Paper short abstract:

Gavin Kitching gave reasons why he gave up African studies. My presentation will give reasons why the use of media can help rave up African studies Africa through films, movies from selected African countries are screened weekly. Students get to read scholarly articles that extend their knowledge.

Paper long abstract:

Gavin Kitching (2000) gave reasons why he gave up African studies. My presentation will give reasons why the use of media can help rave up African studies.

The media landscape on the African continent harbors a diversity of forms and platforms that make projecting both national and sub-national identities a herculean task. To compound the situation, the most visible part of the media landscape is populated by publications and broadcasts in the languages of former colonial masters. The language issue is important in introducing students to the diversity of authentic expressions on the continent. The content of some of the films and print media further helps to engage topical issues that leads to nuanced understanding of the African continent. How can films facilitate discussions on immigration, race, socio-economic disparities, politics, religion, environmental issues, etc.

This presentation shares a recent experience as a means of evaluating what worked and what did not. The innovation of contacting Africa-based filmmakers and the responses they gave provided the students with a stronger connection to the content of the course. The idea was to connect town to gown with the use of information and communication technology. Finally, I will address the transformative potential of this introductory module in African Studies for individual students and myself as the designer of the course. One downside that will feature during the presentation especially in the realm of pedagogy is how to gauge the number of scholarly articles to add to a course such as this for undergraduates.