Ghana : The African Experience

Program Description
Hunter College joins forces with SUNY Brockport to provide students with a unique experience in Ghana, at the University of Ghana at Legon, less than 9 miles north of the capital city of Accra, a bustling and rapidly growing city of almost two million people. Accra has a lively nightlife, affordable restaurants, and a decidedly "non-touristy" atmosphere that makes it a real resource for the participants of this program. Students will be housed on campus, in double rooms of the new and comfortable co-ed International Students' Hostel.

Through lectures, discussions, visits to areas of cultural, political, educational, social, and historical significance, and through the interaction with Ghanaian people the program will introduce students to various aspects of life in Africa as seen in the history, economy, the arts, culture, social change and political development of Ghana.

Seminars and lectures will consist of the following and/or similar topics:
Land and Economic Development 
Evolution of Modern Africa 
Economy and Education in Ghana 
Social Structure of Ghana 
Drumming and Dancing in Ghana 
Change and Continuity in Africa 
Politics in Africa 1943 to 1994

Cultural, Historical and Social Activities:
Sightseeing - University of Ghana campus and the immediate environs 
Visit to W.E.B. DuBois Centre for Pan-African Culture 
Trip to Cape Coas0t and Elmina Castle. 
Visit to the Kakum National Park. 
Visit to Akosombo and Tema. 
Trip to Kumasi and environs (including an audience with the Asantehene and visits to Kente: carvings, arts and crafts, etc.) 

NOTE: Before the program starts, students will have to prepare summaries of the following readings:

• Elizabeth Devine and Nancy L. Braganti, The Travelers' Guide to African Customs & Manners (pp 65-80)
• Kwame Anthony Appiah, In My Father's House
• Jennifer Seymour Whitaker, How Can Africa Survive? 

These summaries must note the significant cultural, political, economic and technical forces currently impinging on African societies, and Ghanaian society in particular. They will be due by December 22, 2012