Showing posts with label Maryknoll Instute of African Studies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maryknoll Instute of African Studies. Show all posts

Thursday, October 3, 2013

News from Nairobi



Discovering anew through field research
By James Chege, librarian
Maryknoll Institute for African Studies

The first week of the semester saw students in various courses offered by MIASMU undertake their first field research. The field research was conducted under the guidance of the faculty on various topics in accordance with the courses being taken. Each student was assigned a field assistant, a university graduate, who functions as a tutorial assistant.

In one of the student field studies, it was discovered that the Luhyia of Western Kenya officially recognize the wise elders by giving them symbolic gifts of spears. The is to demonstrate  that during times of aggression and attack from enemies the elders are expected to give wise counsel that would protect the community from defeat. This shows that the Luhyia recognized that wisdom is essential to the preservation of the community, a preservation  which could not be achieved  solely by the strength of the warriors.

The field research is essential because literature on African cultural beliefs and practices is scarce and a lot of it misrepresents reality. To overcome this, students are required to undertake field research of at least four hours per course per week in order to gather first-hand knowledge of contemporary cultural realities.

The field research, therefore, is a unique aspect of the MIASMU courses offered and a real eye opener to the students. Through field research, students get a unique opportunity to discuss pertinent issues and interact with people who are living the very cultural realities that are being taught in the classroom.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

News from Nairobi


By James Chege, librarian MIASMU
A New Academic Year Begins

The first semester of the new academic year 2013-14 began on Sept. 13 in Nairobi with the MIASMU director, Father Michael Kirwen, giving a welcoming address to the new and returning students. He urged them among other things to make use of the wonderful opportunity before them to understand better African cultures and by extension, for those who are not African, their own cultures.

This semester program marks the 24th year that the Maryknoll Institute of African Studies has been in existence. There is a 35 percent increase from the previous year’s enrollment indicating continuing growth of the institute. And, as has come to be expected, this semester’s students continue to reflect the diverse and dynamic nature of the student body with students from Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Brazil and the USA. The participants stand to learn a great deal from each other by experiencing the different cultural traditions while  interacting.

The courses offered this semester include: Spirituality, Personhood and Psychotherapy in an African Context taught by the Rev. Hubert Pinto; Justice and Peace in East Africa taught by Dr. Emmanuel Manyasa; Towards the Inculturation of Religious Life taught by Sister Dr. Joan Burke; African Marriage and Family: Challenge and Change taught by Mary Getui; Moral Teachings and Practices of African Traditional Religion taught by Dr. Michael Katola and finally, Sage Philosophy: The Root of African Philosophy and Religion taught by Dr. Oriare Nyarwath.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Welcome reception and African art sale is Friday

A reception for SMU’s colleagues in Nairobi, Brother Paulos Mesmer, director of Christ the Teacher Institute for Education, and Father Michael Kirwen, director of the Maryknoll Institute for African Studies, will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. today, Friday, Dec. 14, in the Common Room. A short presentation will begin at 2:30 p.m., and African art will be for sale.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Directors of institutes in Nairobi to visit

Brother Paulos Mesmer, director of Christ the Teacher Institute for Education of SMU (CTIE) and associate dean of Education, will make his annual visit Dec. 11-21. CTIE serves about 225 students annually in a Three-Year Diploma in Teacher Education and a B.Ed. in Education.

Father Michael Kirwen, director of the Maryknoll Institute of African Studies of SMU (MIAS), will be here Dec. 14-21. MIAS serves about 75 students annually in two master’s programs in African Studies.

Both directors will be meeting with university administrators, faculty, staff and students on the Winona and Twin Cities campuses during their stay. If you’d like to meet with the directors, please stop in Room 128, Saint Mary’s Hall or you can make an appointment with them through Tracy Lehnertz at tlehnert@smumn.edu.

Brother Paulos and Father Kirwen will also be attending the Winona campus Christmas dinner and the SGPP Christmas luncheon if you’d like to greet them at these events.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

News from Nairobi

This article was written by Joseph Muiruri and edited by Father Michael Kirwen, director, of the Maryknoll Institute for African Studies in Nairobi.

The Maryknoll Institute of African Studies (MIASMU) has so far recommended the conferring of a Master of Arts in African Studies degree to three of its students this academic year.

