African Studies@Carleton Digest

African Studies@Carleton Digest


British-Ghanaian filmmaker, artist, lecturer, and writer John Akomfrah @
Carleton
Writers Festival: Ottawa`s Festival of Ideas
CHF's Food Security Webinar
Humura Association Day of HopeNight
Le Centre africain d'accueil, de développement et d'intégration: Festival
de la
culture et des arts (FECULARTS 2012))
REMINDER: Brownbag talk @ Carleton: "Rights and Resources: Where the
global land rush and the rights of the poor meet"
REMINDER: THE 23rd ANNUAL ONE WORLD FILM FESTIVAL @ Library and Archives
Canada

Scholarships at African Studies Centre (Oxford)

Job at Department of African Languages & Literature (U. of Wisconsin)

CFP "COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL URBAN PLANNING IN AFRICA" (Lisbon)
***
1.

John Akomfrah, 2012 FASS Distinguished Visiting Scholar, October 2012

(see http://www2.carleton.ca/filmstudies/john-akomfrah/)

Born in Accra, Ghana, in 1957, to radical political activist parents, John
Akomfrah
was widely recognized as one of the most influential figures of black British
culture in the 1980s.

He was one of the founders of the Black Audio Film Collective, which was
active
between 1982 and 1998, and which was dedicated towards examining issues of
Black
British identity through film and media.

An artist, lecturer, and writer as well as a filmmaker, his twenty-year
body of work
is among the most distinctive in the contemporary British art world, and his
cultural influence continues today.

Consolidated Schedule for John Akomfrah Visit to Carleton:

* Thursday, October 11, 2012

7.30pm-100 St. Patrick's Bldg (John Akomfrah Mini-Retrospective)

Theme: The Music Documentaries of John Akomfrah

The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong (1999)

Urban Soul: The Making of Modern R&B (2004)

The films will be introduced by Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo

* Friday, October 12, 2012

10am-12pm, 472 St. Patrick's Bldg (John Akomfrah Study Group)

Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993)

7pm, 100 St. Patrick's Building (John Akomfrah Mini-Retrospective)

Theme: Race and Iconicity in Britain and the United States

Who Needs a Heart (1991)

Martin Luther King: Days of Hope (1998)

The films will be introduced by Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo

* Monday, October 15, 2012

12.30pm, 415 St. Patrick's Bldg (Film 5000-Film Theory and
History-Instructor: Dr.
Charles O'Brien)

Handsworth Songs (1986)

2.30pm, 435 St. Patrick's Bldg (Film 3608-Topics in Film History: African
Cinema
-Instructor: Dr. Aboubakar Sanogo)

Testament (1988)

Followed by Q&A with John Akomfrah

Opening Night: 7.pm, Library and Archives of Canada, Co-organized with
the Canadian
Film Institute

The Nine Muses (2011)

* Tuesday, October 16

2.30pm, 415 St. Patrick's Bldg. (Film 5000-Film Theory and
History-Instructor: Dr.
Charles O'Brien)

Q&A with John Akomfrah on Handsworth Songs

7pm, 2200 River Building

Testament (1989)

Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993)

Followed by Q&A with John Akomfrah

* Wednesday, October 17, 2012

11.30am, 400 St. Patrick's Bldg (Film 5002-Special Topics: Cinema and
Migration-Instructor: Dr. Malini Guha)

The Nine Muses (2011)

Followed by Q&A with John Akomfrah

7pm 100 St. Patrick's Building

The Last Angel of History (1995)

Followed by Q&A with John Akomfrah

* Thursday, October 18, 2012

2.30pm, Carleton University Art Gallery

Institute of African Studies Roundtable: "Representing Diaspora" with Pius
Adesanmi, Aboubakar Sanogo, Nduka Otiono, and Joana Pimentel, with
Director John
Akomfrah in attendance. Moderated by Blair Rutherford

7pm, 2200 River Building (Second floor)

Handsworth Songs (1986)

Followed by a Master Class with John Akomfrah

* Friday, October 19, 2012

1pm, 608 Robertson Hall (Senate Boardroom)

Public Lecture: In-Conversation with John Akomfrah

Note:

i. All screenings and events will take place at Carleton University
(1125 Colonel By
Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6) except the opening night at Library and
Archives, Canada
(395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4).

ii. All events and screenings are free of charge.

