Upcoming events

WEDNESDAY APRIL 21

Tapped: The Movie
New York, NY
Columbia University, Cowin Center at Teacher's College (between 120/121 st and Broadway)
Bottle Exchange: 4 PM - Trade in a plastic water bottle for a Klean Kanteen for the first 100 people there!
Screening: 5 PM

Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be
bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig's debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water.

From the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car and I.O.U.S.A., this timely
documentary is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an
industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water.

From the plastic production to the ocean in which so many of these bottles end up, this
inspiring documentary trails the path of the bottled water industry and the communities
which were the unwitting chips on the table. A powerful portrait of the lives affected by
the bottled water industry, this revelatory film features those caught at the intersection of big business and the public's right to water.

Tapped is a story of how one person really can make a difference. Each section of the
film tells the story of a David and Goliath battle in which a regular person, like you or
me, goes up against a big corporation in order to initiate change in the world, and
people should walk away from this film knowing that they can make a difference.

Tapped: The Movie
New York, NY
Columbia University, Cowin Center at Teacher's College (between 120/121 st and Broadway)
Bottle Exchange: 4 PM - Trade in a plastic water bottle for a Klean Kanteen for the first 100 people there!
Screening: 5 PM

To learn more, visit http://www.tappedthefilm.com/

FRIDAY APRIL 23

The Center for African Education and the African Studies Working Group are excited to stage a 3-part event, co-sponsored by the Teachers College Office of the Vice President for Diversity and Community Affairs.

Student Writing Workshop
Friday, April 23rd, 12-2:30pm
Private Dining Room
Grace Dodge Hall

Representations of Africa
Panel discussion & reception
Thursday, April 29th, 7:00-9:30pm
Grace Dodge Hall 179

The goal of this event is to explore how Africa is represented in a number of
different spheres including fiction, academic writing, journalism, and. the
impact of these representations on public opinion of the continent.

This initiative endeavors to promote new knowledge, tolerance, and respect for
the diversity of linguistic, racial and ethnic differences that exist in Africa and
diasporic communities around the world and invites participants to critically
engage with representations of Africa.
For further information, please consult the Center website
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/centers/cae/

FRIDAY APRIL 23

'COMMITTING ANTHROPOLOGY'

April 23rd, 2010

10:00 am to 5pm
The New School
Wolff Conference Room
6 E. 16th Street
Rooms. 906/913

For more information please visit: http://commitanthro.wordpress.com/
Contact: commitanthro@gmail.com

Admission:
Free and open to the public. But please come early - seating will be limited.

The New School for Social Research Anthropology Department is pleased to announce our annual graduate student conference 'Committing Anthropology.' We have assembled an exceptional collection of speakers and participants to discuss the field of contemporary anthropology. Panelists include:

Stephen J. Collier, The New School

Didier Fassin, Institute for Advanced Study

Allen Feldman, NYU

Nicolas Langlitz, The New School

Neni Panourgia, Columbia University

Elizabeth Povinelli, Columbia University

Rayna Rapp, NYU

Sharika Thiranagama, The New School

Miriam Ticktin, The New School

Moderating these panels will be faculty members from The New School's Department of Anthropology. Our moderators include:
Hugh Raffles
Vyjayanthi Rao
Janet Roitman
Ann L. Stoler

THURSDAY APRIL 29-MAY 1

Rethinking Racial Capitalism Conference

FRIDAY APRIL 30- MAY 1

Building an African Presence Conference
Committee on Global Thought
http://cgt.columbia.edu/events/building_african_presence/

Of Combs and Coiffures – The Photography of J.D. Okhai Ojeikere

As an African woman I am very well aware that although appearances aren’t quite everything, they are nonetheless very important – especially when it comes to one’s hair. From an early age the salon (or, as we pronounce it in my dear country, the saloon) becomes an integral part of our lives. I remember countless afternoons spent sitting on a small wooden stool getting my hair cornrowed for school, held firmly between the hairdresser’s thighs as she skilfully wove my obstinate hair into intricate patterns snaking along my scalp. It always made me laugh when I would talk to my British friends and they would tell me that the salon was where they went to be pampered: as a child, I was convinced that only mysterious army soldiers in darkened rooms could carry out more intense torture than a Surulere hair stylist. But all the pain and tears would be forgotten as soon as the hairdresser released me from her iron grip and I could scamper to the mirror and admire my new ‘do: from two-step to patewo, I loved seeing how my look would transform from one week to the next.

I was never particularly inventive with my hairstyles – probably because of a fear of the side-eye my mother would deliver if I did anything too unconventional – but one detail about my salon experiences that sticks out in my mind is the posters on the wall, interspersed between adverts for relaxer crèmes, that customers could use as inspiration. Pattern upon pattern with names like FESTAC (a residential area of Lagos) and Skyscraper covered the paper, and I would stare at them, mesmerised by their gravity-defying power and a little sad at the relative simplicity of my hairstyle. Glamorous they were, but unfortunately a little too grown up for a girl still in primary school.

