Abstract 2

Title:  Distance education course to explore African and African American art

Author:  Ronald Roach

Journal:  Black Issues in Higher Education v18 no4 (April 12, 2001) p. 46

Source:  Can be found at Wilson Select Plus library database

 

Dr. Grace Hampton took a trip to Nigeria and Ghana to research university-based art education and traditional art.  During her stay in West Africa, she became inspired to develop the first ever distance education course to be taught jointly by scholars in both America and Africa.  Beginning in spring of 2003, Penn State and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana plan to offer a distance education course entitled “Branches of the Same Tree” on the web to students on a worldwide basis.  The course will concentrate on African and American African art.  The course will be a multimedia experience that examines both visual and performing arts.  The instruction will be centered around the tracing and learning of distinctly African elements of contemporary African American and traditional West African art. 

 

“Hampton, who is the professor of art and art education at Penn State, states, “Twentieth century African American art has its roots in West African visual traditions.  We want our students to understand the social, political and cultural environment that gave rise to African American artistic expression and for Ghanaian students to make the link between their art form and ours.””(p.46)  Ghanaian professors will concentrate on the history and culture of West African art while the Penn State professors will focus on American expression.  “In addition to course sections taught by faculty from both institutions and team projects combining students in both locations, the Web-based course will foster faculty and student exchanges, and faculty and student research.” (p.46)    

 

Dr. Hampton describes art as being the perfect way to communicate the history, culture and values of a people.  I whole-heartedly agree with this.  Art is like a universal language that has the ability to unite cultures and even entire countries.  Although Hampton already teaches a course at Penn State about African American culture and traditions, her decision to create a Web-based course came from her discovery of distance education facilities at the Ghana campus, which was furnished by a World Bank program called the African Virtual University.  “Since 1997, the African Virtual University has provided online instruction to students and professionals in 15 African nations.  More than 12,000 students have completed semester-long courses in the sciences and in engineering.” (p. 46)  Professors from the University in Ghana and from the African Virtual University visited with professors at Penn State to discuss the development of this course.  Estimated costs for the course will be approximately $250,000 to 300,000. 

 

Along with many others, William Kelly, associate professor of theater and head of the Integrative Arts department at Penn State, says that he welcomes the opportunity to become involved in such a venture and that this course will benefit students by exposing them to the many influences of African art on world culture.

 

This article describes a very ambitious professor’s dream of uniting people from two vastly different cultures through art and technology.  This resembles the type of grand project I might like to take on one day after pursuing further education in technology.  In this modern society, new ways of integrating art and technology together as well as with other areas of curriculum are endless.  My goal is to someday be right in the middle of it all.