Ghana @ 60: Transitions within globalization
Ghana was a major hub of the Black and African liberation movement in the 1950 and 1960s, a symbol of progressive Pan-African and Third World politics, and a favored destination of diasporic returnees. Today, however, Ghana is much more representative of small African nations confronting and adapting to the forces of globalization, and attempting to forge a new national identity and global and continental presence. Ghana is now more likely to be known for democracy, soccer, and creative expressions of cultural hybridity. Its lively and rambunctious capital, Accra, has been described by a leading cultural critic as a 'variegated and contradictory metropolis' characterized by 'intense commercialism.'
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Ghana's independence, three scholars gather to share their reflections on this process of revisioning Ghana's present and future:
Anani Dzidzienyo, "Ghana as an Idea"
Dr. Dzidzienyo is associate professor in Africana studies at Brown University and co-editor of Neither Enemies nor Friends: Latinos, Blacks, Afro-Latinos, (Palgrave Macmillan 2005.
Jennifer Hart, "Lessons from the Past and Visions for the Future: What Does a 'Better Ghana' Look Like?"
Dr. Hart is assistant professor of history at Wayne State University, author of Ghana on the Go: African Mobility in the Age of Motor Transportation (Indiana University Press, 2016) and the blog ghanaonthego.com.
Kefentse Chike, "An African American Perspective on Ghana"
Dr. Chike is an instructor in the Department of African American Studies at Wayne State University and a long-time student of Ghana.
The event will be moderated by Professor Eboe Hutchful of the Department of African American Studies.
Date: February 7, 2017, 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: Undergraduate Library: Bernath Auditorium