End of Semester Package

8/2/2019 End of Semester Package

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Part 1: NQA Compilations

Week 2

NEWS.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14403302Senegal rapper Thiat rocks President WadeBy Thomas FessyBBC News, Dakar

Abstract

Senegal president Abdoulaye Wade, who first ran for presidential election in2000, and won his second term in 2007, is thirsty for power. To facilitate hisability to win a third term, he sought a change in the countrys constitution. He

proposes a new process: in order to win an election, a candidate must win 25percent of the votes, instead of 50 percent. His attempt to stay in office hassparked a series of rallies in Senegal. Accused of treason and faced withcitizens urging him to step down, he was forced to withdraw his proposal inJune 2011.

In the wake of the rioting and unrest sweeping through Dakar, Senegalscapital, a select group of people have tried to make their voices heard in amore orderly fashion. Among them are some of Senegals famous singers andrappers, including Omar Toure, alias Thiat, and Mbessane Seck alias Kilifeu. They have organized a group called Enough is Enough, which registers

approximately 200 members each day. Thiat calls it a apolitical, secular, civiland social movement, and calls for a New Type of Senegalese.

QUESTION.

If the movement is so-called apolitical, how can the leaders of a youthmovement expect to use Enough is Enoughs influence to see change inpolitical office? How will changes in government, specifically AbdoulayeWade, become possible when filtered through a group of young adults,and not adults?

ANSWER.

The primary purpose of Enough is Enough is not to pull the president downfrom office, but rather to instill voice and expression in youth. The leadershope that this freedom will methodically make its own way to the politicaloffice. Its success is mainly attributed to its founders, who can speak to youngadults through their music.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14403302http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14403302


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But spreading their music and message is difficult when the internet usage inSenegal is one of the lowest on the globe. With a 40 percent literacy rate, onlyabout 10 12 percent of Senegals populations regularly uses the internet.Internet censoring becomes less relevant and unnecessary for the governmentbecause so little of the population makes use of it. Therefore, the spread of

information is not as fast as what we usually take for granted, but must bedone in person or through print media, which is much slower than what wewould like to believe. (Source:http://www.npr.org/2011/08/15/139640456/internet-road-to-democracy-or-elsewhere)

Several African artists, in cinema, in music, and in literature, seek to express avoice and sense of identity through their works. In a country where educationis successful in only a few countries, successful information processingbecomes even more important, and media becomes a very reliable andattractive method of doing so. Another example is Ousmane Sembne, a

filmmaker and novelist who was born and passed away in Senegal(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/movies/12semb.html?ref=senegal).

Africa has long been viewed as the largest continent plagued with the largestproblems. In some of its poorest countries, such as Mozambique and Tanzania,its youth are raised in an environment where education is sparse, wheregovernments are known to be apathetic to its people, and where hope is a dimlight at the end of the tunnel. But Senegal has the potential to become Africasmodel country, with a thriving metropolis and a constitutional process forpolitical election. This makes Senegals youth the sole, and most hopeful,driving force for its future.

Enough is Enoughs primary message covers two basic concepts: to raiseawareness and to raise voices. Thiat says, We want to break fatalism and thelaxity of the Senegalese people who always wait for things to happen bysaying that God is great. We need better health care and jobs. To make thesesocial and civil changes happen, new political administration, mainly thepresident, must be found.

To direct the direction of the new administration, the youth movementencourages its members to register to vote, to read the newspapers, and mostimportantly, to understand the social, civil, and eventually, political

constructions going on around them. By making a connection between allthree aspects, change will become possible. The bigger audience they gather,the more support they will receive, and the more voices will be heard.

Week 3

Article:
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/15/139640456/internet-road-to-democracy-or-elsewherehttp://www.npr.org/2011/08/15/139640456/internet-road-to-democracy-or-elsewherehttp://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=110770&inline=nyt-perhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/movies/12semb.html?ref=senegalhttp://www.npr.org/2011/08/15/139640456/internet-road-to-democracy-or-elsewherehttp://www.npr.org/2011/08/15/139640456/internet-road-to-democracy-or-elsewherehttp://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=110770&inline=nyt-perhttp://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/movies/12semb.html?ref=senegal


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Senegal to Open Mission in Kenyahttp://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Senegal+to+open+mission+in+Kenya++/-/1066/1238154/-/item/0/-/bi4tbrz/-/index.htmlBy Walter MenyaDate of publication: Sep. 17th, 2011

Date accessed: Sep. 24th

, 2011

News:

The two countries occupy extreme locations on the African continent

Senegal to the West on the Atlantic and Kenya to the East on the Indian

Ocean.

