Professional Development

The Center for African Studies Outreach conducts staff development workshops and institutes open to educators, librarians, parents and community members in Washington, DC and the mid-Atlantic states of Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

In the summers, Outreach hosts a three-day Summer Institute - "Africa in the Classroom and Community" for highly motivated educators interested in reading, learning, and teaching about Africa. 

Throughout the year, Outreach collaborates with other institutions to organize educator workshops. Please contact us to request a professional development workshop.

Recordings from the 2020 CfAS Virtual Summer Institute

Voices from the Gold Road: Medieval Ghana, Mali, Songhai

This year, the institute explored places, people, and objects - grand and ordinary - connected to the medieval Trans-Saharan trade, focusing on Medieval Ghana, Mali and Songhai. 

Instruction about medieval Ghana, Mali and Songhai is often limited to discussions about gold for salt, silent barter, trade across the Sahara, Mansa Musa, and the influence of Islam on West Africa. Voices from the Gold Road, a three day summer institute, will reframe this historical period to include the various goods exchanged, monetary-based exchange systems, regional West African trade routes,  the diversity of peoples engaged in trade and West Africa’s impact on Islam.  Additional topics include oral history, Sunjata epics, and introductions to the Songhai and Mande language families. 

Sponsors

DAY 1 Agenda

Songhai Language Family | Aissata Sidikou. Ph. D.
Trans-saharan Trade and African Islam | Khaled Esseissah, Ph. D.
Reframing the approach to teaching medieval Ghana, Mali and Songhai | Barbara Brown, Ph. D.
The Geography of West Africa: Geo Spatial Inquiry through a Historical Lens | Elsa Wiehe, Ed. D.
Let’s Explore the Gold Road Map and Teaching Resources | Brenda Randolph, M.A., M.L.S. and Vanessa Oyugi, Ph. D.

DAY 2 Agenda

Mande language family | Sidiki Traore
Medieval Africa: Roads, Routes as Conduits of Culture | David Conrad, Ph. D.
Elements of Praise Poetry | Lesina Martin
Connecting to the Gold Road | Lesina Martin

DAY 3 Agenda

Songhai Language Family | Aissata Sidikou. Ph. D.
Medieval West African Epics | Aissata Sidikou. Ph. D. and Mbye Cham, Ph.D. 
Myths, Legends, and Lyrics as Pathways to Understanding the African Past, Endogenous Knowledge and Personhood | Jeanne Toungara, Ph.D.
Share Your Gold Road Connection

Videos from Previous Summer Institutes