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GHANA 3 weeks, end of May through mid June |
For the sixth year, the Alabama in Ghana program, directed by Dr.
Appiah-Opoku is enrolling UA students for the summer 2009 trip
to Ghana. This is a three week, 6-credit hour experiential learning
program that is open to all majors. The course explores how cultural norms and values in African societies shape and influence environmental discourses. It is based on the assumption that culture is intimately bound up with the basic social, economic, and institutional processes that give rise to environmental problems in any society. The course is delivered through site visits, group discussions, and informal interviews in Ghana. It is an enlightening experience where students are immersed in a foreign culture and learn how to adapt to their new environment. Site visits include a diamond mine, slave castle, monkey sanctuary, safari, traditional priest, traditional beads-making village, cultural drumming and dancing, and a canopy walk in a rainforest. http://bama.ua.edu/~ghana-al/photo.html
WHY GHANA?
Evidence of settlement along the Ghanaian coast dates back some
40,000 years, but it wasn't until the late 15th century, with the arrival of the Portuguese, that a written history of the area came into being. The Portuguese came in search of gold, which they found in abundance adorning the powerful Ashanti Kings of the Akan people. The real money however, turned out to be in the slave
trade, and their fortunes attracted the Dutch, British and Danes in
the late 16th century. Tourists rave about the coastal area which is
noted for more than forty old slave-trading forts and castles.
Today, Ghana is the most stable, peaceful, and democratic country in West Africa with a presidential system of government. If an award were to be given for the country with the friendliest people
in West Africa, Ghana would be a strong contender. English is the
official language in Ghana.
COURSE OFFERINGS
GY 444/544: Field Studies in Africa, 6-credit hours. This is
a two weeks intensive field study in Ghana.
Instructor: Dr. Seth Appiah-Opoku
The course is intended to help students:
· Discover how different cultural groups in Ghana relate
to the environment;
· Develop knowledge and understanding of the Ghanaian
"worldview" and its influence on the environmental
challenges and adaptive strategies used by different
cultural groups in Ghana;
· Understand culture dimensions of environmental
decision-making and the potentially disastrous
consequences of imposed changes; and
· Enrich your cross-cultural experience in our
"global village".
Forms
on this site may require the latest version of Adobe Reader. You can download
a free copy at http://www.adobe.com/.
AL in Ghana
Brochure (pdf)
Late applications will be considered.
FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Students planning to use financial aid to fund their overseas
study should pick up a program cost breakdown form from
Capstone International in room 135 B. B. Comer prior to applying
for this program. Students should take the form to
Financial Aid and meet with a counselor. If Financial Aid determines
an award will be made, the student must indicate on
the overseas study application form that they plan to use these
funds to pay for overseas study.
Capstone International has program scholarships available based
on need and merit. Click
here or visit 135 B.B. Comer Hall for an
application.
CONTACT
INFORMATION
Dr. Seth Appiah-Opoku
Program Director
230 Farrah Hall
Phone: (205) 348-2731, Fax: (205) 348-2278
Email: sappiah@bama.ua.edu
Angela Channell
Director of Overseas Study
Box 870254, 135 B. B.Comer Hall
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0254
Phone 205-348-5256
Email: angela.channell@ua.edu
of Alabama