But the two are on a mission to bridge the divide, at least diplomatically,

with the West African nation set to open a full-fledged diplomatic mission in

Nairobi for the first time by next month.

With little interest in Kenya and the East African region as a whole,Senegal, like a number of West African francophone nations, has been relying

on the Nairobi embassy of former colonial power France to handle its consular

affairs, including the issuance of visas.

Most West African nations have preferred to operate from Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia, the headquarters of the African Union. But with the growing

importance of Nairobi as the headquarters of the UN Office in Nairobi one of

the four main UN bodies, foreign representation in the city has been looking

up.

Furthermore, the 130-million- strong East African Community market is

also proving to be a draw for many countries from around the world.

Expressing desire

The good news is that Senegal is opening a full-fledged mission in

Nairobi next month. We have had other countries expressing the desire to do

the same. I have a pile of invitations from countries all over the world wishing

that the Foreign ministry visits them and exchange views both at bilateral and

multilateral levels, Foreign minister Moses Wetangula said.

We are a very attractive country, and with the passage of a new

Constitution, you can see how much interest has been re-ignited.

The paperwork that would allow Senegal to set up a diplomatic missionin the country is almost complete, Dakars representative in Ethiopia, Mr

Bassirou Sene, told the Sunday Nation.Mr Wetangula confirmed that Kenyan authorities were working with

their Senegalese counterparts to complete the bilateral agreements so the

West African nation can send its envoy to Nairobi.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Senegal+to+open+mission+in+Kenya++/-/1066/1238154/-/item/0/-/bi4tbrz/-/index.htmlhttp://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Senegal+to+open+mission+in+Kenya++/-/1066/1238154/-/item/0/-/bi4tbrz/-/index.htmlhttp://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Senegal+to+open+mission+in+Kenya++/-/1066/1238154/-/item/0/-/bi4tbrz/-/index.htmlhttp://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Senegal+to+open+mission+in+Kenya++/-/1066/1238154/-/item/0/-/bi4tbrz/-/index.html


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We will open as soon as we finalise agreements between the two

countries, said Mr Sene, who was recently in Nairobi to oversee the

arrangements.

An ambassador will also be appointed very soon. Senegal is ready tooperate in Kenya, and we are also open to Kenyan businesses, said Mr Sene.

While the two regions have maintained cordial ties, they have not seen

the need to fortify them by exchanging diplomats.

Only five francophone nations in Africa have permanent missions in

Nairobi: Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria, Morocco

and Burundi.

Kenyas interests in vast West Africa and parts of North Africa are overseen

from the embassy in Egypt and the High Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

Kenyan diplomats in Cairo and Abuja are accredited to Morocco, Tunisia,

Algeria, Cote dIvoire, Togo and Benin, among the francophone nations.

Between the regions

Could language be a barrier to flourishing relationships between the two

regions? Mr Senes response is negative.

Language has never been a barrier to us in Senegal, he said. Though it

is not the national language, English is taught in Senegalese schools, he said.

Mr Wetangula, who has recently resumed his ministerial duties after

nearly a year out of office, said Nairobi was also assessing how it can co-

operate with Dakar on important geopolitical issues.

And the strategic importance of Nairobi is not lost to the minister who

takes pride in the fact that the 2008 post-election violence did not see anexodus of foreign diplomatic missions.

I have no doubt whatsoever that Kenya is a respected country and the

respect the rest of the world gives us cannot be understated. We know that all

those who reacted towards the Kenyan situation (post-election violence) then

were all friends that wished Kenya well. They all wanted us to come back topeaceful coexistence, the minister said.

But I also know that even in those difficult times theres not a single

country that closed, withdrew or downgraded its representation in Nairobi. We

have since had more countries coming, he added.

According to Mr Sene, Kenya and Senegal share many interests, and hebelieves setting up a mission in Nairobi would fortify the ties, both at the

bilateral and multilateral level. The national carrier, Kenya Airways, flies to

Senegal four times a week.

We want to strengthen the favourable ties we already have and also

look into economic co-operation, the envoy said.


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The two countries are at the extremes of the continent, but we believe

that shouldnt be a barrier to our co-operation.

Question:

What were some of the factors that drew Senegal to Kenya, and vice versa,and what benefits will each gain by setting up a diplomatic mission in Kenya?

Answer:

The biggest similarity between Kenya, located in East Africa, andSenegal, in West Africa, is their recent parallel battles with their nationalpresidential election. Both countries are republics and thus employ ademocratic process in choosing their presidents. Sequentially, both countriesgive universal suffrage to adults eighteen years of age and older.

