African Studies Research Report 2011 About the Center

Center for AFRICAN STUDIES RESEARCH REPORT 2011 ABOUT THE CENTER

One of the nation’s premier institutions for teaching and research about Africa

Founded in 1965, the Center for African Studies at UF has been continuously designated a U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center for Africa for 30 years. It is currently one of only 12 such centers nationally, and the only Africa NRC located in a sub-tropical zone. Title VI funding to CAS supports research, teaching, outreach, and the development of international linkages in Africa.

The Center has over 100 affiliated teaching and research faculty in all of the core disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, as well as in agriculture, business, engineering, education, fine arts, natural resources and environment, journalism and mass communications, law, tourism, and natural sciences. Graduate study on African issues may be pursued in any of these fields. Center faculty maintain ties with universities across the African continent, including institutions in Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The Center’s innovative and influential on-line journal, the African Studies Quarterly, is the first fully peer-reviewed electronic journal devoted to the field. ASQ plays an important and largely unique role in facilitating the publication of research on and from Africa, and offers invaluable professional training for UF graduate students who serve on its editorial board.

Graduate study of Africa at UF

Graduate study with a focus on Africa can be carried out in virtually every graduate or professional program across the university. Prospective students are encouraged to consult the websites of the individual programs for admissions procedures and criteria. Students in any graduate program at UF have the option of pursuing a Graduate Certificate in African Studies. We also encourage them to consult the Center’s website and to contact us when they submit their applications.

Complementing formal coursework, a regular and dynamic series of lectures, conferences and other activities open to all interested graduate students provide rich opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and discussion about Africa. Most significantly, a number of dynamic CAS- sponsored interdisciplinary working groups organize speakers and events that bring together faculty and graduate students with shared interests, providing students with unique opportunities for research and professional development.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM THE DIRECTOR...... 4

FACULTY REPORTS Sharon Abramowitz - Mental Health, Humanitarian Intervention, and Reconstruction in Liberia...... 5 Antoinette Tidjani Alou - Queen Sarraounia and the Civilizing Mission: The Politics of Memory...... 6 Kate Baldwin – Non-State Actors, Public Goods, and Political Accountability in Africa...... 7 Steven Brandt - Out of SW Ethiopia: a Refugium for Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherers?...... 8 Brenda Chalfin - Urban Planning and Governmental Proliferation in Ghana’s Port City of Tema...... 9 Donna Cohen & Claude Armstrong – Built Work and the Future: Tanzania and Morocco...... 10 Elizabeth Devos – Strengthening the Ghana National Ambulance Service...... 11 James Essegbey – Preparing Documentary Outputs for an Endangered Community...... 12 Abe Goldman – Parks as Agents of Social and Environmental Change in Eastern & Southern Africa...... 13 Brent Henderson – When an Endangered Language Goes Global: Documenting Chimiini...... 14 ABDOULAYE KANE - The Baraka Tijani: The Structure and Pattern of a Transnational Religious Circuit....15 Anne Mette Kjaer – Understanding Why and When Ruling Elites Support Productive Sectors...... 16 Agnes Leslie – Chinese Investments in Zambia and Senegal: State Collaboration and Worker Confrontation...17 Robert McCleery – Working Together to Conserve Swaziland’s Wildlife Resources...... 18 Barbara McDade Gordon – African Entrepreneurs: On the Continent and in the Diaspora...... 19 Terje Ostebo – Islam, Ethnicity, and the State in Ethiopia/Horn of Africa...... 20 Francis E. Putz & Claudia Romero – Global Climate Change in the Eastern Cape of South Africa...... 21 Daniel Reboussin – Library Research Supporting African Studies Academic Programs...... 22 Richard Rheingans – Exploring Health Disparities in Africa...... 23 Victoria L. Rovine – Clothing, Colonial Expositions, and Images of Africa...... 24 Peter Schmidt – The Restoration of Kanazi Palace in NW Tanzania: Sustainable Heritage Tourism...... 25 Frank Seidel – Documenting Nalu: an Atlantic Language on the Coast of Guinea...... 26 Renata Serra – Governing Cotton Sectors in West and Central Africa...... 27 Daniel Smith – An African Re-immersion...... 28 Alioune Sow – Memoir and Migration in Mali...... 29 Luise White – Is Post-Conflict an Oxymoron?...... 30

STUDENT REPORTS Erin Bunting – Patterns of Disturbance via Landscape-level Vegetation Analysis in Southern Africa...... 31 Timothy Fullman – Elephant Community Ecology in Southern Africa...... 32 Jason Hartz – Health Perspectives among Senegalese Immigrants in Cincinnati, OH...... 33 Elihu Isele – Shamba Maisha: Agriculture and Health among HIV+ Populations in Western Kenya...... 34 Daniel Jakubowski – Egyptian Video Art and the Performance of Identity...... 35 Cara Jones – Giving Up the Gun: Life Post-Rebellion in Central Africa...... 36 Marit Tolo Ostebo – Gender Equity in Ethiopia: Concepts, Practices, and Strategies...... 37 Alison Montgomery – Negotiating the Spaces of Fairtrade in South Africa’s Wine Industry...... 38 Shylock Muyengwa – Elite Capture of CBNRM Programs in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe...... 39 Collins Nunyonameh – Mining and Community Development in Ghana...... 40 MacKenzie Moon Ryan – Kanga Hits the Runway: Fashion and an East African Textile...... 41 Elhadji Sarr – Democracy in the West African Novel...... 42 Amy Schwartzott – Weapons and Refuse as Media: Recycling in Mozambican Urban Arts...... 43 Samuel Schramski – Resilience and Social Networks in South Africa’s Eastern Cape...... 44 Noah Sims – Not So Hidden Treasures: Public Archaeology and Collaboration in Bukoba, Tanzania...... 45 Jessica Steele – Linking Livelihoods and Land Cover in Southern Africa...... 46 Erik Timmons – Embodiment, Emplacement, and Lyrical Discourse in Nairobi...... 47

2 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Duncan M. Wambugu - Towards the Teaching of Kenyan Art Music in High School...... 48 Keith R. Weghorst – Social Networks and Voting in Africa...... 49 Ann Witulski – Islamic Education Curriculum Reform Politics in Morocco...... 50 Christopher Witulski – Changing Narratives and Musical Diversity in Moroccan Gnawa Music...... 51 Deborah Wojcik – Information Flows and Perceptions of Resources in the Okavango Delta...... 52

COLLABORATIVE PROJECT REPORTS Kongo Across the Waters: a Collaborative Exhibition of the Harn Museum of Art and the RMCA.....53 Sub-Saharan Africa Business Environment Report (SABER) Project...... 54 Partnership to Strengthen Tourism Management in South Africa...... 55 2010 FIFA Football World Cup: Resident and Visitor Perspectives...... 56 MDP Summer Practicum in Botswana...... 57 Tourism Demand Assessment - Kafue National Park, Zambia...... 58 Trans-Saharan Elections Project (TSEP)...... 60

AFRICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY...... 62

FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIPS...... 63

SUPPORT RESEARCH ON AFRICA...... 64

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 3 FROM THE DIRECTOR ABE GOLDMAN

We are very pleased to present the University of Florida’s Center for African Studies (CAS) 2011 Research Report. The following synopses provide an overview of the diversity and depth of work on Afri- ca being carried out at the University of Florida. Our faculty and graduate students as well as visiting scholars are involved in research that spans the continent geographically and ranges in focus from music, dance, literature, and the arts to natural sci- societies; health and society; cultural A State Department grant supported ences and wildlife conservation, and heritage management; the arts; and the “Trans-Saharan Elections Proj- from political, social, and economic the dynamics of language change. ect,” which links CAS to partners in change to the human and environ- Finally, the work reported here six countries across the Sahel. In ad- mental impacts of disease, climate reflects the important interconnec- dition, the new Masters in Develop- change, and globalization. tions between research and educa- ment Practice (MDP) degree, jointly Cumulatively, this research tion. The many linkages between offered with the Center for Latin is marked by three characteristics the faculty and student reports American Studies, took in its second that reflect CAS’s mission, philoso- below reflect the conviction that our class and hired a new Director. phy, and context. It is, first of all, mission as part of a major research We are pleased to acknowl- work that is directly engaged with university involves both producing edge support from various sources. the continent and its peoples, both new knowledge and understanding, Most notably, CAS was again in terms of research topic as well as and training and preparing a new granted funding as a Title VI Na- in recognition of the importance of generation of scholars equipped to tional Resource Center for African collaborative engagement with our address a wide range of issues. Studies in 2010, one of only 12 in colleagues in Africa. Secondly, while In addition to work by the country. Funding from this grant our faculty and students are rooted individual and smaller groups of helps us to continue our work and in disciplines and the perspectives researchers and students, several to support students through Foreign and methods of these disciplines, larger collaborative projects includ- Language and Area Studies (FLAS) most of their work is highly interdis- ed in this report help illustrate the fellowships. These students span ciplinary, as illustrated by the very range of interdisciplinary work at UF a wide range of departments and high proportion of research projects and CAS. Our affiliated faculty at the colleges, and the language as well and activities that cross and blend Harn Museum and the School of Art as disciplinary training the FLAS disciplinary approaches. A major & Art History are preparing a major fellowships facilitate helps prepare objective of CAS is to bring together exhibit of Central African Kongo highly skilled and knowledgeable scholars from numerous back- art in collaboration with the Royal new scholars and researchers who grounds and perspectives to identify Museum for Central Africa in Tervu- have deep understanding of African and address important questions of ren, Belgium. The first edition of the societies and environments. intellectual and applied significance. Sub-Saharan Business Environment With respect to this goal, we are par- Report (SABER) was completed in We trust you will enjoy reading ticularly pleased with the dynamism collaboration with the Center for about the varied and interesting of our interdisciplinary working International Business Research and research being carried out by our groups, which focus on such diverse Education (CIBER). Several ongoing faculty and graduate students. For areas relevant to Africa as natural projects have examined interconnec- more information about CAS, please resource management; governance tions among tourism, development, visit www.africa.ufl.edu. and development; Islam and Muslim and livelihoods in southern Africa.

4 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Mental Health, Humanitarian Intervention, and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Liberia SHARON AMBRAMOWITZ

The violence of the Liberian civil war was widely recognized as being particularly devastating for civilian populations, leading to the displacement of hundreds of thousands, the commission of numerous atrocities, and the pervasive presence of violence throughout many regions of the country. In the eight years following the conclusion of the civil war, a vast humanitarian effort has been underway to rebuild Liberia – including rebuilding the state and security sectors, promoting democratization, providing health and human services, and creating employment opportunities. However, the status of mental health in West Africa’s post-conflict reconstructions is questionable. Neither medicine nor social service, neither human right nor security matter, and therefore neither fish nor fowl, newly reconstituted state entities and inter- how these interventions came violence, and the utility of the national humanitarian organizations aren’t to substitute for much-needed globalized forms of gender- quite sure how to deal with the unique chal- mental health care; and relat- based violence intervention that lenges posed by the mental health sector’s edly, how local understandings we find recurring in African specific needs. of mental health, illness, trauma, conflicts today. In my research, which is currently and insanity were integrated being developed into a book entitled Healing or neglected in contemporary Sharon Abramowitz is assistant professor of anthropology and the World: Trauma Healing, Humanitari- humanitarian practice. African Studies. anism, and Psychosocial Intervention in A new trajectory of my Liberia, I examine how healing the trauma of research follows gender-based the Liberian civil war became a proxy form of violence interventions in conflict humanitarian intervention that came to sub- and post-conflict settings across stitute for much-needed psychiatric services Africa. In this new project, I throughout the country. In my research, I examine local ethnohistories studied the varieties of forms of psychosocial of gender-based violence, and assistance, locally experienced traumas, and uncover culturally encoded national and international mental health forms of gender-protection in policies in order to observe how specific spaces that are currently domi- forms of health governance were made nated by violence and conflict. available in sectors designated “high prior- This research, which began in ity,” while issues like psychiatry and mental Liberia but quickly expanded health languished on the back burner for to the Democratic Republic of years at a time. Throughout my research, I the Congo, challenges global study how humanitarian organizations used conventions regarding the role psychosocial interventions, alongside other of “culture” and “tradition” in techniques like public media, Truth and Rec- promoting gender violence; and onciliation Commissions, and human rights advances an alternative theoreti- trainings to sway the Liberian population cal framework for thinking about to reject war and accept peace. I question the patternings of gender-based

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 5 Queen Sarraounia and the Civilizing Mission: Perspectives on the Politics of Memory Antoinette TIDjani Alou

“What is there in common between the University of Florida, Niger and Jamai- ca?” is a riddle that Leonardo Villalon proposed to me two years ago on my verandah in Niamey. The answer, which he had found on the University’s website, had everything to do with my family’s itinerary and nothing to do with research. Today, though, the polyvalent answer would be “Sarraounia” (a keyword of my research over the last ten years), Fulbright, and the Center for African Studies. So, who is Sarraounia? Used ge- nerically, Sarraounia (Hausa for “queen” or “female chief”) may designate various functions of female leadership. Among the Azna of Lougou, Bagagi, and elsewhere— predominantly animist until recently—this title refers especially to a female lineage that from the perspectives of both the and others take up positions on held noncentralized political and religious colonized and the colonizer. either side of the postcolonial authority. But religious authority has long This research is taking fence in an oppositional creation become the only remaining, and contested, in a book project entitled: Queen of heroes/anti-heroes and an prerogative of the Sarraounia. History books, Sarraounia and the Civilizing intertextual discourse on the which are far too few, largely ignore the Mission. Perspectives on the meanings of power, knowledge queens, priestesses, and female chiefs of the Politics of Memory. This work and history. The work brings recent past, thus depriving Niger of powerful aims at contributing to the gen- attention to a deliberately erased national female role models. The function of eral debate on narrative, history page of colonial history of the this peculiar religious, and formerly political, writing, myth-making and iden- final years of the 19th century leadership is inscribed in the social, cultural, tity construction in the local and and its postcolonial local and and political world of the Azna, whose world- global arenas. It looks specifical- global, narrative and ideologi- view, based on cults of nature and its spirits, ly at how the historical narrative, cal, creative and discursive, rural recognizes the crucial complementarily of imbued with epic intentions, and urban repercussions and ex- the male and female elements of the cosmos originating in the colonizing tensions. It focuses on the little- and of society. as well in the colonized space, known region of the Nigérien Sa- In Niger today, the title Sarraounia, explores and expunges the objec- hel and foregrounds unexplored generally treated as a name, conjures up im- tive of amnesia of an empire’s arenas of globalization, identity ages of Sarraounia Mangou, the most famous unacknowledged and silenced construction, gender, power, and of the Sarraounias, thanks to her resistance violence. The book describes and religion. to French domination, led by Captain Paul analyzes what happens when Antoinette Tidjani Alou is profes- Voulet, at the head of the Mission Voulet the fires of the counter-project sor of comparative literature at Chanoine. My current research, funded by of remembering, in the forms of the novel, the film, and the field Université Abdou Moumouni, the Fulbright Senior Scholar Program and Niger. She is a 2011-12 Fulbright (popular and official representa- hosted by the Center for African Studies at Senior scholar funded by the U.S. the University of Florida, is a transcultural tion and cultural practices and Department of State and hosted and multi-genre comparative approach to productions), catch and grow by the UF Center for African the reinvention/representation of postco- into a constellation of myth and Studies. lonial memory examined within a specific, counter-myth as African and history-inspired cultural constellation, seen French writers, film makers,

6 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Non-State Actors, Public Goods, and Political Accountability in Africa KATE BALDWIN

My current research analyzes results show that the participatory and their ability to hold politicians politics in contexts where the selection of chiefs results in more accountable? Although NGOs’ activi- state has a limited role in the consultation at the community level ties could increase participation and provision of basic public goods. and increased overall levels of par- create new institutions that counter- In many places in the developing ticipation. However, it also reduces balance the state’s power, they could world, traditional leaders, NGOs levels of contributions to local public also have less salutary effects on civic and other non-state actors provide goods, suggesting chiefs selected by engagement if they make local gov- important local public goods. I am community members may be less ef- ernance seem less relevant or if they interested in understanding the cir- fective at enforcing cooperation. We are captured by the existing political cumstances under which non-state are currently in the process of con- elite. actors are effective in providing local ducting open-ended interviews with The major difficulty in evalu- public goods, and the effects their clan chiefs and elders in a smaller ating the effects of NGOs’ activities activities have on political account- number of communities in order to is the selection bias in where these ability, state building and distribu- understand why clan chiefs selected organizations choose to work. This tive politics. Below, I describe two project is unique in that it takes of my current research projects on advantage of a randomized evalua- these topics. tion of a NGO’s poverty alleviation In Liberia, clan chiefs play a activities in Ghana, which is being key role in local governance. In- run by Dean Karlan and Christopher terestingly, there is great variation Udry at Yale University. The project across communities in the mode of “piggy-backs” on this randomiza- selecting clan chiefs. Together with tion to do a “secondary experimental Eric Mvukiyehe at Columbia Uni- analysis” that looks at the impact of versity, I am conducting a project the intervention on a new outcome. that investigates whether communi- Specifically, I examine the effect ties where clan chiefs are selected of the NGO’s intervention on the through participatory processes have breadth of political participation and more accountable and effective local the ability of voters to turn incum- governance institutions. We identify bents out of office during Ghana’s the effects of participatory processes most recent local elections (held in by taking advantage of a break in December 2010/January 2011). I the process of selecting clan chiefs have done this by combining data in Liberia at the end of the civil war. on the location of the experimental At the end of the war, local chiefs communities with records obtained in some areas were appointed by from local governments. The results higher level authorities, while chiefs in participatory processes are less will shed light on whether NGOs in other areas were selected by their effective in enforcing cooperation. increase or decrease political par- communities; however, all chiefs Across Africa, NGOs play an ticipation, and whether they make it who became incapacitated after important role in local public goods easier or more difficult for citizens 2002 were replaced by chiefs select- provision and service delivery, and to hold their elected representatives ed through participatory processes. NGOs are often viewed by donors as accountable. This project draws on rich an important tool for delivering aid survey data and outcomes from in contexts where governments are Kate Baldwin is assistant professor of behavioral games conducted with corrupt. But do the governmental political science and affiliate faculty in the Center for African Studies. members of more than 70 clans in activities of NGOs have (unintend- Liberia. The surveys and behavioral ed) consequences on the political games were administered in De- engagement of citizens, their evalua- cember 2010 and January 2011. The tions of their elected representatives,

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 7 Out of SW Ethiopia: a Refugium for Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherers? STEVEN BRANDT

During the Spring 2010 and 2011 se- mesters, thirteen UF anthropology undergraduate majors and two graduate students participated in an ongoing archaeological field project at Moche Borago, a large ~70m wide rock shelter situated on the slopes of a dormant volcanic mountain in southwest Ethio- pia. Currently co-directed by Steven A. Brandt of the UF Department of Anthropol- ogy and Ralf Vogelsang of the University of Cologne’s Institute of Prehistoric Archaeol- ogy, the UC Collaborative Research Center/ UF Southwestern Ethiopian Archaeological Project (CRC/SWEAP) is focused upon test- ing the hypothesis that the SW Ethiopian Highlands were a major environmental and cultural refugium for anatomically modern hunter-gatherers dealing with the cold, arid climates of the Last Glacial prior to human migrations across and out of Africa by excavations. Our new geolo- majority of their field time learn- ~50,000 years ago. gist/geomorphologist from the ing how to excavate the rock SWEAP first began in 2006 with U. of Cologne conducted fur- shelter’s very complex natural funding from the U.S. National Science ther research into the shelter’s and human-made deposits dat- Foundation, but since 2010 has been funded natural and cultural formation ing to ca. 60-40,000 years ago, by the Sonderforschungsbereich or SFB processes, and we continued our and to record all stone artifacts (German Science Foundation) as part of a systematic site survey of sur- and animal remains using Total four year multidisciplinary collaborative rounding areas. We also mapped Stations. They also learned research initiative centered at the University and took samples of natural how to conduct systematic of Cologne and entitled “Our Way to Europe: obsidian flows ~ 20km southeast archaeological and environmen- Culture-Environment Interaction and Hu- of Moche Borago which we be- tal surveys of the surrounding man Mobility in the Late Quaternary.” SFB lieve may have been the source mountain terrain and neighbor- funds cover all field and international travel of most of the raw material used ing Southern Rift Valley, and expenses for UF and German faculty and to make the tens of thousands of discovered Ethiopia’s tremen- graduate students, as well as most Ethiopian stone artifacts recovered from dous natural and cultural diver- field and travel expenses of the UF under- our excavations at the shelter. sity by visiting national parks graduates. The 7 UF undergradu- and interacting with many of the As in years past, our Spring 2011 ates who participated in the country’s 80 + ethnic groups. field project was based at a tented camp on Spring 2011 field season re- Seven UF undergraduates will the western slopes of Mt. Damota 2200m ceived 14 credit hours in African also attend the Spring 2012 field above sea level and five minutes walk from archaeological field methods season. Moche Borago shelter. Field research through the UF International focused upon exposing more of the shel- Center’s Study Abroad program. Steven Brandt is associate ter’s oldest deposits so that we could have a They attended course lectures at professor of anthropology and better understanding of the earliest archaeo- UF in January and April, and 8 affiliate faculty in the Center for African Studies. Funding for this logical cultures. We also put in a new test weeks of fieldwork and travel in trench that exposed archaeological deposits project is through the German Ethiopia during February and Science Foundation. potentially dating earlier than our previous March. The students spent the

8 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Urban Planning and Governmental Proliferation in Ghana’s Port City of Tema brenda chalfin

