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Center for
AFRICAN STUDIES
RESEARCH REPORT
2012
CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES
427 Grinter Hall
PO Box 115560
Gainesville, Florida 32611-5560
352-392-2183
352-392-2435 (FAX)
www.africa.ufl.edu
ABOUT THE CENTER ONE OF THE NATION’S PREMIER INSTITUTIONS FOR TEACHING AND RESEARCH ABOUT AFRICA Founded in 1965, the Center for African Studies at UF has been continuously designated a U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center for Africa for 30 years. It is currently one of only 12 such centers nationally, and the only Africa NRC located in a sub-tropical zone. Title VI funding to CAS supports research, teaching, outreach, and the development of international linkages in Africa. The Center has over 100 affiliated teaching and research faculty in all of the core disciplines in the humani- ties and social sciences, as well as in agriculture, business, engineering, education, fine arts, natural resources and environment, journalism and mass communications, law, tourism, and natural sciences. Graduate study on African issues may be pursued in any of these fields. Center faculty maintain ties with universities across the African continent, including institutions in Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Center’s innovative and influential on-line journal, the African Studies Quarterly, is the first fully peer- reviewed electronic journal devoted to the field. ASQ plays an important and largely unique role in facilitating the publication of research on and from Africa, and offers invaluable professional training for UF graduate students who serve on its editorial board. GRADUATE STUDY OF AFRICA AT UF Graduate study with a focus on Africa can be carried out in virtually every graduate or professional program across the university. Prospective students are encouraged to consult the websites of the individual programs for admissions procedures and criteria. Students in any graduate program at UF have the option of pursu- ing a Graduate Certificate in African Studies. We also encourage them to consult the Center’s website and to contact us when they submit their applications. Complementing formal coursework, a regular and dynamic series of lectures, conferences and other activities open to all interested graduate students provide rich opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and discus- sion about Africa. Most significantly, a number of dynamic CAS-sponsored interdisciplinary working groups organize speakers and events that bring together faculty and graduate students with shared interests, provid- ing students with unique opportunities for research and professional development. CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE DIRECTOR.........................................................................................................................................................................4 FACULTY REPORTS SHARON ABRAMOWITZ – Mental Health, Humanitarian Intervention, and Reconstruction in Liberia.....................................5 KATE BALDWIN – Supporting Traditional Leaders to Mitigate Community-Level Conflict..............................................................6 STEVEN BRANDT & KYLIE BERMENSOLO – 2012 Field Season at Mochena Boraga Rock Shelter, SW Ethiopia...............7 ELIZABETH DeVOS – Continuing to Develop A Roadmap for Emergency Services in Africa........................................................8 JAMES ESSEGBEY – Developing an Online African Language Course..............................................................................................9 JOAN D. FROSCH – Voices of Strength..................................................................................................................................................10 GREG KIKER – Modeling Elephant/Vegetation Dynamics for Adaptive Management in Southern African Ecosystems............11 ANDREW JAY NOSS – Protected Areas and Oil Development in Equatorial Guinea...................................................................12 ESTHER OBONYO – Sustainable Building Systems for Low Income Communities........................................................................13 TERJE OSTEBO – Islam, Ethnicity, and Reformism in the Horn of African and Africa.................................................................14 FRANCIS E. PUTZ – Gators in Gabon.....................................................................................................................................................15 DANIEL A. REBOUSSIN - Search Engine Optimization Supports Research Access Online..........................................................16 VICTORIA ROVINE – Indigenous/International: African Style in Global Fashion...........................................................................17 FRANK SEIDEL – Language Documentation of Nalu in Guinea, West Africa...................................................................................18 RENATA SERRA – The Challenges of Cotton Sector Reforms in West and Central Africa.............................................................19 ALIOUNE SOW – Memory, Memoirs, and Narratives in Mali...............................................................................................................20 LEONARDO VILLALÓN – Political Reform, Social Change, and Stability in The African Sahel..................................................21 STUDENT REPORTS JENNIFER BOYLAN – What Does It Mean to Hold a Free and Fair Election?.................................................................................22 RENEE BULLOCK – Smallholder Farmers in Global Value Chains: Spice Market Participation in Tanzania..........................23 BENJAMIN BURGEN – Migration and Development in the Upper Senegal River Valley...............................................................24 STEPHENIE CHATFIELD – Capturing Impact: Monitoring and Evaluation a Sanitation Program in Ethiopia.........................25 TIMOTHY FULLMAN – Impacts of a Growing Elephant Population in Southern Africa..............................................................26 MICHAEL J. GENNARO –Boxing in Colonial and Post-Colonial Nigeria, 1920-1970....................................................................27 RYAN GOOD – Africa’s Place in Global Food Security............................................................................................................................28 MEGHAN KIRKWOOD – Land-based Imagery in Contemporary South African Photography....................................................29 NICHOLAS KNOWLTON – Trajectories of Democracy in Africa and the Legacies of Democratic Experiements..................30 STEVEN LICTHY – Religious Motivation for Political Engagement in Kenya....................................................................................31 GERMAIN AIME MAVAH – Human Livelihoods Assessment in the Republic of Congo..............................................................32 VINCENT MEDJIBE – Biodiversity, Climate, and Carbon: The Forests of the Congo Basin...........................................................33 XAVIER MONROE – The Scramble for Nigeria: The View from Kano...............................................................................................34 AMY PANIKOWSKI – Woven Livelihoods: Women Crafters and Protected Areas in KwaZulu-Natal...........................................35 CHRISTOPHER RICHARDS – “We Have Always Been Fashionable” - The Significance of Fashion in Accra..........................36 MACKENZIE MOON RYAN – The Global Reach of a Fashionable Commodity: Kanga Textiles in Dar es Salaam..................37 SAM SCHRAMSKI – Social Capital, Climate, and Agrarian Change in South Africa..........................................................................38 CAROLINE STAUB - Hydrological Processes, Climate, and Land Cover in Mauritius.....................................................................39 DONALD UNDERWOOD – Governing Ghana’s Maritime Domain: Monitoring, Mapping and Surveillance...........................40 CARRIE L. VATH – Livelihood Hunting and Attitudes in Southeastern Nigeria...............................................................................41 KEITH WEGHORST – Elections in Africa: Opposition Parties, Electoral Integrity, and Women’s Representation......... 42 CHRISTOPHER WITULSKI – Pious Performances: Musiqa Ruhiyya and Islamic Popular Music in Fez..................................43 COLLABORATIVE PROJECT REPORTS African Language Initiative................................................................................................................................................................................44 Cell Phone Usage and Its Impact on Zambian Economy and Society......................................................................................................45 2 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012
In and Out of Africa: African Memoirs after 1980.......................................................................................................................................46 Kongo Across the Waters: Publication and Exhibition Research...............................................................................................................47 Risk, Threat and Vulnerability in Ghana’s Off-Shore Oil Sector................................................................................................................48 Sub-Saharan Business Environment Report (SABER)................................................................................................................................49 Trans-Saharan Elections Project (TSEP)......................................................................................................................................................50 AFRICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY....................................................................................................................................................52 FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIPS......................................................................................53 SUPPORT RESEARCH ON AFRICA...............................................................................................................................................54 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012 3
FROM THE DIRECTOR
ABE GOLDMAN
they have investigated important cultural offered with the Center for Latin Ameri-
links between Kongo culture and African can Studies. MDP admitted its third class
American groups and areas. Following in 2012, and many of the MDP students
its time at the Harn Museum at UF, the have been or plan to be involved in devel-
exhibit is scheduled to travel to Princeton opment projects and efforts in Africa.