However, whilst Senegal has become an increasingly model country inrecent years, with a healthy export industry of phosphate mining and variousfertilizers, Kenya has long been plagued with internal corruption, with stackedelections and political upheaval. Kenya is also geographically disadvantaged,with some droughts lasting up to two years without any harvests in between.Nevertheless, the importance of Kenyas capital, Nairobi, still remains intact.Nairobi houses over ninety percent of Kenyas most important embassies.

From the political aspect, both countries have much to learn, and someof their problems overlap one another. Earlier this year, President Wade ofSenegal tried to alter the countrys constitution to stack the election in hisfavor. In 2008, President Kibaki of Kenya was hastily declared a winner and

sworn into office, triggering violent riots against his corrupted re-election inwhich almost 300 people were killed.

Regarding the violence in Kenya, U.S. Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice and Great Britains foreign secretary David Miliband issued a statement toKenya: The immediate priority is to combine a sustained call from Kenya'spolitical leaders for the cessation of violence by their followers with anintensive political and legal process that can build a united and peaceful futurefor Kenya. For Kenya and Senegal, countries who have put their best effortsinto effecting a stable democracy in their home countries, are also countriesthat could very easily slip back into the poverty of years past, an intensivepolitical and legal process is crucial for their refurbation.

(Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17774507 )Therefore, it follows to say that two countries who have experienced

similar political parallels may better exchange views at both bilateral andmultilateral levels. Both countries have expressed interest in the other, andboth are confident that their diplomatic missions will have benefits for theother. On one hand, Kenya will work to handle things like consular visas. Onthe other, Senegal may help to boost the economical condition of Kenya andimprove its internal and external industries, at home and abroad.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17774507http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17774507


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Week 4

NewsWrtsil to expand two power plants in Senegal

Wrtsil Corporation, Trade & Technical press release, 27 September 2011Date accessed: 1st October 2011http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/27/idUS65035+27-Sep-2011+HUG20110927Wrtsil, a leading supplier of flexible power plants and services to the globalpower generation market, has been awarded the contracts to expand twoexisting power plants, delivered by Wrtsil, in Senegal. These contracts,valued at nearly EUR 60 million, were signed with Senelec, the country's publicutility company.

Wrtsil will supply turnkey extension solutions to two existing power plants.The Bel Air power plant was built in 2005 and the Kahone plant in 2006. Bothfacilities are powered by 18 cylinder Wrtsil 46 engines, and are maintainedand operated by Wrtsil under a 15 year agreement signed in 2006. Theextension projects will provide two additional 18 cylinder Wrtsil 46 enginesto each site, which will increase output with 34MW to reach a total of 102MWon each site."The main focus in all our discussions with the Senegalese authorities was theurgency of the situation. There was enormous pressure to come up with asolution that could quickly and efficiently alleviate the challenges relating to

the nation's rapidly increasing need for power. Senelec is already very familiarwith the advantages of Wrtsil's proven technology and Smart PowerGeneration benefits. The reason for Wrtsil being awarded this contract wasour ability to engineer, deliver and construct these extensions to two powerplants in just 12 months," says Tony van Velzen, Regional Director, Africa,Wrtsil Power Plants.Wrtsil has a leading position in supplying flexible power plants to WestAfrica. In Senegal alone, Wrtsil has already supplied 14 power plants with acombined electrical output of more than 220MW.

Wrtsil West Africa is headquartered in Dakar and also has facilities inConakry, Guinea and Lom, Togo. Altogether 125 persons are employed toserve customers throughout the region. Approximately half of these arededicated to supplying Operations and Maintenance services that ensure thecontracted power plants are run with maximum efficiency.Smart Power Generation
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Wrtsil has pioneered a Smart Power Generation approach to meeting thefuture needs of the global energy market. In order to provide a reliable andsecure delivery of electricity and to balance supply with demand, flexibility infuel choice and operational requirements is essential. Wrtsil is a marketleader in providing flexible, efficient, and dynamic power generating capacity.

As at the end of 2010, Wrtsil had delivered 4500 power plants to 168countries, providing a total of over 47 GW of energy capacity.

Question

How will Wrtsil become the solution, or part of the solution, to Senegalspower shortage problems?

Answer

Power shortage has been a recurring problem in this East Africancountry. The countrys main electricity firm, Senelec, has beenunderperforming and failing to provide adequate power to its citizens foryears. Senegal has struggled to provide enough power to its entire people on aconsistent basis, but their efforts to simply provide the power hinder theirefforts to go smart and green power.

