Africa Past & Present

Episode 43: Reflections on Africa’s First World Cup

c92scott — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:57:03 +0000

Chris Bolsmann (Sociology, Aston University) on the successful 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Topics covered include experiences at stadiums; FIFA‘s Disney-fied World Cup; Pan-Africanism and African teams; and the economic and political impact of the tournament.

More World Cup Thoughts Online:

‘After the Final’ with Karabo Mathang and Sindi Mabizela (audio)
Laurent Dubois and Achille Mbembe on ‘The People’s Game’ (audio)
African Soccerscapes by Peter Alegi (book)
Dr. Bolsmann’s World Cup blog at Harvard Business Review
Footballiscominghome (blog)
Feel it! Reflections on SA 2010 (blog)
Chronicle of SA 2010 for Latin Americans (blog in Spanish)

Episode 42: Senegal, Women in Islam, Public Intellectuals, and David Robinson

c92scott — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:57:59 +0000

Penda Mbow (University Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar), prominent historian and public intellectual of Senegal, on women and Islam, intellectual history in Muslim Africa, and civil society in Senegal. She also discusses the significant contribution and role of David Robinson in African and Senegalese historiography.

Episode 41: 2010 World Cup and Grassroots Soccer

c92scott — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:53:21 +0000

Thabo Dladla, Conti Khubeka and Zeph Mthembu on the potential impact of the 2010 World Cup on grassroots soccer in South Africa. All three men are former professional players now coaching youths. What does 2010 mean to these elders of the game? Will the tournament address the legacy of apartheid and the new challenges of globalization? Putting people before profits, Dladla says, is necessary to effect positive social change.

Episode 40: Africa’s Global Past

c92scott — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:41:14 +0000

Paul Tiyambe Zeleza (Loyola Marymount University) on the history and study of Africa and its Diasporas. He discusses the themes of his new book, Barack Obama and African Diasporas: Dialogues and Dissensions, as well as globalization and Africa, and changes over time in the nature and focus of African Studies.

Episode 39: South Africa – Precarious Liberation: Workers, the State, and Contested Social Citizenship

c92scott — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:08:33 +0000

Franco Barchiesi (Ohio State U) explains the precarious lives of South African workers and unemployed together with the role of politics and the impact of economic crises today. He also analyzes contests over social citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa and discusses the development of his own interest in South African labor matters.

Episode 38: South Africa — New Histories

c92scott — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 09:13:25 +0000

Jabulani Sithole (UKZN) on why history matters in South Africa. Sithole discusses his journey from activist to historian, and his research on the ANC and labor unions in KwaZulu-Natal, part of SADET’s landmark The Road to Democracy in South Africa series. He elaborates on Zulu identities and his role in renaming streets in Pietermaritzburg.

Episode 37: African Photography, Visual Griots in Mali and Beyond

c92scott — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:31:29 +0000

photo: Tijani Sitou, My Embroidered Boubou and Pretty Radio, ca1978

Candace Keller (MSU Art and Art History) on her research on West African photographers, cultural histories, identities and aesthetics from the 1940s up to the present. Dr. Keller describes and explains the rich and varied photographic scene in Mali, its historcal roots and aesthetical and technological components, discusses leading photographers such as Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita, and examines recent global expressions of this fine art.

Episode 36: Endangered African Languages

c92scott — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:19:49 +0000

Mwalimu Deo Ngonyani (MSU Linguistics) on his research on Kikisi — a Bantu language spoken by 10,000 people on the shores of Lake Malawi in southwestern Tanzania. Ngonyani elaborates on projects committed to preserving ‘small’ languages and highlights the significance of government language policies, especially in regards to English and Swahili.

Episode 35: African Identities in the Age of Obama

c92scott — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:24:30 +0000

Wendi Manuel-Scott and Benedict Carton on the ‘African Identities in the Age of Obama’ conference they organized recently at George Mason University. Bridging the gap between studies of Africa, African America, and the Caribbean, participants debated who and what does Obama represent? How do cultural aspects of the Obama phenomenon intersect with political and economic aspects? What does Obama mean to people in Africa?

Episode 34: African Audiences

c92scott — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:24:27 +0000

Historian Chuck Ambler (UTEP and African Studies Association president) on the work of the ASA and his ongoing research on African audiences ‘from Hollywood to Nollywood.’ He also discusses a manuscript-in-progress on mass media and popular culture in colonial and post-colonial Africa. With guest co-host Laura Fair.