and New Orleans in 2014-15. Finally, UF’s Program in African
In a continuing collaboration Languages, which is closely linked to CAS
between CAS and the Center for Interna- as well as UF’s Department of Languages,
tional Business Research and Education Literatures, and Cultures (LLC), organized
(CIBER) at UF, the second edition of the and hosted a second summer of intensive
Sub-Saharan Business Environment Re- African language instruction through the
port (SABER) was published in 2012. The African Languages Initiative. Graduate
report, which is available both in print and undergraduate students from UF and
It is a great pleasure to present and online, provides valuable information numerous other American universities
the University of Florida’s Center to economic and business researchers and received classroom and other innovative
for African Studies (CAS) 2012- practitioners in the US, Africa, and else- instruction in five African languages.
13 Research Report. These research where. CIBER also provided travel and We are very pleased also to acknowl-
summaries represent a sample of some of research support to two UF social science edge the support we receive from various
the diversity of work on Africa being car- faculty and their graduate and undergrad- sources. Most notably, CAS was again
ried out at the University of Florida. Our uate students who were able to undertake granted funding as a Title VI National
faculty and graduate students as well as research projects with significant business Resource Center for African Studies
visiting scholars are involved in research and economic implications in Africa. in 2010, one of only 12 in the country.
that spans the continent geographically One involved a study of offshore oil Despite substantial budget cuts to the
and ranges in focus from multiple areas development in Ghana and its impacts, Title VI programs nationwide in 2011
of the humanities (including history, and the other dealt with the economic and 2012, this grant helps us continue our
music, dance, literature, and the arts) to and social impacts of cell phone diffusion work and supports many of our students
natural sciences and wildlife conservation, in Zambia. Both are included in the sum- through Foreign Language and Area
and from diverse aspects of political, so- maries that follow. Studies (FLAS) fellowships. We are also
cial, and economic change to the human The Trans-Saharan Elections Project grateful for continuing support from sev-
and environmental impacts in Africa of (TSEP), funded by the U.S. Department eral sources at the University of Florida,
disease, climate change, and globalization. of State’s Bureau of Educational and especially the College of Liberal Arts and
In addition to work by individuals Cultural Affairs, has involved a two-year Sciences. Numerous individual donors,
and smaller groups of researchers, several series of exchanges and seminars among listed later in the report continue to sup-
larger collaborative projects included in elections specialists from six Sahelian port our activities and students and help
this report help illustrate the range of in- countries and a wide range of American us to prepare skilled and knowledgeable
terdisciplinary work at UF and CAS. Our academics and professionals. The project scholars and researchers who have deep
affiliated faculty at the Harn Museum and held a three-week seminar in the US in understanding of and commitment to Af-
the School of Art & Art History are in May 2012, in the midst of the US elec- rican peoples, societies, and environments.
the second year of preparation for a ma- tion year, for 16 participants from the six For more information about
jor exhibit of Central African Kongo art countries. CAS, and our various activities and
in collaboration with the Royal Museum In addition, CAS continued its strong opportunities, please visit our website at
for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium. involvement in the new Masters in De- www.africa.ufl.edu.
