e n to b u i l d the kind o f r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n the c o o r d i n a t i n g c o m m i t t e e a n d the i n d i v i d u a l c h a r g e d with its l e a d e r s h i p that w o u l d p e r mit the latter a m p l e s p a c e f o r initiative. T h e r e is no a d e q u a t e s u b s t i t u t e f o r the v i s i o n a n d e n e r g y that an i n d i v i d u a l c a n p r o v i d e , a n d the n u r s i n g o f f r a g i l e r e l a t i o n s h i p s r e q u i r e s a p e r s e v e r a n c e that is m o r e l i k e l y to c o m e f r o m a c r e a t i v e a n d c o m m i t t e d i n d i v i d u a l than f r o m c o m m i t t e e m e e t i n g s . Further, w e r e c o n s t i t u t e d o u r a d v i s o r y b o a r d s o that it r e s t e d on t w o " s u b j e c t c o m m i t t e e s " — A f r i c a n a n d A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n , with the c r i t e r i a f o r m e m b e r s h i p b e i n g d e t e r m i n e d a c c o r d i n g l y a n d the b o a r d h a v i n g the o p t i o n o f m e e t i n g a s a w h o l e or in its s e p a r a t e c o m m i t t e e s , a s the n e e d s o f the moment dictate. T h i s r e s t r u c t u r i n g of g o v e r n a n c e m i r r o r e d the a l t e r a t i o n s in the m a j o r itself. B e c a u s e w e w e r e loth to p r o c l a i m a m a j o r that w e c o u l d not m a k e f u n c t i o n a l l y a v a i l a b l e , w e i n t r o d u c e d o u r c h a n g e s in t w o s t a g e s , t i m i n g e a c h s t a g e by the p r o g r e s s w e m a d e in p u t t i n g into p l a c e t h o s e f a c u l t y res o u r c e s n e e d e d f o r w h a t w e h a d in m i n d . T h e f i n a l p r o d u c t p r o v i d e s f o r d i s c r e t e c o n c e n t r a t i o n s in A f r i c a n and

A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n , w i t h an a d e -

q u a t e n u m b e r o f c o u r s e s , i n c r e a s i n g in r a n g e a n d v a r i e t y e v e r y y e a r , to m a k e s u c h a c h o i c e both p o s s i b l e a n d r i c h . 6 In a d d i t i o n , s e v e r a l c o u r s e s w e r e m a d e m o r e r i g o r o u s , a n d c o l l e a g u e s w e r e e n c o u r a g e d to e n f o r c e that rigor in both i n s t r u c t i o n a n d e x a m i n a t i o n . W e a l s o r e w r o t e o u r m i s s i o n s t a t e m e n t to m a k e it a b u n d a n t l y c l e a r that o u r p r o g r a m h a d an e s s e n t i a l a n d integral p l a c e in the institution. O u r m i s s i o n s t a t e m e n t r e s t e d on the p r e m i s e , f o r e s h a d o w e d b a c k in 1 9 7 0 in the p h i l o s o p h y o f the p r o g r a m ' s f o u n d i n g p a r e n t s , that a c o m p r e h e n s i v e univ e r s i t y s u c h a s the U n i v e r s i t y o f K a n s a s h a s an o b l i g a t i o n to u n d e r t a k e the s t u d y o f the n a t i o n ' s l a r g e s t a n d s e c o n d - o l d e s t m i n o r i t y , that that s t u d y w a s not the b u s i n e s s o n l y o f m e m b e r s o f that m i n o r i t y , a n d that it c o u l d not b e s a t i s f a c t o r i l y c o n d u c t e d w i t h o u t a m p l e k n o w l e d g e o f that m i n o r i t y ' s o r i g i n s . F u r t h e r , a s a f l a g s h i p institution in a part o f the c o u n t r y that f e e d s the w o r l d , K U o w e d it to its s t u d e n t s a n d to the r e g i o n to i n c l u d e A f r i c a in the c u r r i c u l u m . F i n a l l y , the m i s s i o n s t a t e m e n t i m p l i e d that g r a d u a t e s o f this u n i v e r s i t y , w h e t h e r c i t i z e n s o f K a n s a s or not, s h o u l d not b e d e n i e d the o p p o r t u n i t y to c o m p e t e f o r c e r t a i n j o b s in the d i p l o m a t i c , int e r n a t i o n a l , a n d r e l a t e d f i e l d s by v i r t u e o f a n y f a i l u r e on the u n i v e r s i t y ' s part to m a k e its c u r r i c u l u m m o r e i n c l u s i v e . I c o n s i d e r e d this to b e a b a s i c , i r r e f u t a b l e p o s i t i o n , a n d s e i z e d e v e r y o p p o r t u n i t y to e x p o u n d it. It b e c a m e

306

EVOLUTION OF AFRICAN STUDIES PROGRAMS

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p r o v i n c i a l i s m , " w e r e a f f i r m e d that w e w o u l d not p e r m i t , or w o r s e yet b e o u r s e l v e s r e s p o n s i b l e for, the g h e t t o i z a t i o n of o u r p r o g r a m , for that w a y lies extinction. I i m a g i n e that, e v e n as o n e f e e l s the l o n e l i n e s s of the l o n g - d i s t a n c e r u n n e r , o n e c o n t i n u e s t o e x p e n d e n e r g y in a n t i c i p a t i o n of t h a t t i m e w h e n t h e s t a d i u m s w i m s i n t o v i e w , w h e n t h e s e v e r a l p i e c e s of t h e p u z z l e b e g i n t o c o m e t o g e t h e r . M o r e o v e r , u n l i k e t h e l o n g - d i s t a n c e r u n n e r , o n e is n o t l i k e l y t o b e at o n e ' s l o n e l i e s t as t h e f i n i s h line a p p r o a c h e s . T h i s is p a r t i c u l a r l y s o b e c a u s e , in a d d i t i o n t o all t h e s t r a t e g i z i n g , t h e b u i l d i n g of c o a l i t i o n s , a n d s o o n , y o u a r e , a b o v e all e l s e , s t r i v i n g t o be a p r o g r a m . Y o u d e velop and teach courses with whatever resources are available; you put y o u r s t u d e n t s f i r s t , w h e t h e r o r n o t y o u h a v e a m a j o r ( a n d m o s t c e r t a i n l y if you do); you sponsor c o n f e r e n c e s and s e m i n a r s and w o r k s h o p s ; you bring in F u l b r i g h t e r s ( a n d e n c o u r a g e y o u r c o l l e a g u e s t o u s e that p r o g r a m t o g o t o A f r i c a ) ; y o u try t o g e t t h e u n i v e r s i t y t o a c c o m m o d a t e t h e o d d A f r i c a n s c h o l a r o n s a b b a t i c a l ; y o u e n g a g e in o u t r e a c h ; y o u d o t h e s e a n d o t h e r things that m a k e Africa real and relevant to the c a m p u s and the larger c o m m u n i t y . In s h o r t , if y o u c a n n o t b e a p r o g r a m , y o u try t o b e o n e , if in all b u t n a m e . T h i s l e v e l o f a c t i v i t y , p e r h a p s a i d e d b y s m a l l g r a n t s , w i l l h a v e p l a c e d y o u , a s it p l a c e d u s , in an e x c e l l e n t p o s i t i o n to a p p l y f o r medium-size and large grants. F o r u s , a n u m b e r o f t h i n g s b e g a n to f a l l i n t o p l a c e in t h e late 1 9 8 0 s . I n c i d e n t s a n d g r i e v a n c e s o n c a m p u s s p a r k e d a g r e a t e r e n g a g e m e n t w i t h iss u e s a f f e c t i n g m i n o r i t i e s , a n d that at a t i m e of g r o w i n g c o n c e r n a c r o s s t h e n a t i o n . A t that t i m e , t o o , t h e n a t i o n ' s e d u c a t o r s b e g a n to i n c r e a s e t h e i r int e r e s t in t h e g l o b a l i z a t i o n of t h e c u r r i c u l u m — a n d t h e s e a r e t w o i s s u e s t h a t f e e d one a n o t h e r . KU w a s f o r t u n a t e to h a v e a c o h o r t of

administrators

c o m m i t t e d to t h e s e o b j e c t i v e s , o r at l e a s t r e s p o n s i v e to t h e c o n c e r n . T h e college had also recruited a new dean, w h o s e credentials included these visions and a verifiable track record. A f e w d e p a r t m e n t s began shortlisting minorities, and soon enough began hiring some. Both Africa and AfroA m e r i c a t h u s b e g a n to b e p r o v i d e d f o r in a f e w k e y d e p a r t m e n t s in t h e c o l l e g e , o r t o b e b e t t e r p r o v i d e d f o r . In s u m , t h e c l i m a t e w a s d i s t i n c t l y d i f f e r e n t , a n d it is c o n c e i v a b l e that o u r l o n g y e a r s o f a d v o c a c y o n b e h a l f o f both the A f r i c a n a n d A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n c u r r i c u l a c o n t r i b u t e d a little to this. By far m o r e important, h o w e v e r , w a s the fact that this climate facilitated the c o n s u l t a t i o n s a n d negotiations that w e r e necessary for the p r e p a r a t i o n o f o u r g r a n t a p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e T i t l e VI U n d e r g r a d u a t e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Studies & Foreign Languages Program. E n t i t l e d " T o w a r d a F u n c t i o n a l B a l a n c e of A f r i c a n S t u d i e s , " o u r p r o p o s a l s o u g h t f u n d s t o e n a b l e u s t o f i l l c r u c i a l g a p s in t h e

traditional

A f r i c a n core so that w e might o f f e r s t u d e n t s a m o r e b a l a n c e d and m o r e