My on-going concern with governmental border zones and the structuring of material life motivates a new project I am undertaking in Ghana’s port city of Tema, where I was based from June through December 2011. Funded by a Fulbright-Hays Award and the UF Center for Humanities and the Public Sphere, my research in Tema addresses the impact of urban planning on public life and spatial ordering in the city. Countering prevail- ing accounts of African urban cities which emphasize the organic logics of informality, migration and uncontained sprawl, the project seeks insight into the dynamics of African urbanism by taking seriously the reach of governing authorities and their grip on the terms and pace of urban development possibilities allying the governed This dialectic of urban planning, and the practices and experiences of urban and the ungoverned, of particu- alter-planning, and replanning is dwellers. lar interest to me are the forms evident across a range of loca- Tema presents a particularly fasci- of public life that flourish in tions and processes, from the nating case of long-range urban planning the interstices between Tema’s conditions of urban sanitation in Africa. On par with other high modernist highly scripted master plan and sewerage, and the layout urban schemes of the post-war era, from and residents’ own aspirations and use of commercial space, to Brasilia and British New towns, to Ameri- for success and upward mobil- the practices of residential build- can suburbs and Soviet industrial cities, ity amidst the contingencies of ing and demolition. In short, my Tema was established shortly after Ghana contemporary urban existence. research suggests that in the city gained independence in 1957. The city was At the center of my of Tema, and likely other African the brainchild of Ghana’s first president, research is the state-owned urban formations, the ordering Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and world-renowned Tema Development Corpora- and dis-ordering of the urban urbanist Constantin Doxiadis, who sought tion, an entity that holds nearly landscape is an outcome of regu- to launch Ghana into a fully modern future exclusive de jure control of the latory profusion as much as lack unhampered by its pre-industrial past or city’s lands, building codes and thereof. cultural distinctions separating citizens from development schemes. Result- each other and an emerging global economic ing in a tenuous ruling coalition, Brenda Chalfin is associate ecumene. cooperating and competing with professor of anthropology and My research in Tema combines TDC in the de facto governance affiliate faculty in the Center for African Studies. Dr. Chalfin’s ethnography, institutional and architectural of the city are the Tema Metro- history and archival research to investigate research in Tema is funded by a politan Assembly, Tema Tradi- 2010-11 Fulbright-Hays Faculty the governing bodies involved in formulat- tional Council, and Tema Port Research Abroad grant as well ing and implementing strategies of urban Authority. In this overly-ruled as a Library Enhancement Grant management over the city’s half century yet fractured political landscape, from the UF Center for Humani- of existence. It is equally concerned with new solutions for urban living ties and the Public Sphere. the experiences of Tema’s residents as they arise among both the city’s rich negotiate the city’s tightly conceived and and poor, inspiring in turn new largely preformatted built environment. forms of urban regulation and Given my underlying concern as a political contests among the designated anthropologist with the spectrum of political agents of urban governance.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 9 Built Work with Proposals for the Future: Tanzania and Morocco Donna Cohen & Claude Armstrong

This year we completed our are now usually replaced with im- programs, residences, artisan pro- work for the village of Ntulya, ported corrugated metal. A vaulted duction, shops, restaurants, cafés, Tanzania (Mwanza region). In re- roof would keep all materials local, and other services. sponse to an initial request from the vary the forms of the buildings, and The Fez proposal led us to village of Nytula, the Africa School- advance the skills of the crew. further research into the possibility house Project, including the Ntulya Instead, over the course of the proj- of earth building at a large scale. In School complex and the Health Post ect, the decision was made to roof August we presented a paper “Rare (Kituo cha Afya), opened in 2011 and building in the more usual manner. Earth: MidRise Mud” at the Alvar is now in session for 600 children. We continue our design explorations Aalto Academy in Finland. The All buildings were con- and expect to apply them in the area, paper looks at the possibilities for structed with a local crew and sus- to both new and existing structures. expanding the use of this sustainable tainable materials. The crew trained Our proposal for “Basket-Roofs of and beautiful building material, and on-the-job while constructing the Misungwi” - new roofs designed for presents the large scale building in 12 school buildings and the Health the renovation of secondary schools Fez. Post. Bricks were formed and baked in Mwanza region - is one example on site in low fire kilns fueled by rice of the adaptation. Donna L. Cohen is associate profes- husks. As the complex progressed We also designed a proposal sor in the School of Architecture and affiliate faculty in the Center for over several years, critical material for a neighborhood in the city of African Studies. Claude E. Armstrong Fez, Morocco, which had requested details and construction techniques is visiting lecturer in the School of were refined. With the project ideas from architects for a series of Architecture and affiliate faculty finished, the local crew has gained new buildings to serve both resident in the Center for African Studies. valuable building skills for future artisans and tourists. This proposal Funding for these projects is from: projects. centered around the historic Place Africa Schoolhouse Foundation, GO! Our proposed design for the Lalla Yedouna and included the sen- Campaign, Alvar Aalto Academy, UF Health Post attempted to introduce sitive renovation of several existing Center for African Studies, and the vaulted “Guastavino” technology for buildings, to answer the request for UF College of Design, Construction the roof. Thatch roofs had been com- a major catalyst for artisan develop- & Planning. mon in the area until recently, but ment, with spaces for educational

10 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Strengthening the Ghana National Ambulance Service ELIZABETH DeVOS

During the 2010-2011 year, the Depart- ment of Emergency Medicine in the College of Medicine-Jacksonville continued our relationship with the Ghana National Ambulance Service in working to improve access to and the quality of emergency care for the country’s citizens. Dr. Ahmed Zakariah, the Director of the Ghana National Ambulance Service, spent 2 months in residence during late 2010 and we presented his experience in the poster presentation “EMS and Emergency Medicine Observation to Improve the Ghana Ambulance Service” at both the December 2010 Duval County Medical Society Poster and Abstract Session and the University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville Advances in Education Poster Session during the April 2011 Medical Education Week. tion training for approximately In addition to ongoing physician 50 Emergency Medical Tech- training, Emergency Nursing nicians in the Greater Accra and Emergency Medical Techni- Region. In the coming year, we cian expertise is being developed plan to work to improve dispatch through this collaboration. To- and treatment protocols. Emer- gether, the working group plans gency Medicine is in its infancy to assist in the establishment of in Ghana; however, the recently the first Ethiopian Emergency formed African Federation for Medicine Society in the near Emergency Medicine has chosen future. The working group is Ghana to host the first African also collecting data for qual- Congress on Emergency Medi- ity improvement programs and cine in Accra in October 2012. other clinical research. I will join Dr. Zakariah as a member of the Local Organizing Elizabeth DeVos is director Committee for the congress. of international emergency Further, I continue to medicine education, assistant professor in the Department of work with the twinning program Emergency Medicine at UF Col- linking Addis Ababa University lege of Medicine-Jacksonville, and the Black Lion Specialty and affiliate faculty in the Center Hospital with the University of for African Studies. Funding for Wisconsin, People to People, these activities is from the West Inc., and the American Interna- African Research Association and the American International At the request of the Ministry of tional Health Alliance to develop Health Alliance. Health/Ghana National Ambulance Service, the first Emergency Medicine I had the pleasure of travelling to Accra to residency and Pediatric Emer- tour the dispatch center and several ambu- gency Medicine fellowship lance stations as well as providing resuscita- training programs in Ethiopia.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 11 Preparing Documentary Outputs for an Endangered Community JAMES ESSEGBEY

This summer I traveled with two actors and one videographer through Twi-speaking (Akan) areas in Ghana to record materials for web-based Beginning, Intermediate, and Business Akan courses. The project is supported by the UF Center for International Business Education & Research (CIBER) and the Center for African Studies. I also took advantage of the time in Ghana to finalize work on Ekla Tutrugbu, a reader for speakers of Nyagbo, with help from Kofi Dorvlo (Legon) and Felix Ameka (Leiden). One important consideration for every language documenter is how to give back to the community, and one exciting part of my project on documenting the language and culture of the Nyagbo was to provide a reader for the speakers. tain regularity of structure for the at the beginning of November to Initially, this looked as easy as tran- linguist, we produced a reader that receive a call that the reader was scribing their oral histories, and a had the full form on the left pages going to be launched at a big festi- number of cultural practices and folk and their spoken versions on the val of the Nyagbo - could we send stories which I had recorded, and right. Before the leaders of the more copies? My gratitude goes to putting them in the reader. How- community accepted the reader, we the Netherlands Organization for ever, finding the right orthography had to deal with issues concerning Scientific Research for funding the for a language that is undergoing the oral traditions which we had publication. change can be tricky. Considering included in a draft version. As soon that spoken language is necessar- as the traditions, which are usually James Essegbey is assistant professor in the Department of Languages, ily different from written one, the narrated to anyone who visited the area, were seen in print in the draft Literatures and Cultures and affili- question we faced was what exactly ate faculty in the Center for African version, disagreements concerning to represent. Nyagbo speakers drop Studies. a lot of agreement markers when them heated up to the point where it they speak and, initially, we thought looked like we were going to have an that we should include every mor- intra-ethnic conflict on our hands. pheme that is left out in order not to We were therefore compelled to take perpetuate a morphologically “defi- them out. By then I had started to cient” language system. In Nyagbo, despair that the reader would not most speakers could not make sense see its day in print. Thankfully all of the full form when they occurred was resolved and the final version in sentences because, as some said, appeared in print in September. “that is not how we talk.” We donated a number to the chiefs In the end, to ensure the and schools and gave a quantity to intelligibility of what we had writ- be sold to the community to defray ten for the speakers, and main- the cost of publishing. I was thrilled

12 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Parks as Agents of Social and Environmental Change in Eastern and Southern Africa abe goldman

This interdisciplinary multi-institutional project, supported by NSF funding, examines the social and environmental impacts of a sample of parks in four countries – Uganda, Tanzania, Botswa- na, and Namibia. The parks and landscapes around them span an ecologic gradient from mid-altitude forests to semiarid savan- nas and a demographic gradient from very densely populated agricultural landscapes to relatively sparsely populated pastoral or low intensity agricultural areas. My own research has focused mainly on Kibale National Park (KNP) in western Uganda, and the now densely populated landscape around it (with densities averag- ing about 300 or more per km2). I’ve done fected settlement around and problem in some locations, but fieldwork there since 2004, together with UF within KNP (as well as in other resource restrictions and expul- professors Michael Binford and Jane South- protected areas in Uganda). We sion are not widely cited by our worth, graduate students Joel Hartter (now are in the process of document- respondents. Contrary to expec- faculty at University of New Hampshire), ing the ways in which the human tations, the patterns of responses Amy Panikowski, Karen Kirner, and Kather- and animal ecology of the sur- do not vary significantly by ine Mullan, and several Ugandan and other rounding landscape has been wealth, gender or ethnicity, but collaborators. massively transformed by the they do vary strongly by distance KNP was a forest reserve for much of influx of agricultural and other from the park, with negative as- the 20th century before becoming a national migrants, and the shifting politi- sessments concentrated within park, and the area around it has been trans- cal ecology in which the park has one km from the boundary. We formed over that time from a sparsely popu- been involved in the broader suggest that these responses are lated to a densely settled agricultural land- context of social, political, and largely due to the fact that the scape. We have for several years investigated demographic change in this large majority of current resi- the history of settlement and the factors that region and at a national level. dents migrated to the area after attracted migration to different portions Among our other recent the park (or forest reserve) was of the area. In summer 2011, we looked in findings are that, despite the established, and that the area greater detail at the historic movements and park’s “fortress conservation” around the park has been so interactions among several groups around characteristics, and the animal thoroughly domesticated. These the park. We found complex and shifting hazards that many farmers conditions and outcomes are interactions among Batoro, Bakonjo, Bakiga, face, most people in our sample likely also to be true for other and others have and played major roles in within five km of KNP say they mid-altitude tropical forests in history of the region. Tensions among some benefit from the park, and only East Africa and elsewhere (Hart- groups opened opportunities for settlement a small proportion (<1/3) cite ter & Goldman, 2010). by others at various periods. Mining enter- the park’s negative impacts. prises to the south of the park also helped The benefits most often noted Abe Goldman is associate pro- bring migrants into the region, as have large are forms of ecosystem services fessor of geography and interim tea plantations, which have gone through (improved climate, etc.) rather director of the Center for African several cycles of decline and rehabilitation. Studies. This collaborative proj- than direct economic benefits Many migrant workers subsequently settled ect is funded by National Sci- (employment, income). Crop near (or sometimes in) the forest reserve. ence Foundation’s Human and raiding by park animals is a large Periods of political instability strongly af- Social Dynamics program.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 13 When an Endangered Language Goes Global: Documenting Chimiini brent henderson

Chimiini was once spoken only ditional stories, personal narratives, was glad to see this has enabled the in the port city of Brava on the and other ethnolinguistic material, Wantu wa Miini to maintain their coast of southern Somalia, the and developing web-based materi- language to a greater extent, even northernmost and most isolated als useful to the community and though many of the youths freely of the Swahili “dialects.” Though heritage speakers. It also includes mix Chimiini with Swahili in their spoken in Brava for a millenium, exploring the language from a sci- speech. the horrors of the ongoing civil war entific perspective and bringing out The project is now entering in Somali have caused nearly all insights that might be interesting for a phase of consolidating and finaliz- speakers of the language to become theoretical linguistics. ing data so that it can be made avail- refugees now living in large inter- Last summer I spent seven able to the community. This year we national cities like Atlanta, London, weeks in Mombasa, Kenya meeting will be depositing the data we have and Mombasa. As a result, the many of the hundreds of Bravanese collected into a digital archive for unique language and culture of the who live there and talking with them endangered languages and working Bravanese is quickly disappearing. about their language. Together, we to complete drafts of a grammar, In a multi-year project (now in year collected oral stories, specialized vo- dictionary, and book of proverbs. three) funded by the NEH through cabulary about fishing, agriculture, the NSF/NEH program Document- and traditional medicine, and doz- Brent Henderson is assistant profes- ing Endangered Languages program, ens of Chimiini proverbs. I was also sor of linguistics and affiliate faculty in the Center for African Studies. I am working with Bravanese com- able to introduce the orthography we Funding for this project is through have developed for Chimiini so that munities, as well as other scholars, the NSF/ NEH joint program for to further document the Chimiini hopefully people will be encouraged Documenting Endangered Lan- language. This includes writing a to write the language more. Though guages. reference grammar and dictionary it isn’t home, Mombasa is much of Chimiini, archiving digital record- closer culturally and linguistically ings of the language, publishing tra- to Brava than London or Atlanta. I

14 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

The Baraka Tijani: The Structure and Pattern of a Transnational Religious Circuit Abdoulaye Kane

I spent this past summer travelling along a transnational religious circuit that has developed over the past two decades, running from Mbour in Sen- egal to the Parisian suburb of Mantes- la-Jolie, by way of Fes, Morocco. The France-based architects of these religious circuits are followers of the Medina Gounass branch of the Tijani Muslim religious order. Because it is where the founder of the Tijani- yya Sufi Order, Sidi Ahmed Tijani, is buried, the city of Fes has emerged as the focal point for this transnational religious circuit. There is certainly nothing particularly new about the regular flow of Tijani pilgrims from West Africa to Fes. Tijani religious circuits between Morocco and Senegal date back to the end of the 19th century and Senegalese pilgrims to Mecca would often stop in Fes for special Ziarra (paying visit to saints, dead or alive) on their way back to Senegal. Tijani that is held in Medina Gounass, tion in the transnational circuit family members also travelled to Senegal Senegal. There, the Medina increases the charisma and regularly to pay visits to important Tijani Gounass branch of the Tijaniyya authority of religious leaders in religious authorities, as well as predomi- conduct a two-week spiritual re- the eyes of their followers, most nantly Tijani cities and villages. What is new, treat outside the city, in a cleared of whom have never been out of however, is the role of the Tijani diaspora in forest where only men are pres- the country, and who read the the expansion of these transnational circuits ent. The event held in Mantes- annual travels and crossings of to their European host countries through la-Jolie is designed to give to national borders as an expansion the celebration of transnational events that followers who are far away from of their Sufi order to faraway and require participants to travel across national home a chance to share in the non-Muslim places. borders. My research has focused on two celebration of the Daha. I have gathered what I such events. The transnational circuit believe is a very rich and inter- The first of these is the annual Ziarra is completed annually by the esting body of qualitative data, for which the Baro Family, one of the leading return to Mbour of the Senega- based on which I expect to write spiritual lineages in Senegal, brought to Fes lese religious leaders, along with two separate articles. My long- a delegation of 75 members lead by Cheikh Cheikh Baro and his delegation. term objective is to write a book Baro, the Khalif of the Baro family in Mbour, This year, Cheikh Baro’s return on this very important subject, and 30 of the family’s followers from France, in mid-July coincided with contributing to a better under- Italy and Spain. During the past two decades, the start of the Holy Month of standing of transnational reli- each year has witnessed an increase in the Ramadan (early August). For gious practices and their impact number of participants in this transnational the occasion, the Cheikh was on the formation and transmis- event. The second transnational event is the welcomed at the airport in Dakar sion of religious identities across Daha, a spiritual gathering of Tijani follow- by his followers and others who national borders. ers from around Europe held annually in travelled from Mbour to the Abdoulaye Kane is associate Mantes-la-Jolie, France. A five-day retreat capital. This annual return, after almost two months of transna- professor of anthropology and marked by prayers, blessings, and fundrais- African Studies. ing for religious causes and projects, this tional travel, always carries with event is a duplication of the annual Daha it an air of triumph. Participa-

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 15 Understanding Why and When Ruling Elites Support Productive Sectors Anne Mette Kjaer

During the last many months preceding the fall semester of 2011, I spent much time in Uganda doing research as part of the collaborative and multi-institutional “Elites, Production, and Poverty” (EPP) program. The program is funded by the Danish International Aid Agency (Danida) and brings together research institutions and universities in Bangla- desh, Denmark, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. The program focuses on the roles of elites in formulating and implementing productive sector initiatives that promote economic growth and reduce poverty. Case studies cover initiatives in agriculture, agro- processing, fisheries, and manufacturing that feature prominently in the respective countries. My colleagues (from Makerere Uni- versity and Mukono Christian University) and I have done research on the fisheries sector, the dairy sector and on agricultural extension reform in Uganda. In the spring of 2011, we did a final round of interviews and had a workshop preparing for writing up our results in Kampala. In the fall of 2011, I spent time writing and exchanging research results with colleagues here at the UF Center for African Studies. One of our main premises in the EPP is that elites support productive sectors when it helps them to remain in power. In countries with competitive clientelism, there are often easier ways to remain in power than to sulted in economic transforma- sustained political support, and support production. This is because ruling tion. This is because the ruling the Ugandan fish and dairy sec- elites are primarily concerned with holding elite are increasingly vulnerable tors illustrate this. Our research their coalitions together in the short term and are focusing on holding the explains differences between rather than through long term development. ruling coalition together and on these sectors with reference to Uganda is an exemplary case to winning elections. This means their relation to the ruling coali- explore when and why ruling elites support that productive sector poli- tion. specific productive sectors. When coming to cies generally aim at spreading power in 1986, the ruling elite had an explicit resources thinly or at not hurting Anne Mette Kjaer is a visiting vision of transforming the economy from strong factions who benefit from scholar in CAS for the fall term subsistence agriculture to an industrialized the status quo. But even under of 2011. She is associate profes- economy. And in subsequent years, Uganda sor of political science at Aarhus competitive clientelism, some enjoyed high growth rates. However, almost University (Denmark). productive sectors may receive three decades later, this growth has not re-

16 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Chinese Investments in Zambia and Senegal: State Collaboration and Worker Confrontation Agnes Leslie

In summer 2011, I was awarded a Fac- ulty Enhancement Opportunity (FEO) Award to conduct research in Zambia and Senegal to compare the impact of Chinese enterprises in the two countries. My objective was to study labor relations and the impact of Chinese investments on the local economy. Trade between China and Africa has grown at a rapid rate. Last year China announced that trade with the continent had increased by 45 percent to 114.8 billion dollars. In Zambia, Chinese investments rose to 2 billion dollars in early 2011. Chinese business growth in Zambia has come with criticism of the lack of adherence to international standards for environmental protection and industrial safety for workers. Zambia has experienced the highest administered survey question- Senegal six days later. The two number of reported accidents and violations naires. My initial observations countries restored diplomatic re- of workers’ rights in Chinese managed in- are that due to the high unem- lations in 2005. Since then, trade vestments. Although presidential candidates ployment in Senegal at 48 per- has been rising each year. Last including Frederick Chiluba and Michael cent (191 out of 199 countries) year, Senegal exported prod- Sata threatened to switch to Taiwan if elected and a large informal sector, the ucts worth 52 million dollars to president, the country has had a long-stand- people interviewed were less China. Trade between the two ing relationship with China since Zambia’s critical of the Chinese condi- countries has risen by about 30 independence in 1964. tions of service. Zambia has 14 percent each year and reached Chinese investments in Senegal have percent unemployment (143/199 549 million dollars in 2010. produced minimal criticism. Like in Zam- countries). Zambians are also bia, the state to state projects in Senegal are more conditioned to working in viewed more positively but there are a lot of the formal sector which made small Chinese businesses that are causing them compare conditions and friction with the small Senegalese busi- be more critical. Also, there is a nesses. Much of the criticism is centered on higher expectation of the role of Chinese investors buying up a large portion the state in Zambia, especially of the major trading district in Dakar, flood- with the new government of ing the market with cheap Chinese goods Michael Sata, as compared to and displacing local products such as locally Senegal. manufactured shoes, clothing and artifacts. Unlike Zambia, Senegal In Zambia, I toured small and medi- has not maintained a continuous um-sized Chinese investments to study their relationship with China. Senegal Agnes Ngoma Leslie is senior labor relations, adherence to the state condi- became independent in 1960 but lecturer and outreach director in tions of service and the impact of Chinese only established diplomatic rela- the Center for African Studies. investment on the local economy. I toured tions with the People’s Republic A Faculty Enhancement Op- five companies - one medium sized and four of China on December 7, 1971. portunity (FEO) award from UF small companies. In Senegal, I observed sev- Senegal established diplomatic funded her research in Zambia eral Chinese investors and their workers and relations with Taiwan on Janu- and Senegal. Senegalese business people involved in shoe ary 3, 1996, which prompted manufacturing. I conducted interviews and China to suspend relations with

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 17 Working Together to Conserve Swaziland’s Wildlife Resources ROBERT McCLEERY

I am working in collaboration with the Swaziland Nation Trust Commission, the University of Swaziland, and All-Out Africa to provide practical research to Swaziland’s conservation land managers and to understand how the growing pressures on African savannahs are altering wildlife communities. As Swaziland’s lowveld (dry savannah) becomes increasingly inhospitable to wildlife, the Siphiso valley, running through the heart of the Mlawula Nature Reserve, We are taking a long term, multi- We are also analyzing data collected remains a refuge for the region’s scaled approach to our efforts in the over the last 10 years on two rarely biological diversity. The dynamics Siphiso valley. By conducting annual study mammals, Egyptian bats and of wildlife populations in the Siphiso monitoring throughout the valley we pygmy mice. Finally, we are in the valley, like other Africa savannah will be well positioned to detect and process of publishing our work ex- systems, are determined by a com- understand when and why wildlife amining the influences of intensive plex array of interacting biotic and communities change. The informa- sugarcane cultivation on wildlife abiotic components. To ensure the tion from our program will allow population in and adjacent to plan- long term health of the valley and its us to understand the influences of tations in Swaziland. wildlife communities, it is impera- poaching, fire, shrub encroachment, Our collaborative research tive that we document and under- and rainfall on small mammals, efforts in Swaziland have also al- stand how the savannah changes birds, ungulates, and predators lowed us to train both aspiring and functions. By monitoring the in the Siphiso valley. In the com- Swazi and American conservation wildlife communities and biologi- ing years, along with my graduate researchers. Each summer I bring cal processes in the Sipisho valley students and Dr. Monadjem at the a group of University of Florida un- we are beginning to provide valu- University of Swaziland, we are dergrads on a study abroad program able information that can be used planning on using our monitoring to conduct conservation research in to make management decisions, not protocol outside of protected areas Swaziland. Starting this year our stu- only in Mlawula Nature Reserve but to understand how different land- dents will be joined by students from throughout southern Africa. We uses (grazing, subsistence farming, the University of Swaziland who will have recently initiated a long term and development) alter wildlife com- turn their projects into their senior monitoring program that simultane- munities and the ecosystem services thesis. In the future, as our research ously provides data to managers and they provide. and educational activities continue lends itself to answering complex In addition to our long term to grow we are looking for ways to ecological questions. monitoring program, we are in vari- develop a permanent research center In savannah systems, ous stages of the research process to accommodate regional and inter- wildlife communities predomi- on a number of Swazi-based wildlife national researchers. nately respond to the production of studies. We are currently collect- grass. The factors that drive grass ing data on the use of trip cameras Robert McCleery is assistant profes- production are rainfall, fire, grazing to identify individual genets, civets, sor in the Department of Wildlife pressure, and mega-fauna. Our ap- and servals (all mid-sized carni- Ecology and Conservation and affiliate faculty in the Center for African proach to monitoring and research vores). If our methods are successful Studies. Partial funding for this work for this project has been to collect this technique will allow us to better comes from ALL-Out Africa. both consistent and rigorous data. understand these cryptic mammals.