In addition to numerous interactions velopment Practice (MDP) degree, jointly
with other museums and art institutions,
4 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012FACULTY REPORTS
Gender, Health, and Emergencies: Humanitarian
Intervention in Africa in Perspective
SHARON AMBRAMOWITZ
Having spent the last 10 years research-
ing my forthcoming book, Healing the
World: Trauma, Humanitarian Interven-
tion, and Post-Conflict Recovery in
Liberia 2004-2008, in which I examine
how healing the trauma of the Liberian
Civil War has become a proxy for an
array of human rights and humanitarian
interventions, I’ve had the privilege this
past year of moving into new areas of
inquiry. Currently, with Catherine Panter-Brick
of Yale University, I am co-editing a book on
anthropology and medical humanitarianism – Red
Cross, Red Crescent, Blue Helmets: Medical Humanitari-
anism in States of Emergency – that brings together
fifteen anthropologists with research and practi-
tioner experience in humanitarian emergencies to
reflect upon the nature of medical humanitarian
intervention. The cases we are considering include:
the post-Tsunami reconstruction of Banda Aceh,
Indonesia; the 2004 famine in Niger; the post-
conflict recovery in Liberia; the reconstruction of sity of Florida, I have also had the tentatively entitled Crypto-Histories
Afghanistan; mobile medical clinics in the West opportunity this past year to pursue of Gender Violence: Sex, Culture and
Bank; and post-earthquake housing displacement research on a new book project that Power in Liberia, also uses missionary
in Haiti, among others. Our research seeks to examines local ethno-histories of records, ethnographic fieldnotes, and
engage humanitarian practitioners and anthro- gender-based violence in Liberia, colonial records from the last 150
pologists in a global dialogue around effects and and reconsiders the international ap- years to uncover culturally encoded
efficacy in medical humanitarian practice. plication of human rights standards forms of gender-protection and
As an additional dimension of our research regarding gender-based violence gender-vulnerability in conditions
into culture and medical humanitarianism, I have in African contexts. My research that are currently dominated by
also led an initiative with Dr. Panter-Brick and in archives across the continental violence and conflict. Through it, I
an advisory board of 15 leaders in anthropology, United States has indicated that hope to challenge global conventions
global health, global mental health, and medical gender-based violence involves a far regarding the role of “culture” and
humanitarian practice to survey nearly 200 practic- more varied and complex array of “tradition” in gender-based violence
ing anthropologists working in conflict zones. Our practices and social relations than interventions in order to advance a
goal is to bring together anthropology and human- contemporary legal or global human different way of thinking about how
itarian practitioners in a global dialogue about how rights framings allow. The conse- gender-based violence is patterned in
humanitarian intervention happens, in practice, quences of holding a limited view of culture, cultural history, and cultural
and what its strengths, limitations, opportunities, gender-based violence becomes fully memory.
and aporias are in the emerging global environ- apparent in places like post-conflict
Liberia, where global definitions Sharon Abramowitz is assistant pro-
ment of crisis intervention and management. We
are mapped onto local realities and fessor of anthropology and African
have recently concluded the online survey compo- studies.
nent of our research, and look forward to publish- experiences in a way that creates
ing our findings in the next 18 months. substantial legal, social, and historical
Additionally, with the support of the Univer- disjunctures. This book, which I have
CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012 5Supporting Traditional Leaders to Mitigate
Community-Level Conflict
KATE BALDWIN
My current research analyzes taken place before recent elections. They ing community governance and levels of
politics in contexts where the have been accused of denying food aid to political polarization across the 600 study
state has a limited role in the opposition supporters and making parti- villages before and after the training ses-
provision of basic public goods. san judicial decisions. As a result, a NGO sions. The data collection involves survey-
Can community leaders in a highly based in Zimbabwe has initiated a training ing households and community leaders in
politicized environment be encouraged program for traditional leaders to remind each of the 600 villages, and conducting
to administer power neutrally? In such a them of their responsibilities under the ethnographic research and open-ended
setting, can actions by local leaders alone law, and the basic standards of profes- interviews in two dozen villages. It has
significantly reduce community tensions sionalism. Approximately 600 villages are been uniquely challenging to develop and
and levels of violence? I am the principal involved in the study, one half of which implement a survey on these topics in this
investigator for a randomized evaluation will receive a training program in 2012- sensitive environment, but the project
funded by USAID that examines the ef- 2013, and the other half of which will is employing a range of techniques to
fects of training programs for traditional not receive training until 2013-2014 and protect the identities of respondents and
leaders in Zimbabwe on their level of can therefore serve as the control group measure sensitive phenomena, includ-
professionalism and the amount of divi- during the first year of the program. The ing survey codes, list experiments, and
sion within their communities. Recent study will examine both whether bureau- endorsement experiments.
UF PhD (SNRE) Shylock Muyengwa cratic training for local leaders can depo-
has been collaborating with me on this liticize their administrations, and whether Kate Baldwin is assistant professor of
project. bringing together diverse community political science and affiliate faculty in
Traditional leaders in Zimbabwe leaders to participate in training sessions the Center for African Studies.
have often been implicated in the elec- can help reduce political tensions.
toral violence and intimidation that has This research project involves track-
6 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012FACULTY REPORTS
The 2012 Field Season at Mochena Boraga
Rock Shelter, Wolaita, SW Ethiopia
STEVEN A. BRANDT
ate students participating in UF’s
Study Abroad program as well
as eight students and staff from
WSU, undertook excavations at two
other areas of the shelter in undated
deposits suspected of dating to the
final stages of the Pleistocene or
even the early Holocene. UF alumnus
Dr. Erich Fisher of Arizona State
University and Dr. Oliver Bodeker
of UC conducted geomorphological
and geoarchaeological studies of the
excavated deposits in order to eluci-
date information on the shelters past
climates, environments and forma-
tion processes.
Perhaps one of the most intrigu-
ing aspects of our project was our
successful attempt to go completely
paperless! Instead of using paper
forms to record data and create
catalogs, we used Android Tablets to
digitally record all field information.
Although initially challenging, we
took to this new technology quickly,
making field information easy to
Excavations at Mochena Borago (for- a major environmental and cultural
enter, retrieve and access.
merly Moche Borago), a large ~70m refugium for anatomically mod-
Near the end of the field season
wide rock shelter situated high on the ern hunter-gatherers dealing with
we had the honor of a visit from
slopes of dormant Mt. Damote volcano the cold, arid climates of the Late
then Deputy Prime Minister and now
in S.W. Ethiopia, continued during the Pleistocene prior to and after human
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemari-
Spring 2012 semester under the joint migrations across and out of Africa
am Deselegn, pictured wearing a dark
directorship of Dr. Steven A. Brandt and ~ 60-50,000 years ago. Under the
sport coat surrounded by project and
Dr. Ralf Vogelsang of the University of direction of Dr. Vogelsang, graduate
security personnel (photo by Hannah
Cologne (UC) Institute of Prehistoric students from UC and UF concen-
Parow-Souchon). This was surely a
Archaeology. As in the previous two field trated on excavating the shelter’s
very fitting ending to a very success-
seasons, the German Science Foundation provided oldest known deposits in order to
ful field season!