The first student, Apollinaire Munyampundu from Rwanda, dwelt on job creation through small-scale informal sector called (jua kali) ‘hot sun’. He highlights problems that hinder the sector from creating more employment opportunities such as inadequate capital, lack of experts, innovation shortcomings, advertising, dumping of imports, and lack of government support.

The second student, Solomon Ameh Eche from Nigeria, wrote a thesis that explores the understanding and promotion of socio-economic development through cultural values among the Maasai of Kajiado North in Kenya. It looks at what the Maasai understand by socio-economic development and the extent to which the government and the development partners have integrated socio-economic development with the Maasai cultural values. The study showed that this integrated socio-economic development among the Maasai is often hindered by the individualistic attitudes of the youth, educated and business people.

The third student, Jiodio Tsafack Marius from Cameroon, had a captivating thesis on the Abalogoli of Western Kenya and their concept of immortality. For one to be immortal, i.e., live on after death, one must have been morally upright while living. People living with HIV/AIDS are seen as immoral and therefore are denied immortality. The researcher explores whether the Abalogoli will eventually change this belief in view of new understandings about HIV/AIDS and how it is contracted.

What is unique about these theses, a specialty of the MIAS program, is that they are based on the data obtained by professional-quality field research entailing at least 150 field interviews.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

News from Nairobi

A report from Edith K. Chamwama, editor, Maryknoll Institute of African Studies

The Ethnic and Academic Diversity of MIASMU Students

The Maryknoll Institute of African Studies (MIASMU) reflects a most diverse and dynamic student body. This semester there are 10 Kenyans, two Ugandans, and one each from South Sudan, Poland, Korea, India, Eritrea, the U.S., Philippines and Tanzania. This variety of students enriches the learning environment as classes become a cultural melting pot.

Academically, a few students have doctoral degrees in various fields, many more have master and bachelor degrees, all from reputable institutes of higher learning. All graduate students and faculty of Saint Mary’s are qualified to participate in the institute’s programs.

The five courses of the fall semester

The semester has begun with 28 students. The courses on offer are:

“The Contemporary Political and Economic Realities in Kenya,” which examines political and economic foundations, past and present, of African society. It focuses on the conflicts and crises which are disrupting effective government and economic development.

“African Culture: An Overview,” which is a required course for all students enrolling for a master degree or a diploma. The course is a systematic presentation of african cultural heritage including social groupings, supernatural beliefs and religious systems.

“African Marriage and Family: Challenge and Change” covers various aspects of African marriage and family focusing both on the traditional as well as modern forms. Cross-cultural studies are emphasized, which illustrate the similarities and diversities in values, attitudes and practices within Africa.

“Sage Philosophy” addresses the general nature of sage philosophy and its connection with philosophy and religion in Africa. It answers questions of sages and their views on God, culture, customs, life and death, man and animals.

“Moral Teachings and Practices of African Religion” introduces morality and ethics from the perspective of African religion. It investigates several current moral themes namely, sexuality, death and dying, inter-tribal/ethnic relations. All are considered in the context of sin and salvation from an African viewpoint, and discuss how this understanding of morality continues to influence (ethically) peoples’ lives in contemporary Africa.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

News from Nairobi

The Maryknoll Institute of African Studies (MIASMU) is offering three-day courses to either introduce participants to African mindset, attitudes, ideas and values or to foster updating and renewal. The two courses “Introduction to African Cultures and Religion” and “Intermediate Course on African Cultures and Religion” will run from September 5-7.

The foundational course is designed to give students a “taste” of the MIAS educational process by introducing them to fundamental structures of contemporary African cultures, religion and the political and economic realities of Kenya. Those who take this course often register later for regular courses.

The intermediate course on African Cultures and Religion is designed for returning MIASMU students for renewal and updating and focuses on specific areas of African cultures, naming, family lineage, moral teachings of African religion, and Kenyan economic structures.

The target group for both courses is personnel, whether African or non African, engaged in pastoral, educational, medical and developmental projects who have not done any systematic study of African cultures or, in the case of the intermediate course, who are returning MIASMU students for updating and renewal. In all cases, the participants do not have time to do full courses.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Nairobi news

News from MIASMU Nairobi campus

The second Immersion Program ended at MIASMU — SMU’s Nairobi campus — on July 13 after three-week intensive research-based courses on African Culture, Sage Philosophy and African Religion.

