Since I’ve been a bit buried lately, here is a roundup of things that have caught my eye. Commentary as I see necessary:
There are lots of debates over the merits of study abroad programs. Let’s face it: Most college students see a semester abroad as a chance to get shitfaced in a foreign country. It is not surprising, after all, that Australia is a disproportionately popular destination for study abroad. Yet study abroad also opens up horizons for students every year, many of whom pursue international studies as a lifelong endeavor. NAFSA (which used to be “National Association for Foreign Student Advisors, but now which goes by NAFSA: Association of International Educators with the acronym buried since so much has changed in foreign study since the organization was founded in 1948) naturally wants us to think differently about study abroad. Steven Youngblood, a NAFSA member and associate professor of communications at Missouri’s Park University recently took students to Uganda on a 17-day study abroad program. Here are his reflections. I worry a little bit about his distinction of there being a “real” Kampala (as opposed to a fake one?) but I do think that given the limitations of study abroad he tries his best to make the program worthwhile and valuable.
At Aidwatch William Easterly tries to provide a reminder that where much of the world categorizes Africans into categories such as “poor” or “developing,” these are incredibly static categories. Although his attempt to re-categorize them as “Christian,” while providing a useful paradigm shift, is probably not much less reductionist even if it is a smidge more accurate.
Want to hear radio stations from across Africa? Go to Radiotime.
The United States is refusing to provide a safe haven for money stolen from Africa by the continent’s corrupt leaders. How on earth did it take this long?
Maybe the United States of Africa is a good idea. maybe it is not. But can we all agree that Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi is a terrible messenger? Gaddafi embraced Pan-Africanism only in the wake of his unsuccessful attempt at leading Pan-Arabism. I’m just going to say it: If there is to be a viable Pan Africanism, I want to see its impetus come from Sub-Saharan Africa. The continent does not need Gaddafi’s particular self serving sort of leadership.
False dichotomy alert! Is the fiftieth anniversary of “The Congo” “A year for lavish celebrations or a moment for reflection”? However you see it (and I hope you don’t believe this is an either-or situation) it is becoming increasingly clear that the United States played a significant role in Patrice Lamumba’s death. Lamumba was not perfect by any means. But Mobuto Sese Seko was a disaster, and there is no doubting that as America’s Cold War client, he was an American-created disaster.
The sun will rise, the sun will set, and Robert Mugabe will blame the west for his country’s ills.
Finally, I missed this while I was at the World Cup, but John Oliver of The Daily Show went to South Africa in search of racism. Trust me: You shan’t be disappointed.