18 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

African Entrepreneurs: On the Continent and in the Diaspora BARBARA McDADE GORDON

For over 20 years I have ethnic populations. I bring this studied the dynamics of topic to the college classroom in entrepreneurship in Africa. my textbook chapter, “Spatial This has included field work in Organization and Distribution Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Botswa- of Economic Activity,” in Geog- na, South Africa, and Senegal. raphy of Sub-Saharan Africa. I The African entrepreneurial have also given lectures to high landscape spans the spectrum school students in the Upward from informal sector traditional Bound Academy at UF. microenterprises to multi-mil- As part of this next lion dollar modern firms headed research phase I have begun by college-educated men and to collect data on the increase women. in immigration of Africans to In late 2011, I was proud to work My next phase of re- America and their entrepreneur- with Dr. Leslie and Kenyan graduate student search looks at entrepreneurship ial activities. I will start with Nathan Wangusi to create the Dr. Wangari among Africans in the Diaspora gateway cities such as Fort Lau- Maathai Garden on campus in honor of the – that is, Africans who live and derdale, Houston, and Washing- first African woman to receive the Nobel operate their businesses out- ton, DC. A workshop at UF on Peace Prize for her work in environmental side the African Continent. My sustainability, human rights, and economic initial foray into this topic took a development. historical perspective for a paper that I presented to the Southern Conference on African Ameri- can Studies, “African-American Entrepreneurs as Heroes and Heroines in American History.” The paper began with a profile of Anthony Johnson who is thought to be the first person of African descent to become an entrepreneur in America. He arrived in Jamestown, Virginia “Doing Business in Africa” which in 1621 with a group of about 20 I co-organized with Dr. Agnes Africans who came to the New Leslie, was attended by business World as indentured servants. It owners from several countries in Barbara McDade Gordon is associate profes- is believed that he was originally Africa including a self-described sor of geography and director of the UF Up- from the Angola/Congo region “African-American” who recent- ward Bound Academy. She is affiliate faculty of Africa and was brought to ly relocated from South Africa in the Center for African Studies. America by Portuguese sailors. and established connections This established a context for between Chambers of Commerce African entrepreneurship in the in the Western Cape and their Diaspora which I had previously counterparts in South Florida. explored in a presentation for Dr. Anita Spring and I the traveling exhibit, “Inside have also been invited to up- Africa…Diaspora” section, at the date our research on regional University of Florida Museum of entrepreneurial networks for a Natural History, which exam- book with the working title New ined the disbursement of Africa’s Private Sector Actors in Africa.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 19 Islam, Ethnicity, and the State in Ethiopia/Horn of Africa TERJE ØSTEBØ

As part of my major research project on religion and ethnicity in the Horn of Africa I spent summer 2011 doing fieldwork in Ethiopia. During this time I got the opportunity to talk to numerous former guerilla-fighters engaged in armed struggle against the Ethiopian regimes of the 1960s and 1970s. The project is (so far) focusing on the so-called Somali and Oromo liberation movements struggling for various forms of autonomy. The aim of the research is to provide much-needed empirical knowledge and new perspectives on the nature and developments of the Somali and Oromo ethno-nationalist movements in the south- eastern parts of Ethiopia. As they emerged in Muslim-dominated areas, a major thesis of the project is that religion (i.e. Islam) has played a more important role than generally perspectives on how to concep- ing this, and analyzes how a assumed. This empirical research documents tualize the relationship between state-driven dichotomization of this importance, and demonstrates that religion and ethnicity, particu- the Muslim community is creat- perceived religious prejudices and reli- larly with regard to inter-group ing highly interesting discourses giously biased policies were crucial factors conflicts. within Ethiopia. in the production and continuation of these Parallel to this, I have I have also completed movements. It will analyze the reciprocal also been working on a project the publication process of my relations between ethnicity and religion in related to Islam and politics in book Localising Salafism which the formation of these movements, how this contemporary Ethiopia, analyz- was published by Brill (Leiden) was played out in generating and legitimiz- ing the trajectory of the current in October. In addition I have, ing their struggles, and how religion and regime’s policy towards the Mus- together with Patrick Desplat ethnicity produced highly complex inter- and lim community in Ethiopia. The (Cologne University) continued intra-group relations. data for this was collected during editing a volume on contempo- The project will also provide a more the summer 2011, but draws rary Islam in Ethiopia. This book nuanced understanding of inter-religious also from previous research. The focuses on changes with regard relations in Ethiopia/Horn of Africa. In project amply demonstrates that to the Muslim communities in particular, I challenge the assumption that the Ethiopian government has post-1991 Ethiopia, including Ethiopia is a model for peaceful inter-reli- changed its policy from monitor- intra-religious dynamics within gious co-existence, and demonstrate how ing and controlling the Muslim the Muslim communities, Islam the historical dominance of Christianity as a community to increasingly intersected to Ethiopian public political culture and state-ideology has pro- meddling into internal religious and political spheres, and Islam duced a lasting asymmetric relationship and affairs – with the aim of promot- in Ethiopia in relation to the consequently antagonistic attitudes between ing a particular state-sanctioned geo-political discourses in the Christians and Muslims. With a focus on version of Islam. Implicit in this wider Horn of Africa. Our plan is both domestic and regional political devel- are the attempts to marginalize to get this book under contract opments, I will also explore how Ethiopia’s and stigmatize Islamic groups in 2012. Christian heritage has played and continues which are perceived detrimen- to play a role in its policies in the Horn. The tal to political stability. The Terje Østebø is assistant pro- more general and theoretical objective is to research moreover points to fessor of African Studies and apply the empirical findings to generate new relevant factors for understand- religion.

20 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Global Climate Change in the Eastern Cape of South Africa Francis E. Putz & Claudia Romero

With support from the Ful- seminars on the weekly discussions doctoral associates, and faculty at bright Senior Specialists Pro- held at DES: Jack on the topic of Rhodes. An exchange visit to Gaines- gram, Francis E. “Jack” Putz the bottlenecks and challenges for ville by Rhodes’ Ph.D. candidate and Claudia Romero from the sustainability, and Claudia on a Matt McConacchie was intellectually Department of Biology returned framework on which to base proper invigorating for all concerned, and to the Department of Environ- design of evaluation of conservation did wonders for the cricket prowess mental Science (DES) at Rhodes interventions. One of the high points at UF. University in Grahamstown, for them was a guerilla theatre pre- South Africa for two months sentation on carbon trading in which Francis E. Putz is professor and of undergraduate teaching and Jack portrayed (a bit too effectively) Claudia Romero is courtesy assistant professor in the Department of Biol- graduate student mentoring. In a “Carbon Cowboy” and Claudia the ogy. They are affiliate faculty in the “Informed Critic.” The audience, a addition to Jack’s intensive course Center for African Studies. Funding on global change, he and Claudia group of conservation profession- was provided by the Fulbright Senior were involved in other on-campus als from the SADC-countries on a Specialist Program. and extension education activities 2-week course, were thoroughly that included students at Graeme engaged in the performance. College where their 13-year old son Since their 2009 sojourn in Antonio played on the rugby team Grahamstown as visiting professors and learned to speak some Xhosa at Rhodes, Claudia and Jack have and more Afrikaans. maintained active partnerships with Jack and Claudia presented several graduate students, post-

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 21 Library Research Supporting African Studies Academic Programs Daniel A. Reboussin

Preparing a graduate course research and teaching on Africa was executed by the Gestapo in 1944 in library research methods for includes selecting and coordinat- after his arrest and nearly 3 year im- African Studies, in summer 2011 ing the digitization of scarce, rare prisonment for resistance activities, I surveyed recent ethnographic and unique African related materi- including the creation of secret radio studies of university student als from Special and Area Studies codes based on Bantu languages. library research behavior to Collections with support from Title Other research materials develop a new approach af- VI. This summer we digitized the added this year in open access UF ter more than ten years. These J. M. Derscheid Collection (http:// Digital Collections include Onitsha studies support my experience ufdc.ufl.edu/derscheid), consisting Market Literature (http://ufdc. that information literacy train- of about 1,000 manuscripts, colo- ufl.edu/onitsha), highlighting UF ing improves the research skills of nial documents and maps relating holdings of rare Nigerian popu- ‘Millennial’ students, who many to Ruanda-Urundi (Rwanda and lar pamphlets. Often compared to wrongly assume are natural experts Burundi) and the Kivu and Oriental dime novels, frequently the authors in everything digital. While students (including Money Hard and Speedy generally come to the university with Eric) served as printers and retailers good general Internet search skills, of their own work. The genre disap- scholarly work demands a strategic peared in 1968 with the destruc- approach and new skills, which we tion of the Onitsha market building develop together in class. A prepub- and book stalls during the Biafran lication draft of the essay in press War. Also digitized were a variety of for Africa Bibliography is available language primers, books and manu- in the UF Institutional Repository scripts from the George Fortune Col- (IR@UF) at http://ufdc.ufl.edu/ lection (see: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/for- IR00000558/. tune). Fortune materials in the print The IR@UF supports schol- collection are available in an author arly communication generally and index available online at http://ufdc. the African Studies Quarterly (ASQ) ufl.edu/IR00000493. These include in particular by providing digital provinces of former Belgian Congo major holdings for Shona, Nguni preservation and format migration (Democratic Republic of the Congo). (Ndebele, Zulu, and Xhosa) and services over the long term. Last Fall The collection is complemented by Sotho, the principal Southern Bantu Semester I collaborated with ASQ a biography of the collector, which linguistic groups. Published materi- Editor-in-Chief R. Hunt Davis, Jr. I translated from French: http:// als listed span the years 1868-1983 and Dr. Laurie Taylor of the Digital ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00000442/. An early and include some 1,800 items in Library Center in responding to a conservation biologist and noted avi- the Library Catalog. The collection mandate by the U.S. Copyright Of- culturist, Derscheid co-founded the includes a significant complement of fice requiring deposit to the Library Institut International pour la Protec- Central and Eastern Bantu materi- of Congress of online publications tion de la Nature and continued Carl als as well as West African language claiming copyright. We established a Akeley’s work after the latter’s death materials. sustainable workflow for the edito- in 1926 on the slopes of Mt. Mikeno. rial staff to submit issues to the IR@ He compiled the first census of Daniel A. Reboussin is head of Af- UF, initiating legal deposit to the mountain gorillas there, surveyed rican Studies collections at the UF George A. Smathers Libraries and Library of Congress when each issue the boundaries of what would affiliate faculty in the Center for Af- become the Parc National Albert (Af- is submitted. The process is detailed rican Studies. Digitization of African in a poster presented to the Florida rica’s first national park), and served Studies Collections is supported by Association of College and Research as its Secretary-General. He was the US Department of Education Libraries, available at http://ufdc. later Professor of Colonial Law at Title VI grant in collaboration with ufl.edu/UF00103075/. the Institut des Territoires d’Outre- the UF Libraries. Library work supporting Mer in Antwerp, Belgium. Derscheid

22 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Exploring Health Disparities in Africa Richard Rheingans

The introduction of new vac- Medicine’s SHARE Research Con- cines have been highlighted as sortium and with funding from the an opportunity to reduce child UK Department for International mortality in sub-Saharan Africa Development, we are developing a and other regions. Donors recently model to estimate disparities in the committed billions of dollars to health burden associated with poor introduce new vaccines for diarrhea sanitation and the health benefits and respiratory infections. How- of sanitation investment across the ever the impact of these vaccines economic spectrum in rural and ur- depends on the ability of national ban areas. We are also working with programs to reach the most vulner- key policy actors such as UNICEF able children. While some countries and WHO to use the results to target have succeeded in doing this, others investments to the poorest and most continue to struggle. This year we vulnerable households. began a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Richard Rheingans is associate examine the patterns and causes of professor in the Center for African Studies and the Department of Envi- disparities in childhood vaccinations ronmental & Global Health. Funding and their effect on the potential change in school water and sanita- for these projects is through the Bill benefits of introducing new vac- tion is challenging – adolescent and Melinda Gates Foundation and cines. The work considers tradi- girls face unique problems around UK Department for International tional factors such as geography and menstrual hygiene management Development. socio-economic status, as well as the which are not adequately addressed social and physical mobility of young by most programs; interventions of- mothers. In addition to a series of ten lack basic components like anal publications, we are hoping that this cleansing materials; and schools will lead to a growing partnership often fail to sustain intervention of researchers and policy makers to activities due to the lack of resources use this information to develop more and accountability. During the com- effective and equitable vaccination ing year we will continue to work strategies. with colleagues in the Ministry of This was our 5th year of a Education to promote policies and partnership with CARE, Great Lakes practices which target these critical University of Kisumu, and Emory elements. Funding for this project is University to examine the effects of provided by a grant from the Bill and school environmental interventions Melinda Gates Foundation on health and education outcomes Poor water and sanitation in Kenya. This year we published a are almost synonymous with poverty range of qualitative and quantitative and marginalization. At the same work demonstrating the complexity time, global policy efforts like the of effective and sustainable interven- Millennium Development Goals do tions. The first published results of not prioritize improving sanitation our randomized trial showed that for the poor. In fact, global efforts improving water and sanitation can have generally failed to improve significantly reduce absenteeism sanitation for the poor, especially in for girls. At the same time a series urban areas in sub-Saharan Africa. of qualitative studies have demon- In collaboration with the London strated that effective and sustainable School of Hygiene and Tropical

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 23 Clothing, Colonial Expositions, and Images of Africa victoria rovine

I am currently on sabbatical, working toward completion of my book on African fashion design and Africa’s influence on Western fashion design. This subject has provided me with opportunities to explore the presence of indigenous fashion design in Africa, documenting how dress innovators have produced new styles outside the orbit of the Western-dominated global fashion system. I have also investigated the many strategies designers use to absorb distinctively local dress practices into their work, in some cases through direct adaptation of textiles or ornaments, in others through conceptual references to local histories and cultures. All of this, as well as my analysis of the constructed images of Africa in Western dress history, brings fashion fully into the study of African fascination with the colonial exposi- to take part in the potentially lucra- visual culture. tions of the late nineteenth and early tive public events. In coming years, During the past year, I have twentieth centuries as part of my as I pursue this interest, I hope to presented papers on new aspects of next research project. These events use the expositions’ engagement this project at the Triennial Confer- provide rich material for visual with the visual arts to reveal much ence on African Art at UCLA, on a analysis; much has been written more about the African involvement panel that I organized, and as part of about European (largely British and in, and resistance to, the Western a speakers’ series at Michigan State French) representations of their construction of the colonies. I have University. I have published an African colonies through dioramas, proposed a panel for the 2013 Col- article in African Arts and an essay photographs, collections of art and lege Art Association conference on in the Harn Museum of Art’s won- artifacts, and even the importation the artistic impacts of the exposi- derful Africa Interweave catalogue. of African people to create actual tions, which I hope will lead this In addition, I published a paper on “villages” for Western visitors’ edifi- research in as yet unimagined direc- the colonial era exchanges between cation (and entertainment). tions. Africa and France via fashion in What was the impact of Images Changeantes de l’Inde et de these events in Africa? How did Victoria L. Rovine is associate professor in the Center for African Stud- l’Afrique (L’Harmattan, 2011). African people involved in the expositions respond to the construction ies and School of Art & Art History. While most of my fashion Funding for this research is provided of their cultures? For years, I have research has focused on modern and by a UF Humanities Scholarship En- gathered information on the African contemporary Africa, using inter- hancement Grant. views with designers and analysis of side of this exchange wherever I recent garments, I am increasingly have found it, in archives, museums, intrigued by the historical aspects of works of art and literature. Mali’s the interaction between African and Archives Nationales contain letters Western cultures. More specifically, between colonial officials and the I hope to return to a longstanding artists who sought passage to France

24 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

The Restoration of Kanazi Palace in NW Tanzania: First Steps Towards a Sustainable Heritage Tourism peter schmidt

I put a new twist to colonial first lived had already been allocated studies during the spring and for a new museum by King Nya- summer of 2011 while engaged rubamba (who unexpectedly died in in the restoration of an early December of 2010). Replacement of 20th century palace in western elegant elephant grass ceilings in the Tanzania—with the goal to make court proper, where the king sat on it an integral part of sustainable a raised platform for audiences, was heritage tourism in Kagera Re- another priority. Most interesting gion. Built by the Germans in 1905, was the discovery of ritual parapher- the Kanazi Palace is distinctive for nalia in the back room of Kahigi’s its grand style, its rural setting, and first residence—a finding consistent its blend of German colonial archi- the main palace house was degrad- with his traditional religious duties. tecture with local architectural style. ing rapidly as rain water poured A UF summer field school German designs were more onto massive mud brick walls. An undertook limited archaeological than architectural, as the King or appeal for assistance came from inquiry during the last month of Mukama of Kihanja kingdom was Kiroyera Tours, a local tour compa- restoration. This led to some very the most powerful yet the most ny that focuses on heritage tourism. important insights into industrial distant ruler from the German seat Collaborating with Mary Kalikawe activity within the palace grounds, of power in Bukoba on Lake Victo- of Kiroyera, I persuaded the Ameri- the possible location of a modern ria. Located on a high plateau some can Embassy to provide emergency but traditionally inspired alterna- 70 km away, Kahigi II was enticed stabilization funds to re-roof the tive residence for Kahigi II, and the to relocate his capital at Kanazi, ap- court and main house in the summer location of the ritual house where proximately 20 km south of Bukoba. of 2009. A later grant then made a he conferred with his advisors and In return, the Germans built him larger restoration project possible. diviners. a palace, made him a major in the I returned on a leave of absence in Kanazi Palace will act as a German army, and allocated him early 2009 to complete the major central focus for heritage tourism lands belonging to neighboring king- parts of the restoration of three that appeals to a wide range of peo- doms. primary buildings within the palace ple—school children, local citizens, When the Germans capitu- grounds, reasoning that these were and international visitors—helping lated in 1916, Kahigi reacted strongly not just “colonial” buildings and to sustain local jobs and the vitality to a British officer’s rebuke and icons of foreign domination. Rather of memory about a past that should when slapped in public, he retreated these buildings were constructed by, not be forgotten. to his natal home, where he com- modified by, and often rebuilt by lo- mitted suicide while declaring that cal people with local sensibilities and Peter Schmidt is professor of anthro- he could never serve the British. His needs. An important part of modern pology and a former director of the Center for African Studies. kingdom then passed to three suc- Tanzanian history unfolded within cessors whose authority was abbre- their walls, making them uniquely viated by the British until his grand- Tanzanian and capturing an era in son, Petro Nyarubamba, took the which modernity was introduced throne in 1958, only to be stripped of and lives became forever different. his power and governmental support Using local craftsmen who by the new independence govern- identified strongly with Kihanja ment. From that moment, the palace kingdom, both the prison on the began a steady decline. north side and the original home Lack of maintenance and of Kahigi II on the south side of the funds to replace leaking roofs meant court required major restoration the collapse of most of the stately upon original foundations. The court building in the 1980s. By 2008 suite of four rooms where Kahigi

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 25 Documenting Nalu - an Atlantic Language on the Coast of Guinea, West Africa frank seidel