2.

The following events part of the Writers Festival: Ottawa`s Festival of
Ideas since
1997 may be of interest:

-Thursday, 25 October, Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgard St (at
Elgin), 6:30 pm,
"The Ever-Present Past" with Linda Spalding, Christine Pountney and M.G.
Vasanji

Three hugely acclaimed talents share a taste of their latest novels and
discuss the
many ways we try to escape the past and how our histories follow us
wherever we
go....

..The Magic of Saida, by two-time Giller Prize winner M.G. Vassanji, tells
the
haunting story of a successful Canadian doctor who, in middle age and
after decades
in North America, decides to return to his homeland of East Africa to find
his
childhood sweetheart and discovers what happened to her during a harrowing
night of
sinister rites.

M.G. Vassanji is the author of six acclaimed novels: The Gunny Sack, which
won the
regional Commonwealth Prize; No New Land; The Book of Secrets, which won
the very
first Giller Prize; Amriika; The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, which
also won the
Giller Prize, and The Assassin's Song, which was shortlisted for the
Scotiabank
Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award for Fiction. He is also the
author of
two collections of short fiction, Uhuru Street and When She Was Queen, and
a work of
non-fiction, A Place Within: Rediscovering India. He lives in Toronto with
his wife
and two sons.

-Saturday, 27 October, Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Lisgard St (at
Elgin), 12:00
pm, "Terror and Hope" with Chris Alexander, Robert Fowler and Michael
Petrou; Hosted
by CBC's Adrian Harewood

"Terror" and "Hope" – those two words shaped the post-9/11 world. The two
concepts
made headlines with the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 and
Barack Obama's
book The Audacity of Hope in 2008. Join in the conversation on the
situation in
Afghanistan and the twin forces of terror and hope that continue to define
our
relationship with the Middle East....

...In December 2008, Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler, acting as the UN
Secretary
General's Special Envoy to Niger, was kidnapped by Al Qaeda, becoming the
highest
ranked UN official ever held captive. From that agony he wrote A Season in
Hell: My
30 Days in the Sahara with El Qaeda.

Robert R. Fowler joined the Department of External Affairs in 1969 and was
posted to
Paris in 1971 and to the Canadian Permanent Mission to the United Nations
in 1976.
He returned to External Affairs headquarters in 1978 to become executive
assistant
to Allan Gotlieb, the under-secretary of state for External Affairs. In
1980, he was
seconded to the Privy Council Office as assistant secretary to the Cabinet
(Foreign
and Defence Policy), where he served as foreign policy advisor to prime
ministers
Trudeau, Turner and Mulroney. In 1986 Mr. Fowler became assistant deputy
minister
(Policy) in the Department of National Defence, and then he served as deputy
minister from 1989 to 1995. From 1995 to 2000 he was Canada's longest serving
ambassador to the United Nations, following which he was named ambassador
to Italy
and also personal representative for Africa for prime ministers Chrétien
and Harper.
Fowler lives in Ottawa, Ontario. A Season in Hell is his latest book.

3.

CHF's Food Security Webinar

Join us for a discussion that will take a deeper look at concerns around food
security for the poorest people in the world. By seeing more—by looking
for the
strengths of the communities we work in and building on them—CHF's
strategies are
working in South Sudan, and around the world.

Two of CHF's experts, Danuta Swiecicka, Program Officer for Africa, and
Leslie
Gardiner, Market-Led Development Specialist, will share their concerns and
strategies for supporting the world's most vulnerable populations as well
as key
findings from CHF's new Food Security Report.

Space is limited - register now at
https://canadianhungerfoundation.webex.com/canadianhungerfoundation/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=660780046
.

Speaker Bios at: http://www.chf.ca/take-action/events/webinars

For any questions, contact Anne Leite at aleite@chf.ca.

4.

