Interim 2012: Courses in Africa and the Middle East

IDIS W45 -- Building Communities in Uganda
Prof. David Hoekema
This course asks a basic question in the ethics of development:  how can governments, churches, and nonprofit agencies work together most effectively to address urgent needs and strengthen political and social structures in Africa today?  The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee will again coordinate in-country visits.  But in 2012 the site will move to neighboring Uganda, a former British colony
bordering Kenya, and CRWRC contacts will be supplemented by those that the instructor has established with Catholic mission and relief initiatives. Sites to be visited will include schools, clinics, and agricultural projects in cities and rural areas of central and northern Uganda.  We will meet community leaders, medical workers, pastors, members of religious orders, and business owners and learn how Ugandans are coping with a history of civil war, drought, and autocratic government to build a better future.  We will also hear from guest lecturers at leading Catholic and Protestant universities.  Readings on East African history and politics, recent critiques of foreign aid, selected fiction set in East Africa, and class lectures and discussions will provide a basis for student reflection on issues of justice, human rights, health care, and community development in Africa today.  Student will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges facing impoverished rural communities, the resources available to address them, and the supporting role of church and nonprofit organizations.  They will also make plans for sharing what they have learned with church and community groups after their return.  Included in our activities are visits to view birds, animals and primates in some of Uganda's extraordinary game reserves and national parks, such as Murchison Falls National Park on the Victoria Nile and the chimpanzee communities of Rabongo Forest.  Evaluation will be based on a daily journal with responses to assigned questions and active participation in group activities and discussions. This course may fulfill an elective in the African and African Diaspora Studies minor and the International Development Studies major and minor. Course dates:  January 4-24. 

MUSC W80 -- The Songs of South Africa (MAY/JUNE INTERIM)
Prof. Pearl Shangkuan
In this course members of the Calvin Women’s Chorale participate in worship services, present concerts, participate in workshops in the area of choral music in various cities in South Africa, including Cape Town, Johannesburg, Soweto and Pretoria. The course is taught by the instructor through performance and by being a clinician in workshop settings. The instructor also leads group discussions with the ensemble and facilitates interaction with local students and church members. Students experience worship in a cross-cultural context and communion with other members of the Body of Christ through fellowship and song, as well as learn about South Africa’s freedom movement and the role of songs in the movement. The choir visits high schools to interact with students through music as well as visit important sites of the freedom movement.  Evaluations will be based on daily participation through performances, group discussions, individual presentations and a daily journal. The course will begin with intensive rehearsals and lectures on campus, followed by a twelve-day trip to South Africa. The sessions prior to the trip will include lectures on worship and choral music of South Africa, including its role in their freedom movement. This course may fulfill an elective in the Music major and minor. Prerequisites: Enrollment in MUSC 191.  Course dates: May 25 - June 4.

SOWK W80 -- Development in Liberia
Prof. Rachel Venema
This course examines community development as one way to bring healing to a broken nation struggling to emerge from a lengthy civil conflict.  Students will listen and learn alongside some of the first social work students in Liberian history, at the Mother Patern College of Health Science in the capital of Monrovia.  Together, this cohort will spend time in the classroom and in the community, learning theory and
witnessing it in practice at agencies throughout the capital and in villages in the interior. The course covers a variety of approaches to the problems of poverty and sustainable development, and focuses on cross-cultural and participatory learning. Student learning will include an understanding in which Liberian history (particularly as related to the United States), politics, economics, and ecology influence past, present and future development efforts in Liberia and why knowledge about these factors is crucial to planning appropriate and sustainable development for a nation or community. Also students will be able to define community development and describe the major theories and approaches, outline common components of contemporary development, specifically those used by the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and learn about Liberian culture and practices. Student evaluation will be based on a mid-term, final written examination covering key concepts in community development, and a final paper. Students will also participate in a group project mapping the assets of a community within greater Monrovia a final reflection paper. This course may fulfill an elective in the International Development Studies major.  This course will fulfill the CCE requirement. Prerequisites:  SOWK 240, 250 and SOC 151. Course dates: January 3-23. 
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REL W41 -- Israel: The Land of the Bible
Prof. Ken Pomykala