Africa at Yale

African drums will beat out their powerful rhythms on Friday, April 26, to celebrate the rebirth of the African Outreach Program at Yale University. Newly renamed the Program in International Educational Resources P.I.E.R./African Studies, it is now part of Yale University’s Center for International and Area Studies.

P.I.E.R./African Studies will host an open house, reception, and public lecture on Friday, 4 p.m.-7 p.m., in Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Avenue. Featured at the celebration will be a performance by Agoro, a six-member West African music and dance ensemble; a lecture on “Kongo Carolina, Kongo New Orleans: Notes on a Black Atlantic Classical Civilization,” by Art History Professor Robert Thompson; an opportunity to tour the P.I.E.R. library and resource center; and remarks by David Apter, chair of the Council on African Studies; Bertram Eyakuze, president of the Yale African Students Association; and Caryn White, director of P.I.E.R.

The celebration signals the return of the Summer Institute in African studies, which was disbanded last year due to lack of funding. Credit for its rebirth goes to Katharine Darst, fellow of P.I.E.R./African Studies and a graduate student at Yale, who orchestrated the fund raising campaign.

The institute, under the direction of Maxwell Amoh, will be held July 8-19 at Yale. Designed for educators from kindergarten through college, it will provide intensive exposure to the teaching of Africa. Participants will develop curricula, access primary resources, and learn about the peoples, civilizations, and cultures of the continent. The $250 tuition includes books and materials, plus three fall Saturday follow-up sessions.