Images of Africa

How many photos of Africa in your textbook offer your students positive images of family and the modern work world, and people in the midst of their everyday lives? 

The African Studies Center at UNC-Chapel Hill offers "How Do We Represent Africa?" as a helpful balance to photos  in books and in the media that emphasize poverty or include only the most exotic images.  These are the photos of ordinary life in Africa that seldom make it into our textbooks or our living rooms.  All the photos were taken by UNC students and faculty, and include brief descriptions of the scenes and people.

Show your students these photos and have a discussion about their reactions.  What do they find surprising?  And why are they surprised?

Making the Most of Culture Kits

If you're planning to use culture kits any time this term, it's not too early to start planning.

Carolina Navigators will soon be offering standards-based lesson plans with their culture kits. You can also borrow culture kits from the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and the African Studies Center. All are available without charge (postage both ways included) to North Carolina teachers.

Find programs lending culture kits to teachers, and learn more about making the most of them here.

Legacy of Timbuktu

January brings a great opportunity to explore the history of West Africa. Come to Cameron Village Library in Raleigh, from January 23-29, and view the medieval manuscripts that made Timbuktu famous.

Read more about how you can deepen your understanding of West Africa and earn CEUs at no charge.

From the African Studies Center, UNC-Chapel Hill:

For centuries largely unknown by Europeans (and later Americans!), Timbuktu in present-day Mali was once a center of scholarship known throughout West Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East. From January 23-29, 2010, there will be an important exhibit on manuscripts from Timbuktu, "The Legacy of Timbuktu," at Cameron Village Regional Library in Raleigh. More Details on the Exhibit

In collaboration with this exhibit, the African Studies Center is providing professional development opportunities for North Carolina teachers.

On January 26, Barbara Anderson will introduce a documentary on Timbuktu and Renaissance-era Africa, entitled "Caravans of Gold." 7:00-8:30pm at the Cameron Village Library in Raleigh.

Teachers can earn up to 3 CEUs by participating in all or part of an online professional development opportunity on the Legacy of Timbuktu created by the African Studies Center. For details and materials click on "Distance Learning Teacher Training" at http://www.unc.edu/depts/africa/outreach/.

In January the Center will also make available a Learning Box in support of the exhibit, "Timbuktu and the Sudanic Kingdoms of West Africa." The box includes books, maps, pictures, a video, and music. Teachers may borrow this box, free of cost, with free shipping both directions, by contacting Stacey Sewall at sewall@email.unc.edu.

For more information, please contact Barbara Anderson or Stacey Sewall in the African Studies Center.


-- Barbara Shaw Anderson
Associate Director, African Studies Center
Lecturer, Department of African and Afro-American Studies
African Studies Center, CB#7582
3027 FedEx Global Education Center
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7582
(919) 962-1406 office
(919) 843-2102 fax
b_anderson@unc.edu
www.global.unc.edu/africa