Introduction to Global Studies in Ghana

Program Title: Introduction to Global Studies
Academic Credits: 3 Credits in Multidisciplinary Studies, 3 Credits in Service-Learning
Location: Ghana
Instructor: Christopher Boettcher
Dates: June 2 – June 30

Amizade Student Application (pdf)

Program Highlights:
1. “Think Global; Act Local”
2. Travel to Ghana
3. Provide Important Service in Community Development
4. Learn about Global Studies
5. Join an Emerging Global Conversation

This program is for students who want to learn more about what it means to “think globally” and “act locally.” The program offers an introduction to Global Studies. We will travel to the beautiful country of Ghana and provide important service to the communities there. Throughout the program we will undertake some challenging academic work that will invite you to reflect on your “global” experience and join in an emerging global conversation.

This program is offered for six credits of Multidisciplinary Studies. In the program, we will survey critical models that approach community and individual human identity from a global perspective. This program does not necessarily present one overriding definition of global studies or globalization, nor does it expect you to assume a particular position on global issues. Rather, you will learn how scholars from a variety of disciplines ask questions about the human experience throughout the world, and you will learn some strategies for interpreting and evaluating their answers for yourself.

You don’t need to have any experience in global studies to participate, but the program will support more advanced study in a specific area. You will have the opportunity to research a global interest that is important to you. For this reason, this program is an ideal choice for students hoping to do some innovative and applied elective work for a specific major. The program activities are designed to help you to make the case for transfer credit into your specific academic program.

Travel to the Cape Coast Region of Ghana
As part of the program activities, we will travel to the Cape Coast Region of Ghana. There we will spend several weeks studying and providing service together. The people of Ghana, like many Africans, endure many hardships, including recurrent droughts that severely affect agricultural activities; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching of wildlife populations; water pollution; and inadequate supplies of potable water. Despite all of this, Ghana is filled with friendly people with a fascinating history and culture. Living and working in a community outside of the capital city of Accra will provide us an opportunity to learn more about Ghana. We will also consider global experience through dialogue between Ghana and America.

Important Service in Community Development
One special focus of the program will be community development. We will learn about it through both theoretical and applied activities. We will be providing service with the Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana (VOLU). Founded in 1956, VOLU is a nonpolitical, non-sectarian voluntary organization. VOLU organizes and runs voluntary workcamps in Ghana in collaboration with other voluntary organizations, such as Amizade. VOLU organizes a variety of projects, including the construction of primary or secondary schools, roads, and hospitals, as well as reforestation, cocoa plantation, literacy projects, community development, oil palm production, and AIDS awareness campaigns. The function of the camps, however, is not to do the work for the various communities. Rather, by working with VOLU in one of their projects, you will assist community members in "helping themselves" to build a stronger community.

Our service project for this program will be helping to build a community center in the village of Jukwa. This center will eventually house facilities such as a public meeting space, a community library, and a computer lab. This project was conceived by the Jukwa community itself, and it is coordinated by VOLU. We will likely be working on finishing some area of the center, perhaps installing doors and windows, doing plaster work, or even basic brick and mortar construction. From this work you will learn in both direct and indirect ways about what it means to build something in the developing world, about materials and processes. You will learn about what it takes to make the idea of a community center a reality for the people of Jukwa and what role community development agencies and international organizations play in development. Finally, you will learn about why a community center is needed and what such a facility will do for the people you are helping. This construction has been underway since 2003, and it will require much more work after you have gone. You will be providing short-term service, therefore, helping the Jukwa community to achieve its goals and in this process learning first hand about global interconnectedness and interdependence.

We will learn about the economy of Jukwa by visiting one of its many cocoa farms and, as time permits, facilities for gold mining and timber harvesting. We will also have the opportunity to learn by being tourists. We will be a short 20 km drive from Cape Coast, a vibrant beach community that looks out on the Atlantic Ocean. There on the cliffs above are the ruins of Ghana's colonial past, the castles through which Ghana was governed and that were used as the distribution center for the trade in gold and slaves. Nearby as well is the Kakum National Park, known for its animal refuge and for its canopy walkway through the rainforest. If arrangements can be made, we may even take the famous nighttime tour of the canopy. These are not sights to be missed, but they are sights we will interrogate from a sensibility informed by our studies.

Introduction to Global Studies
This program approaches Global Studies through instruction in cultural studies and community development. During the first phase, a month before travel, you will work at your own pace completing readings and course activities. You will work from your home in a distance education course, and you will meet and participate with other students in an online community.

The program approaches global studies through an interdisciplinary framework that investigates globalization in cultural, political, economic and environmental dimensions. During this time we will consider some fairly big questions:

•How do we describe human culture? How does culture shape individual human identity? What challenges and possibilities do specific cultures face from rapid globalization?

•Where do our ideas about nationality come from? What are the rights and responsibilities of a national citizen? How has globalization influenced ideas of national sovereignty and citizenship?

• How are individual buying habits connected to people around the world? What is economic development? How does “thinking globally” impact it?

• How do we evaluate conflicting claims about the natural world? How do various groups and nations approach the management of natural resources and environmental conditions?

During the second phase in June, we will travel to Ghana. There we will live and work in a rural community outside Accra for several weeks. You will provide daily service, attend class, and participate in the daily lives of the communities we visit. By traveling to Ghana, you will have the special opportunity to consider these big questions in a culture and environment that is probably very different than your own. The program activities are designed to help you move from a theoretical understanding of these questions to your own answers. Your reflections will be guided not only by your experiences in the communities we visit in Ghana but also by thinking about your community life back home.

During the third phase, the month after we return, you will have the opportunity to reflect on what you have learned about global studies and Ghana. You will also consider what this learning can tell you about your culture and civic life in your hometown. You will complete the program by creating a final multi-media project that you will use to tell about your experiences and share your reflections on your travel, service and study.

Join a Global Conversation
This program emphasizes dialogue and exchange between participants and cultures. By participating in this program, you will learn about how intellectuals have theorized our emerging global interconnectivity. You will also learn about what civically-minded people around the world are doing in response. This program invites you to consider your own civic participation and global awareness. At the end of the program, you will be encouraged to enter into this dialogue by becoming more active in your community and sharing your experiences with a worldwide audience.