ARTHUR D. DRAYTON

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f u n c t i o n a l c u r r i c u l u m in the A f r i c a n concentration of the m a j o r . Fourteen new o r r e v i s e d c o u r s e s w e r e a n t i c i p a t e d , i n c l u d i n g the introduction of Hausa, A f r i c a n art h i s t o r y , A f r i c a n theater, and A f r i c a n g e o g r a p h y . 7 T w o new f u l l - t i m e f a c u l t y w e r e to be a d d e d to the d e p a r t m e n t and one parttime. T h r e e other departments had to be i n v o l v e d in hosting s o m e of these c o u r s e s , and others c o u l d be direct b e n e f i c i a r i e s . M o r e o v e r , s i n c e it w o u l d be pointless to d i v e r s i f y the c u r r i c u l u m in this w a y if it w e r e all to c o m e to an e n d upon e x p i r a t i o n of the grant, a c o m m i t m e n t had to be s e c u r e d to p r e s e r v e at least the t w o f u l l - t i m e p o s i t i o n s as tenure-track lines and to continue o f f e r i n g e v e r y t h i n g e l s e m a d e p o s s i b l e by the grant. C o n s u l t a t i o n t h e r e f o r e had to be undertaken with c h a i r s , the d e a n , and i n d i v i d u a l c o l l e a g u e s . T h e n e w c l i m a t e h e l p e d t r e m e n d o u s l y , as did the n e w l e v e l of c o m m i t m e n t in the c o l l e g e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d a c a d e m i c a f f a i r s . B u t the bona f i d e s of the department w a s a crucial element: the quality of the f l o u r on the w a l l told in the p u d d i n g . A m o n g other things, consultations w e r e d e s i g n e d not only to s e c u r e an e n d u r i n g c o m m i t m e n t in the d e p a r t m e n t s and the c o l l e g e o f f i c e , but to g e n e r a t e a s y n e r g y that w o u l d s e c u r e A f r i c a n studies both in our department and others. A n d that is precisely what has happened. S p a c e c o n t i n u e s to be m a d e f o r A f r i c a n i s t s in the departments, the level of c o o p e r a t i o n between o u r department and others has risen d r a m a t i c a l l y , and A f r i c a n c o n tent is b e g i n n i n g to be integrated into e x i s t i n g c o u r s e s and d e p a r t m e n t s w h e r e it w a s d i f f i c u l t to obtain this b e f o r e . T h e grant h a v i n g e x p i r e d , not only h a v e the t w o f u l l - t i m e p o s i t i o n s been c o n v e r t e d into t e n u r e - t r a c k lines, but the o f f e r i n g s in A f r i c a n art history by our part-time instructor h a v e b e e n a u g m e n t e d , and s e v e r a l a d d i t i o n a l c o u r s e s h a v e been c r e a t e d through the new a c c e s s of strength in our department and others. T h e D e partment of G e o g r a p h y is c o l l a b o r a t i n g with us in f i n d i n g w a y s to increase both g r a d u a t e study and instruction in A f r i c a n g e o g r a p h y . R e s p o n s e to an initiative by the dean of International S t u d i e s to stimulate the d e v e l o p m e n t of c o u r s e s f o r the international curriculum has begun to produce results f o r A f r i c a n studies. L o n g c o n t e m p l a t e d , the c a t e g o r y of courtesy p r o f e s s o r s in A f r i c a n and A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n studies has n o w b e e n instituted, and already o n e of these c o l l e a g u e s has s u c c u m b e d to the lure of a s a b b a t i c a l in A f r i c a . Perhaps most important of all has been the lift that these d e v e l o p ments h a v e g i v e n to o u r students. A l r e a d y , there has been a n e w q u a l i t y to the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n the students and the p r o g r a m ; and w h i l e it m a y be yet t o o soon to s e e (or e v e n to e x p e c t ) a s u r g e in enrollments as a direct result o f the grant, there is no d e n y i n g the i m p r o v e m e n t in the quality of students w h o are n o w attracted to the p r o g r a m . O n e can, of c o u r s e , b e a victim of o n e ' s s u c c e s s , and in a c a d e m i a there are t w o intractable a r e a s in w h i c h this a f f l i c t i o n is g u a r a n t e e d to s t r i k e . I refer to s p a c e and s t a f f i n g , w h i c h never k e e p p a c e with other, s u p p o s e d l y more d i f f i c u l t , a d v a n c e s . R i s i n g programs need to k e e p this p h e n o m e n o n in

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m i n d — a n d t o h o p e . T h e r e c a n b e n o q u e s t i o n , h o w e v e r , that A f r i c a n s t u d i e s at K U h a s a r r i v e d at a p l a t e a u f r o m w h e r e w e c a n c o n f i d e n t l y e n v i s a g e a l e a d i n g r o l e in b u i l d i n g t h e d i s c i p l i n e in t h e r e g i o n . O u r p r e s e n t p l a n s are p r e d i c a t e d o n t h i s . I n t e r n a l l y , w e s e e k t o m o v e t h e p r o g r a m t o a n e n h a n c e d c a p a b i l i t y in d e v e l o p m e n t a l i s s u e s a n d p r o b l e m s in c o n t e m p o r a r y A f r i c a . F a c u l t y a n d c u r r i c u l u m d e v e l o p m e n t is a c e n t r a l c o m p o n e n t in t h i s u n d e r t a k i n g , a s are t h e e x c h a n g e o f s c h o l a r s w i t h A f r i c a n i n s t i t u t i o n s , a K U p r e s e n c e in A f r i c a , a n d f i e l d w o r k a n d o t h e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o b u t t r e s s t h i s d e v e l o p m e n t w i t h p r i m e s c h o l a r s h i p . T h e o u t c o m e w e h o p e for is a further transformation o f our curriculum, the i n f u s i o n o f i n - s e r v i c e teacher training with a m o r e i m m e d i a t e l y e n g a g i n g a p p r o a c h to A f r i c a , and generally the ability to better s e r v e the r e g i o n and b e y o n d .

NOTES 1. T h i s chapter is my personal interpretation o f the KU e x p e r i e n c e over the past d o z e n years. It d o e s not represent the v i e w s of either my department or my institution. 2. It is important, h o w e v e r , not to buy into the proposition that an A f r i c a n American environment, or e v e n an A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n student population, is a prerequisite for an African studies program. 3. The largest and fairly substantial concentrations of A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s are to be found in metropolitan Kansas City, a h a l f - h o u r ' s drive to the east o f Lawrence, and in Wichita, s o m e two and a half hours to the southwest. A small but discernible concentration is also to be found in the capital, Topeka, a half-hour to the w e s t of Lawrence. H o w e v e r , it appears that neither of the nearby black populations (Kansas City and T o p e k a ) has exerted any pressure on KU politically or in terms of student numbers. 4. From University of Kansas, 1971-1973 University of Kansas Bulletin: Liberal Arts and Sciences B 2 0 . W e are probably j u s t i f i e d in c o n c l u d i n g that the fact that many of these programs are still struggling for a c c e p t a n c e is an indication that academia has, on the w h o l e , failed to rise to that c h a l l e n g e . 5. T h e major in A f r i c a n (read B l a c k ) s t u d i e s at first required t w o approved courses in each of African, A f r o - A m e r i c a n , and Afro-Caribbean areas, a practicum ( f i e l d w o r k ) , and three e l e c t i v e s for a total of thirty credit hours. Students were enc o u r a g e d to c h o o s e their e l e c t i v e s w i t h an e y e to a field of concentration. T h e m a i n s t a y s of the program o v e r the first ten years (i.e., c o u r s e s o f f e r e d on a very regular basis, s o m e t i m e s every semester) w e r e , in d e s c e n d i n g order of frequency: "Introduction to African [read B l a c k ] Studies," "African History," "Introduction to Jazz," and "Intercultural C o m m u n i c a t i o n : the A f r o - A m e r i c a n . " C l o s e behind these were c o u r s e s o f f e r e d b e t w e e n six and eight t i m e s o v e r this early period. T h e s e were, in d e s c e n d i n g order of frequency: "The Rhetoric of Black Americans," "The P s y c h o l o g y of W o m e n " (later, "The Black W o m a n " ) , "Black Nationalism," "Peoples of Africa," "Black Theater," "Southern African History," and "Introduction to African Art." A l s o taught, at least five times, were "African Music," "African Literature," and " A f r i c a n and Western C o s m o l o g i e s . " S e v e r a l other c o u r s e s were taught o n c e o n l y , or at best a f e w times. There w a s , o f course, the practicum requirement that w a s made available every year.

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6. At least t w e n t y - s e v e n h o u r s are required for the m a j o r , c o n s i s t i n g of six hours of f r e s h m a n / s o p h o m o r e preparation, twelve hours of core courses, and nine elective hours. Only two c o u r s e s are c o m m o n to both concentrations, " P e o p l e s of A f r i c a " and " A f r i c a n T r a d i t i o n a l R e l i g i o n & T h o u g h t . " O n e u p p e r - l e v e l c o u r s e must deal with the black e x p e r i e n c e outside the g e o g r a p h i c a l area of the c o n c e n tration. T h r e e l a n g u a g e s are available, and m a j o r s are e x p e c t e d to satisfy their language r e q u i r e m e n t through o n e of t h e m : Hausa, Kiswahili, and Haitian. T h r e e additional hours in an h o n o r s c o u r s e plus grade point a v e r a g e criteria are necessary to g r a d u a t e with honors in the m a j o r . Opportunities exist for both fieldwork and ind e p e n d e n t r e s e a r c h , and one of these upper-level o p t i o n s must be included in the major. 7. T h e s e c o u r s e s w e r e : • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Elementary H a u s a I Elementary H a u s a II Intermediate Hausa I Intermediate Hausa II A f r i c a n Traditional Religion & T h o u g h t (revised) C o m p a r a t i v e Studies of Religions in A f r i c a T h e Missionary Impact on A f r i c a African Theater & Drama R e a d i n g s in C o m p a r a t i v e Black D r a m a A f r i c a n Art History Introduction to the G e o g r a p h y of A f r i c a T h e G e o g r a p h y of [an A f r i c a n country or r e g i o n ] Another A f r i c a n language or language-related course in culture, history, or linguistics E c o n o m i c D e v e l o p m e n t of A f r i c a n C o u n t r i e s (revised)

22 The Association of African Studies Programs Tufanye

Kazi Pamoja:

