Highlights

African field school separates fact from fiction

English instructor Yaw Asante is as passionate about his homeland, Ghana, as he is about sharing its rich culture, history and literature with his students. Asante will lead a group of 25 students, consisting of six from Mount Royal and the remainder from the University of Calgary, on a six-week study tour of Ghana from May 14 to June 24, 2004.

The travel study program is designed as “an intensive cross-cultural ethnographic experience” in which students will travel to political and cultural centres, historic colonial sites from Ghana’s slave trade past, and the Kakum National Rainforest Park. The tour begins with a week in the capital of Accra, including a visit to Parliament, the University of Ghana and the National Art Center, but the students will also stay with host families in local villages to experience the culture on a more personal level.

Asante received a $10,000 grant from the International Education Office to offset some of the Mount Royal students’ costs during this cultural field school, which is a collaborative effort between Mount Royal and the U of C. The first study tour to Ghana was held in 2002 with plans to offer one every two years.

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