Humura Association Day of Hope

Saturday, October 13

St Joseph Parish, 151 Laurier St. East, near Univ. of Ottawa

Humura Association Day of Hope, celebrating the victory of life and
optimism over
the despair and fear that came with the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in
Rwanda.
Event includes: traditional Rwandan dances, live musical performances (old
school
kinyarwanda aka karahanyuze, as well as modern songs), stand-up comedy,
Life of Hope
testimony, drinks (Happy Hour is back), humor, and a DJ's soirée with the
trendy
music, African and more!

Tickets: Tickets cost $20 and $50 for VIP. On sale at BON MARCHÉ SHOP on 290
Montreal Rd., Ottawa or call 613-816-4080

5.

Le Centre africain d'accueil, de développement et d'intégration (Le CENTRE
CAADI) et
ses partenaires vous invitent à la dernière journée du Festival de la
culture et des
arts (FECULARTS 2012).

Quand : samedi, 03 novembre 2012

Heure : 18h00' -22h30'

Adresse : 379 Waverley St, Ottawa, On, K2P 0W4

Parking free A GAUCHE DE STAPLES SUR BANK STREET

10$ pers et 15$ couple

Buffet ouvert et Bar payant

Venez célébrer et vivre la culture avec nos brillants artistes et poètes :
Nubia
Cermeno, Lisano y'a Mbunda, Rleo, Eric Sarah, Le village et les autres.

6.

REMINDER: THE INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES PRESENTS

"Rights and Resources: Where the global land rush and the rights of the
poor meet"

with

Bruce H. Moore, Land expert, former director of the International Land
Coalition

Wednesday, 10 October, 1:00-2:30 pm

433 Paterson Hall, Carleton University*

Bruce H. Moore serves on the Board of Directors of the North South
Institute and the
Forum on Democratic Global Governance. From 1998-2008, Mr. Moore was the
founding
director of the International Land Coalition (headquartered in Rome), an
alliance of
UN, civil society, and multilateral organizations promoting policies to
enable the
rural poor to gain their resource rights. He currently represents the
Asian NGO
Coalition and the Social Development Foundation in North America, and
serves on the
NGO Food Security Policy Group. His NGO career, from 1973 to 1998,
included 10 years
as the Director of Partners in Rural Development. He has chaired the NGO
advisory
committee to the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural
Development;
served on the international executive of the Society for International
Development
1998-2008; been an advisor to the European Commission, FAO, African Union,
Asian
Development Bank, and World Bank. He has chaired a number of high-level
policy
dialogues during the Commission on Sustainable Development; and was a
member of the
implementation advisory committee to the Commission on the Legal
Empowerment of the
Poor. He is a member of Transparency International.

This is part of the African Studies Brownbag Seminar Series
(http://www.carleton.ca/africanstudies/)

For more information, please contact the Institute of African Studies at
613-520-2600 ext. 2220 or African_Studies@carleton.ca

*For a campus map, please see: http://www2.carleton.ca/cu/campus/

7.

REMINDER: THE 23rd ANNUAL ONE WORLD FILM FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 11TH - 14TH, 2012

Library and Archives Canada

395 Wellington Street

The One World Film Festival brings together filmmakers, activists,
students, and
members of the public concerned about human rights and environmental
sustainability.
Now in its 23rd year, the OWFF features documentary film screenings, panel
discussions, Q&A's with visiting filmmakers, kiosks, and presentations
from NGO's.

Africanist films being shown include:

* When the Drum is Beating

US, 2011, 80 min.

Directed by Whitney Dow

The 20-member band Septentrional has been making music for 62 years as
Haiti's most
celebrated big band. This inspirational doc charts the history of Haiti
from its
independence from French colonialism to 2010's devastating earthquake-all
set to the
vibrant music of Septentrional and punctuated with personal memories.

* Ghetto Millionaires

Belgium, 2010. 53 min.

Directed by Gilles Remiche

The Sapeur is a "Congolese Jet Setter". He may never go unnoticed and
must, at all
times, show off his general elegance and designer labels. Competition between
Sapeurs is fierce. They love to proclaim their superior elegance in
televised jousts
eagerly watched by the youth of Kinshasa. The Sapeurs embody success and
access to
the riches of the West. But how do you come across as wealthy when in fact
you're
living in poverty?