Thomas A. Hale

When I ask an Africanist if his or her institution is a member of the Association of African Studies Programs (AASP), the response sometimes comes in the form of a question: What is the difference between the AASP and the African Studies Association? Most Africanists in this country and many of their foreign counterparts are familiar with the African Studies Association (ASA), an organization of approximately 2,500 members that holds the largest annual meeting of its kind in the world. The ASA is an important forum for scholarly exchange. For the isolated Africanist at a small undergraduate institution it serves as a lifeline to colleagues with common interests. But the winds of change in academia today have enabled many of these same scholars to assume a more prominent role in both the general studies curriculum as well as in programs offering majors and minors. Many institutions are now launching small African or Africana studies programs, and some of those that have already embarked on this path are now seeking to build larger units. A recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education revealed that Dartmouth College, an Ivy League institution best known for housing a highly vocal band of conservative students, is now increasing its investment in African and African-American studies. And at Penn State, our Black Studies Program has just become the Department of African and African-American Studies. There are, however, problems. Not all of our colleagues in other fields are happy to see these new interdisciplinary units appear on the academic scene; and there is no guidebook on how program directors should go about establishing and operating them. By contrast, heads of English and foreign-language departments find continuing guidance in the Association of Departments of English (ADE), or the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (ADFL). We do, of course, have large-scale models to follow in the National Resource Centers in African Area Studies, funded by the Title VI Program 311

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at the Department of Education. Their significance stems f r o m a broad involvement in the field that includes support for faculty research and graduate study as well as undergraduate African studies instruction. They also provide a variety of outreach assistance both to secondary schools as well as to other institutions. But it is unlikely that many second- or third-tier research universities or even small liberal arts institutions can e m u l a t e the National R e s o u r c e Center m o d e l . It w o u l d require an investment of b e t w e e n $ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 and $1,000,000 in new positions just to prepare a proposal that m i g h t have a c h a n c e against M i c h i g a n State, U C L A , Indiana, and the other f e d e r a l l y f u n d e d centers. If the difference in scale and resources between the large African studies centers and the small p r o g r a m s or c o m m i t t e e s at liberal arts c o l l e g e s will always remain vast, the goals of Africanists at all of these institutions remain f u n d a m e n t a l l y the s a m e : to build a strong f o u n d a t i o n in A f r i c a n studies at the undergraduate level. For the past two decades, the Association of A f r i c a n Studies P r o g r a m s has a t t e m p t e d to support that goal by bringing together representatives of both large and small A f r i c a n studies units for t w o meetings per year. One of these meetings is a short, m o r n i n g session at the African Studies Association annual gathering in the fall; the other is an intensive, twoday marathon in W a s h i n g t o n , D.C., in the spring. T h e A A S P ' s goal is to promote African studies at all levels. W e work toward this goal in several w a y s . T h e most useful m e a n s is simply to e x c h a n g e information informally and in special s e s s i o n s at our m e e t i n g s . But w e also represent to other groups our collective v i e w s on issues affecting African s t u d i e s ' support in this country; and the A A S P c o o r d i n a t e s activities that strengthen African studies. For m a n y , a most v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n - e x c h a n g e event is w h e n w e meet in Washington, each year, with representatives of agencies interested in Africa. Most of these agencies, a m o n g them the USIA, the Ford Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council, f u n d activities in A f r i c a . T h e f o c u s of their presentations, each limited to one hour, is on both the current status of c o n t i n u i n g support p r o g r a m s for A f r i c a n studies and information on new ones. Other agencies involved are the State Department, the Congress, and the World B a n k . At these meetings, m e m b e r s can interact with administrators and policymakers. W e want to hear what they have to say, especially about f u n d i n g , and they want our views as administrators and scholars. In most cases the sessions are sympathetic; occasionally they have b e c o m e slightly adversarial. At all times, both parties have benefited. For the chairman of a small, ongoing African studies committee, such as the one we have had for years at Penn State, these meetings help to keep things in perspective. I acquire a clearer sense of where the support money

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is, what kind of investment, s m a l l or large, is n e e d e d by my institution to m a k e a c o m p e t i t i v e p r o p o s a l , a n d h o w to plan m y s t r a t e g y f o r b u i l d i n g . For e x a m p l e , o n e of my g o a l s is to o b t a i n a T i t l e VI u n d e r g r a d u a t e p r o g r a m - s t r e n g t h e n i n g grant f o r A f r i c a n area s t u d i e s at P e n n State. At the m e e t i n g in W a s h i n g t o n I h a v e heard p r e s e n t a t i o n s by the p r o g r a m o f f i c e r s f r o m the D e p a r t m e n t of E d u c a t i o n ; I h a v e r e a d p r o p o s a l s , to learn h o w others h a v e s u c c e e d e d ; and I a m n o w in the p r o c e s s of b u i l d i n g the k i n d s of b a s i c p r o g r a m s , a n d l o b b y i n g f o r the k i n d s of p o s i t i o n s , that w e will need at P e n n S t a t e to c o m p e t e f o r a grant. N e w c o m e r s to the A A S P h a v e d e s c r i b e d the e n c o u n t e r with these div e r s e a g e n c i e s as a p o w e r f u l e y e - o p e n e r . A g o o d e x a m p l e of w h a t c a n c o m e out of an A A S P m e e t i n g is the c a s e of G e o r g i a S o u t h e r n U n i v e r s i t y . G S U ' s F r a n ç o i s M a n c h u e l l e l e a r n e d at an A A S P m e e t i n g a b o u t the T i t l e VI U n d e r g r a d u a t e L a n g u a g e a n d A r e a S t u d i e s g r a n t p r o g r a m , s e c u r e d institutional s u p p o r t , and s u b m i t t e d a s u c c e s s f u l a p p l i c a t i o n . T h e A A S P has other f u n c t i o n s . A A S P is the c o o r d i n a t i n g b o d y f o r its larger m e m b e r s w h e n they s u b m i t p r o p o s a l s f o r s u m m e r - i n t e n s i v e lang u a g e p r o g r a m s in A f r i c a to the G r o u p P r o j e c t s A b r o a d p r o g r a m at the D e p a r t m e n t of E d u c a t i o n . For y e a r s , the d e p a r t m e n t h a s b e e n u n w i l l i n g to f u n d m o r e t h a n t w o p r o p o s a l s per y e a r in A f r i c a n l a n g u a g e s . W e h a v e m a n y m e m b e r - i n s t i t u t i o n s w h o c o u l d s u b m i t such p r o p o s a l s . W e try, t h e r e f o r e , to c o o r d i n a t e the s u b m i s s i o n s so that they d o not c o m p e t e with e a c h o t h e r . T h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s o has a v o i c e in n a t i o n a l d i s c u s s i o n s on area and l a n g u a g e studies. In April 1993, the A A S P took a s t r o n g position on the need for c h a n g e s in the National S e c u r i t y E d u c a t i o n A c t (the B o r e n Bill) u r g i n g legislation to d i s t a n c e f u n d e d p r o g r a m s f r o m the D e f e n s e D e p a r t m e n t a n d o p e n the s e l e c t i o n p r o c e d u r e s to a c a d e m i c p e e r r e v i e w . Other area s t u d i e s o r g a n i z a t i o n s praised A A S P f o r its p r i n c i p l e d a p p r o a c h and f o l l o w e d suit. N o w i m p l e m e n t e d as the N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y E d u c a t i o n P r o g r a m ( N S E P ) , this legislation has the potential to m a k e a m a j o r i m p a c t on a r e a s t u d i e s e d u c a t i o n . In D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 3 , the A A S P r e a f f i r m e d its stance a g a i n s t the N S E P in its c u r r e n t f o r m . T h e A A S P serves as a s o u n d i n g board for g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s as they s h a p e new p r o g r a m s . In 1991, for e x a m p l e , U S I A o f f i c i a l s , p r e p a r i n g new e x c h a n g e p r o g r a m s to r e s p o n d to the w a v e of d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n in A f r i c a , met with A A S P m e m b e r s in W a s h i n g t o n for an i n f o r m a l , g i v e - a n d - t a k e discussion. O u t of this, and their consultation with others, has c o m e a series of i n n o v a t i v e initiatives to s u p p o r t the p r o c e s s of d e m o c r a c y in A f r i c a . T h e A A S P h a s a l s o met with t h o s e w h o i m p l e m e n t or i n f l u e n c e U . S . f o r e i g n policy in A f r i c a to talk a b o u t national g o a l s f o r the c o n t i n e n t . For m a n y y e a r s w e h a v e s p o n s o r e d a l u n c h e o n w i t h the c h a i r m a n of the H o u s e Foreign A f f a i r s S u b c o m i t t e e on A f r i c a . W e also meet with the assistant s e c r e tary of state for A f r i c a a n d / o r o n e of the d e p u t y assistant s e c r e t a r i e s .

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I should add that as we seek a higher profile for Africa in our society, the A A S P and its sister organizations are dwarfed by the far greater financial resources of those who support other area studies groups—for example, Asian studies scholars. The opportunities we do have to engage in discussion with those involved in foreign policy decisions help to attune us more effectively to current issues. They also contribute, I think, to making us more effective in our own efforts at diplomacy in our home institutions. For many of us, the most recalcitrant, narrow-minded people we must deal with are not our students and not even university administrators, but colleagues who cannot understand why the institution should offer a three-course sequence in Swahili, or why the retiring African history professor should be replaced. Most of us have faced these problems, and we have devised individual solutions to them based on the cultural dynamics of our own institutions. But by working more closely together, we can advance more effectively the cause of African studies for undergraduates. A A S P is not able to provide the kind of one-stop, one-call services that are needed for program directors in African studies today. We remain far from that goal. We are a small organization (approximately sixty members) with extremely limited resources. We serve more as a facilitator than initiator of change. What is needed in the near future is better communication. The A A S P distributes minutes of its annual meeting, but they are a mere record of what happened. The chairperson responds to phone calls, letters, and even electronic mail when he figures out the software. In the next five years, 1 hope to see day-to-day exchange of information by electronic bulletin board, founded on existing networks, the Title VI centers, the A S A , and the A A S P membership. This would enable every Africanist and program director to obtain current information on visiting scholars, performers, programs, course design, funding, access to archives, and, perhaps most importantly, a means of contacting colleagues in Africa. We have seen promising steps in this direction: the efforts of a computer group that meets regularly at the African Studies Association meetings as well as from the remarkable work of Patricia Kuntz at Wisconsin, who launched the Wisconsin Bulletin Board; and initiatives by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to improve contact with African colleagues. As a guide for the future, we might borrow a proverb from Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. A minor character named Nwakibie reminds Okonkwo about Eneke the bird, who says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching. To survive and prosper in the face of the budget cutters, and the increased competition from other area studies units, we must find strength in unity and better communication. We know how to perch each year for our

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palaver, but unless we learn to c o m m u n i c a t e on the fly twenty-four hours a day, we may find it more difficult to respond in a timely and aggressive manner to those whose image of Africa lives on in the form of Tarzan. A s they say in Swahili, tufanye kazi pamoja—let us work together.

