During the 2006 Program, Africa, the faculty assigned several short papers and one major interdisciplinary research project. This final project was the culmination of the Scholar's experience.
Lisa Bradley, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA; MFA The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Art and Architecture lectures and seminars focused on how cultural and environmental conditions interacted to influence art and architectural developments in terms of such diverse cultural manifestations as decorative coffin construction to body art and mask construction.
Josiane Exume How have African women been traditionally depicted in art and history? How does this relate to the Gilbert/Reynolds classifications? (Art/History)
Tara Iyer To what extent did colonialism influence the architecture of Islamic Mal and Christian Nigeria in different ways? (Architecture/History)
Ariana Jackson To what extent does narrative film depict Africa in a stereotypical fashion? (Art/History)
Yannick LeJaq Can photojournalists reconcile themselves to accusations of Afro-Pessimism? (Art/History)
Alex Levy Apartheid, Isicathamiya and the redemption of Black South African culture. (Art/History)
Manjula Raman In what ways is the conflict between Eurocentrism and Afrocentrism portrayed in contemporary African photography? (Art/History)
Samantha Singleton The illusion of Feminism: African art and its connection to female empowerment. (Art/History)
Alexandra Smith How did West African photography change before and after colonization? (Art/History)
Victoria Tan How did Ethiopian art evolve over time with respect to religion? (Art/History)
Stephanie Waties How is the distinction between peaceful and resisted assimilation of colonized African people indicated in their art and cultural practices? (Art/History)
Richard O. Djukpen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Scholars studied the geography of Africa; population and migration patterns; disease and health care management; and environmental resources and development issues.
Alexander Daniels What are the environmental causes of the Ivory Coasts civil war, and how has the Ivory Coasts appearance in the 2006 World Cup affected the conflict? (Environment/History)
Daniel Gentile How have water rights and water development evolved in post-apartheid South Africa? (Environment/History)
Joshua Kaplan How did environmental, geographic and political factors contribute to Ethiopia’s effective resistance to colonization? (Environment/History)
Daniel Katz Nigerian Industrialization and Environmental Protection: A Catch 22? (Environment/Literature)
Adam Kohn How has the historical development of Nigerian architecture been influenced by environmental factors? (Environment/History)
Yafim Landa What factors influence the spread of HIV in Nigeria, and how does the media influence awareness of the crisis? (Environment/History)
Nishal Shah How has the recent desertification crisis affected Sudan, and what are the implications of this crisis? (Environment/History)
Timothy Thomson An Economic Approach to the AIDS Pandemic in South Africa: An Analysis of the Survival of the South African Economy in the last Decade. (Environment/History)
Katrina Wilson What are the medical and cultural barriers against the elimination of the Guinea Worm, and how can they be overcome? (Environment/History)
Hakeem Ibikunle Tijani, University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL; Ph.D. University of South Africa
History and Politics lectures and seminars explored controversies in African History; African encounters with the Arabs and Europeans and resistance; colonial policies, decolonization, and the transfer of power.
Daniel Beniak What effect did foreign military mercenaries have on the shaping of Africa’s political past and present? (History/Environment)
Karome Dwight How did the Zulu Empire interact with the environment while it ruled before the British intervention? (History/Environment)
Hui Fang Dinner for Ten: How did cultural and historical influences affect population growth in Ethiopia, 1890-2000? (History/Environment)
Tamara Ibezim What were the historical and environmental implications of the Biafran War and how did the history and environment of the region play a significant role in the outcome of the war? (History/Environment)
Sundeep Iyer What was the role of photography during the 1960s in fomenting the fall Of Apartheid in South Africa? (History/Art)
Demetrius Lewis What types of environmental degradation have been documented over the decades south of the Sahara, and what legal measures have been put in place to ameliorate the impact on people, economy and the environment? (History/Environment)
Michael Medford On Nigerian independence: An analysis of the environmental and agricultural influences. (History/Environment)
Denise Olusala How has the Islamic religion influenced the architecture of the Swahili Coast? (History/Architecture)
Yunbai Shen Limitless Boundaries: Understanding the African Way and Ethnic Conflicts. (History/Environment)
Oakley Strasser Ex Africa Semper Aliquid Novi: What new evidence is there to support the Out of Africa theory? (History/Environment)
Jeffrey Wray How has the coffin making art form of the Ga people in Ghana been affected by the cultural history of the nation? (History/Art)
Huma Ibrahim, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, UAE; Ph.D. Indiana University
This course of study involved the following topics: nostalgia, life and struggle in Pre-Colonial Africa; struggle and resistance against colonialism; polygamy and the emergence of the women’s voice; racism and nationalism and metropolitan voices and colonies.
Alayna Anderson Did colonialism necessitate the occurrence of the phenomenon of resistance? (Literature/History)
Victoria Hartmann How did the institution of Islam alter West African portrayal of women in African society and marriage? (Literature/History)
Clare Henderson What effect has AIDS had on the life of women ad womens movements in South Africa? (Literature/History)
Anita Joseph What impact did newspapers have on the Rwandan genocide? (Literature/History)
Devin Kennedy In what ways did a uniquely African intellect, reflected and manifested in systems of proverbs and on-western literary methods, influence the European colonial notion of Africans as primitive? (Literature/History)
Marlaina Martin How has the Eurocentric school of thought led to a misrepresentation of Africa's past, and how has literature responded to this outlook? (Literature/History)
Kelly OBrien How did the colonial powers encourage leftism in Africa, and what effect did that have? (Literature/History)Kelli OConnell How are womens lives affected by the constraints of Islam in Senegalese society, specifically in reference to Mariana Ba's So Long a Letter? (Literature/History)
Joseph Satran How are the plays of Wole Soyinlea indicative of a uniquely African psyche? (Literature/History)