The study abroad course (AFRI 3100 or AFRI 5100) allows students study a selected topic in African Studies with a Carleton professor in an African country (or countries) in which the professor carries out research. The students also learn from experts on the topic in the African country (or countries). This is an experiential learning course that utilizes a blend of in class seminar, field visits, guest instructors, and other practical methods of delivering the content. The course focuses on a selected topic in the instructor’s area of research and examines current issues within the Country of study, the Continent and the World at large.

The course is open to African Studies Majors, Minors and other interested students provided student is in 3rd year standing. Depending on the course instructor and content, sometimes a graduate component is available as AFRI 5100.

Urban & Rural music in Community:
Participatory music-making in Ghana (May 2023)

Photo Credit: M. Richardson

This “Africa Study Abroad” course will immerse students in the vibrant musical culture and community life in Dagbamete, an Ewe village in the Volta Region of Ghana, as well as offer opportunities to explore the urban musical culture of Ghana’s capital city, Accra. Through participatory music-making, critical discussion, and reflective and experiential assignments, students will develop an understanding of the connections between music and community in Ghana and implications for their own studies. The course will be based at the West African Cultural Exchange Centre in Dagbamete, which is founded and directed by Kwasi Dunyo. In addition, students will spend some time in Accra with sessions at the University of Ghana at Legon.

The course will be taught by Kathy Armstrong, M.Mus, MA, as well as guest lecturers and instructors based in Ghana.

 

View Past Study Abroad Courses

2023 – Urban & Rural Music in Community: Participatory music-making in Ghana

2022 – Women’s Writing of French-speaking West Africa, in translation II (Cancelled)

2021 – Women’s Writing of French-speaking West Africa, in translation 

2020 – Inequality: Cape Town, South Africa (Cancelled)

2019 – Social Media and Youth Cultures in a Changing Continent, Nairobi, Kenya (Cancelled)

2018 – Social Media & the Public Sphere in Africa (Nairobi, Kenya)

2017 – Migration Lives and Livelihoods in South Africa

2016 – The Challenges of Addressing Global Inequalities in Health through the lens of HIV/AIDS (Malawi)

2015 – The Challenges of Development and Democracy in Africa (Ghana).

2014 – The Evolution of the Media in Post-Genocide Rwanda (Rwanda)

2013 – African Music in Culture ( University of Ghana at Legon and West African Cultural Exchange Centre in Dagbamete, Ghana)

2012 – African Cinema on Location (Institut Imagine, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso)
African Cinema on Location featured in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Newsletter FASSinate

2011 – Health and Healthcare in post-Apartheid South Africa (University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban)