1 2009-10-05T16:48:00Z 30 false false true true false true false false false 559 Photo by Evan Cantwell 2009-10-05T16:48:00Z true false true false 1 Published In order to explore the complex ways in which African identities are constructed, expressed and represented, Mason’s African and African American studies program will host a multidisciplinary conference titled “African Identities in the Age of Obama” Oct. 8-10 at the Fairfax Campus. Conference Views African American Identities in the Age of Obama image/jpeg obama1.jpg 2488 2009-10-29T17:24:01Z http://news.gmu.edu/articles/868

1 Jeff Mantz 2009-07-09T15:11:00Z 30 false false false true false true <p><a href="http://www.globality-gmu.net/archives/322" target="_blank">Blood Diamonds of the Digital Age: Coltan and the Eastern Congo</a></p> false false false 531 Jeff Mantz in the Eastern Congo image/jpeg Mantz2.jpg 4525550 2009-07-09T15:11:00Z It is not surprising then that nearly a decade after a few daring investigative reports first emerged divulging how war in the eastern Congo was being fueled by the global trade in coltan—a dense silicate necessary for most of the electronic products we have today—both the ore itself and the story it told about the digital age linger in relative obscurity. Jeff Mantz, Department of Sociology and Anthropology false true false true 1 Published Blood Diamonds of the Digital Age: Coltan and the Eastern Congo Jeff Mantz from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology is back in the Congo, where he is pursuing field studies about coltan. He recently wrote "Blood Diamonds of the Digital Age: Coltan and the Eastern Congo." Mantz Pursuing Field Studies in Congo image/jpeg Mantz1.jpg 4620 2009-11-05T14:35:06Z http://www.globality-gmu.net/archives/322

1 B.J. Koubaroulis 2009-05-28T17:35:58Z 30 false false false false false true false true <p>The African and African American studies program at George Mason offers students several community outreach opportunities as well as opportunities to meet with distinguished scholars.</p> <p><br />On April 9, 2009, Dr. Ali Mazrui visited George Mason as the highlight of the program's 2009 "African Initiative." <br />An author of more than 20 books about Islam, globalization, the Diaspora, politics and more, Mazrui is also the director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton.</p> <p><br />He created a television series The Africans: A Triple Heritage, which was jointly produced by BBC, PBS and the Nigerian Television Authority.</p> <p><br />During his lecture at Mason, Mazrui argued that racism is receding, but that cultural prejudice is increasing. He also said that there is a difference between a post-racial society and post-racism society.</p> <p><br />Much of Mazrui's lecture focused on two concepts, which he identified as "Africans of the blood" and "Africans of the land."<br />"While many students and professors at Mason had a lot to say about Dr. Mazrui's concepts, his lecture is the beginning of an important dialogue at Mason about race and African identities in the 21st century," said Wendi Manuel-Scott, the director of the African and African American Studies program.</p> <p><br />Mazrui's visit to Mason is one of many opportunities for students at Mason to better understand the experiences of people of African descent throughout the African Diaspora--from the African continent to the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe.<br />In addition to a minor, students have access to the African and African American Studies Research and Resource Center. They can also connect with a research-minded group of faculty that is using technology to reflect on history and build community outreach programs.</p> <p><br />Through partnerships with community organizations, businesses and schools, the African and African American Studies program looks to make last contributions to the local community.</p> <p><br />Other outreach activities of the programs include providing group tours and mentoring workshops for the "Men on a Mission" program, which targets black males at the Dominion High School, located in Sterling, Virginia. The program has led to a 50-percent drop in the failure rate for that student group over the last two years.</p> <p><br />African and African American Studies program also provides lectures/workshops for the Saturday Leadership Academy. The Saturday Leadership Academy is a group-based mentoring program for African American males in grades 8-12 that meets every other Saturday.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> false 505 Dr. Ali Mazrui image/jpeg Mazrui.jpg 11317 2009-05-28T17:35:58Z “While many students and professors at Mason had a lot to say about Dr. Mazrui’s concepts, his lecture is the beginning of an important dialogue at Mason about race and African identities in the 21st century.” --Wendi Manuel-Scott, Director of African and African American Studies program false false true true 1 Published Author and Cultural Figure Mazrui speaks as part of Mason’s “African Initiative” The African and African American studies program at George Mason offers students several community outreach opportunities as well as opportunities to meet with distinguished scholars. On April 9, 2009, Dr. Ali Mazrui visited George Mason as the highlight of the program’s 2009 “African Initiative.” An author of more than 20 books about Islam, globalization, the Diaspora, politics and more, Mazrui is also the director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton. He created a television series The Africans: A Triple Heritage, which was jointly produced by BBC, PBS and the Nigerian Television Authority. Author and Cultural Figure Mazrui speaks as part of Mason’s “African Initiative” image/jpeg Mazrui_small.jpg 4533 2009-09-16T19:19:06Z

1 Republished From Not Just Letters 2009-04-28T13:02:45Z 7 false false false false false false <p>For updated information on these events and other programs, visit the <a href="http://pwr.gmu.edu/textandcommunity/2009/index.html">Text and Community web site</a>.</p> false false <p>The English Department has selected Zimbabwean novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga's debut novel, Nervous Conditions, for the 2009 Text and Community Program. Each spring, Text and Community fosters a collaboration between the English Department and other Mason departments and organizations, with professors encouraged to adopt the chosen title in their course work and students encouraged to read the book on their own, all with the goal of approaching a single text from diverse viewpoints and across a variety of disciplines. <br /><br />The choice of Dangarembga's book for this year's Text and Community is part of the English Department's Year of the African Novel, which has included a visit by renowned Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, at the 2008 Fall for the Book festival.<br /><br />"Because Achebe's appearance at Fall for the Book focused attention on African literature, the department wanted to choose an African novel for Text and Community," says professor Rosemary Jann, who chairs the committee planning this spring's program. "Since its publication in 1988, Nervous Conditions has attained the status of a classic woman's coming-of-age novel and seemed to our colleagues to offer a good counterpoint to Achebe's work."<br /><br />"Most people don't even know there are other African novels apart from Things Fall Apart," adds assistant professor Helon Habila, an African novelist himself. "Here's a chance for readers to discover more of Africa, a more contemporary Africa, not the Africa of more than 100 years ago that you have in Achebe's novel. Since it was published, Nervous Conditions has come to assume the status of an African classic and is perhaps the most-read African novel after Things Fall Apart. Its success depends on its accessibility and its ability to combine politics and history with art, creating in the process a unique picture of a unique place."<br /><br />Set in colonial Rhodesia in the 1960s, Nervous Conditions follows a teenage girl, Tambu, as she moves away from rural village life to study at a missionary school, befriending a cousin whose own childhood in England has been radically different from her own. This relationship and Tambu's growing awareness of the world around her sets the stage for exploring a number of themes: the difficulties inherent in retaining or revising traditional cultures in the midst of Western influences, the various impacts of colonization on African life, and the changing roles of women in Africa in the late 1960s and early 1970s.<br />&nbsp;<br />Nervous Conditions was the first English-language novel published by a black Zimbabwean woman. The year after its publication, it won the African section of the Commonwealth Writers Prize. The book is part of a proposed trilogy; a second novel, The Book of Not, was published in 2006, and Dangarembga is at work on the third book. <br /><br />Numerous events are planned as part of the 2009 Text and Community, including a visit by Dangarembga later this spring for a reading and discussion of her work. The department will host an essay contest for students, and potential plans include a screening of films written by Dangarembga and directed by other Zimbabwean filmmakers, and a staged reading of her play She No Longer Weeps.</p> false 496 image/jpeg nervousconditions_lg.jpg 39961 2009-04-28T13:02:45Z false false false false 1 Published English Department selects Zimbabwean novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions for 2009 Text and Community program. The English Department has selected Zimbabwean novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga’s debut novel, Nervous Conditions, for the 2009 Text and Community Program. Each spring, Text and Community fosters a collaboration between the English Department and other Mason departments and organizations, with professors encouraged to adopt the chosen title in their course work and students encouraged to read the book on their own, all with the goal of approaching a single text from diverse viewpoints and across a variety of disciplines. 2009 Text and Community Program Enhances Department’s Year of the African Novel image/jpeg nervousconditions_sm.jpg 5168 2009-04-28T13:24:19Z