PART FIVE CONCLUSION

23 Concluding Remarks David Lloyd & Ahmed I. Samatar

If the c o n c e r n s o f the s c h o l a r s in this v o l u m e e c h o s o m e o f the s e n t i m e n t s o f the A f r i c a n i s t c o m m u n i t y in the U n i t e d S t a t e s and a b r o a d , the nature and d i r e c t i o n o f A f r i c a n studies are at a m a j o r c r o s s r o a d s . B o t h r e f l e c t i o n and d e b a t e need to b e pushed further, and the c h a p t e r s in this b o o k appear in that spirit. All o f them in v a r i o u s w a y s c o n f r o n t the q u e s t i o n , " W h i t h e r A f r i c a n s t u d i e s ? " T o distill t h e i r s a l i e n t i n s i g h t s , as well as w e a v e in an e d i t o r i a l p e r s p e c t i v e , is not e a s y . O n e s t r i v e s to d i s e n t a n g l e the i s s u e s most a p p r o p r i a t e f o r the study and t e a c h i n g o f A f r i c a n studies at the und e r g r a d u a t e level in r e l a t i o n to the f i e l d as a w h o l e . P e r h a p s this s h o u l d not b e u n e x p e c t e d , given r e c e n t s e i s m i c s h i f t s in a c a d e m i a and a world in the t h r o e s o f m a s s i v e c h a n g e . T o m a k e this a m a n a g e a b l e u n d e r t a k i n g , t h e s e c o n c l u d i n g r e m a r k s f o c u s on f i v e c o r e issues that e m e r g e from t h e s e e s s a y s : 1. T h e a m b i g u o u s i m a g e o f A f r i c a 2 . T h e recent e f f o r t s to i n t e r n a t i o n a l i z e undergraduate c u r r i c u l a 3. T h e growing debate about African studies 4 . T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n A f r i c a n and A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n studies 5 . T h e e f f o r t s to c o n s t r u c t c r o s s - c u l t u r a l e x p e r i e n c e s W e will then c l o s e with a f e w s u g g e s t i o n s f o r future d i r e c t i o n s .

THE IMAGE OF AFRICA A c e n t r a l c o n c e r n in this b o o k is the a m b i g u o u s i m a g e o f A f r i c a that perm e a t e s both popular c u l t u r e and the " o f f i c i a l m i n d " — a n d e v e n the f i e l d o f A f r i c a n studies. 1 On the o n e hand, A f r i c a is portrayed as a lost c o n t i n e n t , its p e o p l e s striving u n s u c c e s s f u l l y to stop a d o w n w a r d spiral that threatens the v e r y n e c e s s i t i e s o f l i f e and s o c i o p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e s — t h e

319

essential

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CONCLUSION

b u l w a r k s against c h a o s and conflict. T h e essays in this v o l u m e can only suggest the broad p a r a m e t e r s of this portrayal, p e r h a p s u n d e r s t a t i n g the current crises facing the continent. Most Africanists would agree that both the dislocation and marginalization involved in this image are far f r o m fully understood or appreciated. On the other hand, there is a contending image, perhaps as equally underresearched, of a vibrant, resilient Africa; a place where human populations have met formidable challenges successfully for millions of years. Africa is a continent with the deepest of human history, a rich cultural diversity, a youthful population, and large reservoirs of untapped natural resources. T h e continent's present plight, therefore, is not an accurate reflection of its past, nor a basis for projecting its future. There are, arguably, human and natural resources that will arrest, and ultimately reverse, the grim prognosis. How to assess and present these images remains one of the fundamental challenges confronting those studying and teaching African studies. Such a challenge constitutes one of the connecting threads in these chapters. H o w e v e r , the c o n t r i b u t o r s ' main task was to delineate the m a n i f o l d c o n f i g u r a t i o n s in the study and teaching of African studies in the undergraduate arena. T o contextualize this entails taking c o g n i z a n c e of recent developments in higher education in the United States.

INTERNATIONALIZING UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULA Institutions of higher learning across the United States are aspiring to bec o m e more international in their missions, program planning, faculty dev e l o p m e n t , student selection, and opportunities f o r student learning on c a m p u s and abroad. In many of them there has been an intensive effort, in particular, to reappraise and restructure their undergraduate curricula. 2 S o m e e d u c a t o r s feel that we lack a clear u n d e r s t a n d i n g of what has been happening. In the words of Sven Groennings, a f o r m e r director of the Fund for the I m p r o v e m e n t of Postsecondary Education, " L i k e the scientific revolution, internationalization is leading to a ubiquitous, pervasive and permanent redirection of the intellectual f r a m e w o r k . Yet, like the early scientific revolution, it is disorderly development, lacking clear definition, b o u n d a r i e s , and a g r e e m e n t . It is a many splendored c h a o s with m o m e n t u m . " 3 P e r h a p s the most o b v i o u s c o n s e n s u s f r o m these e s s a y s about this " m o m e n t u m with c h a o s " is that our visions and e f f o r t s must be better informed than they have been so far by an understanding of multiple forces both inside and outside the academy. It is not enough to f o c u s on our local institutional context; how successful w e will be in establishing and sustaining A f r i c a n studies will be ineluctably tied to how well we connect with these broader developments. 4

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A m o n g the m a n y f o r c e s s t i m u l a t i n g this recent e m p h a s i s on internationalism are the creation o f n u m e r o u s n e w states in the w a k e o f d e c o l o n i z a t i o n , w i t h the resultant i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l c o m p e t i t i o n , and the r a p i d l y g l o b a l i z i n g nature o f the international e c o n o m y , c r e a t i n g intense p r e s s u r e s f o r c o u n t r i e s to r e a s s e s s their o f t e n u n e q u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s . M a n y

more

v o i c e s and interests h a v e b e e n heard in the past f e w d e c a d e s as a g l o b a l c o m m u n i t y is f o r g e d — b u t not w i t h o u t t r e m e n d o u s pain and d i s c o r d . A f t e r W o r l d W a r II, there w e r e s e r i o u s e f f o r t s to d e v e l o p U . S . e x p e r t i s e to c o p e with the c h a l l e n g e s e m e r g i n g in this disparate, o f t e n discordant n e w w o r l d . T h e s e efforts were located almost e x c l u s i v e l y within graduate education. U n p r e c e d e n t e d u n i v e r s i t y , f e d e r a l , and p r i v a t e r e s o u r c e s w e r e directed tow a r d e s t a b l i s h i n g international p r o g r a m s at a h a n d f u l of U . S . u n i v e r s i t i e s . 5 T e n s o f thousands o f students e d u c a t e d there s u b s e q u e n t l y f o u n d p o s i t i o n s w i t h i n our c o l l e g e s and u n i v e r s i t i e s , g o v e r n m e n t , and n u m e r o u s areas o f the p r i v a t e s e c t o r . M a n y o f t h o s e g r a d u a t e s h a v e b e c o m e a c r i t i c a l f o r c e f o r c h a n g e at our u n d e r g r a d u a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y as they

have

h e l p e d to raise and then g r a p p l e w i t h the q u e s t i o n o f h o w most e f f e c t i v e l y to internationalize the c u r r i c u l a . W h a t has b e c o m e e v i d e n t t h r o u g h o u t all s e c t o r s of the U . S . e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m m o s t r e c e n t l y , h o w e v e r , is that international e d u c a t i o n has b e e n m o v i n g b e y o n d the production o f e x p e r t s — t o w a r d general e d u c a t i o n f o r g l o b a l c i t i z e n s h i p . 6

THE DEBATE ABOUT AFRICAN

STUDIES

T h e s t r u g g l e s u n f o l d i n g o n o u r c a m p u s e s a r o u n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l i z i n g the c u r r i c u l a i n v o l v e d e e p l y c o n t e n t i o u s issues, as e v i d e n c e d in s e v e r a l o f the c h a p t e r s in this v o l u m e . C e n t r a l a m o n g these are h o w k n o w l e d g e is c r e ated and transmitted; and w h o are the k e y p l a y e r s in that p r o c e s s . T h i s is i n t r i c a t e l y c o n n e c t e d to the g r o w i n g d e b a t e , at both g r a d u a t e and u n d e r g r a d u a t e l e v e l s , o v e r the rationale f o r A f r i c a n s t u d i e s , h o w best to d e v e l o p and teach A f r i c a n studies, and w h o s e v o i c e s are legitimate in these e f f o r t s . T h e initial r a t i o n a l e f o r area s t u d i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h i n m a j o r U . S . g r a d u a t e c e n t e r s , w a s c o n s t r u c t e d a l o n g t w o b r o a d lines. S o m e s a w these c e n t e r s as part o f a s t r a t e g y to train the e x p e r t s n e e d e d to m a i n t a i n U . S . g l o b a l h e g e m o n y in the p o s t - W o r l d W a r II era. For others, they w e r e env i r o n m e n t s for c r e a t i v e e x p l o r a t i o n o f other c u l t u r e s — p a r t o f a s e r i o u s e f fort to understand those c u l t u r e s o n their o w n terms and as m u c h as possib l e through their o w n v o i c e s . M a n y e d u c a t o r s in this latter a p p r o a c h s a w their primary r e s p o n s i b i l i t y as m e d i a t o r s , as cultural interpreters and b r o k e r s , w h o m a d e the c a s e that U . S . and A f r i c a n interests w e r e not n e c e s s a r i l y c o n g r u o u s or c o n v e r g e n t . T h e p o s s i b i l i t y that " w e " c o u l d learn a n y t h i n g f r o m " t h e m " that c o u l d h e l p to i m p r o v e W e s t e r n s o c i e t i e s s e e m s to h a v e been s c a r c e l y p e r c e i v e d in either a p p r o a c h .