In 2010 and in June of this year, there have been frequent protests fromthe Senegalese people as a result of frequent power cuts; they sometimes hadto go entire days without power. In May of 2007, Senegal reached a pointwhere they only had enough power supply in their sectors to last the entirecountry eight more days. We are demonstrating because we cannot bear it

anymore, cried one demonstrator. During the riots, buildings were torched,and the cars outside attacked. The power cuts not only affected their homes,but also working offices. Most offices in Senegal are too poor to afford theirown generators, so they were unable to conduct or even open for business,causing widespread outrage.

The contracts issued by Wrtsil are valued at 60 million euros. Thecompany is based in Dakar, and has been the main providing power source toWest African countries in recent years. The main selling point of Wrtsilspower plants is high efficiency and low emissions. Furthermore, Senegal is incrucial need of any power source to pacify its citizens at this point. Wrtsilalso advertises its plants modular design, which ensures fast delivery and a

rapid set-up process within a year. The two engines that Wrtsil is scheduledto install in Senegal are 46-engines, the highest performing engines thecompany has to offer, which will increase the power supply output to 102MWto each site.

More importantly, the Wrtsil plan has great promise to last a longtime. Wrtsil is also dedicated to smart power generation. The engines it hasprovided to Senegal can run on oil, but also on biofuel and natural gas. In


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order to minimize consumption, the engines are run on power that has beenrecycled from its cooling process.

Power longevity is crucial to solving Senegals problems at this point intime. When power becomes a more stable asset in the country, it may begin toslowly pay off the debt it owes to neighboring oil companies, accumulated

over the past years.

Sources:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.htmlhttp://www.wartsila.com/en/power-plants/smart-power-generation/oil-power-plants

Week 5

News:

Senegal's Ruling Party Drops Constitutional Changes After Dakar Riots

Date published: June 23rd, 2011Date accessed: October 9th, 2011Location:http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/west/Senegal-Opposition-Protesting-Constitutional-Change-124419569.html

Senegal's ruling party is dropping proposed constitutional changes that wouldmake it easier to be elected president, this after opposition demonstratorsclashed with riot police outside the National Assembly.

Opponents of President Abdoulaye Wade fought riot police in downtown Dakar,charging toward the National Assembly throwing stones before being pushedback with water cannon and tear gas.

They were protesting constitutional amendments put forward by the rulingparty to create the post of vice president and to make it easier to be elected

president by lowering the percentage of votes necessary to win outright andavoid a second-round run-off.

That threshold is currently one vote more than 50 percent. The amendmentproposed would lower it to 25 percent.

Opposition demonstrators eventually pushed through to occupy the plaza infront of the National Assembly, chanting Free Our Country as riot police
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.htmlhttp://www.wartsila.com/en/power-plants/smart-power-generation/oil-power-plantshttp://www.wartsila.com/en/power-plants/smart-power-generation/oil-power-plantshttp://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/west/Senegal-Opposition-Protesting-Constitutional-Change-124419569.htmlhttp://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/west/Senegal-Opposition-Protesting-Constitutional-Change-124419569.htmlhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.htmlhttp://www.wartsila.com/en/power-plants/smart-power-generation/oil-power-plantshttp://www.wartsila.com/en/power-plants/smart-power-generation/oil-power-plantshttp://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/west/Senegal-Opposition-Protesting-Constitutional-Change-124419569.htmlhttp://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/west/Senegal-Opposition-Protesting-Constitutional-Change-124419569.html


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pulled back to positions inside the parliamentary compound. Other protestersbroke off from the main group and fought supporters of the ruling partybetween Dakar's main Sandaga market and the National Cathedral.

With clouds of tear gas and smoke from burning cars rising above downtown,

President Wade's spokesman announced on state-run radio that the rulingparty is abandoning changes to the percentage clause.

Justice Minister Cheikh Tidiane Sy told lawmakers that the constitutional articlestating that a president must be elected with an absolute majority will remainunchanged. But some members of the ruling party are still pushing for that tobe lowered to 25 percent.

Demonstrator Abdu Diene says protesters oppose what he says is PresidentWade's push to create a vice president so that his son, Karim, can succeedhim.

Something is wrong with Abdoulaye Wade. I don't know. He is a crazy man.He is very bad. He is trying to make these people take his son, Karim. Everyone understands, said Diene.