Running alongside the courses were two special groups of students: a group of six sponsored by the Maryknoll Fathers from a Toronto group called Hearts and Hands, and another 37 teachers from Canada in an organization called Teachers Helping Teachers. They all registered for the three-day course on Introduction to African Culture and Religion. Most of them, after their initial hesitation about going out alone with a just–met African field assistant, were able to move out of their comfort zones and were doing field research on a one-to-one basis with their field assistants.

This is a good example of the effectiveness of the MIASMU education method where classroom lectures are integrated with supervised field research facilitated by a trained African university graduate. This method quickly began to guide all of them into appreciating and enjoying African cultural life and activities.

Awards given to MIASMU field assistants

At the end of each academic year, the field assistants — who are all Kenyan University graduates — and an essential element of the MIASMU educational method, are awarded certificates of performance and gifts ranging from watches and bags to books and airtime credit cards in appreciation of a job well done.

They are assigned to students on a one-to-one basis as their personal field assistants, which makes the students’ learning experiences unique and highly effective in understanding and articulating African cultural reality.

Foundation Certificates are awarded to field assistants who have worked in a minimum of six courses. The certificate spells out that the assistant has attended 240 hours of lectures on a post-graduate level, assisted students in 40 hours of field research per course, acculturated graduate students both foreign and African to Kenyan life and reality, arranged for students’ contacts, translation, explanations, and interviews in the field, hosted students in rural homes on overnight visits and written six essays relevant to the course, each of which is listed with the grade received.

Intermediate and Advanced Certificates are also awarded after a field assistant has done a second and a third group of six courses respectively.

Two of the field assistants were awarded Advanced Certificates, three Intermediate Certificates and six Foundational Certificates. These Certificates are highly valued by the assistants and are included in their CVs when applying for jobs or academic programs.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

MIASMU offers African hospitality

In African cultures, a visitor is likened to a river whose water is on the move, a blessing, a channel of communication; it offers an opportunity for bonding, belonging and creating long term relationships. As expressed by a MIASMU (Maryknoll Institute of African Studies) field assistant, “African hospitality is a way of preserving life.”

A visitor is always treated with respect and honor. Sharing food with a visitor is a sign of welcome. Families leave a vacant chair at the table should a visitor arrive. Only after sharing food would hosts inquire about their situation. MIASMU sends a Karibu (welcome), to all Saint Mary’s staff, students and alumni to come to Nairobi and experience African hospitality.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

MIASMU students complete field work

All students at Maryknoll Institute for African Studies (MIASMU) are required to do an hour of professional-quality field work for every hour of class under the supervision of lecturers and guided by trained field assistants. This is the unique part of the MIASMU education method.

The field work adds to the MIASMU program to make it more than just another typical academic experience of reading about and commenting on the research done by others.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

MIASMU begins its 21st academic year

September 14 marked the beginning of the 21st academic year of MIASMU at Tangaza Collage in Nairobi-Kenya. The Semester began with 20 students from 10 countries. Three courses being taught are: African Culture: An overview; African Marriage and Family: Challenge and Change; and Sage Philosophy: the Roots of African Philosophy.

Since 1990, MIASMU has registered more than 900 students at various academic levels and has graduated 11 students with Masters of Arts Degrees (MA) in African Studies and two with Masters of African Studies Degree (MAS). Also, 134 certificates for successful completion of three courses have been awarded along with 94 diplomas for five courses, including African Culture: an Overview; and African Traditional Religion.

MIASMU continues to make SMU present in Nairobi-Kenya. In addition, the Institute makes a unique contribution towards personal transformation, global peaceful coexistence and development. As one of the alumni said, “MIASMU found me in cultural adolescence and initiated me into adulthood.”

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Maryknoll annouces new book

Maryknoll Instute of African Studies has added to its list of publications the book “African Cultural Domains: Life Cycle of an Individual.” This follows on its earlier publication on African cultural themes. As the previous book, this book is a product of the responses of students from the institute coming from different parts of the world.

This book, the first in a series of four, focuses on the activities, events, attitudes and rituals of an individual from birth to death and beyond. The link with the “African Cultural Knowledge” book is that the cultural knowledge (themes) gives meaning to the activities, events, attitudes and rituals that unfold in a person’s life as presented in this book.

Copies of the book can be obtained for $10 at www.africancultures.org.