322

CONCLUSION

While these two approaches have characterized much of the study and teaching in African studies over the past few decades, the possibility of understanding the other as a means to our own improvement is forcefully vying at present for serious consideration. At the same time, a new crisis obtrudes into the conception of area studies, provoking an intense debate over the very survival of African studies. In the view of some scholars, U.S. "triumphalism," underpinned by a revived modernization theory in conjunction with competing claims on diminishing resources, threatens to marginalize or even destroy African studies, a perception aptly presented by Joel Samoff in Chapter 2. As Africa and Africans become marginalized in contemporary geostrategic configurations and U.S. policy interests, why should the fate of African studies be any different? Also threatening African studies is the contention of other scholars that even the cultural brokerage approach to African studies has not been very effective in promoting understanding of a world that, though it be increasingly integrated, yet remains largely estranged culturally, economically, and politically. In brief, these scholars assert there is the need for a radically new role for African studies. This role has not yet been clearly defined, but recent debates have begun to suggest some new directions. A particularly contentious point is the call to move toward the attenuation, if not abandonment, of disciplinary scholarship. Some scholars, such as William Martin in Chapter 3 of this book, argue the necessity of a "unidisciplinary stream of scholarship" focused on broad processes of intercultural penetration. Others still see a critical role for a more focused area-studies approach that systematically studies Africa, albeit along more interdisciplinary lines in which African scholars and perspectives play a much larger part. At the heart of the matter is the relationship between disciplinary and interdisciplinary scholarship. Academic disciplines have been the bedrock of our institutional structures and the means through which most of the status, rewards, and achievements of faculty are recognized. Are recent interdisciplinary developments perceived as deviations from the "real" intellectual and professional responsibilities of faculty? Some faculty will agree that students need interdisciplinary approaches and multiple perspectives to understand world problems; but they think undergraduates need to gain that insight through the rigor and conceptual tools located within the established disciplines. These faculty contend that disciplines alone are able to provide the depth of knowledge, theoretical understanding, modes of analysis, and substantive building blocks for interdisciplinarity. How much is this a valid prescription for moving toward interdisciplinarity? And how much is it a rationale to safeguard the existing structures? This is one of the most contentious current issues. Most contributors to this volume affirm the continuing centrality of disciplines in African studies at the undergraduate level. But they also

323

LLOYD & S A M A T A R

d e m o n s t r a t e that t h e r e h a v e b e e n n u m e r o u s e f f o r t s to c r o s s d i s c i p l i n a r y l i n e s a n d i n n o v a t e n e w i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s . In s o m e c a s e s , f a c u l t y , a l though a t t a c h e d to d i s c i p l i n a r y d e p a r t m e n t s , are g i v e n c o n s i d e r a b l e latit u d e to i n t e r a c t w i t h o t h e r i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y f o c u s e d f a c u l t y , w i t h m a n d a t e s to i n n o v a t e n e w s t r u c t u r e s s u c h a s a r e a s t u d i e s , i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y

minors,

a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l m a j o r s o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n . In o t h e r i n s t a n c e s , the thrust is t o w a r d d i f f u s i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l

m a t e r i a l a c r o s s the

major

curriculum

t h r o u g h r e t r a i n i n g e x i s t i n g f a c u l t y a n d s t i m u l a t i n g m o r e t e a m - t e a c h i n g to e n a b l e t h e m to i n c o r p o r a t e m o r e n o n - W e s t e r n m a t e r i a l s i n t o t h e i r c o u r s e s . In the b e s t o f c a s e s , a r e a s t u d i e s r e m a i n v i a b l e s o u r c e s o f e x p e r t i s e to f a c i l i t a t e t h e s e p r o c e s s e s ; at w o r s t , they a r e p e r c e i v e d a s r e d u n d a n t a n d unnecessarily c o m p e t i t i v e f o r s c a r c e institutional r e s o u r c e s . D e s p i t e m a n y s u c h e f f o r t s to c r o s s d i s c i p l i n a r y l i n e s , h o w e v e r , a r e a studies faculty, particularly within A f r i c a n , A s i a n , Latin A m e r i c a n , and C a r i b b e a n a r e a s , h a v e not b e e n a b l e to b u i l d m a n y

cross-communicating

linkages. T h e s e specialists f a c e serious risks of "ghettoization." T h e critic a l c h a l l e n g e is h o w to g a i n a c c e p t a n c e o f t h e s e e f f o r t s a s i n t e g r a l t o the i n t e r e s t s o f the d e p a r t m e n t a n d d i s c i p l i n e a s w e l l a s to b u i l d w i d e r u n i v e r s i t y l i n k a g e s . S o m e h e l p o n h o w t o d o t h i s h a s b e g u n to a p p e a r , m o s t l y d r a w n f r o m p e r s o n a l a n d i n s t i t u t i o n a l l y b a s e d e x p e r i e n c e s , w i t h i n the p a s t f e w y e a r s . 7 N e v e r t h e l e s s , h o w to c o n s t r u c t a n d i n s t i t u t e t h e s e " u n i d i s c i p l i nary"

or

"interdisciplinary"

approaches

within

the a c a d e m y

remains

v a g u e . T h o s e p r o p o s i n g s u c h a p p r o a c h e s n e e d to d o m u c h m o r e to d e f i n e t h e m a n d d e l i n e a t e w h a t is at s t a k e . W h i l e r e s t r u c t u r i n g a n d r e p o s i t i o n i n g A f r i c a n s t u d i e s in the a c a d e m y , there is a l s o the n e e d to g i v e m o r e a t t e n t i o n to f u n d a m e n t a l c o n c e p t s a n d i d e a s that u n d e r p i n the f i e l d . H e r e , t o o , t h e r e is a m b i g u i t y . S h o u l d the p r i m a r y f o c u s b e on a d e e p e r a w a r e n e s s o f h i s t o r i c a l l y c o n s t r u c t e d , t r a n s c u l tural r e l a t i o n s h i p s ? S o m e s c h o l a r s , w h i l e e m p a t h e t i c to

understanding

broader and more a b i d i n g l i n k a g e s , p e r c e i v e such an a p p r o a c h as a " u n i v e r s a l i z i n g " q u e s t t h a t t h r e a t e n s to o v e r l o o k m u c h o f the v a l u e , a n d u n d e r e s t i m a t e s the t e n a c i t y , o f c u l t u r a l h e t e r o g e n e i t y . In m a k i n g s u c h an a p p r o a c h , w h a t a r e the r i s k s w i t h r e g a r d to m o v i n g t o w a r d r e d u c t i o n i s m a n d m i n i m i z i n g the i m p o r t a n c e o f i n t r a c u l t u r a l d e v e l o p m e n t s ?

Contemporary

e v e n t s , t e s t i f y i n g to the r e s u r g e n c e o f m i c r o n a t i o n a l i s m a m o n g

diverse

ethnic groups heretofore m e r g e d within multiethnic states, w o u l d suggest that s u c h h e t e r o g e n e i t y is a p o w e r f u l f o r c e i g n o r e d o n l y at g r e a t p e r i l . 8 C a n these two a p p r o a c h e s be better m e l d e d ? O t h e r s a r g u e that the w a y f o r w a r d is t h r o u g h a n e w s y n t h e s i s o u t o f the e n g a g e m e n t o f o l d a d v e r s a r i e s . T h i s n e w s y n t h e s i s w o u l d e v o l v e f r o m an u n p r e c e d e n t e d c o n v e r s a t i o n o n the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n a n d a m o n g at l e a s t the f o l l o w i n g r e l a t e d a r e a s : m o d e r n i z a t i o n a n d M a r x i s m , t r a d i t i o n a n d E n l i g h t e n m e n t , a n d p r o b l e m - s o l v i n g a n d p a r a d i g m - b u i l d i n g . If the E n l i g h t e n ment b r o u g h t f o r t h the a s c e n d a n c e o f s c i e n c e a n d c a l c u l a t i n g r a t i o n a l i t y , its

324

CONCLUSION

legacy i n c l u d e s a t o m i z a t i o n , e c o l o g i c a l w r e c k a g e , a n d the o b j e c t i f i c a t i o n of the other. A n e w d i a l o g u e w i t h t r a d i t i o n , or i n d i g e n o u s k n o w l e d g e , c o u l d v a l i d a t e w h a t is i n t e l l e c t u a l l y r e m a r k a b l e a b o u t the E n l i g h t e n m e n t a n d at the s a m e t i m e u n d e r s c o r e the limits of b o t h . T h e i n t e r f a c e of c u l tural c o n c i o u s n e s s e s c o u l d set a n e w e p i s t e m o l o g i c a l a m b i e n c e . Here, d e v e l o p m e n t a l p a r a d i g m s of ( n e o ) m o d e r n i z a t i o n a n d ( n e o - ) M a r x i s m w o u l d need willingly to s h e d their by n o w f a m i l i a r and p u b l i c d e f i c i e n c i e s — d e f i c i e n c i e s that partly g r e w f r o m a m u t u a l l y i m p o v e r i s h i n g c o l d w a r w i t h e a c h o t h e r . S u c h an a t t e m p t at c r o s s - f e r t i l i z a t i o n of their t h i n k i n g w o u l d h e l p to r e d e f i n e the n a t u r e of the A f r i c a n c o n d i t i o n a n d i m a g i n e n e w strategies for survival a n d r e n e w a l . T h e d i s t r e s s e d w o r l d of A f r i c a is d e s perately c a l l i n g for n e w c o l l a b o r a t i o n s that c o u l d usher in new vistas f o r s c h o l a r l y e x p l o r a t i o n a n d a c t i o n . T o m e e t this task r e q u i r e s a t r a n s c e n d a n c e of the great intellectual rifts of the p a s t — a t r a n s c e n d a n c e that is d a r ing a n d e x p e r i m e n t a l w h i l e a v o i d i n g the s e d u c t i o n s of a c a d e m i c f a d s or unnecessary epistemological conflicts.

