Ghana
Challenges of a Developing Nation
June 14 - 25, 2009
Itinerary
This 12-day seminar begins and ends in Legon, and includes visits to Accra, Cape Coast, and Kumasi. Click here to see the Summer 2009 Seminar itinerary.
Seminar Fee
CIEE Member: $2,650 Non-Member: $2,850
Academic Content (please note this is tentative and subject to change)
Lectures
- Historical Overview of Colonial and Post-Colonial Ghana
- Globalization and the Ghanaian Economy
- Evolution to Democratization in Ghana
- Role of Ghanaian Women in National Development
- Major Issues in Health Care and the Environment
- Contemporary Societal Ills: Unemployment, Crime, and Family Instability
- Ghana and the African Diaspora
- Role of Culture in National Development
Co-curricular Site Visits & Field Trips
- University of Ghana
- Accra City Tour
- DuBois Centre
- Walking tour of Nima neighborhood
- Local NGO’s working on issues of women’s rights and public health
- Cape Coast: Elmina Slave Fortress and Kakum National Park
- Kumasi and Ashanti Region
- Rural Villages: Kente and Adinkra Production Sites
- Prempeh II Jubilee Museum
Rationale
During most of its post-colonial history, Africa has been faced with a variety of very serious challenges, not least of which have included economic decay, political instability, gender oppression, deteriorating environments, and a variety of other social ills. How has Ghana, considered to be one of the most successful countries in Africa today, been coping with these challenges over the past several years? How successful has Ghana been in facing the challenges of globalization, democratization, women's liberation, health care delivery, and environmental protection, to name just a few? What are some of the unique historical and cultural patterns, particularly with its uniquely Pan-African background and connections to the African Diaspora that are contributing to the way in which Ghanaians are facing these challenges today? These and other questions are at the heart of this seminar.
Host Institution
As the oldest and largest of the five public universities in Ghana, the University of Ghana has an enrollment of over 30,000 students and a faculty of over 400. Through its various faculties, institutes, and centers, the University of Ghana seeks to fulfill its mission...“to develop world-class human resources and capabilities to meet national development needs and global challenges through quality teaching, learning, research, and knowledge dissemination.”
Seminar Leadership
Michael Williams is the Executive Director of the Aya Centre. Previously, Dr. Williams served as the Resident Director for the CIEE Study Center at the University of Ghana for twelve years. During this period he was also an adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Ghana. Before moving to Ghana in 1994, Dr. Williams taught at various universities in the United States, last serving as an Associate Professor of Sociology and the Director of Africana Studies at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Williams researches, writes, and publishes in the areas of race and ethnicity, African-American familial life, the sociology of knowledge, and Pan-Africanism.
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