My postdoctoral research in- to be a national language and thus it volves a documentary linguis- is, to my knowledge, neither part of tics project on Nalu, a poorly any government or NGO initiative documented and endangered for alphabetisation, nor is it part of Atlantic language of Guinea, any school curricula, nor is it used in West Africa. Different from ‘clas- the media. sic’ language documentation aimed Because of the language at language description, the goal in shift situation it is hard to gauge documentary linguistics is to create exactly how many people still speak a record of natural language in the the language. The numbers given form of an extensively annotated vary between 6,000-25,000. Never- audio-visual corpus. While a project estuary in the Tombali region. It is theless, on the Tristão archipelago in documentary linguistics still pro- claimed that ancestors to the con- which is an infrastructurally and duces items known from ‘traditional’ temporary language community en- economically somewhat marginal- language documentation such as a tered the current living area around ized area, the language is still used dictionary, a grammatical sketch, the 14th and 15th centuries. as an intra-ethnic means of com- and an orthography, the heart of In both countries where munication and also transmitted to such a project is a digital corpus of Nalu is spoken, Nalu speakers some extent to the younger genera- transcribed, translated, annotated live in a heterogeneous ethnic and tion. and contextualized audio and audio- linguistic environment. Not much visual data. The documentation con- is known about the exact situation tains recordings of various language in Guinea Bissau, except maybe events, e.g. descriptive monologues that one can reasonably assume or free ranging conversations, as that Nalu is spoken in the vicinity well as recordings of cultural activi- of Balanta, Biafada, and Landuma ties. The different parts of the docu- speakers. In Guinea-Conakry, Nalu mentation are connected through is spoken as one of many languages an extensive web of cross-references in the prefecture of Boké, and Nalu between the transcribed recordings, speakers there live together with the dictionary, the grammatical speakers of Landuma, Balanta, Baga sketch, and the supporting com- and other languages. Even in the Frank Seidel is visiting postdoc- mentary. This apparatus is targeted one area that is dominated by Nalu speakers, i.e. the sub-prefecture of toral research fellow in the Center at making the corpus accessible to for African Studies. This project is and usable for a variety of users, e.g. Kanfarandé, they are in contact with funded by the Endangered Lan- cultural anthropologists, linguists, Balanta, Landuma, and Fulfulde. All guages Documentation Programme historians, community members, in- encompassing this situation is Soso, (ELDP) at the School of Oriental and terested laymen, and policy makers. the dominant lingua franca of the African Studies (SOAS), University of The material will be archived with region, with speakers also in Guinea- London. the Endangered Languages Archives Bissau and Sierra Leone. (ELAR) at SOAS. Nowadays, Nalu speakers Nalu is spoken on the lit- are shifting towards Soso. To be torals of Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. more precise, the shifting process to In Guinea, Nalu speakers primarily the target language Soso is asserted live north of the river Nuñez on the for the Nalu speakers of Guinea and Tristão islands, which are part of can reasonably be assumed for the the prefecture of Boké. Across the speakers living in Guinea-Bissau. border in Guinea-Bissau speakers of Neither in Guinea-Bissau nor in Nalu are located around the Cacine Guinea-Conakry is Nalu considered

26 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Governing Cotton Sectors in West and Central Africa renata serra

The past year has marked the cotton sector, the arguments for and processes incorporates local reali- final phase of fieldwork under against the proposed measures of ties, as in Burkina Faso until 2006, the multi-year Cotton Sector liberalization and privatization, and Cameroon until 2009 and possibly Reform Project that I have been the initiatives put in place to sup- lately in Mali, there is instead better coordinating since 2008, as part port or resist such interventions. We chance for more sustainable and of the Africa Power and Politics now possess a rich evidence basis for poverty-reducing outcomes. Program with funding from the assessing cotton sector performance I presented the paper at UK DFID and Irish Aid (www. in terms that are meaningful to the two venues this past summer: at institutions-africa.org). The coun- specific countries’ contexts, and the fourth European Conference on try-based research teams collected analyzing how different countries African Studies (ECAS4) in Uppsala the last round of quantitative and deal with mounting challenges af- on June 18th, and at the Organiza- qualitative data from a sample of fecting their cotton sectors and with tion for Economic Cooperation and cotton farmers in 35 villages across the multiple pressures to reform. Development (OECD), in Paris on the four countries in which we have Ultimately, we aim to derive lessons July 28th. Both presentations were been working since 2009: Benin, that can inform policy interventions well attended and attracted consid- Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Mali, in key productive sectors, which are erable interest. I presented further also among the most important cot- both sustainable and beneficial to results at the African Studies Asso- ton producers in sub-Saharan Africa. the poor (in line with the broader ciation Meeting, in Washington DC The researchers are affiliated with APPP objectives). (Nov. 17-20), as part of a panel that I premier research institutes in their organized on “The Political Economy respective countries, such as LARES of African Agriculture.” Consultancy Bureau in Benin, the An analysis of the reforms University of Ouagadougou in Burki- process in Burkina Faso is now na Faso, the Institute of Agricultural published as APPP Working Paper Research for Development (IRAD) No. 17, with the title “Endogenous in Cameroon and the Institute of economic reforms and local realities: Rural Economics (IER) in Mali. Dr Cotton policy-making in Burkina Jonathan Kaminski helped me to Faso” (co-authored with Jonathan coordinate and supervise the teams. Kaminski); while my paper on “Cot- The last data collected at ton Sector Reform in Mali: Explain- village level completes our data- One recent output from our project, ing the Puzzle” is forthcoming as base containing crucial information a paper titled “Governing Cotton APPP WP No. 20. These and other on the management of the cotton Sectors: An Analysis of Reform outputs from the project are avail- sector, as seen from below, from Processes in Benin, Burkina Faso, able from the research publication the farmers who grow and sell Cameroon and Mali,” presents some section of our project site: http:// seed cotton, their local representa- lessons from our first comparative www.institutions-africa.org/publi- tives in cooperatives unions, and analysis. We identify the different cations/research_stream/cotton- other stakeholders in the village. and peculiar reform course followed sector-reforms. Such perspectives complement the in each country, and locate the main information previously obtained local political and social realities in Renata Serra is lecturer in the Center during interviews with represen- each country, which have shaped it. for African Studies. This research project is part of the Africa Power tatives from the government, the We show that these realities were and Politics Programme (www. often underestimated when for- cotton companies, the donors, and institutions-africa.org), with funding other actor key stakeholders in the mulating policy prescriptions, thus from the UK Department for Interna- cotton value chain. Fieldwork at this leading to poor implementation tional Development and the Advi- broader, national level helped us to and/or actors’ negative reactions, sory Board of Irish Aid. derive a picture of the debate sur- which jeopardized cotton sector per- rounding policy interventions in the formance. When the logic of reform

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 27 An African Re-Immersion Daniel Smith

Thanks to my colleague, Leonar- that the research I had conducted do Villalón, and my wife, Brenda as a Senior Fulbright Scholar a Chalfin, I’ve had the opportunity decade earlier on the malapportion- once again to don my “Africa ment of parliamentary seats and hat.” In addition to quite literally the incidence of invalid ballots was wearing it in Niger (that’s me eating still relevant. The Director of CDD, “yellow cake” at the US Ambassa- Professor Gyimah-Boadi, encour- dor’s house on the 4th of July with aged me to pursue the topics and Florida Circuit Judge, Nikki Clark), provided insightful comments as I figuratively sported it twice across chair of a public lecture I delivered the Sahel with Leo, and during the at the University of Ghana. Need- fall in Ghana with Brenda and our less to say, my argument—that in two kids. Whether spending time After our reconnaissance its conscious effort not to be per- in Africa makes one an Africanist, trip in January, Leo and I headed ceived as partisan, the independent I’ll leave to others to decide. But back to Africa during the summer, Electoral Commission has become my interactions with activists in six accompanied by three Americans—a obsequious, catering to the demands Francophone countries as part of a judge, a journalist, and a campaign of political parties, and acceding U.S. State Department grant, and consultant. Our month-long trek its constitutional responsibility to doing research at the Center for across the Sahel provided us with an guarantee equal representation in Democratic Development in Ghana, opportunity to meet with our par- Parliament to all Ghanaians and allowed me to once again plant my ticipants, partner organizations, and ensure that all ballots are counted scholarly feet in Africa. representatives from the US embas- equitably—contributed to the ongo- As part of our two-year sies. We also had fruitful discussions ing palaver Ghanaians were having Trans-Saharan Elections Project with elected officials, judges, jour- during the build-up to the 2012 funded by the Department of State, nalists, political party operatives, elections. Though flickering at times, Leo and I hosted 15 African visitors and members of national election Ghana’s electoral maturity as it and exposed them to the politically commissions. In addition, our small enters its third decade as a constitu- charged world of American voting delegation offered at least one major tional republic serves as a beacon for and elections. For three weeks they public event in each country, dis- the rest of the continent to follow. met with dozens of voting rights cussing the trials and tribulations of Thanks to Brenda and Leo, activists, elections administrators, voting and election administration my interest in African politics has elected officials, and scholars in in the US. We even found time for been rekindled. Thanks to the Chair Gainesville, Tallahassee, and Wash- some cultural exchanges, visiting the of Political Science, Michael Marti- ington, DC. After just the first week, sacred Tijaniyya Sufi village of Kiota nez, I was able to take leave of my they were ready to comment publicly in Niger, watching the catch of the teaching and mentoring duties to on the retrenchment of voting rights day being hauled in on Mauritania’s follow my episodic African passion. in Florida. Exposed to the inner Atlantic coast, witnessing first-hand And thanks to the enriching experi- workings of the American electoral the vibrant democratic deliberations ences in the Sahel and in Ghana, I process, the participants returned of a rural council meeting in Fissel, know I will have new insights into to their own countries, satisfied that Senegal, and braving a torrential how political institutions shape elec- achieving our standards of voting dust (and then, rain) storm follow- toral behavior in my own country. and elections might be setting the ing a hike around Blaise Compaoré’s bar too low. Lia Merivaki efficiently wildlife park in Burkina Faso. Daniel A. Smith is professor of political science and affiliate faculty in orchestrated the organization and During the fall semester in the Center for African Studies. He is logistics of the program, and fel- Ghana, I had the fortune to serve as co-PI of the Trans-Saharan Elections low political science grad students a Research Associate at the CDD, the Program funded by the U.S. Depart- Mamadou Bodian and Dan Eizenga country’s preeminent think-tank. Af- ment of State. helped along the way. ter a week on the ground, I realized

28 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 Faculty Reports

Memoir and Migration in Mali ALIOUNE sow

tional practices and genres such as the koteba to engage with issues of migration. In June 2011, I presented a conference paper on this topic at the African Theatre Association in the UK. Finally, my book Vestiges et vertiges: récits d’enfance dans les littératures africaines dedicated to childhood narratives in African literatures, was published by Artois Presses Université in May 2011.

Alioune Sow is associate professor in the Center for African Studies and the Department of Languages, Lit- eratures & Cultures. His 2011 research was supported by a UF Faculty En- hancement Opportunity grant.

In the past year, I received a UF of memory, the commemorations Faculty Enhancement Oppor- and celebrations of the fiftieth anni- tunity grant to pursue my work versary of African political indepen- on memoirs, life narratives and dences. The conference was multi- biographies in Mali. The grant disciplinary and speakers included allowed me to pursue my research the writer Alain Mabanckou, the in Bamako this summer, where I col- cinema director Jean-Marie Téno, lected narratives, spent time in the scholars Gregory Mann, Réda Bens- National Archives and the National maia, Mildred Mortimer, Cécile Ca- library, and conducted several inter- nut, Didier Gondola, James Straker, views with Malian authors and poli- Ken Walibora Waliaula, Antoinette ticians. While working on memoirs, Tidjani Alou, Nicolas Argenti, Flor- I continue my work on the transfor- ence Bernault, Joana Grabsky and mations of the Malian literary land- Nnamdi Elleh. scape since democratization but also I also pursue my work with on the impact of the military power the ANR Miprimo, an interdisciplin- on Malian cultural productions since ary research project on migration the coup in 1968. In this regard, I directed by Cécile Canut from the completed a paper on Malian cinema Université Paris-Descartes and the and the question of military power Ceped. Focusing in particular on which is forthcoming in the journal literature, my work examines the Critical Interventions. transformations of Malian theatre In February 2011, I co- practices to respond to local dis- convened with Brigitte Weltman courses on migration. My research Aron, the annual Gwendolen Carter focuses on new initiatives but also Conference examining the cultures on the transformations of conven-

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 29 Is Post-Conflict an Oxymoron? Luise White

I have been working on a book- the national borders of Rhodesia and election is contradictory, that there length history of Rhodesian Zambia – and no results. A com- were free and fair elections and independence and in 2011 was bination of factors in 1979 -- a new that despite widespread intimida- able to do the research on the tion by Mugabe’s party, ZANU won last chapter, the 1980 elections. by a large margin. My research in Rhodesia (Southern Rhodesia before London revealed something dif- 1964, Zimbabwe after 1980) had ferent, however, that there was a been a semi-colonial hybrid since cessation of hostilities but nothing the early 1920s, and was part of the resembling a ceasefire, and that no Central African Federation before its one observing the ceasefire or the demise in 1964. Whereas the other election could discern which politi- member states became the African- cal party was intimidating the most ruled nations of Malawi and Zambia, people. This suggested to me that Rhodesia’s white minority declared two ideas dear to Africanists – the a Unilateral Declaration of Indepen- notion of post-conflict societies and dence from Britain in 1965. Rhode- that of electoral violence -- might sia became the first pariah nation of be somewhat flawed. At the end of the decolonizing world: mandatory a civil war, when ex-combatants are sanctions were imposed on Rhode- known to the civilian population, sia long before they were required intimidation is a constant: everyone for South Africa (sanctions against does it to counter the intimidation Rhodesia were to become the model of other political parties. What we for the United Nations sanctions of think of ‘post-conflict’ is not post at the 1990s against Iraq and former government in Britain and wear and all, but an extension of the earlier Yugoslav states). tear on Mozambique and Zambia, conflict. In the same way, the very Rhodesian independence which housed ZANU and ZAPU re- term ‘electoral violence’ locates and soon plunged the country into a spectively, and the long term effects limits violence to electoral practices, prolonged guerrilla war, fought from of sanctions – made some kind of rather than the situation the election exile with two guerrilla armies that settlement necessary, and a new ma- was imagined to resolve. far outnumbered Rhodesian forces. jority-rule constitution was worked The armies represented two political out in the annual Commonwealth Luise White is professor of history parties that had been founded in the heads of state meeting in August. A and affiliate faculty in the Center for African Studies. Her 2011 research early 1960s, Joshua Nkomo’s Zimba- month later there was a constitu- was supported by a UF Faculty En- bwe African Peoples Union (ZAPU) tional conference in London - the hancement Opportunity grant. and Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe real task of which was to arrange for, African National Union (ZANU). No and detail the enforcement of, an army had a decisive military victory, end to the war and a ceasefire, which but the attrition on Rhodesia and the created the conditions for the first neighboring states that housed the one-man, one-vote elections that guerrillas was enormous. The Brit- made Rhodesia Zimbabwe in 1980. ish organized several conferences to With a small grant from end the war and create a settlement UF’s Faculty Enhancement Oppor- that would bring about majority rule tunity program, I spent two weeks to the country. These were con- in London in 2011 reading newly ducted with great flair – in 1975, to opened archives and conducting give but one example, the warring interviews with former election parties met on a train stopped on the observers about the 1980 election. bridge over Victoria Falls, between The conventional account of the

30 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS

Detecting Patterns of Disturbance via Landscape- Level Vegetation Analysis within Southern Africa Erin bunting

For the past two summers, I measuring percentage canopy clo- have had the opportunity to sure, level of human influence, and work within the Okavango, discriminating between vegetation Kwando, and Zambezi Catch- type. Research such as mine can- ments of southern Africa not be completed without ground studying the impact of climate truthing the satellite images. During variability and other forms of summer 2011 in particular, vegeta- disturbance on vegetation. tion sampling was concentrated in Environmental cues of phenology and around the Caprivi Strip of Na- are well understood for temperate mibia, Moremi National Park, and systems, however less so for dryland variable across the basins, with Chobe National Park. ecosystems. The savanna ecosystems differing levels of the key nutrients The results of my research of southern Africa are water limited nitrogen and phosphorus. Addition- look to develop a detailed environ- and responsive to rainfall at varying ally, many of the countries have dif- mental history for the region. Utiliz- temporal and spatial scales. While fering policies in regard to burning, ing a time series of satellite imagery precipitation and associated soil but savanna ecosystems are adapted the recent stability of the system, the moisture are most commonly as- to fire, the regularity of which varies impact of disturbance, and the over- sociated with the variable vegetation depending on the environmental all shift in the vegetated state will pattern, many other biotic and abi- conditions. be documented. Such information otic factors also affect the ecosystem. It is my goal to utilize a time can assist in environmental manage- Such factors include: fire, herbivory, series of remotely sensed satellite ment, and assess to some degree the soils, and anthropogenic activity. imagery, precipitation data, live- impact that humans have had on My research examines the impact lihood surveys, and field-based the system. The overarching objec- of such factors on the vegetation of vegetation sampling to classify the tive to my research is to contribute southern Africa, focusing mainly on landscape. Specifically, I look to ana- to a broader understanding of the the impact of climate variability. lyze the determinants of vegetation dynamics of human environmental My study region, located in cover via spatial statistics, classify interactions in a semi-arid ecosys- tropical and subtropical southern the vegetation using a rule-based tem. Africa (the Okavango, Kwando, and approach that integrates spectral in- upper Zambezi catchments) covers dices, and model the vegetation and 683,000 km2 across Angola, Botswa- climate at the landscape level. Such a na, Namibia, and Zambia. Average study requires extensive field-based annual precipitation ranges from and satellite-based data. The satel- 400-2200 mm/yr. There is a steep lite data utilized will consist of high north-south precipitation gradient and low resolution imagery, so that characterized by low precipitation I can scale up the vegetation clas- and high variability in the southern sifications and models to the entirety semi-arid regions and higher rainfall of the three basins. Field-based data in the northern portions of the ba- is essential for the calibration and sin. The precipitation regime of the validation process, both the vegeta- region has undergone great fluctua- tion classificationtechniques and the Erin L. Bunting is a Ph.D. candidate in models require ground truthing. tion, which has been documented in geography. Funding for this research the rainfall data and within envi- Two field seasons, which provided by: NSF SPICE Fellow- ronmental histories obtained. Other were partially funded by the Center ship, NASA Land-Cover / Land-Use variables influencing the land cover, for African Studies, have enabled me Change Program Grant, CAS pre- while not as dominant as precipi- to collect sufficient vegetation data. dissertation research award, CLAS tation, still play a large role in the Both training samples and transects travel award, and the UF Office of landscape dynamics. Soils are highly were complete across the region, Research.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 31 Elephant Community Ecology in Southern Africa tim fullman

My research looks at how Afri- can elephants (Loxodonta afri- cana) are affecting other large herbivores in southern Africa. As human populations grow, the world’s largest population of Afri- can elephants is increasingly being confined to protected areas. High densities of elephants within these parks raises concerns of widespread habitat change, affecting other large mammals and threatening the area’s ecological integrity. There is a dire need to understand the impact of increasing densities of elephants on species diversity in order to inform effective management strategies. My dissertation addresses Moremi and Chobe. Working across Southern Africa is home to this issue by quantifying patterns multiple parks allows me to test an impressive display of wild crea- of species diversity across a range for the effects of elephants across a tures and it is a joy and a privilege to of elephant densities and analyzing range of densities, helping improve be able to work in this area. There is species interactions to investigate understanding of what concentra- nothing quite like watching a family biotic mechanisms underlying diver- tions of elephants might promote of elephants drinking at the river’s sity trends. A better understanding species diversity, and what consti- edge, silhouetted by the setting sun, of how elephants are influencing tutes “too many” elephants. or seeing a leopard sliding through other species will enable manag- Using a series of game the bushes on its way to hunt. Expe- ers to protect wildlife and habitats drives, wildlife groups were spatially riences like these reinforce my pas- while also allowing conservation to located using a GPS unit, compass, sion to protect the wild places and contribute to economic growth and and laser rangefinder. The data are animals of southern Africa so that local livelihoods through initiatives now being analyzed using spatial future generations can continue to like ecotourism. statistics to evaluate whether ani- enjoy them. I appreciate the support On previous trips to Bo- mals are more clumped or dispersed that the Center for Africa Studies tswana in 2008 and 2010, I investi- across the landscape than expected and many other organizations have gated elephant utilization of trees in by random chance, indicating un- shown, enabling me to continue my Chobe National Park and collected derlying behavioral interactions. The work of learning about and protect- preliminary data on habitat use and information collected is also being ing the wildlife of Africa. interactions of elephants and other combined with remotely sensed large herbivores. Funded in part by land cover data to create predictive Tim Fullman is a Ph.D. candidate in the Center for African Studies, I was habitat maps for large mammals in geography and a former FLAS fellow able to expand my work in 2011, the dry season. Pairing this with our (Swahili, 2007-2009). Funding for this research provided by: Cleveland collecting additional data in Chobe group’s climate modeling will show National Park, as well as conducting Metroparks Zoo Conservation Fund, how elephant impacts and predicted CAS pre-dissertation research grant, pilot studies in Bwabwata and Mu- changes in the environment around QSE3 IGERT travel grant, CLAS dumu National Parks in the Caprivi Chobe National Park may influence travel grant, Department of Geogra- Strip of Namibia. These parks offer the wildlife species that live there, phy travel grant, and the UF Office areas of medium and low elephant informing management decisions by of Research. densities to complement the mod- the wildlife departments of Botswa- erate and high densities found in na and Namibia.