AFRICAN A N D AFRICAN-AMERICAN

STUDIES

O n e of the most sensitive issues a r i s i n g out of t h e s e e s s a y s is the r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n A f r i c a n a n d A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s t u d i e s on U.S. u n d e r g r a d u ate c a m p u s e s . T h e r e has b e e n a t r o u b l e d h i s t o r y of l i n k a g e o v e r the last f e w d e c a d e s , m o s t e m p h a t i c a l l y d r a m a t i z e d at the M o n t r e a l joint m e e t i n g of the U.S. and C a n a d i a n A f r i c a n S t u d i e s A s s o c i a t i o n s in 1969. C h a r g e s of institutional r a c i s m , w h i t e - m a l e d o m i n a t i o n , and d i s c r i m i n a t o r y p r a c t i c e s in c o m p e t i t i o n f o r research f u n d i n g , a m o n g o t h e r s , led m a n y e d u c a t o r s to l e a v e — s o m e to f o r m n e w a s s o c i a t i o n s , such as the A f r i c a n Heritage S t u d ies A s s o c i a t i o n . S o m e c o n t e n d that the r o o t s of t h i s s c h i s m g o m u c h deeper and have been explored most profoundly by Afrocentrists and a g e n e r a t i o n of A f r i c a n and A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n s c h o l a r s b e f o r e t h e m . W h i l e v a l u i n g the w o r k of these s c h o l a r s , o t h e r s also s e e as i m p o r t a n t the interplay a m o n g s c h o l a r s of v a r i o u s racial a n d e t h n i c b a c k g r o u n d s . G i v e n the history of institutionalized r a c i s m in m a n y U.S. a c a d e m i c a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l circles, m a n y a r g u e that A f r o c e n t r i s t s , in p a r t i c u l a r , h a v e not been g i v e n a fair and t h o r o u g h hearing. Part of the result can be s e e n t o d a y as increasing n u m b e r s of f a c u l t y and s t u d e n t s f r o m d i v e r s e cultural b a c k g r o u n d s , as well as faculty a n d s t u d e n t s with c r o s s - c u l t u r a l e x p e r i e n c e s , c o n f r o n t these i s s u e s with u n p r e c e d e n t e d v i g o r . M o s t w o u l d a g r e e that t h e s e i s s u e s remain f a r f r o m r e s o l v e d . For m a n y u n d e r g r a d u a t e s , particularly those lacking o v e r s e a s or c r o s s cultural e x p e r i e n c e , racial t e n s i o n s a p p e a r to b e l o o m i n g e v e r l a r g e r . F l a s h p o i n t s e r u p t on U.S. c a m p u s e s w i t h d i s t u r b i n g f r e q u e n c y . M a n y c o n t e n d that t h e r e has not b e e n m u c h p r o g r e s s — p e r h a p s , e v e n , an o v e r a l l

LLOYD & SAMATAR

325

deterioration. S o m e u n i v e r s i t y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s h a v e a t t e m p t e d to c o n t a i n A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n i s s u e s by e n c o m p a s s i n g t h e m w i t h i n A f r i c a n s t u d i e s p r o g r a m s ; o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s h a v e tried to c r e a t e m o r e i n c l u s i v e A f r i c a n a studies p r o g r a m s or B l a c k s t u d i e s c o n c e n t r a t i o n s . S o m e s c h o l a r s s e e t h e s e as c o m p l e m e n t a r y f i e l d s of s t u d y that h a v e d i s t i n c t i v e j u s t i f i c a t i o n s — while r e a d i l y a d m i t t i n g that m o r e p e r m a n e n t l i n k a g e s n e e d to be b u i l t . Where African studies and African-American studies intersect, and what their p o s i t i o n i n g is w i t h i n larger i n t e r n a t i o n a l i z i n g c u r r e n t s , are issues at the heart of m a n y c a m p u s d e b a t e s . For m a n y , these are h e a l t h y s t i r r i n g s , even though the o u t c o m e is u n c e r t a i n . H o p e f u l l y , m u t u a l c o n c e r n will f o s ter a c l i m a t e of interaction and lead to a more e q u i t a b l e c o m m u n i t y . W e all have a long way to g o .

CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES A f i f t h i m p o r t a n t issue r e v o l v e s a r o u n d e f f o r t s to c o n s t r u c t o p p o r t u n i t i e s for f i r s t h a n d c r o s s - c u l t u r a l e x p e r i e n c e s f o r N o r t h A m e r i c a n a n d A f r i c a n students. S t u d i e s indicate that only a h a n d f u l of U.S. institutions have established such p r o g r a m s ; and only about 2 p e r c e n t of U.S. u n d e r g r a d u a t e s have a S t u d y A b r o a d e x p e r i e n c e . V e r y f e w of t h e s e g o to a n o n - W e s t e r n area. E v e n t s i n d i c a t e that t h e r e is a m o v e m e n t to i n c r e a s e t h e s e p e r c e n t ages s u b s t a n t i a l l y . A n a t i o n a l task f o r c e o r g a n i z e d by the A s s o c i a t i o n of I n t e r n a t i o n a l E d u c a t o r s ( N A F S A ) , the C o u n c i l on I n t e r n a t i o n a l E d u c a tional E x c h a n g e ( C I E E ) , a n d the Institute of International E d u c a t i o n ( H E ) , have called for a goal of 10 p e r c e n t of U.S. u n d e r g r a d u a t e s to h a v e c r o s s cultural e x p e r i e n c e a b r o a d by the turn of the c e n t u r y . S i m i l a r g o a l s h a v e been established by m a n y E u r o p e a n a n d S o u t h e a s t A s i a n c o u n t r i e s . In addition, the N a t i o n a l S e c u r i t y E d u c a t i o n Act of 1991 h a s tripled f e d e r a l f u n d i n g for u n d e r g r a d u a t e study a b r o a d and increased f u n d s to s u p p o r t program initiatives in international and area studies and f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e s . 9 S o m e of the g o a l s , a p p r o a c h e s , a n d c o n s t r a i n t s of t h e s e A b r o a d p r o g r a m s are discussed in this v o l u m e . W h a t is still not clear to m a n y faculty and institutions is b o t h the s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e s e p r o g r a m s a n d h o w well they meet their g o a l s . M a n y f a c u l t y r e m a i n s k e p t i c a l a b o u t the quality of the c o u r s e s o f f e r e d a b r o a d , as well as h o w to m e a s u r e the e f f e c t s of S t u d y A b r o a d on students. R e p o r t s indicate that s t u d e n t s w h o d o g o a b r o a d e x p e rience substantial p e r s o n a l d i f f i c u l t i e s ; that m a n y p r o g r a m s h a v e m i n i m a l impact on the existence of cultural stereotypes; and that the salience of g e n der, race, and ethnicity issues d o not get the attention they d e s e r v e . 1 0 T h e s i g n i f i c a n c e of these p r o g r a m s , for both hosts a n d the U n i t e d States, n e e d s to be e x p l o r e d m o r e . A r e they really mutually b e n e f i c i a l ? S o m e of the most candid assessors a r g u e that there o f t e n r e m a i n s a d i s t u r b i n g d i s j u n c t u r e between the g o a l s a n d p r e s u m e d b e n e f i t s of t h e s e e x p e r i e n c e s . H a r d - h i t t i n g

CONCLUSION

326

a s s e s s m e n t s a r e a c u t e l y l a c k i n g . In the b e s t c a s e s , a s s e s s m e n t s f r o m host i n s t i t u t i o n s , f a c u l t y , a n d s t u d e n t s a r e not o n l y s o l i c i t e d , they b e c o m e a vital s o u r c e f o r c h a n g e .

THE FUTURE U n d e n i a b l y , this b o o k r a i s e s f a r m o r e q u e s t i o n s than it a n s w e r s . T h i s s u g g e s t s the n e e d f o r m o r e c o n f e r e n c e s f o c u s e d on A f r i c a n s t u d i e s at the und e r g r a d u a t e l e v e l . P a r t i c u l a r l y c r i t i c a l is the n e e d to p r o b e the r e l a t i o n between African studies and African-American

students and A f r i c a n -

A m e r i c a n c o u r s e s . M o r e o p p o r t u n i t i e s to i n v e s t i g a t e the n u m e r o u s i s s u e s o f p e d a g o g y a r e a l s o n e e d e d . A m o n g t h e s e , the f o l l o w i n g a r e e s p e c i a l l y important: 1. What are the m o s t e f f e c t i v e w a y s to stimulate participatory, p r o b l e m c e n t e r e d l e a r n i n g and to g e t A f r i c a n a n d A m e r i c a n s t u d e n t s w o r k ing together? 2. H o w d o w e c o n n e c t an e x p e r i e n c e a b r o a d to u n i v e r s i t y

course-

w o r k ? H o w c a n s t u d e n t s b e r e i n t e g r a t e d into U . S . c a m p u s e s in w a y s that will i m p a c t m o r e f o r c e f u l l y on i n t e r n a t i o n a l i z i n g e f f o r t s ? A n d how c a n A f r i c a n s t u d e n t s b e i n v o l v e d in s u c h e f f o r t s ? 3. A f r i c a n

l a n g u a g e s and A f r i c a n arts c o u r s e s o f f e r students

the

c h a n c e to learn t h r o u g h d i r e c t p a r t i c i p a t i o n . W h a t a r e the b e s t s t r a t e g i e s for d e v e l o p i n g s t r o n g e r c o m m i t m e n t to t h e s e c o u r s e s ? 4. W h a t a r e the b e n e f i t s o f b u i l d i n g n e t w o r k s a m o n g s t u d e n t s a f t e r they g r a d u a t e ? D o n e t w o r k s u s e f u l l y e n a b l e s t u d e n t s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s to a s s e s s the i m p a c t o f intercultural t r a i n i n g on c a r e e r s ? P e r m e a t i n g all t h e s e i s s u e s is the s e a r c h f o r m o r e e f f e c t i v e w a y s o f enc o u r a g i n g s t u d e n t s to take l e a d e r s h i p r o l e s a n d w o r k in c o l l a b o r a t i o n with faculty. T h e s e e f f o r t s m u s t g o b e y o n d the h o l d i n g o f c o n f e r e n c e s . F a c u l t y n e e d to s t r u c t u r e better w a y s to a s s e s s their w o r k , both at institutions a n d within p r o f e s s i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s . T e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a d v a n c e s s u c h a s e l e c t r o n i c m a i l a r e b e g i n n i n g to p l a y a l a r g e r role in this. M o s t f a c u l t y a r e i n v o l v e d with p r o f e s s i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s (the A f r i c a n S t u d i e s A s s o c i a t i o n , the A s s o c i a t i o n o f A f r i c a n S t u d i e s P r o g r a m s , the A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m e r i c a n C o l l e g e s , the A s s o c i a t i o n f o r the S t u d y o f H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n , E d u c a t i o n a l R e s o u r c e s I n f o r m a t i o n C e n t e r , a n d C l e a r i n g h o u s e on H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n ) that a r e e n g a g i n g t h e s e i s s u e s . T h e s e o r g a n i z a t i o n s c o u l d m a k e a m o r e c o n c e r t e d e f f o r t to m e e t the c h a l l e n g e s f a c i n g A f r i c a n s t u d i e s at the u n d e r g r a d u a t e l e v e l . T h i s s h o u l d b e c o m e a m o r e c l e a r l y d e f i n e d o b j e c t i v e o f the A f r i c a n S t u d i e s A s s o c i a t i o n