Emilie Nzale, the national chair of the Dieuf Dieul political party and thedeputy mayor of Dakar's Sicap neighborhood, says the Senegalese people willnot accept the core values of their ancestors being disrespected by PresidentAbdoulaye Wade, whose role is to preserve the constitution, not to use it as hewants. Nzale says she does not agree with his plan to bring Karim Wade topower, and the president's opponents will continue to fight against that.

The United States and France both expressed concern about the proposedconstitutional amendments.

President Wade's spokesman says the ruling party is moving to reinforcedemocracy by better sharing power.

Question:

What is the particular significance of the countrys Constitution to theSenegalese people and to Abdoulaye Wade?

Answer:

When the riots broke out in Dakar, police were sent to the streets with tear gasto push down the protestors. A group called Dont Touch My Constitution wasformed in retaliation of the constitutional amendments that were proposed.But enough is enough, and eventually, Abdoulaye Wade backed down and


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withdrew his proposed amendments. However, he still stands by the fact thathe plans to run for a third term.

The protests against Wade were violent for a country that has boasted a stableset of democratic values for several yearsit has been spared the strife of

its neighboring countries.

When Wade first came to power in the year 2000, the people of Senegalinitially believed he showed great promise. But he was unable to adequatelyprovide for his people: though people retained democratic rights and had theopportunity to prosper politically, they were not well cared for when it came tobasic needs, like electricity. At one point in time, for example, there was onlyenough power supply in the entire country to last eight more days.

From Wades perspective, the constitution is a way of governing the people,but he also believes that the constitution may be manipulated by those in

power, which is what has most infuriated the Senegalese. In his constitutionalamendments, which are thankfully not going to pass, he wished to create therole of a vice-president, mostly in order to bring his unpopular son to power. Inthe eyes of a people, this is not only unconstitutional, but entirely based onWades selfish desire to bring an unfair and stacked dynasty system toSenegal.

From the citizens perspective, the Constitution is the very core of the orderthat has governed their country peacefully for many years. Unlike the anarchicgovernments of Libya and Cote dIvoire, to name a few examples, the peopleof Senegal have an understanding of their rights, and are not afraid to stand

up to make their voices heard. Since he has failed to deliver on the promiseshe ran on during his first election, they believe it is high time for Wade to stepdown. To attempt to make alterations to the Constitution, the last strand oforder in a time of rioting and unrest, in order to stay in office, when he has notdone what was expected of him, is even more unacceptable.

Week 6

Q:

What influence does nonformal and formal education have on politicalparticipation amongst citizens of Senegal?

A:

This academic paper examines the formation of several non-formaleducational organizations (NFE), in countries where formal education is unableto reach the majority of the population. The hypotheses included two major


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aspects: that those who participate in NFE programs (1) exhibit highercommunity participation, and (2) are more likely to contact political offices todeal with community and personal problems. To carry out the experiment, avillage became a primary sampling unit (PSU) and four households wererandomly selected and evaluated on their community participation, based on

four NFE programs established there. Since community participation is not awell-defined variable, the examinees were assessed based on ethnicity, age,gender, and most importantly, amount of education received.

The increased development of NFE in African countries is unquestionablybeneficial to political democracy. In this study, the Senegalese people whoreceived NFE gained speaking and civic skills, and also were noted to havedeveloped better self-esteem. Essentially, the thought of being educated isoften enough to help boost a citizens morale and sense of efficacy.Additionally, through learning in groups in classes, there emerges a feelingthat the author dubs we-ness a mentality that encourages citizens to worktogether to better the conditions of their community.

The author sometimes blurs the line between formal and nonformaleducation, focusing mainly on the effects of NFE. According to the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP), 62 percent of Senegals populationis not literate, because formal education only reaches a certain elite group ofpeople.

In Senegal, people tend to pursue more narrow, individualistic interestswhen voting in the presidential election, rather than generalized interests thatapply to a greater body. Therefore, electoral participation does not necessarilyequate to civic participation, depending on the objective of a citizens vote.

The conclusion of the study says that NFE has mostly positive effects oncivil participation. Interactions with those in and out of the community, mostly

out of the family communion, foster increasing interest for the public welfare.The programs emphasize teamwork and concern for the greater good.

One of the questions this study raises is the question of whether itspossible that NFE can attain the level of formal education in the future inother words, making NFE programs an integral part of the system, and notsolely a temporary establishment. If positive effects are visible with NFE, whyshouldnt they be possible with formal education, if they differ only in name?Clearly, one of the goals the Senegalese education system should be toeliminate the elite class and reduce the illiteracy rate at a constant rate. Thisis the only way that the voting parties can be distributed over a widerpopulation.

