Balancing Tradition and Change in Senegal
Dr. Wyndham Whynot
History Department, Livingstone College
The various lectures conducted throughout the seminar have provided information that I will be able to incorporate in numerous history courses that I teach and in my geography course. The lectures on Senegalese history, politics, religion, the Senegambian slave trade, and the Mourid Brotherhood can and will be used in at least nine separate courses that I teach; either as full fledged lectures on specific topics or to enhance elements of other lectures. Information from the lecture on the Senegambian slave trade and the site visit to Goree Island will be incorporated into lectures on the slave trade in my courses on African-American History I, World History II, US History I, and Modern African History (1500-Present). The lectures on religion and Islam and the visit to Touba will be used in the African history course, as well as my World of Islam/Middle East Course and enable me to focus at least one complete lecture on Islamic Brotherhoods in Africa, as well as material for discussions of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Probably the most important impact of this seminar will be on my Modern African History (1500-Present) course, which I’ll be teaching for the first time this fall. I will now be able to offer specific lectures on Senegal and West Africa that will incorporate information from a number of the seminars such as migration issues, the role of non-governmental organizations, history, politics, youth, and cultural aspects in Senegal. As a result my lectures will be more meaningful with first hand knowledge, rather than book knowledge
My world regional geography course will especially benefit from the seminar, since I can incorporate information from all of the lectures into my own lectures, whether on a broad sense in discussing subjects such as religion, language, politics, culture etc.; as well as on more direct levels during the course in regards to the Sub-Saharan region and West Africa, using Senegal as an example. The seminar will also allow me to use Senegal as a case study for discussing a particular topic to an illustrate element(s) of West African/Sub-Saharan geography which are mirrored elsewhere in the region. The pictures and video that I took during the seminar will be used to create audio-visual components for use in my classes to provide an alternative to strict lectures.
Furthermore, some students have already taken interest in my trip to Senegal and have shown an interest in doing a study tour abroad. I will attempt to use this interest to encourage the development of a study abroad opportunity for students at Livingstone College.