SUNY Binghamton: Accra - Engaging Africa: Ethnographic Study in Ghana

This exciting program will provide students with a unique opportunity to study aspects of Ghanaian culture both in a classroom setting and in the field, in order to develop an individual ethnographic research project that addresses a relevant topic in their field of study. Possible subjects include music and dance, theatre, cultural anthropology, sociology, education, business, health and environmental sciences, comparative literature, cinema, linguistics and Africana studies. Students will learn virtually every aspect of ethnographic research including project planning, research, writing skills, and how to conceptualize and carry out fieldwork, including conducting interviews and recording and analyzing cultural events. The course will help students to develop an international perspective of the world, to analyze social issues, to engage in critical discourses of the world as a global community, and to develop an understanding of the self and others in a transcultural world. A major aspect of the program is that students will learn directly from Ghanaian scholars, students, musicians, filmmakers, and artists. The integrated coursework and study abroad component also gives students an experiential and conceptual understanding of a West African country and culture that contrasts sharply with social practices and aspirations in the United States.