Conference in Ithaca to focus on enhanced teaching of Africana studies

The New York African Studies Association (NYASA) will hold its 27th Annual Conference, "Transnational Discourses in the African World," Friday and Saturday, April 4 and 5, in the Clarion Hotel Conference Center in Ithaca. The event, sponsored by Cornell's Africana Studies and Research Center, marks the return of the conference to Ithaca. The 18th NYASA conference was held here in 1994.

Registration fees are waived for all students with Cornell IDs, and Ithaca City School District teachers will receive a discount. Workshop sessions are scheduled for Friday, April 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning with a breakfast at 7:30 a.m. A reception is scheduled at 5 p.m. at the Africana Studies and Research Center at 310 Triphammer Road on the Cornell campus. For more information, call Kristi Smith at 255-4625 or Sheila Towner at 255-4626.

The conference will focus on the teaching of Africana studies from a culturally informed perspective in secondary school as well as in higher education. Workshops for K-12 teachers, administrators and staff will be held to examine pertinent issues facing Africa in a globalized world. Leading African scholars will present and direct the workshop discussions in areas such as: "Teaching About Africa," "African Centered Education Theories," "Africana Teaching Methodologies," "Africana Global Curriculum Content," "Africana Curriculum Development," "Africana Teaching Materials, Resources for Teacher Continuing Education" and "Teacher Net-Working."

Presenters from Cornell and other universities and colleges include scholars, researchers, teachers, community activists and students addressing interdisciplinary and transnational issues within the field of Africana studies.

Beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, three Cornell professors of Africana studies will deliver separate teacher workshop presentations under the rubric of "Africana Centered View of the African Diaspora." The Cornell-led workshops are: "The African World in the Americas," by James Turner; "The African World in the Caribbean," by Locksley Edmondson; and "An African Centered Outline of History," by Ayelie Bekerie. Ibipo Johnston-Anumonwo, a professor of geography at SUNY Cortland, will present a workshop titled "Economic Globalization and Its Impact on the African Woman," on Friday at 11 a.m. For a complete listing of teacher training workshops, contact Kristi Smith at the number listed above.