Week 7

Question:


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How can Senegals conscientious cinema establish a stable cultural andsocial identity in the country, and also influence a sense of unity amidst itspeople?

Answer:

The author begins by searching for a definition of the term Senegalesecinema, and what these two words constitute. He takes the definition ofdirector Momar Thiam: A film is Senegalese if it is made by a Senegalese.Another director states I try to make films as it is done everywhere else in theworld. Frankly, these two quotes do not support the creation of a uniquesocial persona in Senegal. If films are to be made as it is done everywhereelse in the world, there is not much special identity left to claim.

This is where the movement conscientious cinema enters the picture. Thereason why conscientious cinema is an important part of Senegalese culture is

that it emphasizes instructive and moral value over commercial gain. Films arenot created for media success, but rather to accomplish two goals: to promotesocial change and preserve cultural identity. In other words, new ideas areintroduced, while grounding them in the older, cultural ideals.

An organization titled FORUT has been established in Senegal to encourageyoung people to stay off drugs and instead channel their interests through theuse of music and cinematic arts. At FORUT centers, young people are oftenengaged in film projects. One young girl was planning a documentary aboutcontemporary West African fashions and how they have evolved fromtraditional dress. Other films are court-metranges, or short-films, and discuss

the African dance style, through the usage of rhythms and African dance stepsthroughout the film. FORUT centers are hubbubs of imagination, and thusserve as a place where people may unify in a common interest to create andto design.

The biggest advantage of cinematic arts is that it makes great use of imagesand sounds, and thus has the ability to incorporate some of West Africascolonial languages, mixing foreign and native languages together in a web.

Yet, sometimes, the elements we consider cultural are the things unique to acertain group of people. The things a filmmaker writes in and directs and

produce might end up becoming a cultural masterpiece, filled with figurativelanguage and images and scenes that show a distinct identity. However, he orshe may not have channeled their efforts in the cultural direction. Thus, a filmis Senegalese if is made by a Senegalese, makes senseevery filmmaker hasa distinct cultural taste, making each film they produce a unique culturalflavor.


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Week 8

Question:

In what ways has literature and other art forms driven Pan-African attitudes

and the Negritude movement, and how have those literary elementsinfluenced the modern African?

Answer:

Pan-Africanism is largely a movement geared towards the unification ofthe African peoples. It was created in response to French colonization, andfocused on cultural preservation. Negritude, or becoming black, was amovement created to reignite black pride. Both concepts have spannedpolitical, social, and literary arenas.

In the literary field, poetry and essay writings and artwork were

important factors. For example, an early work called De l'galit des RacesHumaines, or Equlity of the Human Races, written in French by a Haitianwriter, wondered aloud when the day would come when Africans would beperceived as equals next to their European counterparts.

This article primarily cites W.E.B DuBois as one of the prominent artisticdrivers. He published a number of critical essays discussing the Pan-Africanmovement and the effects it would have on African cultural development. Hewas both a prudent and cautious writer. For example, when the HarlemRenaissance was taking place in the 1920s and 1930s, a number of literarygeniuses of African descent produced American works that reignited blackpower in the community. However, DuBois pointed out that black expression

didnt equate to black power, because they were still not the ones in control. The former Senegalese president, Leopold Senghor, was one of the

leaders, and a valued poet, of the Negritude movement. He describesNegritude as an amalgamation of all the values that characterize the Negro-African world. He also added that Negritude possess a certain flavourcertain odor, a certain accent that European culture was not able to produceor express. It is essentially a universal movement to bring respect and honorto African culture on the whole.

However, several publications on these movements also emphasized theimportance of the individual. A magazine called LEtudiant Noir coined theoriginal term Negritude. The title of the magazine means the black

student, in singular form, in French. The title shows that the leaders of thismovement called not only for black power on the whole, but also stressed theimportance of what each person, as an individual, in a community can do tocontinue to water and nurture the roots of their traditions. Thus, teamwork, aswell as individual prowess, are equally important factors in culturalpreservation.


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Week 10

Question:

What are some examples of abuses of human rights in Senegal, what groups

are targeted, and what problems are present in the reform process?