32 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS Health Perspectives Among Senegalese Immigrants in Cincinnati, Ohio JASON HARTZ

Over the past 30 years immi- diseases. Knowledge acquisition by gration from West Africa has way of the media, word of mouth, increased exponentially. For or lived experience has the ability to those migrating from Senegal to the alter personal decisions in relation United States, New York City was to health in diverse ways. For some the primary destination. From there immigrants the answer may be exer- communities have developed in cise, for others it may be through the other cities around the U.S., such as adoption of food avoidance strate- Cincinnati. The greater Cincinnati gies. For many of those Senegalese area, including the area of Kentucky in Cincinnati which I interviewed, just across the Ohio River, has seen it is apparent that an adherence to the development of a small, but shippers, and manufacturers, the a more “traditional” or “authentic” vibrant community of West Africans. owner of a small African market and Senegalese diet is the answer, no As a result of the influx of African the adjacent Senegalese restaurant, matter how global that diet may in migrants in the region, businesses who formerly worked for a global fact be. catering to their needs have also food distributer, has succeeded in developed. For the past decade in developing a business which caters Cincinnati, a small Africa-centric to the desires of not only the West food landscape has become visible. African community, but also Asian For the months of June and and Caribbean immigrant commu- July, 2011, I conducted research in nities. This small restaurant has Cincinnati at a small African market managed to create a cuisine which and the neighboring Senegalese res- is largely West African, focusing primarily on Senegalese cuisine, but has also hybridized its menu to cater to multi-ethnic tastes. Additionally, they alter the amount and content of each dish depending on the assumed tastes of the customer. For instance, Jason Hartz is master’s student in an American customer will receive anthropology and a former FLAS more meat and less rice, while an fellow (Wolof, summer 2010 and African customer will receive more 2010-2011). rice and less meat. Dietary choice is largely dictated by access, which in turn taurant, both owned and operated may have very real or possibly by the same individual. For the two harmful effects on the health of the months that I was there, I located individual. Diabetes, heart disease, myself, for the most part, in the din- hypertension (high blood pressure), ing room, interviewing customers and obesity are very real concerns and watching the day-to-day activi- among immigrants traversing the ties which took place. My research American food landscape. How focused primarily on the develop- knowledge about food and dietary ment of the West African food choice is obtained and how immi- landscape and the shifting dietary grant populations use this knowl- requirements of the Senegalese pop- edge is important in learning how to ulation living there. By tapping into assist individuals in coping with and a global network of food producers, possibly preventing such chronic

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 33 Exploring the Intersection of Agriculture and Health Among HIV+ Populations in Western Kenya Elihu Isele

The interaction of microcredit and appropriate technology in Western Kenya could be the next step in improving livelihoods and care of HIV+ farmers. Spend- ing the summer working on the Shamba Maisha (Kiswahili for “Farming Life”) randomized control trial in Western Kenya and gaining an understanding of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been a valuable experience and built on the interdisciplinary course work of a first year Masters in Sustainable Develop- ment Practice (MDP) student. The MDP summer practicum at UF uses the focus of “what is the problem people face in their lives, and what can we (the community and the practitioner) do together to work on solving the problem?” With this in mind I was fortunate to work with Family lucky enough to be able to hire mined that the two sites were Aids Care and Education Services (an HIV/ two of their trained modera- similar enough to be used in the AIDS care organization) in Nyanza Province, tors. This was an experience in trial. I finished my field work Kenya on the Shamba Maisha trial. The capacity building, with a day by piloting the entire survey central question of the Shamba Maisha trial spent training the moderators in instrument of the trial (including is “what are the effects of microcredit to pur- Shamba Maisha and the discus- health, transmission behavior, chase treadle pumps for people living with sion guide. We headed to rural stigma, empowerment, agricul- HIV/AIDS who are food insecure and taking Migori District, to outlying clin- ture, income, etc.) to ensure that anti-retroviral treatment?” The changes will ics and held gender-separated it is culturally appropriate, had be measured by the intermediate outcomes discussions at two different good fit, and can be conducted in of the farmer’s irrigated agriculture produc- clinics. The initial outcomes of a reasonable amount of time. tion and income changes, and the final clini- the discussions show nutrition This combination of cal outcomes of their general health (BMI, in the family would increase as health and agriculture in an CD4 count, etc.), transmission behavior risk, well the opportunity to send intervention is what makes and female empowerment. children to school. Farmers saw Shamba Maisha an innovative My summer practicum involved this intervention as positive and approach to HIV treatment background research, interviews, focus understood how it could benefit and care. The MDP summer group discussions, and writing measures for them. practicum has given me a better Shamba Maisha. I specifically created the Finally, I spent about 10 understanding of development agriculture and economic instruments to days between Migori and Rongo research and HIV/AIDS in East measure the changes using validated instru- district hospitals conducting Africa. I hope other MDP stu- ments as my starting point. With these tools interviews to determine their dents can have similar opportu- in mind, I interviewed farmers who were similarity as control and inter- nities to work on these impor- part of the initial Shamba Maisha pilot study, vention sites. Community health tant issues in western Kenya. to understand their economic and produc- workers, Ministry of Agriculture, tion pathways. agriculture input suppliers, Elihu Isele is a second-year MDP I also prepared and commissioned vegetable wholesalers and retail- (Masters in Development Prac- four focus group discussions to predict the ers, as well as patients who were tice) student. Funding provided by a MacArthur Foundation MDP outcome of the intervention. These discus- farmers were all interviewed. Summer Practicum Grant. sions were accomplished with the help of The principal investigator and Great Lakes University Kisumu and I was I analyzed the data and deter-

34 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS

Egyptian Video Art and the Performance of Identity Dan Jakubowski

My research explores the re- and across the world. notion of identity itself, focusing cent proliferation of video art in While I was unable to travel upon its limitations as an apparatus Egypt during the past decade to Egypt during the past summer for political change and suggest- and its special relationship with due to travel restrictions arising ing ways forward toward a renewed the changing political realities from political unrest, the oppor- universal politics. But rather than that shaped Egyptian identity tunity to study Arabic in Morocco discard identity altogether as myo- during the 20th and 21st cen- provided me with direct access to pic, exclusive, and incommunicable turies. I believe video as an artistic another regional manifestation of as a resonant basis for action, these medium is uniquely suited to chart- the Arab Spring. Protests in both artists emphasize the concept’s ing the social constellations that Casablanca and Ribat occurred fluid instability. To them, Egyptian make up modern Egypt’s fraught during my time abroad, demanding identity is an essentially performa- relationship with nationalist politics, greater popular representation in tive process that constantly renews revolution, and modernity as it has government activities and a loosen- and transforms itself when con- unfolded in the country throughout ing of power held by the monarchy fronted with new historical realities. the past century. Since Egypt sought and its most visible representative, I believe that it is within this shared independence from British colonial King Mohammed VI. As is to be performative mutability that new control in the early 20th century, expected, the conceptions of po- forms of totality are imagined within different conceptions of national- litical, ethnic, gender, and sexual the differences of identity politics. ist, religious, and politically radical identity that composed Morocco’s Video has been a versatile and easily identities have been innovated as popular movement differed in both accessible artistic medium uniquely powerful tools of ontological self- magnitude and internal make-up suited to exploring the temporality formulation and political expression. from those of contemporary Egypt. of performative identity in contem- These notions of identity have been But both nationally bound move- porary Egypt. put to use toward both progressive ments held a shared investment in and reactionary political ends, and the concept of liberal democracy and their legacies are still felt today as its necessity at this moment in the the various movements that com- history of Arab peoples. Exposure pose the popular rebellion of the to Morocco’s protests provided a Arab Spring shift from dismantling dimensionality to my perspective of the Mubarak regime toward articu- these political transformations that I lating their own program of institu- would otherwise lack. tional organization and action. In the coming years, I hope During the past decade, to develop these research inter- video artists working in Egypt and ests into a dissertation project that abroad used digital technology and places Egyptian video art within the new media to represent and critique broader, global history of the medi- the momentous transformations um while also investigating different in identity that have shaped the formulations of contemporary Egyp- nation’s present political moment, tian identity and how each plays a moment that has emerged during into or resists the political project a period of draconian neo-liberal of democracy in Egypt and the Arab economic reforms, variegated reac- world as a whole. Artists such as tions to an uneven globalization of Doa Aly, Lara Baladi, Hala Elkoussy, Dan Jakubowski is a Ph.D. candidate in art history and a former FLAS fel- both culture and capital, and new Wael Shawky, and Ahmed Basiony low (Arabic, summer 2011). communications technologies that have each used video to access and have radically altered personal represent the politics of Egyptian subjectivity, social formation, and identity. And in a critical turn, these political organization within Egypt artists have also problematized the

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 35 Giving Up the Gun: Life Post-Rebellion in Central Africa Cara Jones

As a Fulbright-Hays DDRA awardee, I spent most of 2010- 2011 living in central Burundi, conducting field esearr ch for my dissertation entitled “Giv- ing up the Gun: Rebel to State Transformations in Africa’s Great Lakes.” While there I conducted over 400 interviews with former rebels, current government officials, and civilians who all played a part in Burundi’s civil war, which lasted (of- ficially) from 1993-2005. The conflict was devastating to all involved, culminating in the displacement of 2 million Burundians, both internal and external refugees, and the learned of their views by employing graduate school. While my Kiswahili deaths of more than 300,000. My a variety of field methods. I conduct- ‘Walimu’ (teachers) at Florida might research focuses on understanding ed interviews, larger focus groups, now have trouble with my dialect how the rebels that now hold major- and was a participant observer in (the Burundian version is slightly ity political power, the CNDD-FDD community, church and associa- different than the Standard, tinged (in French, Conseil National Pour tional meetings. I also interviewed with French and Kirundi influ- la Défense de la Démocratie–Forces former rebel foot-soldiers - men ences), I know that the depth of my pour la Défense de la Démocratie) and women who had participated as work would not have been possible have transformed themselves from fighters, sometimes when they were without it. Often times, the fact that rag-tag soldiers waging an insur- children - as to how and why the I spoke regional languages made gency in the forests to the keepers movement progressed the way it did. the difference in the level of trust, of national economic, political and I also questioned them about why and therefore, level of information, social power. they joined, why they continued to I received from interviewees. It was During my time there, I saw participate, and what they did after also a great way to understand when the regime under former rebel com- they left the movement. people were discussing you in a mander and now President Pierre Over the year in the field, I nightclub or restaurant. I was also Nkurunziza win its second election learned about rebels and rebellion lucky enough to have had the full since the war, a move that consoli- by employing an interdisciplin- support of the Center as I prepared dated their political power, but also ary lens to my work, that not only for the dissertation research in my spawned interesting new research included the application of political graduate school years I received issues for my work. Although people and economic theories of grievance numerous grants to conduct pre-dis- largely accepted the victory of the from my training in the department sertation research trips and present CNDD-FDD in the 2010 elections, of political science, but also in an- my findings at disciplinary and area the fire that electrified their 2005 thropological and historical ways of studies conferences. victory was put out, and replaced seeing that I was trained in through with significant post-election vio- various courses, interactions and Cara E. Jones is a Ph.D. Candidate in lence. People were no longer will- seminars in the Center for African political science and a former FLAS fellow (Swahili, 2006-2008). Fund- ing to accept politicians who were Studies. During my fieldwork, I also ing for her field esearr ch provided utilized my language skills, espe- unwilling to engage in dialogue with by a U.S. Department of Education those not of their party. Average cially in Swahili, which I learned as a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation citizens expressed their discontent FLAS fellow in the Center for African Research Abroad grant. to me in a number of ways, and I Studies during my first two years of

36 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS

Gender Equality in Ethiopia: Concepts, Practices, and Strategies Marit Tolo Østebø

With a particular focus on how order to increase production and get funded organizations that I came in gender equality is conceptual- out of poverty.” contact with during my fieldwork ised in international and national Public meetings arranged had a focus on HTP and particu- policies and among rural Oromo by the government were reported larly FGC, indicating that FGC/HTP women in Ethiopia, my research as the main source of information among these organizations might seeks to explore the dynamics in regarding this issue, and compar- have become a proxy for work on encounters between diverging ing the rhetoric on the grass roots gender equality. In addition, secular notions of gender, gender equal- level with Ethiopia’s newly launched as well as faith-based NGOs and also ity, and women’s rights. It also Growth and Transformation plan, government institutions propagate involves a focus on how Norwegian- and use religious leaders as a key funded development initiatives that strategy. Hence , my research also address gender issues are carried ended up focusing on experiences out and perceived locally. This year and approaches with regard to reli- I spent four months in Ethiopia, gious leaders. Preliminary analysis mainly in rural villages in the Oro- indicate that even though one may mia region where I did participant argue for the importance of religious observation and interviewed women, leaders as agents of change, it might religious leaders, NGO workers, and be a less fruitful strategy if political- government bureaucrats. religious dynamics are not taken The preliminary findings of into consideration. my research are twofold. Whereas the discourse on gender equality at international level and among development bureaucrats at central level in Ethiopia reflects a relatively broad conceptualization of gender equality, characterized by a focus on equal opportunities for men and women in relation to political participation, education, economic participation etc. - the discourse on gender equality at the local level one might conclude that the concep- seems to be limited to the following: tualization at the local level, rather a) gender equality understood as than reflecting genuine local percep- women’s rights with particular focus tions, is mirroring what is on the on gender violence and so-called political agenda. Informants kept harmful traditional practices (HTP) claiming that “we have accepted” and; b) gender equality understood gender equality, to stop practicing with particular reference to work. female genital cutting (FGC), to use The local discourse reflected to some family planning etc. However, when extent a focus on change in gender probing deeper into these issues, it became clear that this acceptance roles, among others voiced in argu- Marit Tolo Østebø is a doctoral can- ments such as “women should start was not necessarily genuine nor put didate at the University of Bergen to plough, and men should start into practice, but something people (Norway) and a courtesy research to make injera (local bread).” The would say because of fear of possible associate in the Center for African dominant understanding of gen- consequences if they raised any kind Studies. This research project is der equality was however framed of opposition. funded by the Norwegian Research as “working together in the field in Secondly, all the Norwegian- Council.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 37 Negotiating the Spaces of Fairtrade in South Africa’s Wine Industry Alison Montgomery

I began my 14-month doctoral dissertation research in October 2010. This multi-sited research is based in three regions in South Af- rica’s Western Cape Province: Cape Town and two rural wine producing communities, one in the Breede Riv- er Valley and one in the Oliphants River Valley. This research focuses on policies flows and transformations within the Fairtrade movement in South Africa, specifically in the wine industry. Globally certifiable since 1997 and in South Africa since Fairtrade International’s power; discussions. However, alternative 2004, Fairtrade is a trade-not-aid 2) Fairtrade Network (formerly trade paradigms like Fairtrade often approach to sustainable develop- Fairtrade South Africa) has be- fall prey to the same marginalization ment that aims to empower pro- come increasingly inclusive and patterns that define conventional ducers and workers who have been aims to represent a broadly-defined global capitalism, likely because marginalized by global capitalism. fairly-traded family in South Af- Fairtrade is not revolutionary, This project is based on two rica; 3) Fairtrade International and but rather uses the free market to guiding research questions: 1) How Fairtrade Label South Africa have provide alternatives to conventional do the various stakeholders within shifted towards a focus on corporate capitalism. I have also found that the Fairtrade system influence clients that bring in larger license Fairtrade has not changed paternal- policy transformation within both fees, thus generating more income istic power relationships at the sites Fairtrade and Western Cape agrar- to grow the Fairtrade brand; 4) the of production, with workers remain- ian reform efforts; and 2) What do additional certification barrier of ing excluded from many business these negotiations and power plays state-led Black Economic Empower- and policy decisions, despite their mean for the ways in which policy is ment compliance for South African ownership share. Fairtrade involve- implemented and for on-the-ground producers is being reconsidered; ment and certification has also realities such as business sustain- 5) a ban on the export of Fairtrade- not necessarily served to promote ability and farm worker livelihoods? certified bulk wine is being consid- transparency or prevent corruption. I worked with a variety of ered; 6) environmental standards on Lastly, Fairtrade’s increasing focus stakeholders in order to address pesticide usage on vines are being on corporate clients has left exist- these questions. These stakehold- challenged and reviewed; and 7) ing producers with little guidance or ers—whom I have termed “agentic Fairtrade is reevaluating who the support, which has resulted in the actors” to represent each individual’s “owners” of the Fairtrade certificate continued marginalization and disil- relative power within the system— should be, with serious implications lusionment of workers, Fairtrade’s include farm owners, managers, for the future of the movement and intended beneficiaries. and workers; winemakers; Fairtrade power relations within the value International, Fairtrade Africa, and chain. Alison Montgomery is a Ph.D. candi- Fairtrade South Africa personnel; Preliminary findings have date in anthropology and a former FLAS fellow (Swahili, 2007-2009 NGOs; and government officials. shown that workers on Fairtrade and Afrikaans, summer 2010). Her There are seven primary certified farms experience better policy transformations that have research is funded by Fulbright IIE living and working conditions than and the National Science Foundation occurred over the course of the past their non-fairtrade counterparts and DDIG. year: 1) new fairly-traded certifica- feel more a part of decision-making tion bodies are being introduced processes both on-farm and within in South Africa, thus challenging wider trade and agrarian reform

38 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS

Elite Capture of Community Conservation Programs in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe Shylock Muyengwa

Decentralization and devolu- tion of power to communities to manage and decide on their resources is a mechanism ad- opted by several countries to conserve locally valuable resources. In southern Africa, this led to the proliferation of community wildlife management programs such as the Communal Areas Manage- ment Program for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) in Zimba- bwe, Conservancies in Namibia, and Wildlife Trusts in Botswana. Elite capture however, is a new threat to this success, with the potential to reverse the conservation ethic gained by local communities in the Over-time, significant resources held accountable for project fail- past two decades. Consequently, have been spent on meetings (sitting ure. In addition, I also recommend community based natural resources allowances), and rents (demanded “second-generation” CBNRM that is management (CBNRM) is faced with by chiefs and other local authori- well-crafted to overcome 21st chal- a crisis and constant criticism that it ties), while the democratic nature lenges such as population increase is failing to deliver on its promises: of chieftaincy in Sankoyo helps and increased competition over development and conservation. CBNRM perform better. Based on land-use. As one of one my respon- Based on three purpose- preliminary analysis, the problem of dents rightly noted: “CBRNM is a fully selected communities, Sankoyo elite capture is attributable to sever- good idea, but its needs to catch up (Botswana), Wuparo (Namibia) and al factors: (a) the design of CBNRM with what has been happening in the Masoka (Zimbabwe), the current that accommodates and provides past 20 years.” study investigated the problem of ‘special privileges’ to traditional elite capture i.e. increased privatiza- authority structures; (b) elite discre- Shylock Muyengwa is a Ph.D. candi- tion of conservation benefits by a tion over choice of projects; and (c) date in the School of Natural Re- few individuals (committees, local community boundedness- i.e. local- sources and Environment (SNRE) and managing editor for the African politicians, religious leaders, and izing investments and recruitment traditional leaders). The research Studies Quarterly. This research within the community. In some was funded by: UK Department for methodology combines primary cases communities are likely to be International Development (DFID) and secondary data collection using efficient by investing their incomes Africa Power and Politics (APPP) archival documents, interviews, and in urban areas to generate more rev- program, UF Tropical Conserva- focus group discussions. I started enue and also hire skilled ‘externals.’ tion and Development (TCD) pre- this research project in 2009, focus- The study recommends dissertation research grant, Program ing broadly on governance issues training traditional leaders together for Studies in Tropical Conservation surrounding CBNRM initiatives at with committees to enhance eq- (PSTC) Compton Research Fellow- ship in Environment and Sustain- local level. This summer (2011), I uity and fairness in the allocation visited my research sites to conduct ability grant, Wildlife Conservation of CBRNM benefits. In principle, Society Research Fellowship, and Dr. detailed interviews. re-engaging traditional leaders in Brian Child. The findings indicate that development administration is likely in Namibia and Zimbabwe, commu- to make them more accountable nity development projects initially compared to the current approach invested in development projects. where they ‘free-ride’ and are not

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 39 Mining and Community Development in Ghana Collins Nunyonameh

The mining industry has seen others with as little as 6. For the some tremendous growth over older companies, this strategy rep- the last three decades, in part resents a shift away from the era of due to stable and increasing outsourcing of community develop- commodity prices and in part ment activities, a transition that due to institutional reforms is still playing out. It does appear directed by the World Bank that the newer companies are doing toward making the industry better in terms of the number of more attractive in the devel- interventions put in place and there oping world. Despite the huge appears some superficial evidence expansion, there continues to be that communities around the new a nagging question about the role interact with members of multiple mining companies are generally of the industry in poverty allevia- communities (about 17 in all), and more satisfied than those around the tion around the world. The last few spent time studying the peculiar older ones. The differences in the years have recorded an enthusiastic cultural ethos of the communities activities between the old and new response especially at the interna- that might be of consequence to my companies raise interesting ques- tional level towards dealing with the study. The trip proved extremely tions that would be explored in my problems of poverty around mining useful in getting my foot in the door substantive work by using institu- operations, led by the UN through to my actual study. I had always tional theory. its Global Compact and through the suspected huge difficulties in secur- International Council on Mining ing agreements with the mining and Minerals (ICMM) symbolized companies for the study, but nothing most unequivocally in its Commu- of the level I met on the trip. For one nity Development Toolkit and 10 particular company, it took approxi- Principles. These developments have mately 3 months, after traversing attracted large scholarly interest the entire corporate structure both over the last decade. Unfortunately, at international and country levels, there has been a tendency of con- to have an agreement for interviews. centrating these scholarly efforts on So I count the trip a great blessing in debates about whether or not min- sorting this particular hurdle out. ing can or does contribute to poverty In terms of community de- reduction. Consequently, very little velopment practice, there is strong has been done to understand what evidence that all 4 mining compa- mining companies are doing to ad- nies visited (except one) are heavily dress the development challenges in involved in calculated activities to their operational areas, the nature address the development concerns of these interventions, and/or their of their communities, anchored Collins R. Nunyonameh is a Ph.D. impacts on community well-being. on explicit policies towards same. student in the School of Natural This is the task of my research. The institutional arrangement for Resources and Environment (SNRE). Support for this research from: the I spent the summer of managing these activities are largely Jeanne and Hunt Davis Graduate identical although some appear 2011 doing preliminary work at my Research Fund, CAS pre-dissertation study sites in Ghana. The trip lasted more elaborate – in terms of human research grant, UF Tropical Con- roughly 3 months and afforded me resource commitment and organiza- servation and Development (TCD) the opportunity to visit and forge tion- than others. For example, all summer research grant, and the UF close collaboration with my prospec- the companies now have dedicated Office of Research. tive cases. I had the chance to speak departments for managing commu- with and interview mining company nity development activities, some representatives of 4 companies, with as many as over 80 employees,

