This eight-week program offers you the opportunity to explore the history and material culture of slavery and the slave trade in West Africa (Ghana) and the Caribbean (Danish Caribbean and Jamaica). It combines:
- Lectures
- The critical use of contemporary sources, oral history, film, and images
- Trips to tourist and museum sites of enslavement and slave trade (European forts along the coast, interior slave marts, and settlements that survived slave raids)
- Archeological fieldwork on Danish plantations in the reconstruction of the period between about 1650 and 1850
Emmanuel Akyeampong wrote a blog post about how students in the program have memorable experiences while in Ghana.
Course of study
In addition to the course on slavery and slave trade, you can arrange to study Ghanaian languages through the University of Ghana.
AAAS S-136 Study Abroad in Ghana: Representing Ghana's Past — Slave Trades, the African Diaspora, and Slave Roots Tourism (33486)
This program explores the history and material culture of slavery and slave trade in West Africa (Ghana) and the Caribbean (Danish Caribbean and Jamaica). It combines lectures; the critical use of contemporary sources, oral history, film, and images; trips to sites of enslavement and slave trade (European forts along the coast, interior slave marts and settlements that survived slave raids); and archaeological fieldwork on Danish plantations in the reconstruction of the period between about 1650 and 1850. Gold Coast influences on the material and socio-political cultures of the Caribbean are examined through slave lifeways and revolts. The course engages the politics of memory and the presentation of Ghana's place in the Atlantic world through contemporary slave roots/routes tourism, cultural festivals, and museum exhibitions.
Course credit
See Study Abroad Credit Information.
Faculty
Application
Before applying, review the Admission and Policies and FAQs pages.
You must be at least 18 years old and have completed at least one year of college or be a first-year student in good academic standing to apply.
The application materials, outlined below, are due January 28, 2016:
- A completed online application (available in early December) that includes:
- A $50 nonrefundable application fee
- A statement of interest in the program, including information on relevant coursework and travel experience abroad (previous travel is not a prerequisite)
- Transcripts (student record accepted for Harvard students)
Interviews may be requested.
You will be notified of admission decisions by mid-February.
Cost
There is a nonrefundable $50 application fee. The cost of the program includes the following:
- Tuition
- Room and some meals
- Excursions (including meals when appropriate)
In addition to the program fee, you are responsible for:
- A health insurance fee (waived if you have US insurance that provides coverage outside the United States)
- Transportation to and from Ghana
- The cost of passports and visas (if the latter is needed)
- Any immunizations
The program director will advise you of likely additional expenses.
How to pay and funding options
See Payment and Funding for payment deadlines, deposit amounts, and more information, including funding options for Harvard College students.
Accommodations
You stay in shared, dormitory-style accommodations (two in a room) at the International StudentsHOSTEL
at the University of Ghana in Accra. For field trips outside of Accra, you stay in paired accommodations at Hans Cottage Botel in Cape Coast, at the Engineering Guest House at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, and at the Premier Palace Hotel in Techiman. There are cafeterias/restaurants on all the premises.
Additional information
Contact Emmanuel Akyeampong, akyeamp@fas.harvard.edu.
Students with disabilities
Contact the disability services coordinator as soon as possible. See Students with Disabilities for more information.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
http://www.summer.harvard.edu/programs/study-abroad/ghana