1 Wendi Manuel-Scott 2009-03-10T18:19:06Z 1 false false false false false false false false false 459 image/jpeg obama-poster_lg.jpg 23993 2009-03-10T18:19:06Z false false false false 1 Published Call for Proposals To provide a critical forum for the continued examination of African identities, the African and African American Studies program at George Mason University will host a multidisciplinary conference titled “African Identities in the Age of Obama.” Call for Proposals: "African Identities in the Age of Obama" image/jpeg obama-poster_sm.jpg 3629 2009-06-22T18:11:35Z http://aaas.gmu.edu/conference_obama_2009

1 2008-03-12T11:45:18Z false false false false false false false false <p>February marks the annual celebration of Black History Month, and at Mason, a group of academic units, university offices, and student organizations have joined together to host a month-long set of intellectual, social, and cultural events designed to highlight the achievements of African Americans. The College of Humanities&rsquo; own program in African American Studies, the Office of Diversity Programs and Services, and staff members and students from the Black Student Alliance, the GMU chapter of the NAACP, the Iota Alpha Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and many others have joined forces to host a diverse line-up of activities to honor the challenges and the successes of African Americans throughout history.</p> <p>&ldquo;Black History Month is always an exciting time,&rdquo; said Scott Trafton, Director of the program in African American Studies. &ldquo;It represents not only an opportunity for African Americans to come together to celebrate the accomplishments throughout black history, but also to look forward to the challenges that lay ahead.&rdquo; &nbsp;</p> <p>This sentiment is reflected in the range of programming available during this year&rsquo;s Black History Month. The kickoff celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., including a performance by Mason&rsquo;s student gospel choir. On February 7, Dr. Thomas C. Battle and Donna M. Wells, both of Howard University, led an illustrated multimedia presentation entitled &ldquo;The Anointed Voices of Unity&rdquo; drawn from their book of the same name, which documents more than 150 historic items from Howard's Moorland Spingarn black history archive, many never before published.</p> <p>On Wednesday, February 20, the events will culminate with the W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture by Dr. Tyrone Forman, Associate Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The title of his talk will be "Hear-No-Evil, See-No-Evil, Speak-No-Evil? Racial Apathy and Colorblindness in the Post Civil Rights Era."</p> <p>Black History Month was originally established in 1926 as &ldquo;Negro History Week&rdquo; by historian, author, journalist, editor, and educator Dr. Carter G. Woodson, and, this year, Black History Month focuses on its founder in its national theme, &ldquo;Carter G. Woodson and the Origins of Multiculturalism.&rdquo; Woodson believed that the American educational system often downplayed or ignored the wide range of positive contributions made by people of African descent throughout history, and, instead, national attention remained overly focused on negative portrayals of African Americans. In response, Woodson campaigned for the institution of a period of consideration focused on the incredible achievements of the vast variety of black peoples across the globe, especially those living in America, and, since then, has been known as &ldquo;The Father of Black History.&rdquo;</p> <p style="font-weight: bold;">The W.E.B. DuBois lecture will take place Wednesday, February 20 in SUB II, Rooms 3 and 4 at 3 p.m.</p> false 415 2008-03-12T11:45:18Z false false false false 1 Published February marks the annual celebration of Black History Month. On Wednesday, February 20, the events will culminate with the W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture by Dr. Tyrone Forman, Associate Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Black History Month Activities Culminate with W.E.B. DuBois Lecture 2008-08-22T15:35:10Z