02/27/2009
TWO DAY REGIONAL CONFERENCE - FEB 27-28, 2009
Friday evening : Union Station Restaurant, 125 Pleasant Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Directions: From Mass Pike: Take Exit 4 then follow directions From Springfield. From Springfield and points South: Take I-91 North to Exit 18. Turn left on Route 5. Proceed 3/4 mile. Union Station is on the right. From Greenfield and Points North: Take I-91 South to Exit 20. Take Route 5 (King Street) south approximately 2 miles. Union Station is on the left two blocks past Main Street. The restaurant used to be the town’s train station. Parking is available. Tel: 413-586-5366.
Saturday: 207 & 106 Seelye Hall
Smith College
Please register by February 18, 2009 (Online registration form).
The Five College African Studies Conference (FICAS) is a meeting of scholars from throughout New England and eastern New York State.
DESCRIPTION:
The Five Colleges of western Massachusetts (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst) will host a regional conference on February 27-28, 2009, at Smith College in Northampton MA. Our objective is to provide an informal arena for scholars of Africa in all disciplines, from throughout New England and eastern New York State, to gather informally to exchange views and to discuss common concerns and shared issues.
We warmly welcome all colleagues to this conference; please note this on your calendars and inform your friends in the region. The conference will meet on the Smith College campus. Please register by February 18, 2009.
Participants will be asked to cover their own transport and lodging. (We have reserved a block of hotel rooms at a reduced rate at the Northampton Quality Inn.) The conference will provide a casual dinner on Friday and continental breakfast and light lunch on Saturday. For information on the conference please contact David Newbury, Smith College: dnewbury@smith.edu or the Five College African Studies and Scholars Program at 577-3778 or asp@fivecolleges.edu.
**UPDATED SCHEDULE** as of 2-27-09
Friday evening:
5:45 pm Conference Registration opens
6:00 pm Dinner
7:00pm Roundtable Chair: Nelson Kasfir (Dartmouth College)
Frank Holmquist (Hampshire College) “Kenya after the Post-Election Violence”
Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban (Rhode Island College) “Shari'a in Sudan after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement”
Richard Lobban (Rhode Island College & Naval War College) “Current Issues and Circumstances in Darfur”
Al Mosley (Smith College) “Resource Curse Issues in Africa”
Jim Igoe (Dartmouth College) “Biodiversity Conservation and the Privatization of Sovereignty in Africa: Recent Trends in Tanzania”
Nelson Kasfir (Dartmouth College) “Why Democratization in Uganda Has Stalled”
Saturday:
8 am: Informal coffee.
9 - 10:30 am: first panel session.
“Leadership Dynamics in New African Democracies”
Chair: Peter Von Doepp (University of Vermont) "Reconsidering Leadership and Agency in African Politics"
Thomas Hull (Simmons College) "The Leadership Challenge in Africa: Observations and Reflections."
Richard Marcus (California State University, Long Beach) "Leadership and Governance in Madagascar"
Scott Taylor (Georgetown University) "Big Men, Presidential Authority, and the Limits of Neopatrimonialism in Africa"
11 am - 12:30 pm: second panel session.
"Research Initiatives in Africa"
Chair: Rowland Abiodun (Amherst College)
Adeyinka Banwo (Westfield State College) "The Food Farmers in Colonial Nigeria: A Case of British Pragmatism or 'Native' Inertia?"
Tabitha Mulyampiti (Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda) "Gender Research in Africa"
Mojubaolu Okome (Brooklyn College) “ÀÌNÍ OBÌNRIN KÒ SEÉ DÁKÉ LÁSÁN, BÍ A DÁKÉ LÁSÁN, ENU NÍÍ YO NI* Women’s Leadership Roles in Aládŭrà Churches in Nigeria and the US”
Noel Twagiramungu (The Fletcher School, Tufts University) “The African Postcolonial State and Reconciliation in Postgenocide Rwanda.”
1:30 – 2:30 pm: lunch.
Discussion: A regional organization of Africa scholars
2:30 – 4:30 pm: Roundtable.
“African cinema in the classroom.”
Chair: Josef Gugler (University of Connecticut);
Jim Ault (Independent film producer); Dale Hudson (Amherst College); Sonia Lee (Trinity College); Patrick Mensah (University of Massachusetts, Amherst); Demetria Shabazz (University of Massachusetts, Amherst).
4:30 – 6 pm: Film Screening and discussion.
Nha Fala/My Voice (2002, Guinea-Bissau, Flora Gomes, 90 minutes): A Musical With Messages.
**The panel session will end at about 4:30 on Saturday; and the film session at about 6:30 pm, to allow guests to return home.
This conference was made possible with the support of the Five College African Studies Council and the Smith College Lecture Fund and African Studies Program.