40 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS

Kanga Hits the Runway: Fashion and an East African Textile MacKenzie Moon Ryan

The East African textile, kanga, has been culturally embed- ded since its inception over a century ago. Most recently, this mass-produced, industrially printed textile has made a splash on high fashion runways. My research is documenting these textiles’ historical emergence, their transformations in use, and their contemporary social significance in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Born of global networks of trade, kanga textiles feature bold, machine-printed designs on factory- produced cloth. Kanga are defined by their basic design: a central motif surrounded by a wide, continuous graphic border. They also display a proverb or phrase in Swahili, framed just below the central motif. Origi- ion world by storm. I am document- While they maintain their everyday nally a coastal style, kanga are now ing how kanga textiles are featuring role in women’s lives in East Africa, worn widely throughout East Africa in the emerging Swahili fashion kanga are also making headway into and are considered bearers of East scene. Last year I attended the third trendy closets around the globe, African culture. annual Swahili Fashion week and bringing East African culture along, Sold in pairs, kanga are saw many designers using kanga in too. relatively inexpensive and serve as their runway looks. This year, on the a staple item for many East Afri- occasion of Tanzania’s 50th anni- can households. They are worn as versary of independence, the fourth everyday clothing for market women annual Swahili Fashion Week will and are used by most women inside include 50 designers, an unprec- their homes. Kanga are also used in edented amount for this event. transitional moments of women’s Additionally, I am tracing lives. These textiles feature in wed- how kanga are becoming interna- ding celebrations: they are worn at tionally recognized as markers of send-offs, gifted at kitchen parties, East African culture through their and are shown off at wedding cer- use in fashion designs. British chain emonies. Kanga also swaddle new- stores like Top Shop and JOY carry borns and shroud the dead, thereby trendy dresses made of kanga, and enveloping women in Swahili culture American designer label SUNO has from birth to death. made its fame from its use of kanga While residing in Dar es Sa- textiles. Even Michelle Obama has MacKenzie Moon Ryan is a Ph.D. candidate in art history and former laam, Tanzania, I have been pursu- been seen wearing one of their kanga tops! FLAS Fellow (Swahili 2009-2011). ing a relatively new arena for kanga: Her fieldwork in Dar es Salaam, Tan- From their development the fashion world. Although kanga zania was funded by a School of Art in the late nineteenth century and have long been the staple dress for and Art History Alumni Fellowship. everyday East African women, kanga continuing today, kanga have been are now taking the East African fash- popular items of dress and culture.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 41 Democracy in the West African Novel Elhadji M. Sarr

After a 22-year career with the US Department of State at the American Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, where I worked respectively as Cultural Spe- cialist and Political Analyst, I decided to pursue the dream deferred of ad- vanced literary research. The objective of my research is to examine the problematic of democracy and nation-building in the West African novel, in English and French, published in the period 1960 to 2010. This 50-year time frame covers the period that anthologies typically present as going from the euphoria of independence to the dis- illusionment of the post-independence reality and the current era of democratization. 2010 was a landmark for the 50 years of political independence that most African countries recently celebrated with great panache and, some would add, indecency. The time of literary production highlights the homology between West African novels and the political arena. As a cultural and literary field,West Africa presents a lot of similarities however, the large number of countries and novelists who emerged in the post-colonial period led me to focus on five countries with significant literary production on the themes such as the military and power, governance, one-party state, and civil society disen- gagement. Among key writers studied are Amadou Kourouma (Cote d’Ivoire), Cheikh Aliou Ndao (Senegal), Ibrahima Ly (Mali), Ayi Kwei Armah (Ghana), Aminata Sow Fall (Senegal), and Chinua Achebe (Nigeria). Through intertextuality, novels such as Kourouma’s Waiting for the Vote of Wild studies in this field. The main examine West African societ- Beasts, a real fresco of African dictatorships, contributions of the present ies in reality and fiction and as will allow us to compare and definethe speci- research are its traversing of cul- fields in which the confrontation ficity of West African literary production and tural and linguistic boundaries of forces in the aspiration for democratization in relation to other parts of and its focus on the overarching democratic change occur. the Continent during this period from the issue of nation-building, iden- one-party state era of the 60s to the emer- tity, and democracy as they have Elhadji M. Sarr is a Ph.D. candi- gence of a stronger civil society and multi- impacted cultural production, date at the Université Gaston party systems in the early 1990s. textualization, and contestation. Berger in Saint-Louis, Senegal and a courtesy research asso- That the novel has reacted to and re- Borrowing the concept ciate in the Center for African flected, to a large extent, dominant political of literary field (champ litterai- Studies. trends is a fact underscored in most thematic re) from Pierre Bourdieu, I will

42 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS

Weapons and Refuse as Media: The Potent Politics of Recycling in Mozambican Urban Arts Amy Schwartzott

Discarded plastic bags, broken demonstrates that Mozambican art- tual framework for recycled materi- door and window frames, styro- ists recycle both literally and figura- als that become art has expanded my foam packing materials, cast off tively, creating evocative art while research this year to focus directly frying pans, bits of scrap metal, deconstructing Mozambican history. on the objects used by artists. This spent magazines from a de- While artists connected with has led to interviews with municipal stroyed AK-47: garbage or art? TAE work as a collective, many in- and national directors, administra- Perhaps both if you are looking at dividual Mozambican artists use di- tors, and consultants of solid waste art made from recycled materials in verse recycled materials in their art. management, public and private gar- Mozambique. These materials rep- By incorporating these artists in my bage collectors, as well as the own- resent detritus from an African post- research, I explore the materiality of ers, operators, and workers at recy- war urban society which becomes recycled objects and the impact of cling facilities. I have visited solid transformed into art by Mozambican the artworks on both viewer and cre- artists. My dissertation research ator. These artists include Pekiwa, investigates Mozambican artists who who creates artwork by recycling use recycled materials as media to broken doors and window frames to illuminate important environmental, make commentary on social situ- economic, and cultural issues to de- ations; Sonia, who uses recycled termine how and why artists utilize styrofoam to create artworks steeped recyclia to create distinctly Mozam- in Islamic imagery; Zeferino, in- bican art. I focus on individual art- spired by African masks, uses cast off pots and pans to update historical African forms by creating them out of recycled materials; Makolwa, whose artworks vibrate with the ten- waste containers and dump sites sion of their materiality, as he links where I have interviewed directors, sharp metal nails with the smooth workers, and independent entre- surfaces of discarded chairs and preneurs of the informal sector who pounded scraps of metal; and Fiel, buy and sell recycled materials. This whose brother was kidnapped into allows me to analyze multiple waste service as a child soldier during the streams to determine the course of war, creates artworks which focus on an object’s life before it becomes a the objecthood of the weapons, forc- media material for a Mozambican ists using various recycled materials ing the viewer to intimately connect artist. Pre-dissertation research in and the Christian Council of Mozam- to the meaning of the various arms Maputo in the summers of 2008 and bique’s NGO project, Transformação and the intrinsic power of violence 2009 began my engagement with de Armas em Enxadas/Transform- within each. the artists of Mozambique and has ing Arms into Plowshares (TAE). Each of these artists come consequently expanded, strength- TAE collects and destroys decom- from vastly different economic, ened, and enriched my research. missioned weapons from Mozambi- social, and educational backgrounds, can wars, subsequently transforming yet all create art using recycled ma- Amy Schwartzott is a Ph.D. candi- them into art. terials. Working with these individu- date in the School of Art and Art History. She recently completed 12 Creating a context for art als and many others, I explore how months of research in Mozambique and why Mozambican artists use guides my research methodology in with funding from a Fulbright-Hays which I investigate the impact of the recycled materials in the creation of DDRA grant. She previously held an past lives of recycled materials and their art to investigate larger themes Alumni Fellowship from the Univer- the ways in which these lives in- related to recycling and its meaning sity of Florida (2006-2010). scribe meaning as the materials are in Mozambique and globally. transformed into art. My research My desire to create a contex-

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 43 Resilience and Social Networks in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Sam Schramski

I am spending 2011-12 in South Africa exploring issues of climate change, disease and agrarian change in a post-COP 17 world. The annual climate change conference, held in fall of 2011 in Durban, has been frustratingly lead- footed, yet many calls for action at local and regional levels are being made in Africa, even if national and international bodies cannot agree upon a binding solution. My own research focuses will continue to in the future, is no accurately assess the present, and on this regional level in asking simple research subject. then predict the future completely. how resilient homesteads in South I’m seeking to shed a little As an isiXhosa phrase goes, Akukho Africa’s rural Eastern Cape province light on this complexity in part of qili linokuzikhoth’ emhlana (there’s are to the effects of climate change the Eastern Cape known as the Wild nobody so smart he can lick his own and disease. I’m finding thus far that Coast, largely through an investiga- back!). But I hypothesize that condi- decreasing reliance upon natural tion of the number and diversity of tions here are shifting. resources appears to be the interven- rural livelihood assets and whether Some alterations I’m ing variable in both cases, a fact that those predict aspects of resilience observing speak to all three tem- has dramatic policy implications, as to ongoing ecological and social poral dimensions, and possibly to well as consequences for the social change. I argue that resilient home- the future of rural South Africa at composition of families and commu- steads will demonstrate a high large. Notably, no matter how poor a nities. number and diversity of livelihood homestead may appear, it is almost The Eastern Cape has seen assets in response to recurrent and universally dependent upon a gov- its fair share of flux in recent times. nonlinear changes (like climate- ernment subsidy and fewer natural Even after tremendous historical related events or disease occur- resources (including livestock and shifts nationally and regionally, rence) and that said homesteads will crops) than one might imagine for the province continues to be the exhibit very tight, or cohesive, social rural African peasants on other parts epitome of South African inequal- networks—bonds that are impor- of the continent. New kinds of inter- ity: it is home to many of the former tant whether individuals are trading dependencies, especially in the form homelands, or Bantustans, of the information, goods or services, or in of debt and money-lending, are also apartheid era. Degraded land, high some cases just money. apparent. rates of HIV/AIDS, and vertiginous My methods have included While conceived as research unemployment are all key features oral history interviews, participatory in basic science, I believe that my here. Most homesteads in even the rural appraisal (PRA) and action re- dissertation will uncover issues most rural parts of the Eastern Cape, search, and most prominently social strongly relevant to natural resource where one might imagine subsis- network analysis (SNA). These three and regional economic managers tence agriculture to be the norm, approaches are meant to unpack the and policymakers, who might have survive off of government welfare temporal dimensions of resilience: had the tendency of thinking of rural grants or old-age pensions and very my oral histories focus on livelihood peoples too simplistically. occasional remittance transfers. changes in the past, SNA on current Suffice it to say while the developments in homestead ex- Sam Schramski is a Ph.D. candidate social-ecological conditions of the changes, and PRA on possible future in the School of Natural Resources province do not appear to be encour- indicators for resilience (or lack and Environment (SNRE) and a NSF aging, how communities respond thereof). I don’t claim to have the IGERT trainee. to stressors at the moment, and oracular vision to unravel the past,

44 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS

Not So Hidden Treasures: Public Archaeology and Collaboration in Bukoba, Tanzania Noah Isaiah Sims

During summer I was able to research interests lie. take part in a public archaeology How do we fix these prob- field school in Bukoba, Tanzania. lems? How can we bring subaltern The field school was instrumental histories from the margins? More in providing me with the tools to importantly, how can we prevent conduct competent archaeology, but them from sliding to the margins in it also presented me with experi- the first place? My experience in Bu- ences that I could not have begun to koba taught me that collaboration is imagine prior to it. a critical component of the solution One aspect of public ar- to these answers. If we do not in- chaeology is that it engages with the clude the informal sets of knowledge community in which the field site is with the formal then we will never located. However, what surprised have a complete whole. me was that I did not have to take the archaeology to the community; the people brought it to me. We had the traditional field methods book trained, we were steadily learning and a handy historical archaeology from the people who aided us. We text which provided us with a back- were granted with an experience ground to the history of the area and in collaboration that many are not the type of objects we might find. Yet privileged with. those texts paled in comparison to I came to Bukoba to gain what I gleaned from the carpenters, more insight into the intersections who were reconstructing a palace of trade networks that flow from at the same location as the field coastal Tanzania into the hinterland. site, and local elders who knew the I was searching for connections that land along with the meaning of the coastal Swahili culture may have objects residing in it. shared with the culture(s) of the hin- These people acted as terland. Instead I encountered what critical collaborators for the project. I believe happens to most anthro- Many times I would be stopped and pologists in the field, what I was not taught proper trowel, compass, or seeking found me. I was able to gain line level technique by a carpenter. insight into how people remember On other occasions an elder would their own histories, who has stake in explain the meaning of a potshard remembering, and what it means to Noah Isaiah Sims is a masters stu- and its use in the past. These were remember. dent in anthropology and a FLAS not trained archaeologists, but locals Few hold the knowledge fellow (Arabic, 2010-11 and Swa- who were invested in the history and hili, 2011-12). Project support from: of the history of Bukoba. It is not culture of their community. Center for African Studies pre-dis- taught in schools and the average The field school was a six- sertation research grant, UF Office young person would not be able week affair and at no point were of Graduate and Minority Programs to tell you the significance of the we working in isolation. We were (OGMP) pre-dissertation grant, and mnemonic devices that make up the the UF Office of Research. consistently aided by local Tanzani- names of their cities, streams, and ans who had a stake in the histories rivers. That is a problem. It relates we were pulling out of the ground. to the issues surrounding the politics Even though we were the semi- of Swahili identity that play out in professionals, and the members of coastal Tanzania, where my primary the community were not formally

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 45 Linking Livelihoods and Land Cover in Southern Africa Jessica Steele

My research looks at savanna interviews with village chiefs. We ity in this region. I am sincerely ecology, land cover, and human are in the process of analyzing these grateful for the financial assistance livelihoods in the Okavango data, and currently gaining insight from the Center of African Studies, Delta region of southern Af- into the complex relationships without which this work would not rica. I am working toward linking between individual households, have been possible. village-scale socioeconomic data institutions, wildlife, and the land. with regional land cover in northern The next step in my research Botswana and the Caprivi Strip in was to return to this area in May and Namibia. Multiple factors contrib- June of 2011 to collect ecological ute to land cover change in this area data, including plot-level vegeta- including humans, large herbivores, tion measurements and spectral climatic changes, and fire, to name signatures of key savanna species. a few. This is of particular concern I am analyzing satellite imagery, as people are intricately tied to the and fieldwork is an absolute neces- landscape through subsistence farm- sity when using remote sensing to ing, wild food gathering, natural re- characterize a landscape. Scientists source extraction, grazing, and tour- and managers in this region are con- ism as a primary economic activity. cerned about shrub encroachment as This interconnection necessitates a potential threat to species diversity judicious environmental policies and and ecological stability. Thus far careful discernment in the manage- using remote sensing to classify the ment of protected areas, hunting, landscape into shrubs, trees, and and regional economic growth. grasses has not been successful. During a previous trip to Accordingly, that fine-scale level of Botswana and Namibia in 2010, discrimination would be extremely useful in understanding the function Jessica Steele is a Ph.D. student in of the savanna. geography. Funding for this research from: NASA Land-Cover / Land-Use That being the case, in addi- Change Program Grant, CAS pre- tion to running vegetation transects dissertation research award, QSE3 and completing a training sample IGERT Travel Grant, UF CLAS Travel sheet at each site, I used a spectro- Grant, and the UF Office of Re- radiometer to measure the spectral search. signature of key savanna species. The spectroradiometer takes the same measurement as the satellite and I intend to use these signatures to identify species on the imagery. I worked with a team of graduate In several cases the images I am students and professors to col- using overlap with the villages we lect socioeconomic data including sampled, providing an opportunity livelihood composition and land use to make direct links between people practices in seven villages across the and the environment. It is my hope region. Our goal was to learn about that these datasets will foster the as many households as possible in connection of local-scale livelihood each village through semi-structured strategies and regional environmen- interviews. Other members of the tal change, providing insight into the team conducted focus groups with ways future environmental changes community members and personal could affect people and social stabil-

46 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS Embodiment, Emplacement, and Lyrical Discourse from Eastlands, Nairobi Erik Timmons

Why are certain aesthetic choices made in the production of hip hop recordings? Why are certain sound effects (the click-click-boom! of gun shots) and vocal effects (echoing) common- place in studio productions of hip hop music? What determines which language is spoken, what words are used and which idioms invoked? If hip hop is a global “culture” that has certain identifiable characteristics, how do we measure variation within that culture? In other words, how do artists and producers in the studio make decisions on when to follow generic conventions of global hip hop and when to inflect their productions with an aesthetic which resonates with (imagined) local or ties and their music offers a highly for my dissertation. I will continue national audiences? Finally, how stylized voice for moral and political to explore the sociality of the studio do the decisions made at the site of reform. and try to understand what goes into production mediate social processes I visited a number of places making decisions about poetics and happening in local communities? which are important sites of social- the aesthetics of sound in the mak- I spent summer 2011 explor- ity for these young men including: ing of revolutionary hip hop. ing these questions in relation to the neighborhood maskani (public a group of musicians from eastern gathering place), the Kenyan Na- Nairobi. Since the 1990s, this rela- tional Theatre, live concerts/hip hop tively small but influential group of events and two recording studios. I young men has been producing a made several visits to a community- particular style of revolutionary hip based organization (CBO) in Dando- hop songs. Lyrical tropes common ra which was initiated by a couple of to this music include paying hom- hip hop musicians/activists from the age to fighters in the Mau Mau war, community. Additionally, I began and leaders of black consciousness the work of collecting recordings of in the Americas such as Malcolm X, songs by these musicians then tran- Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley. The scribing and translating them. Erik Timmons is a Ph.D. student artists continually reference “strug- in anthropology and former FLAS Towards the end of my stay gle,” “unity” and “revolution” in fellow (Swahili, 2008-2010 and in Nairobi I was invited to a lo- their lyrics. They revile the powerful summer 2010). His research was cal studio by a friend and hip hop and corrupt politicians that let them supported by a CAS summer pre- musician named Judge. Together dissertation research grant and the starve or die of AIDS. They castigate we wrote and recorded a song with UF Office of Research. the thugs who steal and rape in their two additional rappers, Kaktus and neighborhood. And they constantly Ekori. The process of participating situate their voice within the mar- in the writing a producing of a song ginalized place from which they was informative. I intend to return come. Above all, these urban poets to Nairobi in 2012 to begin fieldwork are avid observers of social inequali-

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 47 Towards the Teaching of Kenyan Art & Choral Music in High School Music Education Duncan Wambugu

Over the past decades, there has been a tremendous growth in the output of choral art music in Kenya. Art music in this case refers to musical works that are written by African composers (Kenyans in particular) who have been trained in Western classical music styles, and therefore combine Western classical music elements with traditional African music idioms in their compositions. Their music is usually African sounding – based ers actually knew the composers of regarding Kenyan art music, musical from traditional folk melodies and/ the music they were performing, and examples used, and how important or rhythms. As a genre, this type of what about the composers did they they regarded Kenyan art music in music in Kenya has tremendously actually know. I therefore sought their classrooms. I also extensively grown in performances, as evi- to find out from music teachers and interviewed certain composers of denced at music festivals, church choir directors what they knew of art music. From these interviews, I gatherings and National Celebra- Kenyan composers and their music hope to establish content enough for tions. For example, at the National in the hopes that this knowledge was teachers to use when teaching about Music Festivals, three classes have transferred to the students in order Kenyan art music from the compos- been designated for art music for all to further understand and interpret ers’ perspective. levels of performers – from nurs- the music they are performing. After carefully analyzing ery school children to university This past summer, I set out the questionnaires and the com- students. These classes range from to investigate whether Kenyan art posers’ interviews, I will be able to own composition to adaptation and music is taught in secondary school make a strong case for the inclusion arrangements of African folk tunes classrooms and rehearsal rooms. of Kenyan art music as a specific and melodies. I carried out this research during genre in the Kenyan National Music My initial curiosity in the National Music Festival, held Curriculum. Further research may Kenyan art music was the perfor- every August, in Kenya. This event, be carried out on other mediums mance practices of choral art songs which hosts approximately 90, 000 of composition and not just choral and whether there was a commonly participants through 10 days, was music, including instrumental art agreed way in which Kenyan choral a perfect opportunity to meet and in- music, solo voice art music and art songs are performed. This was terview music teachers from around many others. This research will add due to a seemingly similar nature in the country. I also interviewed academic/theoretical knowledge to which most of the choirs performed selected composers of Kenyan choral a rapidly developing practical genre this genre. However, the growth in art music with a view to gain some with a view to further understanding compositional output and perfor- insights into the composer’s minds Kenyan choral art music. mances of Kenyan choral art songs and intentions when composing within secondary schools raised my these songs. Duncam Wambugu is a Ph.D. curiosity further. Since many of the As part of my investiga- candidate in music education. His secondary schools were perform- tions with the help from former research was sponsored by the Madelyn M. Lockhart Research Fund ing this particular genre of music, students of Kenyatta University, I I was curious to find out whether for African Studies, a CAS pre-dis- distributed a questionnaire (n=100) sertation research grant, and the UF there was some educational value to the music teachers and choir Office of Research. that the students were gaining from directors of secondary schools. In performing these works. I began particular, I was interested in find- asking myself whether the performing out the content teachers taught

48 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS

Social Networks and Voting in Africa Keith Weghorst

Through surveys I conducted in the summer of 2010 (n=900) and prior to the October elections (n=630), I found that voters in Tanzania—where one party has ruled since independence— were more likely to support opposition candidates if their closest friends and family voted in the same way. This presented an answer to a puzzling question that drives my research: Why then do voters support opposition parties in elections where they have little opportunity to oust the incumbent regime? It appeared that likeness of political preferences within social (family and friend) networks influences opposition voting. But it left lect data on the density of opposition of Representatives. The results from unexplained how and why this was support across geographical space, this portion of the project, which the case. allowing me to disentangle the effect are currently being presented to the In Zanzibar’s 2010 elections, of friends and family having various Zanzibar government, are aiding in the opposition Civic United Front political attitudes from the effect of the development of a new anti-cor- (CUF) finished 3,000 votes behind like-minded people living in one’s ruption and good governance law. the incumbent Chama Cha Mapin- community. For my dissertation, I As I work on applications duzi (CCM), the best they had done am developing a theory of why vot- for dissertation research grants, I since 1995. This presented a great ers support challengers of a party plan to return to Tanzania in order opportunity to understand why the in power when they have very little to complete a survey with members number of voters that support the chance to win. The key, I argue, of the Parliament of Tanzania and opposition rises and falls over time lies in how networks change beliefs also with opposition candidates who and to assess whether or not chang- about the state of the political world. competed in 2010 and lost. This es in people’s closest friends and Because voters in Africa often lack part of the dissertation reaches details about those friends—most credible information about perfor- to questions similar to those that importantly how they vote—could mance indicators and the popularity motivate the citizen survey: why do have attributed to the increase in of a regime, I claim that changes in viable political candidates choose their electoral support. During the support for people that they know to join the opposition instead of the summer of 2011, I conducted further best signals to them that the opposi- incumbent party and, when they study of the role of networks on vot- tion has a high level of support and do, what shapes their success? My ing behavior in Zanzibar, in conjunc- that supporting them will be more research plan calls for me to later tion with a project carried out with than a wasted vote. to head to Namibia, where I will the International Law and Policy The project also was con- implement both surveys during the Institute (more below!). ducted for ILPI and the Good Gover- 2012-2013 academic year. One innovation of the study nance Ministry of Zanzibar, looking is that it improves our ability to look at the quality of government and Keith R. Weghorst is a Ph.D. candi- at a causal relationship between what could be done to improve. For date in political science. He received networks and political behavior, by this project, I implemented the citi- funding from the UF Department of Political Science and the Internation- looking how changes in social net- zen survey discussed above and also al Law and Policy Institute. works impact vote choice. I also col- a survey with members of the House