the bulk of funding, with additional funds coming obtain more charcoal samples dating
from the UF International Center’s Study Abroad to >50,000 years ago. Additional
Steven A. Brandt is associate profes-
Program. This year the U.S. Embassy in Addis stone artifacts and animal bones were
sor of anthropology and affiliate fac-
Ababa, Ethiopia also provided funds as part of a also recovered, allowing us to recon-
ulty in The Center for African Studies.
seed grant to develop a partnership between UF struct hunter-gatherer technological
and Wolaita Sodo University (WSU) in the estab- capabilities and subsistence patterns
lishment of an archaeology and cultural heritage of this time period.
program at WSU. Under the direction of field
Like previous years, the 2012 field season fo- supervisor Clement Menard of the
cused upon obtaining data that could help test the University of Toulouse and Steve
hypothesis that the SW Ethiopian Highlands were Brandt, seven UF undergradu-
CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012 7Continuing to Develop A Roadmap for
Emergency Services in Africa
ELIZABETH DeVOS
The past year saw several achievements
in the development of the specialty
of emergency medicine in Africa. The
continent faces the dual burden of increasing rates
of both infectious and non-infectious diseases.
Furthermore, Africans suffer a disproportionate
morbidity and mortality due to traumatic injuries—
especially due to road traffic accidents. The African
Federation for Emergency Medicine invited experts
in international emergency medicine to a round-
table in November, 2011 in Cape Town, South Af-
rica. The group convened as a satellite to the EM
Society of South Africa’s “Emergency Medicine
in the Developing World” conference. Participants
discussed a framework for continuing the develop-
ment of the specialty-- to address acute medical
illness and traumatic injuries, as well as the training a manuscript detailing her unique ex- to shape the agenda of the African
of its practitioners. I was fortunate to participate in periences with mass casualty intoxica- Congress on Emergency Medicine
the roundtable focusing on pre-hospital emergency tions in Khartoum. in Accra, Ghana in October, 2012.
care and hope that our shared experience will During the summer of 2012, I As a member of the local organizing
provide foundations for relevant, timely systems was honored to be invited as a guest committee and scientific committees
creation and strengthening in addition to multi- lecturer and emergency consultant I have had the opportunity to work
center research for quality improvement. physician in the emergency depart- alongside the pioneers in emergency
While in Cape Town, I met a particularly ment for Ethiopia’s first emergency medicine across the continent. I
motivated young emergency physician practicing medicine residency training program. participated as faculty for the pre-
in Khartoum, Sudan who was eager to share with For two weeks, I gave daily lectures, hospital skills workshop as well as the
supervised bedside care and worked trauma track in the main congress.
alongside the graduates and new As Africa continues to place more
trainees at the Tikkur Anbessa Spe- emphasis on the treatment of acute
cialty Hospital in Addis Ababa. Cur- medical conditions and traumatic
rently, the Ethiopians are celebrating injuries by specifically trained prac-
the graduation of the first class of titioners, the UF COM-Jacksonville
Master’s Emergency Nurses and spe- Department of Emergency Medi-
cialist pediatric emergency medicine cine plans to continue to partner
fellows. Meanwhile, the emergency with African institutions to improve
medicine residents (physicians with education and management while
specialty focused training) are enter- together measuring and reporting the
ing their final year of the three year outcomes of our work.
training program. These achieve-
ments, as well as the approval of the Elizabeth DeVos is director of inter-
Ethiopian Society of Emergency national emergency medicine educa-
me her clinical experiences. I had the privilege of Medicine Specialists, will be honored tion, assistant professor in the De-
mentoring her through her first abstract submis- this fall at the first national emergen- partment of Emergency Medicine at
sion and international poster presentation. She cy medicine congress and continuing UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville,
presented “Mass Methanol Intoxication: The Su- professional development event. and affiliate faculty in the Center for
danese Experience” at the International Congress Finally, I have had the privi- African Studies. Funding for these
on Emergency Medicine in Dublin, Ireland in June, lege to work with colleagues in the activities is from the West African
2012. Dr. Rhaman and I are currently completing African Federation for Emergency Research Association and the Ameri-
Medicine throughout the last year can International Health Alliance.
8 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012FACULTY REPORTS
Developing an Online African
Language Course
JAMES ESSEGBEY
by undergraduate student Marilyn
Okine and Amo. Considering that
Akan is a tonal language and students
are expected to learn the pronuncia-
tion of the words by themselves, I
worked with Bash Choudhry at the
UF Center of Instructional Technol-
ogy and Training (CITT) to develop
a tone game. Syllables in Akan have
a high, low or a down-stepped tone.
We represented the high tone with
red, the low tone with green and the
downstepped tone with orange. We
recorded the careful pronunciation
of the words in the various lessons
by Kofi, which were then played
on the piano and drums by Elikem
Nyamuame (UF ethnomusicology
doctoral student). After listening to
the pronunciation of the word and its
Is it possible to develop an online tion of different kinds of foods and rendition on the piano and drams, a
course for African language learn- the discussion of conservation at the student is required to color the tones.
ers? With financial support from the Center for Kakum National Park in the Central The game can be found at: http://
International Business and Research (CIBER) and Region. In all these scenarios, our game.africa.ufl.edu/app/index.php
the Center for African Studies (CAS) I spent the three performers had instructions to Currently the course is be-
past year developing an online Beginning Akan speak carefully such that the mate- ing taught as a hybrid course. The
course which aims to develop cultural competence rial would be useable for language eventual aim is to make it a fully
by immersing students in the various facets of learners. However, in order to make online course with minimal input
rural and urban Akan life through multimedia and it authentic, they were not given any from the instructor. The lessons have
interactive online activities. For such an enterprise scripts to learn and recite. Moreover, been compiled into an electronic
we faced the challenge of getting authentic video the people with whom they interact- textbook which is given to students
material. I therefore traveled through some major ed at the various places were allowed free of charge. Also, with the help
Akan areas such as Kumasi, the capital city of the to speak naturally. Our scenarios of Fred Meyler, another undergradu-
Ashanti Region and seat of the Asante King, and included Obenewa and Marian get- ate student, we have put together an
towns like Nkawkaw, Kokofu, Bosomtwe, and ting a tourist guide at Bosomtwe to electronic dictionary which is based
Cape Coast. I went to these places with Obenewa tell them the story of Lake Bosom- on Christaller’s dictionary of the Twi
Nkansah and Marian Abbey, both graduates of twe and why it is considered sacred language.