---

(Belgique, 2010. 53 min. - Réalisé par Gilles Remiche)

Le Sapeur est un « Congolais Jet Setter ». Il ne peut jamais passer
inaperçu et
doit, en tout temps, afficher son élégance et ses vêtements griffés. La
compétition
entre Sapeurs est féroce. Ils adorent proclamer leur élégance supérieure
dans des
joutes télévisuelles regardées par la jeunesse de Kinshasa. Les Sapeurs
représentent
le succès et l'accès aux riches de l'Occident. Mais comment démontre-t-on sa
richesse lorsqu'on vit dans la pauvreté?

*Words of Witness

Egypt, 2012, 70 min.

Directed by Mai Iskander

Every time 22-year-old Heba Afify heads out to cover the historical events
shaping
her country's future, her mother is compelled to remind her, "I know you
are a
journalist, but you're still a girl!" Defying cultural norms and family
expectations, Heba takes to the streets to report on an Egypt in turmoil,
using
tweets, texts and Facebook posts. Her coming of age, political awakening
and the
disillusionment that follows, mirrors that of a nation seeking the freedom
to shape
its own destiny, dignity and democracy.

(Followed by a Panel Discussion on the "Arab Spring")

---

(Égypte, 2012, 70 min. - Réalisé par Mai Iskander)

À chaque fois qu' Heba Afify, 22 ans, sort pour couvrir les événements
historiques
façonnant le futur de son pays, sa mère se voit obligée de lui rappeler «
je sais
que tu es journaliste mais tu es tout de même une fille ». Défiant les normes
culturelles et attentes familiales, Heba marchent à travers les rues pour
raconter
l'histoire d'une Égypte en ébullition, recourant aux « tweets », messages
textes et
à Facebook. Sa prise de conscience, son éveil politique et la désillusion
qui suit
est le miroir d'une nation cherchant la liberté pour décider de sa propre
destinée,
dignité et démocratie.

* Rwanda: "MEMOIRES SANS FRONTIÈRES"

(Canada, 22 Min. - Director Randy Cruz)

A moving memoire of the Rwandan Genocide, told from the perspective of a
woman who
endured it before moving to Canada with her surviving children.

---

Un rappel émouvant du génocide rwandais, raconté par une femme qui l'a
vécu avant de
déménager au Canada avec ses enfants survivant.

* You Decide!

Sweden, 2011, 70 min.

Directed by Maj Wechselmann

A Swedish journalist investigates business practices of a key Swedish oil
company,
Lundin, owned by Canada's Talisman Energy Inc., and discovers major human
rights
abuses and unethical business practices in its African operation that are
tied to
civil war in Sudan and Ethiopia and also South Africa in the past.

* One Day After Peace

Israel/South Africa 2011, 86 min.

Directed by Miri Laufer and Erez Laufer

After losing her son, an Israeli soldier, to a Palestinian sniper, Robi
Damelin sets
out on an emotional crusade to find answers, reconciliation and peace of
mind. She
writes a letter to her son's shooter in hopes that direct contact can lead to
healing, understanding and a precedent for future generations. Her concept
echoes an
experiment created in her native South Africa.

More information: http://www.oneworldarts.ca/film/about

8.

Oxford University (UK)

The African Studies Centre is offering two full scholarships for the MSc
in African
Studies and two full DPhil scholarshipsfor the 2013-2014 academic year.

Prospective MSc in African Studies students can apply for the Waverley-ORISHA
Scholarship and the Ioma-Evans Pritchard/Commonwealth Scholarship.

Students from Angola, Ghana and Nigeria are also eligible to apply for the
Eni
Scholarships offered by St Antony's College in partnership with the energy
company
Eni.

More information on:
http://www.africanstudies.ox.ac.uk/prospective_students/scholarships

9.

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Department of African Languages & Literature

POSITION DESCRIPTION PVL 74942

The Department of African Languages and Literature at the University of
Wisconsin at
Madison seeks an outstanding teacher-scholar at the rank of assistant or
associate
professor in second language acquisition, with a specialty in African
languages
beginning August 2013. Preference will be given to candidates whose
scholarship
and/or teaching focus on Swahili, but other African languages will be
considered,
e.g., Yoruba or Zulu.