Answer:

When speaking of human rights, the first group that comes to mind iswomen of the Middle East and of Africa. The traditional view of Senegalesefundamentalists is that women are a symbol of ethnic purity and cleanliness.In their view, women are not educated members of society, but insteaddignified keepers of the home, to which domestic violence is permitted. In1993, a pregnant woman named Dokki Niasse was beaten to death by herhusband, but because doctors were unable to prove that the beating was the

cause of the death, the case was dismissed.The case with children is somewhat similar in the fact that they areexpected to act subservient to the adults who raise them. However, childrenare at a disadvantage because they are not fully grown, leaving them bothphysically and socially powerless to better their condition in any manner.There is a particular group in Senegal that has garnered much attentionthetalib children, who study under a Muslim teacher to learn the Quran, but areforced to survive by begging for food and money on the streets. They arestarved of necessary nutrition and hardly ever received adequate health carebenefits.

In recent years Senegal has taken several steps towards modernization,

beginning primarily with the education of women, which will bring them onestep closer to more liberty. The global civil society, or GCS, is a movementtargeted to bring human rights into full circle in disadvantaged countrieswhere citizens lack the means to create change. GCS makes use of a strategycalled strategic structuralism. It plays on the idea that fundamentalism inthe free market will only intensify the suffering of minority groups such aswomen and children, and often lumps all non-Western culture into a packagefor public reform. Essentially, GCS often overlooks location-specific factorssuch as local poverty and population growth, in favor of establishing basichuman rights for groups which are denied.

Some of the issues targeted for children slavery, prostitution, soldiering,

and sweat shop laborers are all part of the reform process.For the talib children who study in Muslim schools in Senegal,

education is not the road to better their social status, but rather a path pavedso thickly with pain that getting out of it is a difficult task. They are sent thereto study by their parents, and are met with violence if they dare to returnhome. Physical discipline is incorporated readily into the curriculum, and achild can be beaten several times across the face simply for making a mistakein reciting a passage from the Quran.


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However, the road to reform is not an easy one. Activists are often metwith opposition, who claim it as a threat to culture and to their own status.Rights activists, in order to stay out of the easily-tangled political web, alsooften write of human rights abuse as social health problems rather thanrelated to politics. The most hopeful manner to call attention to their strife is

through the use of articles circulating on the Internet, through organizationssuch as UNICEF and UNESCO.

Week 11

Q:

What relationship does gender have with land ownership in the Senegal River Valley?

A:

The male dominant household that occurs in several parts of Western Africa is no exception inthe River Valley. A man, upon inheritance of land from his parents or upon his marriage,exercises complete rights over his land and his wife; controlling the money and the resourcesof the household.A womans right to land is, first and foremost, heavily dependent on her marital status. Onceshe divorces her husband, she loses whatever right to own, or even use, land she owned whileshe was still married. A widowed woman almost always loses her land. An unmarried woman isnot allowed to own land, and those who are married who own land of their own are too few tobe of much notice. In the 1980s local landholders were able to provide Senegal women withsmall garden plots on which they could grow maize and other vegetables, and which becametheir bare sustenance. However, these small plots are no longer present to this day.

The most prominent example of gender inequality occurs in terms of hours laboring in the fieldor in the home. Womens domestic labor hours well exceeds the hours of mens work, and for

very low pay. In harder economic times, when crops are harder to sell and supply exceedsdemand, owners of the farmland depend heavily on cheap labor to keep their costs at aminimum. With women legally unable to own land, they are unable to better their conditionbecause they are essentially caught in a cheap labor cycle, and they are forced to work fortheir husbands, which thus decrease the costs of African exports.Unable to own land individually, women in Senegal have banded together to own householdland and farm collective gardens as a group. To solve this problem, Senegalese women mustbe given access and time to grow crops of their own to sell and to make a living. If agriculturalfarmwork is not her cup of tea, it may be possible to create day jobs and domestic labor forwomen. While subject to limits in the household, if given open opportunities to earn a living,women may be on a road to independence.Independence is not the most important thing in giving women land. When the husbandsincome fails to adequately provide food, healthcare, and shelter for the family, a womensfarm crop income, if she is allowed to grow it herself, may become a stabilizer.

Week 12

Q: What factors of international development and internal development characterize Senegalswater resources?

A:


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Overall, the quality of water access in Senegal is very high, compared to other Sub-Saharancountries. In 2004, 76 percent of the population had access to fresh, useable water, comparedto a 56 percent average for Sub-Saharan Africa.

This paper discusses the allocation of water sources on an international scale. In this particularstudy, the Senegal River Valley is portrayed as a problematic situation. For example, the

Senegal River took over ten years to reach an agreement on the allocation of water to alllands, which is most likely the result of an ineffective regime at the time.