the School of Performing Arts at the University among the Asante people, as well as
of Ghana, Kofi Amo Ofori, our current Akan having a health superintendant and James Essegbey is associate profes-
teaching assistant who is from Kumasi, and Chris a senior nurse treat Obenewa who sor in the Department of Languages,
Tagbor, a videographer. Obenewa played the role fell ill with malaria fever. Literatures, and Cultures (LLC) and
of Kelli, an American student studying Akan at the The videos were edited into affiliate faculty in the Center for Afri-
University of Florida who was visiting her friend short clips after which lessons were can Studies. Funding for this project
Yaa, a student at the University of Ghana. Kofi prepared to cover them. The lessons was provided by the UF Center for
Amo played the role of their Akan professor. This for Beginning Akan I were narrated International Business Education and
gave us the opportunity to cover a lot of topics by advanced Akan student Maia Research (CIBER) and CAS through
from such simple issues as greetings and giving Bass and TA Kofi Amo, while those grants from the U.S. Department of
directions to more complex ones like the prepara- of Beginning Akan II are narrated Education.
CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012 9Voices of Strength
JOAN D. FROSCH
audiences in vivid, real-time, spaces of
encounter with five extraordinary chore-
ographers and eight exquisite perform-
ers. The artists broadly shared their art
and ideas, and primarily with those who
would rarely reciprocate the visit. Thus
the artists not only sharpened audiences’
ability to perceive, but to imagine Africa
anew. Indeed, the decolonization of
perceptions, practices, institutions, and
histories is pedagogy far from finished.
The works of Nelisiwe Xaba, Kettly
Noël, Gbahihonon Nadia Beugré, Maria
Helena Pinto, and Bouchra Ouizguen
Contemporary visual and per- Consortium (TACAC), founded by the collectively shift victim to agent, two-di-
forming arts have surged along- Center for World Arts of the University mensional perceptions to three, and stasis
side Africa’s economic expan- of Florida in concert with celebrated to transformation. Thanks to each of
sion in the last decade. Not unlike national arts entities such as the John F. the artists of Voices of Strength, American
their contemporaries in commerce, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts audiences have experienced a profound
African artists live and work in the possi- and the Bates Dance Festival, among conceptual shift—where African women’s
bilities and the paradoxes of the present. others. points of view dislodge themselves from
Notably, in the late 1990’s, a number of Entitled “Voices of Strength: Con- “the back” of Americans’ concerns to
African women artists—particularly those temporary Dance and Theater by Women front and center on the stages of our
in dance and the visual arts—stepped from Africa,” the U.S. tour of African imaginations.
forth to interrogate the disillusioning women choreographers was prepared
confines of women’s post-independence/ at the KVS Theatre in Brussels in June
post-apartheid lives. Ivorian choreogra- 2012. Supported by funding from the Na-
pher Béatrice Kombé (1973-2007) proved tional Endowment for the Arts and KVS,
a harbinger of African women who I conducted a series of meetings and
would build art not only by women but one-on-one interviews with the choreog-
also about women’s lives. The intensity of raphers in residence at KVS. The artists
the work inspired awe and blew open a generously shared insights into artistic
choreographic space previously domi- creative processes, personal and profes-
nated by men. sional stories, and concerns about the
In the fall of 2012, audiences across dynamic situations in Africa that often
the United States had the opportunity strike women first. Based on these discus-
to engage with five female contempo- sions, I formed a set of Voices of Strength
rary theater makers/choreographers and visual and written contextual materials
cultural leaders— Nelisiwe Xaba (South to introduce American audiences, critics,
Africa), Kettly Noël (Haiti/Mali), Gba- and presenters to their work. The visual
hihonon Nadia Beugré (Côte d’Ivoire), materials were further used to fuel a fun-
Maria Helena Pinto (Mozambique), and draising campaign to support the success
Bouchra Ouizguen (Morocco). These art- of the tour. The materials now comprise
ists unpacked the interrogations of their part of a larger book/technology project Joan D. Frosch is professor in the School
artistic journeys in a six-city American entitled “Movement (R)Evolution Africa,” of Theater & Dance and Director of the
tour, curated and produced by MAPP after my documentary feature film (2009). Center for World Arts.
International Productions in partner- The performances and community events
ship with the Africa Contemporary Arts of “Voices of Strength” engaged American
10 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012FACULTY REPORTS
Modeling Elephant/Vegetation Dynamics for Adaptive
Management in Southern African Ecosystems
GREG KIKER
in projections.
Another fundamental aspect of my
model analysis is in the simulation of
human-elephant interactions via manage-
ment-advised scenarios. These modeling
scenarios have been designed with the
direct input of SANParks managers to
focus on different human-elephant inter-
actions such as non-consumptive tourism,
consumptive uses and critical resource
conflicts (local water/human/elephant
interactions). We are conducting differ-
ent scenario simulations for the KNP
and AENP which have quite different
elephant management challenges in terms
of elephant populations, ecosystems and
the amount space available for expansion.