The ideal candidate will be familiar with the latest theoretical trends
and research
methods in SLA and be able to assume a leadership role in training and
supervising
TAs and other language instructors for multiple languages that we offer in
the
department. S/he will be expected to teach courses at both the
undergraduate and
graduate levels, and conduct research in his/her area of specialization. The
successful candidate will be a vital member of the country's oldest
African language
department, a top tier African Studies Program, as well as an affiliate
faculty of
the thriving interdisciplinary doctoral program in SLA.

Minimum qualifications: PhD in second language acquisition, applied
linguistics, or
closely related field by the time of appointment; demonstrated ability to
conduct
research in the candidate's area of specialization; and native or near-native
fluency in an African language.

The salary for the position will be based on the individual's
qualifications and
experience and will be competitive.

Please send a cover letter summarizing research and teaching interests and
experience, a CV, a research statement, and a statement of teaching
philosophy. In
addition, letters of reference should be submitted directly by three
recommenders.
All application materials should be sent as e-mail attachments to
Professor Aliko
Songolo, Chair, Department of African Languages & Literature, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, 1220 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706. To ensure full
consideration, applications must be received no later than December 12, 2012.

Unless confidentiality is requested in writing, information regarding the
applicants
must be released upon request. Finalists cannot be guaranteed
confidentiality. A
criminal background check will be required prior to employment.

Madison promotes excellence through diversity and encourages all qualified
individuals to apply.

10.

CALL FOR PAPERS

International Planning History Society (IPHS) & Institute of Geography and
Spatial
Planning, University of Lisbon, Portugal

CONFERENCE

"COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL URBAN PLANNING IN AFRICA"

Lisbon, 5-6 September 2013

The Conference – Colonial and Postcolonial Urban Planning in Africa – aimsto
re-examine the history of colonial urban planning in Africa and
itslegacies in the
post-independence period, to learn from contemporaryAfrican scholarship,
and to
discuss how postcolonial urban planningcultures can actually address these
urban
challenges and contributeeffectively for the development of resilient and
sustainable cities inAfrica.

The Conference, to be held in Lisbon, in September 2013, organized by
theInstitute
of Geography and Spatial Planning - University of Lisbon and theInternational
Planning History Society (IPHS), will explore two key themesin the history
of urban
planning in Africa:

Theme I- 19th and 20th Century Colonial Urban Planning in Africa

Theme II- Postcolonial Urban Planning in Africa

In both themes we welcome country and cross-country approaches, studies
ofindividual
cities, and the comparison of African cities with one another.

We invite researchers, planners and postgraduate students to presentcritical
analyses of the multifaceted urban planning experience in Africa.

SELECTION CRITERIA

All submissions will be peer-reviewed for content and appropriateness tothis
conference.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

One of the expected outcomes of the conference is the publication of
aselection of
papers in an edited book and in peer-reviewed academicjournals. Plans have
been made
for possible publication in the IPHSsection of the journal "Planning
Perspectives -
An International Journalof History, Planning and the Environment". Plans
have also
been made forthe submission of a selection of papers to the "Journal of
ContemporaryAfrican Studies". The selected manuscripts will undergo the
standardpeer-review process of these journals.

We hope the conference will also provide the opportunity for
thedevelopment of an
inter-disciplinary and inter-generational researchnetwork which might help to
advance critical thinking about urban planningin Africa.

IMPORTANT DATES

Abstracts are due before January 15, 2013. Notices of acceptance will be
sent by
e-mail on February 15, 2013.

ORGANIZATION

All colleagues interested to participate in the conference are invited
tosubmit, by
e-mail, an abstract (up to 500 words), by no later than 15January 2013, to:

Carlos Nunes Silva

Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning

University of Lisbon, Portugal

E-mail: urbanplanningafrica@gmail.com

CONFERENCE LOCATION

Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, University of Lisbon, Portugal.

CONFERENCE WEBSITE: https://sites.google.com/site/cpcup2013conference/