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 49 Islamic Education Curriculum Reform Politics in Morocco Ann Witulski

I spent last year doing disserta- factions, as they gained access to tion fieldwork in Morocco. My re- political power through democrati- search examines the process through zation, began employing the same which competing actors reform the strategies, including the manipula- Islamic education curriculum for the tion of Islamic education curricu- public schools. After three months lum, in guiding their relationships of further language study in Fez, I with one another. did a number of interviews across The Center for African Stud- the country with members of the ies has provided essential support in educational bureaucracy including this research endeavor. As a number Islamic education teachers, Ministry of the interviews I conducted were of Education employees, and school done in Modern Standard Arabic, administrators. I also interviewed the project would not have been members of civil society with an possible without the two years and interest in the reforms including pol- one summer of language instruction iticians, scholars, journalists and the provided through a FLAS award. In leadership of parent organizations. addition, the Center has contributed Finally, I worked in the archives of significantly to my own professional an Islamist newspaper that provided development by supporting my at- in-depth coverage of recent reforms. tendance at the African Studies As- I collected factual-based articles, sociation annual meeting on several occasions, creating a lively intel- editorials, and open letters from par- public discussions? When are public lectual community through weekly ent associations and organizations concerns ignored? Baraza lectures and SASA student representing teachers and Islamic In the dissertation, I discuss lunches and finally, illuminating education inspectors. the “sausage making” of curriculum the process of journal publication The main goal of the field- reform and identify the openings in through student opportunities with work was to understand the process the process that have allowed politi- the Center’s online journal, African of how curriculum is reformed in cal conflicts to influence curriculum Studies Quarterly. order to identify the ways in which design. Then I highlight one aspect content is politicized. My research that has been particularly important addressed questions such as: Who is in shaping the curriculum, the con- involved in the writing of new cur- flict between leftists and Islamists. riculums? What guidelines are they A number of interviewees suggested given in this process? Who writes that the Islamic education cur- the guidelines? How are conflicts riculum was used by the monarchy resolved on important committees? to strengthen Islamists in order to How are important groups included counter the influence of the left. The in the process? What groups are curriculum was one of several means excluded? In order to understand of maintaining factions within the how this process becomes politi- opposition and encouraging infight- cized, I also focus on several other Ann Witulski is a Ph.D. candidate in ing so that the opposition did not political science and a former FLAS questions such as: What issues come unite and oppose the monarchy fellow (Arabic, 2007-09). Her dis- to the national spotlight during such itself. The project thus identifies a sertation fieldwork was funded by a reforms? Who brings these issues to heretofore-unrecognized branch of Boren fellowship. the public’s attention? Who provides a well-known strategy employed by the platform for such issues to be the monarchy. Interestingly, though, discussed? When is there a formal my research also suggests that these response from the bureaucracy to

50 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 STUDENT REPORTS Listening to Changing Narratives and Musical Diversity in Moroccan Gnawa Music Christopher Witulski

From November of 2010 to The research that I prepared August of 2011, I had to opportu- while in Fez questions the ways in nity to conduct my dissertation which the Gnawa perform construct- field esearr ch in Fez, Morocco. ed narratives of their own history This was my fourth visit to the while asking where ritual leaders country and my fifth to North Africa. find space for personal creativity. While there, I completed language Representations of these different study in the Moroccan dialect of narratives (briefly “We are African” Arabic and intensive ethnographic and “We are Sufi”), which are em- research with musicians from across bedded into the music, depend on the spectrum of musiqa ruhiyya, performative decisions, on musical loosely translated as spiritual style. The questions that perform- music. I focused on a population of ers must ask and answer each time professional musicians and ritual they proceed through a ceremony or leaders called the Gnawa, though I public performance reify one or an- also spent considerable time work- other of these imagined ontologies, ing closely with Sufi musicians and the recording industry and festival foregrounding, for example, Afri- other performers. In each case, I circuits, they use their artistry, cre- can instead of Arab elements of the questioned how these professional ativity, spirituality, leadership, and tradition for international audiences musicians could constantly negoti- practicality to create and support an or favoring songs that emphasize a ate the space between “popular” and idea of what a publicly manifested timeless African communal history “religious,” always adapting to the Islam looks like. over those that result from more competing economic and spiritual My project centered on the recent individual creativity. demands of their public positions. Gnawa, once a population of en- Additionally, while in Fez I These strategies highlight the how slaved sub-Saharan Africans forc- accepted an invitation to perform on the concepts of sacred and secular, ibly brought to Morocco through the violin with a malhun ensemble, popular, even entertainment or the trans-Saharan slave trade. The a genre of music that straddles ritual, escape simple categorization. ritual activity that comprises the fo- this divide between the pious and Furthermore, each of these members cal point of Gnawa practice involves entertainment, in the Fez Festival of a spirit possession ceremony, an Sacred Music. I contributed cover- event led by a group of ritual musi- age and photography on the entire cians. After years of marginalization festival for the View From Fez, a as social, economic, and religious prominent English language news outcasts, their music gained the blog, as well as Afropop Worldwide. attention of the parade of American Currently, I am writing my disserta- and European artists who came tion, teaching courses in American to Morocco (especially Tangier) Popular Music, and preparing a after World War II and during the study abroad course to Spain and civil rights movement in search of Morocco that will highlight the role ‘oriental’ or African inspiration (the of the arts in healing traditions in of Fez’s musiqa ruhiyya community Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bryon Europe and the Islamic world, both is firmly a part of the incessant pro- Gysin, Randy Weston, Ornette historically and today. cess of defining and redefining how Coleman, etc.). Their music, often Islam is, and should be, practiced in described in terms of its bluesy Chris Witulski is a Ph.D. candidate in everyday life. Through the presenta- musicology/ethnomusicology, a UF grooves, is now featured across the Alumni Fellow, and former FLAS fel- tion of specific religious practices country in major music festivals low (Arabic, summer 2007). on stage and the dissemination of and on innumerable world music these performed ideologies through releases.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 51 Information Flows and Perceptions of Resources in the Okavango Delta Deb Wojcik

In the semi-arid Okavango Delta so too is understanding how people region of Botswana, rural liveli- in different positions within the hoods are inextricably linked communicative network integrate with highly variable environmen- available information into their tal conditions. The people of the perceptions about natural resources. Okavango Delta rely on water re- I conducted free listing exercises sources for consumption, household and in-depth interviews in two of use, food production, and to sustain the villages to better understand wildlife populations essential to local how people view water and wildlife tourism-based livelihoods. While lo- resources. These interviews indicate cal people have developed strategies about the resources. To investigate that people’s perceptions are related to adapt with seasonal precipitation this, I conducted fieldwork begin- to their position within their village cycles and flood pulsing, global envi- ning in 2008 in four villages: Khwai, communicative network, with those ronmental change has the potential Sankoyo, Gudigwa, and Seronga. in more central positions possessing to challenge existing strategies and In combination with ethno- more comprehensive views of the exacerbate livelihood vulnerabilities. graphic and observational research, resources. This situation is complex and highly I worked closely with local research In combination, these find- uncertain. Data indicates that vari- assistants to conduct social network ings suggest that in order for mes- ability in the overall amount of interviews. Each personal network sages important to adaptation to rainfall has increased, and climate revealed the connections among reach all members of a village, it may models predict that water resources members of a respondent’s com- be important to adjust communica- will decrease in the region over municative network. To understand tion strategies. Approaches should the next several decades. Though how these personal networks over- attempt to address the impacts that impacts are uncertain, these changes lapped with one another, I combined community size, gender, and ethnic- to water resources are likely to af- this personal network data for each ity may have on how information fect wildlife populations, increasing village to create whole networks, flows within a village. Communicat- human-wildlife conflicts and af- which revealed village-level coming directly to sub-groups in larger fecting livelihoods connected with munication patterns and allowed for villages, for example, may be critical community-based natural resource comparison among villages. to reaching a broader audience for management (CBNRM). Benefits Evidence from this study widespread adaptation over time. I from CBNRM are important to resi- suggests that there are several fac- am forever grateful for the oppor- dents of much of the Okavango Delta tors affecting information flows tunity to conduct this research, and region. With joint goals of poverty in rural villages. Among the most especially thankful to the residents, reduction and natural resource con- important is the size of the com- research assistants, and local au- servation, changes in water resourc- munity. While smaller villages tend thorities of Khwai, Sankoyo, Gudig- es and in turn wildlife populations to be dense and tightly connected, wa, and Seronga for their invaluable could greatly impact livelihoods in individuals in larger villages tend contributions to the project. these communities. to separate themselves into com- My dissertation research municative sub-groups. Gender and Deb Wojcik is a Ph.D. candidate in is based on the premise that in- Forest Resources and Conserva- ethnicity are two important factors tion with a concentration in Tropi- formation is a critical currency for determining the composition of cal Conservation and Development adaptation in rural communities these sub-groups and are important (TCD) and a former FLAS fellow facing this type of uncertainty and variables when considering how to (Setswana, summer 2009). She re- change. It is therefore important to most effectively communicate im- ceived funding for this research from understand how information about portant environmental messages to the NSF IGERT Program on Adaptive natural resources flows within rural all village residents. Management of Water, Wetlands villages, and how this information While understanding the and Watersheds and the UF TCD is integrated into people’s thinking flows of information is important, Program.

52 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 COLLABORATIVE REPORTS Kongo Across the Waters: a Collaborative Exhibition of the Harn Museum of Art and the RMCA susan cooksey & robin poynor

Robin Poynor and Susan Cook- sey are planning an exhibition that explores the art and culture of the Kongo peoples of west Central Africa and Kongo cultural connections in the United States. The exhibition will be a collaborative project between the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida and the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium. Cooksey and Poynor will work together with RMCA curators to define the themes of the exhibition, select objects and interpretive materials to be included, and produce the exhibition catalogue. In the last year, Poynor, Cooksey and Harn Museum Direc- tor Rebecca Nagy met with Dr. is reiterated in African American the publication of Poynor’s book Guido Gryseels, and worked with beliefs. To arrive at the relationships Africa in Florida, by the University the RMCA staff in Tervuren, view- between the Kongo coast and North Press of Florida. ing collections and making plans for American visual culture the cura- The curators from the Harn the exhibition. Poynor, Cooksey and tors will rely on a multi-disciplinary Museum and the Royal Museum of Nagy made a trip to the RMCA in approach involving current research Central Africa will collaborate on July 2011 and Poynor and Cooksey in the fields of history, archaeology, the selection of objects and archival returned in September 2011 to view linguistics, musicology, anthropol- materials from the RMCA, insti- objects and discuss the project with ogy and art history. tutions in the United States, and RMCA staff. The exhibition will mark a private collections in Europe and The proposed exhibition will milestone in the history of African America. Plans for the accompany- look at Kongo art in Africa (in the presence in the Americas. The first ing catalog include essays on specific Democratic Republic of Congo, the Africans to arrive in what is now the themes written by scholars whose Congo Republic, Cabinda, Gabon United States, Juan Garrido and research focuses on Kongo culture. and Angola) and extend it to ad- Juan Gonzalez Ponce de Leon, came The proposed opening of the exhibi- dress the impact of Central African to the Florida shore in April 1513 as tion is fall 2013 in the Harn Muse- peoples and ideas—particularly from free conquistadors who accompa- um’s Gladys Gracy Harn Exhibition the Kongo region— in North Ameri- nied Juan Ponce de Leon. In 2013 Hall. The exhibition will be offered ca, both on culture more broadly and Florida will commemorate 500 years for travel to the RMCA in modified on art and visual culture specifically. of European presence, marking form, and then to major institutions The title “Kongo Across the Waters” the arrival of Juan Ponce de Leon in the United States. has multiple meanings, both geo- and his companions. The proposed graphical and spiritual. Crossing the exhibition will bring attention to this Susan Cooksey is curator of African art at the Samuel P. Harn Museum waters occurs as a constant theme important historical event and will celebrate the subsequent impact of of Art. Robin Poynor is professor in in Kongo mythology, in stories of the School of Art and Art History. African cultural traditions in Florida migration and in the conceptual Cooksey and Poynor are both affili- journey towards the land of the an- and the United States, especially ate faculty members in the Center cestors. It also evokes the trans-At- those of the Kongo peoples. Happily, for African Studies. lantic journey of Kongo peoples, and the exhibition will also coincide with

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 53 Sub-Saharan Africa Business Environment Report (SABER) Project Anita Spring, Robert RolfE, GREGORY PARENT, TENENEH TEREFE, HANNAH MORRIS & EMILY WATKINS The Sub-Saharan Business Envi- business deals using information in this era of globalization within Af- ronment Report (SABER), aims from a multitude of books, articles, rica, and with North America, Asia, to provide business informa- news stories, and online sites for the and Europe. tion at a ready glance. It is part current year. of a four-year project funded by the SABER’s comprehensive ta- Anita Spring is professor emeritus Center for African Studies and the bles provide data on the main world of Anthropology. Robert Rolfe is professor of international business at Center for International Business and local indicators: economic, capi- Moore School of Business, University tal markets, trade, and FDI; import/ Research and Education (CIBER) of South Carolina. Gregory Parent is at the University of Florida, and the export and business ease; political a Ph.D. cndidate in geography and a CIBER at the University of South freedom & governance; infrastruc- former FLAS fellow (Xhosa, 2009-10). Carolina. SABER’s diverse audi- ture and telecommunications; and Funding for this project is provided ences range from academics (faculty social aspects and health. We have by U.S. Department of Education’s and students) to policy makers and focused on constructing a set of the Title VI grants through the UF Center business persons (owners, manag- most useful country and regional for African Studies, and the Centers ers, and consultants). We hope the for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) at Warrington report will also be used in business College of Business (UF) and the schools in Africa and elsewhere. Moore School of Business (USC). SABER aims to provide the most current annual business information from a wide diversity of sources, and quantitative tables prepared by SA- BER’s authors. Print copies are dis- trubted and an electronic version is available online at http://web.africa. ufl.edu/ and http://warrington.ufl. edu/ciber/publications/saber.asp. SABER considers the 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with the largest GDPs (Gross Domestic Product, one of the main comparative world indicators) and organizes them into four regions. First, regional summaries highlight and evaluate the major trends. Then indicators that can be viewed easily - illustrative Country Reports review the information is gleaned from raw the year’s events and data under six data in many publications, databas- categories: Political Stability; Eco- es, and websites. nomic Growth and Trade; Foreign We aim to distinguish at- Direct Investment (FDI); Business tractive from problematic in terms Climate, Financial Markets and of business and socio-economic- Microfinance; Infrastructure and political conditions. African entre- Telecommunications; and Health preneurship ranges from local, to and Social Aspects. Points given aim regional, and to global, and from to be descriptive and illustrative of micro/small-scale to large and mul- 2010-2011 events, rather than all tinational. FDI and business deals inclusive. The Country Reports sum- span the globe, as do African exports marize the political, economic, and and imports. We emphasize African social situation, as well as the many links, deals, and exports & imports

54 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 COLLABORATIVE REPORTS Partnership to Strengthen Tourism Management in South Africa Brijesh Thapa, Sandra Russo & Lori Pennington-Gray

Tourism in South Africa is an is in process to operationalize the important industry with demon- Center. strated growth in visitor arrivals Third, faculty development in the last decade. The tourism has been emphasized with regards product mix has experienced di- to enhancing capacity as well as versification beyond the traditional collaborative initiatives in tourism core products based on wildlife and research with the project team and natural protected areas to incor- select UF faculty. Recently, a na- porate marine and coastal areas, tionwide study among residents and rural communities and townships, visitors during the 2010 FIFA World events, urban centers, and meetings, Cup were completed. Currently, a incentives, conventions and exhibi- study to examine community con- tions. More recently, the country has servation, development, and tourism increased its visibility on an interna- at Vredefort Dome World Heritage nology (TUT) in Tshwane, South tional stage as the successful host of Site is being conducted – the site is Africa have formulated a three-year the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup. considered to be the oldest, largest, partnership to strengthen its teach- Leveraged on such sporting events and most deeply eroded complex ing, research, service and faculty as well as international meetings meteorite impact structure in the development initiatives in tourism and conventions, the government world. The facilitation of collabora- management. expects to increase visitor arrivals tive initiatives in research partner- First, teaching and cur- to over 10 million in the future to ships will be sustained during and riculum needs were accommodated generate income, employment, tax post-completion of the project. at the Bachelor degree level with revenues, and entrepreneurial activ- Fourth, professional development respect to the following objectives: ity. opportunities will be offered to cur- a) review and update existing cur- While growth has been rent TUT faculty through a short riculum; b) develop new curriculum evident, it is vital to maintain and visit to UF. A TUT faculty visit is in casino management, and avia- enhance tourism with a sustained expected to occur in early spring tion management (currently these strategy for further growth and com- 2012. Currently, the majority of the degree programs are not offered on petitiveness given the potential to objectives have been accomplished. the African continent, and pending strengthen other economic sectors in In addition, various spin-off projects final approval by the government); rural and urban regions. In addition and stakeholder engagement have and c) plan vocational and executive to hard infrastructure projects such been conducted. training certificate programs based as facilities, utilities, transportation on the new degree programs - to be networks, etc., it is paramount to Brijesh Thapa is the Director of Eric developed at a later phase. Sec- simultaneously focus on human re- Friedheim Tourism Institute [www. ond, based on a strategic visioning uftourism.org] and a associate pro- sources development in the tourism meeting with faculty and industry fessor in the Department of Tourism, sector to achieve sustained growth. stakeholders, a Center for Tourism Recreation & Sport Management. The overall advancement of quali- and Sustainability was established The partnership project is managed fied, trained and skilled labor force with active industry engagement and through Higher Education for Devel- is crucial, given the rate of growth partnership. The mission of the Cen- opment with a three-year funding and future trends. Capacity build- [$250,000] from the U.S. Agency for ter will be largely to serve tourism ing and institutional development International Development, Wash- destinations and industries through through training is a key component ington, D.C. research, training and outreach for the vitality and sustainability of within the community, province and the tourism industry in South Af- other regions in southern Africa. rica. In order to address this major Currently, final TUT approval along need, the University of Florida (UF) with financial and human resources and Tshwane University of Tech-

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 55 2010 FIFA Football World Cup: Resident and Visitor Perspectives Brijesh Thapa, Heather Gibson, Kyriaki Kaplanidou & Matthew Walker

There has been a shift in con- tuted of residents from five host cit- ventional thinking about the ies (Pretoria, Nelspruit, Polokwane, various impacts that mega sport Johannesburg, and Rustenburg). events have on the host country. Findings are currently being ana- The primary focus of hosting such lyzed with respect to pre-post World events is now on the post-event lega- Cup Event. Results will help to in- cies. A number of potential legacies form local and national level policy have been identified and include to facilitate the nation building goals upgraded transportation infra- of South Africa. structure, new sporting facilities, Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Durban, This project was conducted economic benefits, renewed national Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, and in partnership between the Univer- pride, and the potential to enhance Bloemfontein) during the World Cup sity of Florida (UF) and Tshwane the tourism product of a country. which provided a major source of University of Technology (TUT) in The South African government had information about visitor profiles, Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa. The an explicit development agenda as- market segmentation, perceptions team from the Department of Tour- sociated with the 2010 FIFA World and experiences. Such information ism, Recreation and Sport Manage- Cup, part of which is predicated on has utility with respect to marketing ment at UF was led by Brijesh Thapa “nation building.” Sport has long initiatives to attract additional visi- along with Heather Gibson, Kyriaki been associated with building na- tors following the event. Kaplanidou, and Matthew Walker. tional spirit and generating patrio- In addition to visitors, The team from the Department of tism among the citizens of the host understanding the social legacies Tourism Management at TUT was country. However, for the World of a mega-event also necessitates a led by Sue Geldenhuys along with Cup, understanding the contribution focus on the residents. In particular, Willie Coetzee. Nation-wide data of the event to the tourism legacy is there was a need for a longitudinal collection for both research projects particularly important; part of this approach, particularly to assess the (Residents and Visitors) was coordi- understanding is gaining insights change in the resident’s percep- nated and collected by students and into the experiences of the World tions associated with the World Cup staff members at Tshwane Univer- Cup visitors and South Africa’s event. The research had multiple sity of Technology. residents. phases with the primary goal of Within this context, the nine identifying the social legacies (e.g., host cities featuring ten different identity, social capital, and tourism) stadia staging the World Cup Games associated with the World Cup. The attracted many visitors and cre- purpose of this specific aspect of the ated impressions in these tourists’ study was to examine the event’s minds about South Africa’s tourism impacts on attitudes, perceptions products. Given the importance of and experiences of residents from the World Cup for the South African different socio-demographic groups. Tourism brand, the purpose of the Specifically, to investigate: (1) Event study was to evaluate destination Legacy, and Support; (2) Quality Brijesh Thapa is the Director of Eric and event image perceptions as well of Life; (3) Government Support; Friedheim Tourism Institute [www. as tourism behaviors of interna- (4) National and Ethnic Identity; uftourism.org] and a associate pro- tional tourist spectators at all the (5) Social Capital; and (6) Nation fessor in the Department of Tourism, host cities/sites in order to assess Building related to hosting the 2010 Recreation & Sport Management. the impacts of such an event on the World Cup. Data were collected The project was funded by the Of- country’s tourism development. three months prior to the event in fice of Research, Innovation and Data were collected among visitors mid-June 2010 (N=1,759), while a Partnership at Tshwane University of (N=8,422) at all the nine host cities follow up was conducted in April Technology along with several host (Pretoria, Nelspruit, Polokwane, 2011 (N=2030). The sample consti- cities in South Africa.