Many of these management plans have a
Biological systems at all levels etation models of different complexity; spatial focus towards critical and limiting
of organization, from cells to (3) conduct model and decision analysis resources (e.g. water availability in the dry
ecosystems, are highly complex using each elephant/vegetation model to season) as well as options for multiple
in that their behavior arises from explore outputs with respect to different proactive and reactive management re-
numerous and heterogeneous elephant management scenarios. sponses towards water access, fire timing
interacting parts linked in de- A primary goal of this research is to and elephant population/reproductive
tailed networks. A fundamental test the robustness of model predictions controls.
question for managers of these complex when different assumptions are made The results of our elephant/vegeta-
systems is: What ecosystem elements con- about what is ecologically important. A tion simulations show that managing
tribute to resilience in biological systems? key dynamic of the KNP ecosystem that these systems is a complex and challeng-
With this complexity in mind, elephant is of great concern for park management ing job, with no easy answers. There is
and vegetation management in southern is the exploration of elephant effects a great and continuing need for adaptive
Africa has been described as a “wicked” that cause the vegetation to ‘flip’ from learning at the ecosystem and institutional
problem where solutions defy simplistic one state dominated by woodlands, to a scales. Our models can play a useful role
notions and problem contexts continually state dominated by shrubs and grasses. in this process to strengthen and protect
shift with evolving social expectations Within the AENP, managers and sci- these critical ecosystems.
and adaptive learning. entists are concerned about high biodi-
For the past year, I have been on a versity areas newly opened to elephant
Fulbright Scholarship in South Africa populations and potential fragmenta-
working with the University of Kwa- tion of the succulent thicket ecosystem.
Zulu-Natal (UKZN) and South African Both of these issues relate to ecosystem
National Parks (SANParks) to apply resilience where abrupt transitions can
coupled elephant-vegetation models to have cascading effects on biodiversity and
ecosystems within the Kruger National human welfare. We use the two different
Park (KNP) and Addo Elephant National modeling approaches to help determine
Park (AENP). The objectives of this re- the degree of agreement among the two
search include the following: (1) develop models in where these transitions are
benchmark data sets for model experi- expected to occur, and use subsequent
ments in the KNP and AENP; (2) apply statistical analysis techniques to tease out Gregory A Kiker is an Associate Profes-
to these ecosystems, two elephant/veg- key differences in model assumptions that sor in the Department of Agricultural &
may account for any evident divergence Biological Engineering.
CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012 11Protected Areas and Oil Development in
Equatorial Guinea
ANDREW JAY NOSS
Between March and June 2012 I was
based in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, to
support the country’s national park
agency (Instituto Nacional de Desar-
rollo Forestal y Manejo del Sistema de
Áreas Protegidas or INDEFOR-AP) in
reviewing the draft management plan
for the Río Campo Natural Reserve
(33,000 ha), and in preparing draft
management plans for three more pro-
tected areas in continental Equatorial
Guinea: the Punta Ilende (5,455 ha) and
Montes Temelón (23,000 ha) Natural
Reserves and the Playa Nendyi Scien-
tific Reserve (500 ha). These areas, together
with the other ten in the national system, were
formally created in 2000, but lack management
plans and field staff. INDEFOR-AP was created
in 2002, but without an operating budget for many
years. Lodged within the Ministry of Agriculture,
the agency has been allocated a rising budget in
the past two years, and is promoting alliances with
international conservation organizations includ-
ing WCS, Conservation International, and World
dangered ethnic groups reside within disciplines: conservation governance,
Resources Institute.
these protected areas: the Bagyeli corporate social responsibility, sus-
The oil boom since 1995 has flooded govern-
and Balengue in Río Campo, and the tainable development, conservation
ment coffers, with spending most visible in new
Basek in Punta Ilende. and human livelihoods, and cultural
infrastructure expansion: roads, bridges, airports,
In addition to the rising budget survival. The project was directed by
ports, public and private offices, hydroelectric
and INDEFOR-AP staff based in Michael Painter (Director-Conserva-
dams and power grids. All oil is offshore, extracted
Bata, the agency has prepared several tion and the Quality of Human Life
from platforms in the Gulf of Guinea, with no
management plans for ministerial re- Program-WCS; UF alumnus - an-
pipelines but with gas flares lighting up the shore-
view and approval, has stepped up its thropology), and implemented also
line. Infrastructure development is taking place
field visits, and is training local rep- by Kantuta Lara (socio-economic
within protected areas, while new roads greatly
resentatives in communities within expert, WCS-Bolivia) and Dennis
facilitate the extraction and transport of bushmeat
protected areas. Park infrastructure Hellebrandt (fisheries expert, Univer-
and timber. Forestry concessions that border all
including offices and vehicles is sity of East Anglia).
protected areas are being renewed, in some cases
essential to facilitate a permanent
for the third cycle of extraction of the plywood
INDEFOR-AP presence on the Andrew Noss is courtesy asssistant
species Okume (Aucomea klaineana). Unregis-
ground. The greatest opportunities professor in the Department of
tered chainsaw operators are active in all protected
lie in establishing co-management Geography. This project was funded
areas, while road construction companies also take
agreements with government authori- by the Wildlife Conservation Society
timber. Mining also takes place within protected
ties (military, police, municipal) and and Noble Energy.
areas, though for now it is limited to earth, sand
private companies (oil, logging,
and rock extraction for roads, ports, and buildings.
construction) whose activities overlap
Rural to urban migration may reduce pressure on
or border the protected areas.
some natural resources, but also debilitates social
This case study addresses sev-
structures capable of managing the same resources
eral difficult themes that cut across
for local long-term economic benefits. Three en-
12 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012FACULTY REPORTS
Sustainable Building Systems for Low Income
Communities
ESTHER OBONYO
full-scale walls under in-plane, out-of-
plane and projectile loads (simulating the
impact energy of representative flying
debris, which typically cause most of hu-
man deaths and injuries). EFREM is en-
visioned as a novel, affordable and energy
efficient system that is engineered for
low-income dwellings in rural and remote
areas subjected to extreme wind loads.