Years later, my nostalgia for those years and those posters was awoken by a feature on Next.com on the work of photographer J.D. Okhai Ojeikere. Along with his sons Iria and Amaize, Ojeikere has greatly influenced the direction of photography and documentation in Nigerian society, most famously through his 1960s series on urban hairdressers and the creativity with which they carved inspiring styles for women. His work provides a snapshot of a Nigeria that I never saw: a country recently freed of the burden of colonialism and full of hope and excitement for the future. Even though our history has forced some hard lessons on us, the remarkable spirit and beauty of his photographs reflect the resilience of Nigerians and the depth of our imaginations. And, as a Nigerian woman, they’re a wonderful reminder that my joy at the sight of a perfectly-coiffured head is shared by millions of my fellow citizens. Ojeikere’s photographs are stunning at first glance, but it is the careful thought and the countless stories behind them that make them so incredibly evocative and appealing.

Review of the Rageh Omaar Report: ZIMBABWE - STATE OF DENIAL

I have just finished watching a forty-five minute report on Zimbabwe titled "Zimbabwe - State of Denial." The report by Aljazeera's star correspondent and the host of its WITNESS show, the British-Somali Rageh Omaar drew a grim picture of the situation in the country. It was a scathing criticism of Robert Mugabe and his party ZANU-PF. The president and his party are accused of single-handedly destroying Zimbabwe's economy and precipitating incredible levels of inflation. The country previously known as the food basket of the entire continent has, as a result of these policies, become dependent on international food aid. But that was not enough: Omaar also criss-crossed the country in order to interview members of the Zimbabwean opposition as well as white farmers. The story behind the land reforms which drew Western wrath at Zimbabwe is told from a different perspective. Yes, the land had been concentrated in the hands of whites (who make up two per cent of the Zimbabwean population), but Mugabe had only moved to take over their farms after he realized that he was losing the support of the people. According to the report, Mugabe never had a problem with white ownership of the land. He had, in fact, upon independence, gone to great lengths to comfort the white minority in the new Zimbabwe.


One will not come out supporting President Robert Mugabe after watching this film. It is decidedly unsympathetic to ZANU-PF. Omaar’s report is dismissive of the Western role in the economic collapse and does not give sufficient hearing to the plight of the landless millions of Zimbabweans. Yes, Mugabe is corrupt and manipulative. And yes, the land reforms have been marred by wide scale irregularities but still; their justness should not be questioned.

Lecture Report: Marriage in 1930s Ghana

On March 31st 2010 I was fortunate enough to attend a discussion held on Marriage in 1930s Ghana that was sponsored by the Committee on Global Thought and the Institute of African Studies. While the paper that the discussion was based upon is still awaiting publication, it will be a very fascinating read for its use of rare newspaper archives of women's pages from the Gold Coast Independent as the core of the work's historical base. The final paper will instrumental for anyone interested Britain's use of the marriage ordinance as a means to establish indirect rule in the Gold Coast.

The paper is also intriguing for its documentation of the controversies surrounding the sex of the main columnist advocating ordinal marriage in the Gold Coast, the coverage of the tension between the traditional elite and the educated elite, the alienation of the elite from the common people, the power struggle between colonial and customary courts for legal supremacy in the Gold Coast, and the reorganization of the domestic and social life of Ghanaians as a result of this legislation.

The paper also makes a strong argument that the marriage ordinance was an important part of the construction of the citizenship for Ghanaians during the initial phases of indirect colonial rule where the negotiation of British versus Gold Coast identity was still taking place. Most importantly, after reading this paper one will have a firm understanding of the powerful, yet often overlooked perspective on how the British were able to consolidate power over their colonies.

Democracy in Dakar Film Screening & Panel Discussion with Director

This event will take place in 702 Hamilton Hall from 4pm-6pm Monday 12th of April 2010.

Democracy in Dakar panelist bios:

Benjamin Herson, director and producer of "Democracy in Dakar," is the founder and director of Nomadic Wax, a global hip-hop record label and production company dedicated to recording, documenting and presenting hip-hop and underground music from around the world. Herson has a B.A. in African Studies and Anthropology from Hampshire College and studied Wolof at Columbia University. He is also an internationally celebrated producer and musician.

Timothy Mangin is a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology at Columbia University. His dissertation is entitled "Senegalese Urban Popular Music: Jazz, Mbalax, and Rap." Mangin holds a B.A, in music from Bowdoin College and a Certificate in African Studies from the Institute of African Studies at Columbia. He was also a pre-doctoral fellow in the Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar on Globalizing City Cultures at the Center for Comparative Literature and Society.

Baay Bia is an award-winning musician and MC from Dakar, Senegal. He began performing in 1991, and in 1993 he formed the group Black Face Productions. His first album, Nation, a collaboration with Bill Diakhou, won the Senegalese Hip Hop Awards in 2002. He released his first solo album, Le Messager, in 2004, and his second, Lilaay Wommat, in 2006. In 2009, Baay Bia and Nomadic Wax released the music video for "Liy Am Amna," directed by Nomadic Wax filmmaker and co-director of "Democracy in Dakar" Magee McIlvaine.

Mars vs. Venus: "The Ultimate Face-off"

The Vagina Monologues has travelled across the Atlantic - check out this great review of a collaborative project by two Nigerian playwrights addressing the myriad issues that affect men and women in contemporary African societies including sex, marriage and religion: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/ArtsandCulture/5544636-147/man_talks_woman_answers__.csp