LLOYD & SAMATAR

327

and the A s s o c i a t i o n o f A f r i c a n S t u d i e s Programs. Appropriate r e s o u r c e s and structures should be d e v e l o p e d , similarly with African studies centers and regional organizations. At least a f e w institutions should consider creating research centers. Out o f this an i n t e r c o m m u n i c a t i n g network might e m e r g e . T h e fate o f African studies h i n g e s in large measure on h o w w e l l the individuals e n g a g e d construct bridges b e t w e e n t h e m s e l v e s , the w i d e r a c a d e m i c c o m m u n i t y , and the global c o m m u n i t y .

NOTES 1. Many scholars have discussed this image. Recent work on it includes Jacques Attali, Millenium: Winners and Losers in the Coming World (New York: Times Books, 1991); Jennifer S. Whitaker, How Can Africa Survive? (New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1988); Basil Davidson, Black Man's Burden (New York: Times Books, 1992); Douglas Rimmer, ed., Africa 30 Years On (London: James Currey, 1991); Richard Sandbrook, The Politics of Africa's Economic Recovery (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993); and Breyten Breytenbach, Return to Paradise (Winchester, Mass.: Faber & Faber, 1993). 2. Several chapters in this volume help to identify some of the most useful materials available in this effort. Cf. also Barbara Turlington and Sarah Pickert, Internationalizing the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Handbook for Campus Leaders (Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1992); Philip H. Coombs, international Studies Funding and Resource Book: The Education Interface Guide to Sources of Support for International Education, 5th ed. (New York: Apex Press, 1990). 3. Sven Groennings, "Higher Education, International Education, and the Academic Disciplines," in Group Portraits: Internationalizing the Disciplines, ed. Sven Groennings and David Wiley (New York: American Forum for Global Education, 1990): 11-31. 4. Cf. Association of American Colleges, Integrity of the College Curriculum: A Report to the Academic Community (Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges, 1985); Ernest L. Boyer, College: The Undergraduate Experience in America (New York: Harper and Row, 1987). 5. Cf. Robert McCaughey, International Studies and the Academic Enterprise (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984); Sarah Pickert, Preparing for a Global Community: Achieving an International Perspective in Higher Education (Washington, D.C.: George Washington University, 1992). 6. Cf. American Council on Education, International Studies and the Undergraduate (Washington, D.C.: American Council on Education, 1989); David Engerman and Parker Marden, In the International Interest: Contributions and Needs of America's International Liberal Arts Colleges (Beloit, Wis.: International Liberal Arts Colleges, 1992). 7. Cf. Robert Bates, Jean O'Barr, and V.Y. Mudimbe, eds., Africa and the Disciplines (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993); Sven Groennings and David Wiley, Group Portraits. 8. Edmond J. Keller, "Towards a New African Order?" (presidential address to the 1992 annual meeting of the African Studies Association) African Studies Review 26 (Sept. 1993): 1 - 1 0 . 9. Cf. Barbara Burn, Integrating Study Abroad into the Undergraduate Liberal Arts Curriculum: Eight Institutional Case Studies (Westport, Conn.:

328

CONCLUSION

Greenwood, 1991); B. Burn, L. Cerych, and A. Smith, eds., Study Abroad Programmes, Higher Education Policy Series, no. 11, vol. 1 (London: Jessica Kingsley, 1990); and Pickert, Preparing for a Global Community. 10. Cf. S. Opper, U. Teichler, and J. Carlson, The Impact of Study Abroad Programmes on Students and Graduates, Higher Education Policy Series, 11, vol. 2 (London: Jessica Kingsley, 1990); and J. Carlson et al. Study Abroad: The Experience of American Undergraduates (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1990).

The Contributors

Patricia Alden is professor of English at St. Lawrence University and currently coordinator for African Studies. A student of the novel in English, her published work includes Social Mobility and the English Bildungsroman (1986) and, more recently, essays on Nuruddin Farah and other African writers. Sara Berry is professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. Her recent publications include No Condition is Permanent: The Social Dynamics of Agrarian Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (1993). W. Howard Brown is the associate director of the St. Lawrence University Kenya Semester Program and assistant professor of History. His teaching and research interests focus on the social and cultural history of the Swahili peoples of the East African coast. Gregson Davis was born in Antigua, West Indies, and educated at Harvard and the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently the Goldwin Smith Professor of Comparative Literature and Classics at Cornell University. His books include Non-Vicious Circle: Twenty Poems of Aimé Césaire (1984) and Polyhymnia: The Rhetoric of Horatian Lyric Discourse (1991). Arthur D. Drayton, formerly of the University of Ibadan and the University of the West Indies, has been professor and chair of African and African-American Studies at the University of Kansas since 1981. His main research interest is literature and society in Africa and the African diaspora. His most recent publications have focused on the writings of Caribbean authors. Sandra E. Greene, former director of African Studies and associate provost at Kalamazoo College, is currently associate professor of African

329

330

CONTRIBUTORS

History at C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y . S h e h a s p u b l i s h e d a n u m b e r of articles on the p r e c o l o n i a l s o c i a l history of A f r i c a a n d has, in p r e s s , a b o o k entitled Gender, Ethnicity and Social Change on the Upper Slave Coast. T h o m a s A . H a l e is p r o f e s s o r of A f r i c a n , F r e n c h , and C o m p a r a t i v e Literature at P e n n s y l v a n i a State U n i v e r s i t y . A f o u n d e r a n d past p r e s i d e n t of the A f r i c a n Literature A s s o c i a t i o n , he has c o m p l e t e d a t w o - y e a r term as chair of the A s s o c i a t i o n of A f r i c a n S t u d i e s P r o g r a m s . His research r a n g e s f r o m the C a r i b b e a n to A f r i c a , a n d f r o m the w r i t t e n to the oral t r a d i t i o n . His m o s t r e c e n t b o o k , Scribe, Griot, and Novelist: Narrative Interpreters of the Songhay Empire, a p p e a r e d in 1990. H e is n o w w r i t i n g a b o o k a b o u t g r i o t s — t h e musical e n t e r t a i n e r s of W e s t e r n A f r i c a . L i d w i e n K a p t e i j n s is a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r of A f r i c a n a n d M i d d l e Eastern History a n d c h a i r of W o m e n ' s S t u d i e s at W e l l e s l e y C o l l e g e . A p a r t f r o m c o a u t h o r i n g an i n t r o d u c t i o n to A f r i c a n h i s t o r y in D u t c h , s h e h a s w r i t t e n several b o o k s and m a n y articles about the p r e c o l o n i a l a n d c o l o n i a l history of S u d a n . S h e is currently w o r k i n g on the history of w o m e n a n d g e n d e r rel a t i o n s in the p r e c o l o n i a l a n d c o l o n i a l h i s t o r y of n o r t h e r n S o m a l i a . Her " W o m e n and the Crisis of C o m m u n a l Identity: T h e Cultural C o n s t r u c t i o n of G e n d e r in S o m a l i H i s t o r y , " is f o r t h c o m i n g in The Somali Challenge, edited by A h m e d I. S a m a t a r . Neil L a z a r u s is a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r of E n g l i s h a n d M o d e r n C u l t u r e a n d M e d i a at B r o w n University, w h e r e he t e a c h e s A f r i c a n a n d p o s t c o l o n i a l lite r a t u r e s , as well as s o c i a l a n d literary t h e o r y , a n d c u l t u r a l s t u d i e s . He is the author of Resistance in Postcolonial African Fiction ( 1 9 9 0 ) , a n d is currently c o m p l e t i n g a s e c o n d b o o k , p r o v i s i o n a l l y entitled Hating Tradition Properly: The Politics of Culture in the Postcolonial World System. D a v i d L l o y d is a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r of A f r i c a n H i s t o r y at St. L a w r e n c e University. H e j o i n e d the faculty in 1985 a n d w a s c o o r d i n a t o r f o r A f r i c a n S t u d i e s f r o m 1 9 8 6 to 1 9 9 3 . F r o m 1 9 7 7 to 1 9 8 3 he w a s a l e c t u r e r in A f r i c a n H i s t o r y at the U n i v e r s i t y of C a l a b a r , N i g e r i a , a n d p r i o r to that c o n d u c t e d field research for his dissertation in Zaire, lectured at the K i s a n gani c a m p u s of the n a t i o n a l u n i v e r s i t y of Z a i r e , a n d t a u g h t in the s e c o n d a r y school s y s t e m of T a n z a n i a . Most of his training, r e s e a r c h , and s u b s e q u e n t w r i t i n g h a s been c e n t e r e d on A f r i c a n e c o n o m i c history. W i l l i a m M a r t i n t e a c h e s S o c i o l o g y a n d A f r i c a n S t u d i e s c o u r s e s at the University of Illinois at U r b a n a - C h a m p a i g n . He is c o a u t h o r of How Fast the Wind? Southern Africa 1975-2000 ( 1 9 9 2 ) , e d i t o r of Semiperipheral States in the World-Economy ( 1 9 9 0 ) , a n d a u t h o r of n u m e r o u s a r t i c l e s on r e g i o n a l / w o r l d e c o n o m i c r e l a t i o n s h i p s . His recent w o r k i n c l u d e s research on transnational r e l a t i o n s h i p s in the p r o d u c t i o n of k n o w l e d g e .