Other notable efforts including
scaling up research in low cost building
technologies through a Northwestern
University-led proposal “NSF SRN: Sus-
tainability Research Network on Sustain-
able and Resilient (SURE) Infrastructure
Materials – Science, Engineering, Educa-
tion and Society,” which was invited by
the NSF for reverse visit. In both NSF
proposals, my scope of work focused on
investigating hazard resilience of earth-
based materials in Tanzania working in
collaboration with the National Housing
In 2011-12, I continued research Resilient and Sustainable Engineered Building Research Association.
into sustainable building sys- Fiber-Reinforced Earthen Masonry for Conference papers based on the
tems for low income communi- High Wind Regions.” This project seeks work have been accepted for presenta-
ties in collaboration with the to transform conventional but brittle tion in several conferences including the
built environment professional earthen masonry into an equally sustain- 4th International Network for Tropical
from the Tanzanian National able and locally appropriate but radically Architecture Conference (Singapore), the
Housing Building Research more damage-tolerant material system. CIB World Building Congress 2013: Built
Agency and the University of Engineered Fiber-Reinforced Earthen Environment Research Focused on Social
Nairobi. Outcomes of the work include Masonry (EFREM) consists of com- Outcomes (Brisbane, Australia), and the
3 papers in a special issue on “Engi- pressed and stabilized earth blocks and 7th International Structural Engineering
neering Sustainable Building Materials: earth mortar, both reinforced with natural and Construction Conference (Honolulu,
Advancing the Structural Performance of or recycled plastic fibers. This goal is Hawaii).
Earth-based Technologies” in the Journal being pursued through collaborative and The funded research supports three
of Sustainability. Based on work in Kenya complementary research at the University graduate students: Peter Donkor (doctor-
and Tanzania, I participated as an invited of South Carolina, University of Nebras- al student in Design, Planning and Con-
exhibitor during the twenty-third session ka-Lincoln and University of Florida, struction); Felicity Amezugbe (pursuing
of the UN-HABITAT Governing Coun- aimed at: 1) engineering and prototyping an MSc degree in Building Construction)
cil Exhibition in Nairobi. I was also part stabilized earth blocks and soil mortar, and Malar Baskaran (MSc student with an
of the US delegation that participated both of which are enhanced through the expertise in geotechnical engineering).
in Penn a NSF-ASCE workshop held in addition of natural or recycled and non-
Abuja, Nigeria. biodegradable plastic fiber reinforcement;
Esther Obonyo is associate professor in
The work that I have been doing in 2) quantifying the enhancement in dam-
the Rinker School of Building Construc-
East Africa is being scaled up through age resilience (strength, toughness) for
tion and affiliate faculty in the Center for
working with researchers in globally- EFREM materials as a result of cement
African Studies.
dispersed, teams. I am also the UF PI on stabilization and fiber reinforcement, and;
an NSF grant, “Collaborative Research: 3) verifying the structural response of
CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012 13Islam, Ethnicity and Reformism in the Horn of
Africa and Africa
TERJE ØSTEBØ
Much of my research has in 2012 neous movement. Much of the material Desplat (Cologne University), completed
been devoted to a project on has been presented at different inter- the publication process of the edited vol-
religion and ethnicity in the Horn national conferences, and the planned ume Muslim Ethiopia: The Christian Legacy,
of Africa. Spring 2012 was largely spent output will be 2-3 journal articles. Identity Politics and Islamic Reformism. This
on analyzing data and writing. The project In addition, I have, together with book focuses on changes with regard
is (so far) focusing on the so-called Marit Østebø, been working on a project to Muslim communities in post-1991
Somali and Oromo liberation movements on the role of religious (Muslim) leaders Ethiopia, including intra-religious dynam-
struggling for various forms of autonomy in combating female genital mutilation ics within the Muslim communities, Islam
for Ethiopian Somalis and Oromo. The (FGM) in Ethiopia. The project prob- intersecting with Ethiopian public and
aim of the research is to provide much- lematizes NGOs’ somewhat uncritical political spheres, and Islam in Ethiopia in
needed empirical knowledge and new use of religious leaders, and argues that relation to the geo-political discourses in
perspectives on the nature and develop- their potential positive role is intrinsically the wider Horn of Africa. The book will
ments of the Somali and Oromo ethno- related to historical trajectories, where be published in 2013.
nationalist movements in the southeast- local discourses have made their authority
ern parts of Ethiopia. As they emerged in more fluctuating than generally assumed. Terje Østebø is assistant professor in
Muslim-dominated areas, a major thesis The output here will be a journal article, the Center for African Studies and the
of the project is that religion (i.e. Islam) ready for publication in 2013. Department of Religion.
has played a more important role than I have also, together with Patrick
generally assumed. The project will also
provide a more nuanced understanding
of inter-religious relations in Ethiopia/
Horn of Africa. In particular, I challenge
the assumption that Ethiopia is a model
for peaceful inter-religious co-existence,
and demonstrate how the historical domi-
nance of Christianity as a political culture
and state-ideology has produced a lasting
asymmetric relationship and consequently
antagonistic attitudes between Christians
and Muslims. The more general and theo-
retical objective is to apply the empirical
findings to generate new perspectives on
how to conceptualize the relationship
between religion and ethnicity, particularly
with regard to inter-group conflicts.
Another project has been to map out
some of the particular features of Salaf-
ism in Africa. Based on my own research
and review of relevant literature, I have
investigated the historical trajectories,
some major ideological features, and how
Salafism in Africa in a disparate manner
relates to politics and political power. The
objective is to demonstrate how Salafism
at the outset is a religious movement,
devoted to securing religious purity, and
how developments over the last decades
have produced an increasingly heteroge-
14 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012FACULTY REPORTS
Gators in Gabon
FRANCIS E. PUTZ
carbon sequestration, and water
provision. Although they arrived at
no clear solution, these sorts of deci-
sions are exactly like those that each
of the students will face when they
return to their jobs as park direc-
tors, logging supervisors, and climate
change mitigation treaty negotiators.
One outcome of the course is that
most of the students have decided
to conduct their master’s project on
environmental impact assessment in
logging concessions, industrial zones,
petroleum concession, and buffer
zones around national parks.
In addition to making first-hand
observations of the impacts of con-
ventional and reduced-impact log-
ging, course participants each carried
out individual field research projects.