56 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 COLLABORATIVE REPORTS MDP Summer Practicum in Botswana

Erica Odera, Greyson Nyamoga, Tshibangu Kalala, Camila Pazos, Grenville Barnes, Brian Child, Todd Leedy, Sandra Russo & Deb Wojcik

The Master’s in Development ion of the project. Practice program is a new After the management degree program focused on plan was presented and turned into training future development the government’s Technical Advi- practitioners. An overseas practical sory Committee (TAC), we worked experience is required to gather ex- with the neighboring community, perience working across disciplines Shorobe. Our particular interest and with diverse stakeholders in de- was how livelihoods differ between velopment. In summer 2011, a group Sankuyo and Shorobe which lie on of 4 MDP students conducted a team opposite sides of the Veterinary field practicum in Botswana. The that development is multi-dimen- Cordon Fence. Sankuyo is located first week was spent in Gaborone, sional and sustainable initiatives re- inside the fence which restricts their attending classes with MDP students quire the active participation of the livelihood options to wildlife tour- from the University of Botswana, people who will be impacted by the ism, while Shorobe which lies out- establishing a positive relationship management plan. Analysis of previ- side the fence and is allowed to have within the global MDP network. ous livelihood data, online research, livestock. We conducted livelihood We participated in their agriculture meetings with stakeholders in the surveys and explored the impact of module and traveled to farms to district capital of Maun, and com- environmental shocks on livelihoods learn about dryland farming and munity meetings provided us with in this community by asking the the challenges and opportunities of valuable information on the human community to share their perceived agriculture in southern Africa. dimensions of the new management biggest threats to livelihoods dur- Our team then partnered plan. ing a community meeting. Shorobe with Sankuyo Tshwaragano Man- As part of the process of de- community was very welcoming and agement Trust (STMT), the USAID veloping the management plan, we enthusiastic about potential future Southern African Regional Environ- made extensive use of participatory partnerships with UF MDP. mental Program (SAREP), and the methods. Through this approach we Our experience in Botswana community of Sankuyo to design a aimed to build capacity for future taught us about the challenges of sustainable development manage- decision-making regarding Trust working in marginalized rural comment plan for the community. This activities and natural resource man- munities, but also made us aware of management plan is a prerequisite agement. We held weekly meetings the many rewards of development for the community to renew their in the community updating them practice. The Management Plan was 15-year head lease from the Gov- on our progress and asking for their approved in October 2011 and we ernment of Botswana. UF faculty opinions about preferred commer- hope that our efforts will contrib- agreed to supervise completion of cial strategies and their long-term ute substantially to the long-term the management plan as a means of goals for their community. In one economic development and natural providing a learning opportunity for meeting, we conducted a visioning resource management in Sankuyo MDP students. exercise by asking community mem- and also serve as a model for other The main objective of writ- bers to draw/describe what they management plans in the area. ing this management plan was to would like their community to look explore commercial sustainable like in 15 years. This participation Funding for the MDP summer practi- use of natural resources to increase process was important for fostering cum in Botswana was provided by the Center for African Studies, the economic value and reduce pov- a sense of ownership and under- Bureau of Educational and Cultural erty at the local level. Past manage- standing of this management plan amongst the community members. Affairs - U.S. Department of State, ment plans for this area focused on and the MacArthur Foundation. natural resource availability and In our final presentation of the plan use, with little attention given to the the Chief and community expressed well-being and livelihood of the local their appreciation and commented people. As MDP students, we know favorably on the participatory fash-

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 57 Tourism Demand Assessment - Kafue National Park, Zambia Brijesh Thapa, Brian Child, Gregory Parent & Patricia Mupeta

The tourism industry is important for Zambia as the government has recently identified tourism as one of the four major priority sectors along with mining, agriculture, and manufacturing. In Zambia, the tourism industry has largely focused on its core products such as parks, wildlife, nature and culture, which are essentially in direct competition with destinations in the eastern and southern Africa region. However, Zambia is an emerging destination with some aspect of novelty and has distinctive tourism resources – unique natural features and landscapes, historical and cultural attractions, and outdoor recreation opportunities. The single most important attraction is Victoria Falls located on the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe. wildlife sanctuaries. The reliance wildlife such as red lechwes, a rare of tourism in parks and protected marsh antelope, sable and roan. This areas is strategic given the unique- diversity of antelope attracts numer- ness and availability of resources, ous predators like leopards, chee- increased demand from visitors, and tahs and lions. Although the wildlife accrual of local economic benefits and natural amenities are major in employment, income and qual- attractions, the current volume of ity of life. This priority is evident in visitors is low compared to its size Kafue National Park (KNP) which is and slightly skewed toward domes- currently being developed for tour- tic visitors. Factors such as lack of ism, conservation and development quality infrastructure including activities. Visitor dispersal to KNP physical (e.g., roads) and tourism will provide a diverse mix of tourism (e.g., visitor services) likely limits Victoria Falls is the leading opportunities, thereby enhancing major growth in arrivals. Although attraction for domestic, regional and the country-wide product, and dis- growth has been demonstrated with international visitors, and typically tribute economic benefits to regional respect to arrivals, the park has the packaged/promoted along with and local economies. capacity to sustain additional visi- wildlife-based attractions within KNP is the oldest and the tors. However, in order to further and/or outside of Zambia. Since largest Zambian park (22,480 develop, package and promote KNP park-based tourism is also a major square km) which stretches over and its surrounding region, it is resource and revenue generator, four provinces. KNP is the second important to first assess the viability it is critical to disperse visitors to largest park in Africa and the fifth of tourism growth from supply and the national parks within Zambia largest in the world. This park is demand perspectives. Currently, based on product leveraging and fed by Lunga, Lufupa and Kafue tourism has not reached its poten- bundling with Victoria Falls. Cur- rivers, and is home to 400 species tial but is a major tool to promote rently, there are 19 national parks, of birds and 55 different species of and strengthen sustained economic 35 game management areas, and 3 animals including rare species of growth and poverty reduction in the

58 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 COLLABORATIVE REPORTS

greater KNP area. graphics, travel behaviors, quality of Brijesh Thapa is the Director of Eric This study examined de- experience, level of satisfaction, and Friedheim Tourism Institute [www. mand based on current visitors that perceptions of national parks. In ad- uftourism.org] and a associate pro- have visited the KNP area and/or dition, information about frequency fessor in the Department of Tourism, Recreation & Sport Management. those that have visited other na- of use level, quality of experience, The project is managed through U.S. tional parks. This study is part of a and satisfaction with KNP was also Department of Agriculture-Foreign larger project that aims to diversify solicited. The second component Agricultural Service with funding and strengthen Zambia’s tourism focused on trip expenditures, and ($193,262) from the U.S. Millennium product and to alleviate poverty the estimation of demand change for Challenge Corporation, Washington, and accrue economic benefits in KNP (willingness to pay/willingness D.C. the greater KNP area. The overall to stay) in response to three major project is based on a triangulation potential improvement projects (i.e. of assessment of demand (visitors), road networks, visitor facilities and supply (accommodations, tour services, and natural resources and operators, etc.), and the surrounding amenities) in and around KNP. communities in the game manage- Overall, this study provided ment areas that are adjacent to baseline information needed to KNP. This study was specifically position KNP relative to other areas focused on visitor demand, and an within the country and the south- assessment was conducted for the ern Africa region. The study also greater KNP area based on current analyzed determinants of demand visitors (international, regional and to aid policy makers as well as the domestic tourists - 2,395 tourists tourism industry to identify poten- interviewed) that have visited the tial new markets and products, and KNP area and/or those that have provide opportunities that play a key visited other national parks in Zam- role in a tourists’ choice in their trip bia and neighboring Botswana (e.g. selection. Additionally, it assisted in Chobe National Park). There were the development of comprehensive two major aspects to this study. The marketing strategies for the greater first component related to market KNP region and Zambia. research based on visitor demo-

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 59 The Trans-Saharan Elections Project (TSEP) Leonardo Villalón & Daniel Smith

The UF “Trans-Saharan Elec- The first year of the project received by numerous state officials, tions Project,” funded by a grant has been highly successful in ac- including Florida’s Secretary of State through the U.S. Department of complishing these goals. In January Mr. Kurt Browning. The opportuni- State’s Bureau of Educational 2011, Villalón and Smith traveled ty to engage with key actors involved and Cultural Affairs involves a to all six participating countries in the debate about a controversial two-year series of exchanges so as to select participants for the proposed law (since passed) modify- and seminars that bring togeth- first round of seminars in the US. ing Florida’s electoral procedures er elections specialists from six This selection was done collabora- provided a particularly interesting target countries—Burkina Faso, tively with representatives of the perspective on elections for the Afri- Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and US Embassy Public Affairs Office can participants. An additional panel Senegal—with a wide range of in each country and, crucially, our discussion on Florida’s experience in American professionals involved local country partners in the TSEP the highly contested 2000 presiden- in elections. The goal of the project, project. They include: tial elections was also of great inter- co-directed by Leonardo A. Villalón • CGD, Centre Pour la Gouvernance est. From Florida the group trav- and Daniel A Smith, is to compara- Démocratique (Burkina Faso) eled to Washington DC, where they tively examine the challenges and • EISA-Chad (Chad) had the opportunity to again meet issues involved in ensuring electoral • APEM, Reseau Appui au Processus with key institutions involved in US freedom, fairness, and transparency. Electoral au Mali (Mali) election management at the Federal The frequency of elec- • Université de Nouakchott, Fac- level. The three weeks culminated tions has increased dramatically in ulté des Sciences Juridiques et with a day-long seminar at the US Africa since the early 1990s. While Economiques (Mauritania) Department of State, during which the results of the past two decades • LASDEL, Laboratoire E’Etudes participants were able to meet a have been highly mixed, in virtu- et Recherches sur les Dynamiques number of American officials as well ally every country elections have Sociales et le Développement Local as exchange ideas and experiences been accepted as the “normal” mode (Niger) with two other delegations visiting of acceding to public office. The • Mouvement Citoyen (Senegal) the US. reiterated processes of elections The first US-based TSEP From 28 June to 22 July, has, however, also produced intense program for African visitors took 2011, an American delegation under- debates about their conduct, and place in May 2011, with 15 elec- took the planned return visit to the over the years there has been an tions specialists representing all six Trans-Saharan region, visiting all increased awareness that the need is countries taking part. Beginning in six participating countries in what not just to avoid cheating on election Gainesville, Florida, the group took proved to be an intensive and chal- day but to consider much broader part in a series of talks and seminars lenging, but also highly successful, issues such as the impact of varying on the UF campus, met numer- trip. In addition to the TSEP co- electoral systems, the importance of ous municipal elected officials, directors, the delegation was com- the larger institutional infrastruc- and visited institutions involved in posed of the three other American ture and the rules of game, the role managing local elections, includ- elections specialists: of social and political organizations, ing the offices of Alachua County • Judge Nikki Ann Clark of the Flor- and the management of the mechan- Commissioner of Elections Pam ida First District Court of Appeals in ics of electoral processes. Important- Carpenter. A highlight of this visit Tallahassee, where she has served ly, these very issues preoccupy many was the opportunity for participants since January 2009. In 2000, Judge intense American political debates to “vote,” using sample ballots and Clark was one of the judges who about electoral reform. A key goal vote scanning machines, as well as presided over the litigation involving of the TSEP project is thus to share to witness the counting and verifica- the Bush v. Gore election dispute. experiences, and to stimulate discus- tion procedures. • G. Neil Skene, Jr., a lawyer and sions that will have real and sub- Moving on to the state level, former journalist in Tallahassee, stantive impact on our understand- the group traveled to Florida’s capi- with long experience as a journalist ing of elections. tal in Tallahassee, where they were covering courts, government and

60 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 COLLABORATIVE REPORTS

American politics. Skene served for reau of Elections in Chad; meetings democracy in action in West Africa. seven years as president of Congres- with the new Minister of Justice and Taken as a whole, the activi- sional Quarterly Inc. with the president of the Indepen- ties and meetings of the first year of • Roger Austin, a lawyer and Gaines- dent National Electoral Commis- the TSEP project have been highly ville based political consultant sion in Niger; meetings with the effective in helping us achieve key specializing in all areas of state and coalition of opposition parties and desired outcomes. In events on both local electoral campaigns. From with the main officers of the current sides of the Atlantic, the program 1989 to 1992, he served as the Politi- ruling party at their headquarters has increased understanding of the cal Director and Legal Counsel for in Burkina Faso; meetings with the American electoral system—“warts the Republican Party of Florida. President of the Constitutional Court and all”—among the African special- With the active participa- and with the Minister of Justice in ists, making the important points tion of our partner organizations, Mali; meetings with the president that democracy and elections are as well as with significant input and of the University of Nouakchott and never perfect, require constant vigi- help from the alumni of our recent other high officials in Mauritania; lance, and can always be improved. US-based program, a diverse set of meetings with both the coalition of Secondly, the American participants activities was programmed in each opposition parties and with a deputy came away with a rich and nuanced country. In each country there was to the National Assembly and key understanding of the key issues sur- a major public event in the form of supporter of the ruling party and ac- rounding elections and democratic a roundtable on elections involving tor in the upcoming highly contested development in West Africa, includ- the US delegation as well as the Af- electoral struggle in Senegal. ing both the challenges and difficul- rican alumni from the May program. Various other activities or- ties presented by those contexts as These discussions were universally ganized by the local hosts immensely well as the remarkable efforts of marked by a high degree of local enriched the trip and the experience individuals and civil society groups interest, evoking much discussion for the American delegation. High- in struggling for positive outcomes of a very high caliber with frank and lights included a visit to the town of in each country. We look forward to stimulating exchanges on difficult Kiota in Niger, seat of a very im- a successful second round of ex- and important issues. portant branch of the Tijaniyya Sufi changes in 2012. In addition to these public Muslim order, where the group was events, the program in each country received as guests by the most senior Leonardo Villalón is associate profes- included a series of meetings and ex- members of the religious family. sor of political science and former changes with important actors, insti- Another highlight was the day-long director of the Center for African Studies. Daniel Smith is professor of tutions and organizations involved visit to a rural meeting of elected political science and affiliate faculty in the electoral process. These officials with their constituents in in the Center for African Studies. included, among others: a meeting the rural council of Fissel in Senegal, with the director of the National Bu- a unique opportunity to see local

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 61 AFRICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY

FOUNDATION

The Center for African Studies founded the African Studies Quarterly (ASQ) to promote research on Africa beyond that undertaken by University of Florida faculty and graduate students. It is an interdisciplinary, fully refereed, online open access journal dedicated to publishing the finest scholarship relating to the African continent. ASQ invites the submission of original manuscripts on a full range of topics related to Africa in all areas. To qualify for consideration, submissions must meet the scholarship standards within the appropriate discipline and be of interest to an interdisciplinary readership. As an electronic journal, we welcome submissions that are of a time-sensitive nature.

The ASQ undertakes two kinds of publications. Most issues contain articles from a wide range of authors on diverse topics, as in Volume 12, Issue 3:

• “Coal Sector Revitalization, Community Memory, and the Land Question in Nigeria: A Paradox of Economic Diversification” • “Oil Extraction and the Potential for Domestic Instability in Uganda” • “Environmental Legacies of Major Events: Solid Waste Management and the Com- monwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda” • “Women’s Resistance in Cameroon’s Western Grassfields: The Power of Symbols, Superb Organization and Leadership, 1957-1961” • “Nigeria’s Fourth Republic and the Challenge of a Faltering Democratization.”

The ASQ also publishes Special Issues that focus on a specific theme, as with 11/2&3 guest ed- ited by Ilda Lindell of Stockholm University and titled ”Between Exit and Voice: Informality and the Spaces of Popular Agency.”

ReVIEW PROCESS

An editorial committee composed of graduate students in African Studies who hail from Africa and the U.S. as well as other countries and from a wide range of disciplines conducts the internal review of submitted manuscripts. Those accepted for consideration are then sent to two external reviewers. ASQ expects all manuscripts to be original and not to have been submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere. Final publication depends on the quality of the manuscript and the associated peer review process. The journal will attempt to publish manuscripts no later than six months after submission. For submission guidelines, matters related to the ASQ style, how to contact the ASQ, and other issues, potential authors should consult the ASQ website: www.africa.ufl.edu/asq or email [email protected]

62 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 FLAS FELLOWSHIPS

ACADEMIC YEAR & SUMMER FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIPS

The University of Florida’s Center for African Studies anticipates awarding Foreign Lan- guage and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships for the academic year. These fellowships are funded by the U.S. Department of Education (USED) under Title VI of the U.S. Higher Education Act and are awarded to students combining graduate work in any academic discipline with African area and language studies.

Fellowships are offered for any one of the regularly taught languages (Akan, Amharic, Arabic, Swahili, Wolof, Xhosa, and Yoruba) as well as for other African languages for which instruction can be arranged.

Academic year fellowships provide a stipend of $15,000 and cover the cost of tuition and fees (12 credits per semester). Applicants must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and be admitted to a graduate program at the University of Florida.

Summer fellowships provide students with an opportunity to undertake intensive Afri- can language study in any USED approved program. Summer fellowships cover tuition at the host institution and provide a stipend of $2,500.

For more information, including application deadlines, please visit www. africa.ufl.edu/graduatestudies/flas.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 63 THANKS TO OUR DONORS

MADELYN M. LOCKHART JEANNE & HUNT DAVIS Graduate Research Award Graduate Research Award In 2004, Dr. Madelyn Lock- In 2004, Dr. R. Hunt Davis, hart, professor emeritus professor emeritus in History of economics and a former and a former director of the Dean of the Graduate School, Center for African Studies, established an endowment to and his wife, Jeanne, estab- support an annual award for lished an endowment to sup- graduate students doing pre- port graduate students doing dissertation research in pre-dissertation research in Africa. Africa.

African Studies Faculty & Alumni Pre-Dissertation Award

The generous contributions from The African Studies Faculty & Alum- The Center would like to thank the Jeanne & Hunt Davis and Dr. Lock- ni Pre-Dissertation Award now has following individuals who have con- hart has made it possible for the Cen- over $20,000 in commitments and is tributed to our various funds in ter to provide support for graduate moving toward the goal of $30,000, the past year (with an extra special students each summer doing field- which will provide more support for thanks to those who are working to work in Africa. In an effort to expand graduate students. Please see the fol- build the Faculty & Alumni Pre-Dis- our capability for supporting gradu- lowing page for more information sertation Fund). ate students, Dr. Davis has taken the about this fund and how you can con- lead in helping CAS work toward es- tribute. tablishing an additional endowment.

Anonymous Dr. Masangu Matondo Dr. Flordeliz T. Bugarin Dr. Fiona McLaughlin Dr. Charles Bwenge Dr. James E. Meier Dr. Paul A. Chadik Dr. Connie J. Mulligan Dr. William Conwill Dr. Susan O’Brien Dr. Susan Cooksey Dr. Terje Ostebo Dr. R. Hunt Davis, Jr. & Mrs. Jeanne G. Davis Dr. Daniel Reboussin Dr. Stephen A. Emerson Dr. Victoria Rovine Professor Joan D. Frosch Dr. Sandra L. Russo Dr. Abraham C. Goldman Dr. Richard Saunders Dr. Barbara McDade-Gordon Dr. Renata Serra Dr. Robert D. Holt Dr. Jane Southworth Dr. Abdoulaye Kane Hon. Emerson Thompson, Jr. Dr. Agnes Leslie Dr. Leonardo A. Villalon Dr. Michael Leslie Dr. Luise S. White

64 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 CONTRIBUTE TO GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH ON AFRICA AT UF

Funds for graduate students to iarity with the proposed field site award to help a student carry out travel and carry out research in and the capability to carry out the pre-dissertation research in Africa. Africa are in very short supply, proposed work. If you would like to make a contribu- especially in these trying eco- As a result, preliminary tion to this fund, we (and future gen- nomic times! summer research trips to lay the erations of UF Africanist students!) Beyond their training at UF, groundwork for dissertation field- would be very grateful. The form field research in Africa is absolutely work are invaluable for making below can be used for this purpose. essential for students to write the students competitive for national If you are a UF employee kinds of dissertations on which awards for dissertation funding. and would like to contribute via pay- they will be able to base success- Helping our students launch their roll deduction, please contact CAS ful careers, whether in academia, professional careers in this way is for assistance. government, NGOs, or the private one of our top priorities at the Cen- sector. The major dissertation re- ter for African Studies. If you have any questions or search awards for Africa are limited The Center for African Stud- would like more information— in number and increasingly competi- ies has recently established a fund please contact Abraham Gold- tive. In order for Ph.D. candidates to with the goal of creating an endow- man (CAS director) at agold- be competitive for these awards they ment of at least $30,000, so as to [email protected] or 352-392-2183 must demonstrate a strong famil- generate the revenue for an annual

Method of payment: Check Enclosed (Make check payable to: UF Foundation, Inc.) Please Return To: UF Foundation, Inc. • CLAS Development Credit Card PO Box 14425 • Gainesville FL 32604-2425 Discover Visa MasterCard AmericanExpress Card Number: ______My Gift is For: Expiration Date (MM/YY): ______Alumni and Faculty Pre-Dissertation Travel Award – 013799 Name as it appears on card:______

Amount Enclosed: $______Billing Information (if different from on at left): Amount Pledged: $______Address:______(A pledge reminder will be mailed to the address provided.) City/State/Zip:______Name:______Email:______Address:______Phone:______City/State/Zip:______Email:______Signature:______Phone: ______Thank you for your support! Remember to enclose your company’s MATCHING GIFT FORM! It can double or triple your gift! The University of Florida Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by the law.

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 65 THE CENTER WOULD LIKE TO THANK

Emily Hauser for coordinating this project, the students and faculty who contributed reports and photographs, and Alex Coyle for the design and layout of this report. Cover photos by Richard Rheingans and Steven Brandt.

66 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 NOTES

Center for African Studies Research Report 2011 67 NOTES

68 Center for African Studies Research Report 2011