CONTRIBUTORS

331

James C. McCann is director of the African Studies Center and associate professor of History at Boston University. He is author of From Poverty to Famine in Northeast Ethiopia (1987) and a forthcoming book project People of the Plow: A History of Agriculture in Ethiopia. He teaches undergraduate surveys and upper-division courses in African History. Patrick McNaughton is an associate professor of African Art at Indiana University. He has published many articles and a book on West African sculpting and its many complex contexts, The Mande Blacksmiths: Knowledge, Power and Art in West Africa (1988). He is presently working on the history of mask forms in many parts of West Africa, and on the intimate and instrumental relationships between aesthetics as systems of thought and the activities of individual and social groups. Celia Nyamweru is associate professor of Anthropology at St. Lawrence University, teaching courses on topics related to human ecology and resource-use in Africa. She taught in Kenyan schools, polytechnics, and universities from 1968 to 1991. Her publications include frequent reports on the eruptions of Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, Tanzania, to the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network and the Bulletin of Volcanic Eruptions. Jack Parson is professor and chair in the Department of Political Science at the College of Charleston, South Carolina, where he has been since 1980. He spent four years in Uganda and six years in Botswana, teaching and researching aspects of that country's political economy. Most recently he was the editor of Succession to High Office in Botswana: Three Case Studies (1990) and contributed the chapter, "Liberal Democracy, the Liberal State and the 1989 General Elections in Botswana," to Botswana: The Political Economy of Democratic Development, edited by Stephen Stedman (1993). Joseph W. Pickle, Jr. is professor of Religion at Colorado College. He is the founding codirector of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Zimbabwe Program. He is currently collaborating on a book addressing science and religion. Paul W. Robinson is the director of the St. Lawrence University Kenya Semester Program and is an associate professor of History. His teaching and research centers on traditional survival strategies and recent development trends among pastoralist groups in East Africa. Ahmed I. Samatar is currently dean of International Studies at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, and formerly associate professor of Government/African Studies at St. Lawrence University. His fields of expertise include international and comparative studies and African development

CONTRIBUTORS

332

s t u d i e s , a n d h e h a s t a u g h t c o u r s e s in i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l e c o n o m y , s o cial and political t h e o r y , a n d A f r i c a n politics a n d d e v e l o p m e n t . His m o s t

recent publication is The Somali Challenge: From Catastrophe Renewal?

Toward

(forthcoming).

J o e l S a m o f f is a f f i l i a t e d w i t h t h e C e n t e r f o r A f r i c a n S t u d i e s at S t a n f o r d U n i v e r s i t y . A s t u d e n t of A f r i c a n p o l i t i c s a n d e d u c a t i o n , h e is c u r r e n t l y c o m p l e t i n g a b o o k o n t h e p o l i t i c s o f e d u c a t i o n r e f o r m in T a n z a n i a . H e h a s r e c e n t l y w o r k e d e x t e n s i v e l y w i t h t h e M i n i s t r y of E d u c a t i o n a n d C u l t u r e in N a m i b i a a n d m a n a g e d t h e r e s e a r c h p r o g r a m of a n I L O - U N E S C O

Task

F o r c e c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e i m p a c t s o n e d u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g of f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s a n d s t r u c t u r a l a d j u s t m e n t . In 1 9 9 2 a n d 1 9 9 3 , h e w a s v i s i t i n g p r o f e s s o r of E d u c a t i o n at t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , L o s A n g e l e s . A n n S e i d m a n is a d j u n c t p r o f e s s o r at C l a r k U n i v e r s i t y in b o t h

Interna-

t i o n a l D e v e l o p m e n t a n d S o c i a l C h a n g e a n d in t h e B o s t o n U n i v e r s i t y L a w S c h o o l . S h e w a s f o r m e r l y t h e p r e s i d e n t of t h e A f r i c a n S t u d i e s A s s o c i a t i o n ( 1 9 9 0 - 1 9 9 1 ) a n d is c u r r e n t l y c h a i r of t h e T a s k F o r c e f o r S u s t a i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t in A f r i c a . S h e t a u g h t a n d d i d r e s e a r c h f o r e l e v e n y e a r s at u n i v e r s i t i e s in A f r i c a , a n d h a s a u t h o r e d , c o a u t h o r e d , a n d e d i t e d a d o z e n b o o k s a n d m a n y a r t i c l e s o n p r o b l e m s r e l a t i n g to A f r i c a n d e v e l o p m e n t . N e a l W . S o b a n i a is d i r e c t o r of I n t e r n a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n a n d a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r of H i s t o r y at H o p e C o l l e g e in H o l l a n d , M i c h i g a n . H i s r e s e a r c h f o c u s e s o n t h e h i s t o r y of p a s t o r a l p r o d u c t i o n s y s t e m s in K e n y a a n d E t h i o p i a .

He is the author of A Background Northern

Kenya

History to the Ml. Kulal Region of

( 1 9 7 9 ) , c o e d i t o r o f a m o d e r n h i s t o r y of K e n y a (in p r e p a -

ration), and has published widely on history, ecology, and s o c i o e c o n o m i c r e l a t i o n s in n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y E a s t A f r i c a . T h o m a s S p e a r is p r o f e s s o r of A f r i c a n H i s t o r y at t h e U n i v e r s i t y of W i s c o n s i n - M a d i s o n a n d p r e v i o u s l y t a u g h t at La T r o b e U n i v e r s i t y in M e l b o u r n e , A u s t r a l i a , a n d W i l l i a m s C o l l e g e in M a s s a c h u s e t t s . H e h a s w r i t t e n h i s t o r i e s o f t h e N g o n i , (Zwangendaba's K e n y a ( T h e Kaya

Complex,

a n d t h e S w a h i l i ( T h e Swahili,

Ngoni,

1 9 7 2 ) , the M i j i k e n d a of

1 9 7 4 ) , e a s t e r n K e n y a ( K e n y a ' s Past,

1981),

1985—with Derek Nurse); edited,

R i c h a r d W a l l e r , a b o o k o n M a a s a i e t h n i c i t y ( B e i n g Maasai,

with

1 9 9 3 ) ; a n d is

currently c o m p l e t i n g a social a n d e c o n o m i c history of the A r u s h a

and

Meru p e o p l e s of northern T a n z a n i a . P a u l S t o l l e r , p r o f e s s o r of A n t h r o p o l o g y at W e s t C h e s t e r U n i v e r s i t y , h a s , f o r m o r e t h a n t w e n t y y e a r s , r e s e a r c h e d t h e r e l i g i o n a n d s o c i a l l i f e of s e v e r a l S o n g h a y c o m m u n i t i e s in N i g e r . H i s m o s t r e c e n t b o o k s i n c l u d e

Cinematic Griot: The Ethnography

The

of Jean Rouch (1992) and Fusion of

CONTRIBUTORS

the Worlds:

An Ethnography

of Possession

333

Among

the Songhay

of

Niger

(1989). L o u i s T r e m a i n e is a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r of E n g l i s h at t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f R i c h m o n d . H i s t e a c h i n g a n d r e s e a r c h a r e p r i m a r i l y in m o d e r n A f r i c a n lite r a t u r e a n d c u l t u r a l s t u d i e s . H e h a s t r a n s l a t e d M o h a m m e d D i b ' s Qui Souvient

de la Mer

Se

( 1 9 8 5 ) and written on M a g h r e b i a n and S o u t h A f r i c a n

l i t e r a t u r e . H e is d i r e c t o r o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y of R i c h m o n d ' s s u m m e r p r o g r a m in Z i m b a b w e . G r e t c h e n W a l s h is h e a d o f t h e A f r i c a n S t u d i e s L i b r a r y , B o s t o n U n i v e r sity. H e r r e c e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s i n c l u d e : " A f r i c a n L a n g u a g e M a t e r i a l s : C h a l l e n g e s a n d R e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s in C o l l e c t i o n M a n a g e m e n t " in Africana sources

and Collections:

A Festchrift

in Honor

Three of Hans

Decades

of Development

Panofsky,

in Africa:

A Neglected

Component

(July/Aug 1989);

of Development

Programs

of American

Academic

Libraries

Pub-

(1991); and

" T h e B o o k F a m i n e in A f r i c a a n d t h e R o l e o f A m e r i c a n A c a d e m i c b r a r i e s , " in The Role

Re-

Achievement.

edited by Julian W . Witherell

( 1 9 8 9 ) ; " R e a d i n g f o r a F r e e S o u t h A f r i c a , " Choice lishing

and

in

Li-

International

(1992).

B e n W i s n e r is t h e H e n r y R . L u c e P r o f e s s o r of F o o d , R e s o u r c e s a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l P o l i c y at H a m p s h i r e C o l l e g e , A m h e r s t , M a s s . T h r o u g h t e a c h i n g , r e s e a r c h , a n d p r o g r a m s u p p o r t , h e a t t e m p t s to s t r e n g t h e n

nongovernment

a c t o r s w o r k i n g f o r t h e s a t i s f a c t i o n of b a s i c h u m a n n e e d s , e n v i r o n m e n t a l justice, and sustainability.

About the Book

This collection of critical debates—intended for teachers of African studies and others interested in incorporating non-Western perspectives in the u n d e r g r a d u a t e liberal arts c u r r i c u l u m — r e f l e c t s the c h a n g i n g educational and sociocultural contexts of the last decade. Representing a range of disciplines, the contributors address f o u r areas of concern: the role of African studies in fostering interculturalism in the general curriculum; the presuppositions and interests of students with respect to Africa; the redesign of courses and pedagogy in light of theoretical development in key disciplines; and the need to develop reciprocal models of cultural exchange.

335