Topics addressed ranged from log-
ging road impacts on adjacent vegeta-
The government of Gabon, a mostly Jack’s first visit to Central Africa,
tion to post-logging regeneration on
forested country in Central Africa, sees but team-teaching with Vincent,
log landings. The results of these
forest in its future. The large areas set aside who hails from the Central Afri-
one-day projects and summaries of
as protected areas are the cornerstone of efforts can Republic and did his disserta-
other activities were compiled in a
to maintain the country’s phenomenal biodiversity, tion research in Gabon, more than
course book that is available upon
from great apes to massive trees. Efforts are under- compensated for any deficiencies in
request from Jack (fep@ufl.edu)
way to see that these attractions will draw eco-tour- his understanding. In addition, the
or Vincent (medjibe@gmail.com).
ists to a region that formerly was off the beaten students were all mid-career profes-
Although most of the course partici-
track. The even larger areas of forest allocated by sionals and all very willing to share
pants do not intend to pursue careers
the government for multiple-use forestry are also their extensive experiences.
in scientific research, they appreciated
expected to contribute to Gabon’s conservation The course began in and around
the opportunity to carry out a project
and development goals through producing high- the ENEF campus but then went
from hypothesis formulation and
quality timber while providing habitat for wildlife, further into the forests. The group
experimental design to manuscript
storing carbon, and delivering the many other travelled to Makokou near the Cam-
preparation and oral presentation.
goods and ecosystem services on which society eroonian border and then worked
Recognizing that they will all soon be
depends. Building the human capacity to manage their way back to Libreville, stopping
back in jobs for which they will have
these forests is the goal of a new graduate program at logging concessions and sawmills
to commission and evaluate research,
at the Ecole Nationale des Eaux et Forêts (ENEF). along the way. The focus of the
they valued the first-hand experience
The on-the-ground team of research faculty course was on logging methods and
doing science.
on the ENEF campus on Cap de Estérias outside impacts, but plenty of brain-power
of Libreville includes three recent UF Biology was expended on issues related to the
Francis E. Putz is professor of biol-
PhDs -- Connie Clark, John Poulsen, and Vincent many tradeoffs that need to be con-
ogy and affiliate faculty in the Center
Medjibe. In June 2012, Jack Putz, joined the team sidered when making management
for African Studies.
to teach a field course in tropical forestry. The 12 decisions. For example, while logging
students in the course, 9 from Gabon and 3 from went on around them, the group
the Republic of Congo, were all working towards considered ways to optimize timber
their MSc in environmental management. This was production, biodiversity protection,
CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012 15Search Engine Optimization Supports Research
Access Online
DANIEL A. REBOUSSIN
“If it’s not online, it doesn’t ex-
ist.” Even if it is, can it be discov-
ered by the scholars who need
it? In 2012, the University of Florida
George A. Smathers Libraries digitized
J.M. Derscheid’s Rwandan history col-
lection. These 800-plus items on 2,021
microfilm frames were primary sources
for the research of René Lemarchand,
Catharine Newbury, and the late Alison
Des Forges, among others. It was the
definition of arcane: obscure and esoteric.
Most of the contents were in French,
copies were scarce, and items had to
be identified from carbon copies of a
typescript inventory passed from hand to
hand, compiled by Des Forges in 1967 as
a graduate student.
Simply uploading scholarly works,
research materials, or data to a website to ensure that the Derscheid Collection Together, the information in these
does not assure they can be retrieved by is discoverable online by the researchers sources provides an exceptionally rich
search engines if an information seeker is who will benefit most from using it? scholarly context to orient readers and
unaware of the resource, or doesn’t know Laurie N. Taylor (Digital Humanities excellent data for search engines to crawl.
the title or other descriptive information. Librarian) and I combined our technical We promoted the new online availability
Search engines use crawling and indexing and curatorial efforts in 2011-2012 to through social media, blogs, and a brief
to gather metadata (much like the infor- collaborate on an award winning project announcement at the African Studies As-
mation in catalog records and scholarly (CRL Primary Source Award for Ac- sociation roundtable on David Newbury’s
citations) and to decide what a webpage cess, see: http://www.crl.edu/focus/ 2011 edition of Des Forges’ dissertation.
is about. The website itself influences article/8132) to enhance access to the We also promoted our work through local
how Google determines value and ranks Derscheid Collection using Search Engine workshops, a conference presentation
results: technical features are important, Optimization (SEO) techniques. When on the theme “Dis/connects: African
including compliant code, but .edu and employed as a public service, SEO pro- Studies in the Digital Age” at Oxford
.org domains are also factors supporting motes the discoverability of resources so (http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00011385), and
legitimacy, value, and relevance (Wiki- that the researchers who need them can a forthcoming chapter to be published by
pedia.org is an excellent example, as it is find them online, displayed prominently its organizers, the Standing Conference
also among the most visited Web sites). within search results. Library and archival on Library Materials on Africa (http://
Rich content, dense contextual informa- curatorial practices serve as the founda- scolma.org/).
tion within a site, and links to the material tion for applying SEO, helping research-
from other highly ranked sites are key ers to find the materials they need online. Daniel A. Reboussin is head of African
factors in how a site will appear in search Briefly, our activities included providing Studies Collections at the Smathers Li-
results. Library best practices include an item by item index online, uploading braries and affiliate faculty in the Center
providing public metadata for curated a translated biography of the collector, for African Studies. Digitization of African
materials and, for manuscripts and ar- writing an extended Wikipedia biography Studies Collections is supported by the
chives, collection context (finding aids on Derscheid, and securing permission CAS Title VI grant in collaboration with
convey a collector’s background, describe to digitize Lemarchand’s 1970 Rwanda the UF Libraries.
the scope, physical extent, contents, and Burundi to include on the Derscheid
arrangement and also point to related Collection landing page (http://ufdc.ufl.
works). Could these practices be adapted edu/derscheid).
16 CENTER FOR AFRICAN STUDIES Research Report 2012You can also read