A regular, consistent supply of water is crucial to the River Valley area of Senegal. Because theclimate is humid and droughts occur infrequently, lack of irrigation is the number one factorfor crop failure for Senegalese farmers. To ensure that they receive adequate amounts, thelocal people, the national government, and international NGOs all pitch in to help.

The most important concept noted about the Senegal River Valley is its success in garneringinternational attention and support, to rally developed countries to support funding of theirwater supplies. Dams have been built successful, and irrigation is in full swing.

While the local people usually express interests based on earning their livelihood, nationalgovernments express interests based on the country as a whole. When it comes to waterresources, allocation to different areas based on different opinions can be an issue.Furthermore, a problem that we see here is that because so much attention is paid tosuccessful irrigation and to the construction of large, mass-scale dams, little attention is paidto the environment and the health conditions of the surrounding population.

It should be noted that the help from international NGOs from overseas is usually driven by adesire to show constituents and voters that they are actively participating in activities in third-world countries. In any case, the topic of water in Senegal has also been a subject of whetherpublic participation is a good thing. More public participation will increase the amount ofvoices and opinions in the game plan, but less participation could mean that not all theinterests of the various people are expressed.

Week 13

News:

Senegal Celebrates Creation of New Marine Protected Areas

No author name provided

Dakar, Senegal WWF has recognized the creation of five new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

by the government and local communities of Senegal as a Gift to the Earth, the global

conservation organization's highest accolade for significant conservation achievements.

The establishment of a network of MPAs off the Senegalese coast covering a total area of

82,500ha is crucial for the protection of fish spawning grounds and stock recovery. Nearly

700 fish species have been recorded in Senegal's waters, together with 20 cetaceans and five

marine turtle species.

We welcome this historic and visionary act made by local communities and the government

of Senegal for future generations, declared Dr Claude Martin, Director General of WWF

International, who attended the ceremony in Senegal.


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"We also look to Senegal to continue its leadership in marine resource managmenet and to

work with other countries in the region to develop more sustainable fisheries agreements."

Over the past few years, local communities have been working with the Senegalese

government to ensure the protection of the country's marine and coastal resources, which are

being threatened by overfishing, illegal catches, and the destruction of spawning grounds

According to WWF, the quantity of commercially-valued fish caught in Senegal's territorial

waters has decreased by more than 80 per cent since the 1950s. These are worrying statistics

as the fishing industry makes up a fourth of Senegal's national budget, creates numerous jobs,

and constitutes an important source of protein for coastal and inland populations.

The establishment of the five MPAs represents a benchmark for the regional programme for

the protection of coastal and marine resources (PRCM), which was catalyzed through a

partnership between WWF, IUCN, the International Foundation for the Banc d'Arguin, WetlandsInternational, and the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission for the safeguard of the regions

marine resources and benefit of local fishermen.

"It is a new hope for Senegalese fishermen," said Papa Samba Diouf, Coordinator of WWF's

Western Africa Marine Ecoregion Programme.

"The MPAs are essential to a sustainable management of fishing areas, especially when

resources are already strongly exploited in Senegal. We hope that the creation of the new

reserves will be a model for the creation of others in Senegal and in the sub-region.

During the event, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade pledged to create 1015 new MPAs in

his country, as well as establish two transboundary MPAs with neighbouring Mauritania and

The Gambia.

Representatives from The Gambia committed to establishing a further two MPAs, as well as

Cape Verde, which said it was also committed to the establishment of a biosphere reserve.

Guinea Bissau committed to one new MPA to be established by 2007.

http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/senegal/?uNewsID=21900

Date of article: 13 July 2005

Date accessed: 4 December 2011

Q:

How has the new marine protected areas (MPAs) influenced the fishery industry in Senegal?


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A:

The fishery industry in Senegal creates approximately 100,000 direct jobs for fishermen, and

fish is an important source of protein for the population. Fishing plays important economic,

social, and technical factors for the people of Senegal.

The seas that surround Senegal are plentiful with fish and contain rich marine ecosystems. In

fact, marine resources have always been one of the countrys strongholds. In the early 2000s,

a study showed that the quality of commercial fish had decreased by 80 percent since the

1950s as a result of pollution and irresponsible fishing methods. Also, beginning in the 1950s,

European fishing in the Northern seas bordering Northwestern Africa has increased drastically,

further depleting areas of higher concentrations of fish, and hurting the livelihood of

Senegalese fishermen.

The new MPAs are designed to protect and increase the jobs of fishermen, consequently

increasing and securing the national budget, preserve the protein supplements for the diet of

the general population. They are also sponsored by overseas organizations, including WWFInternational and Wetlands International. By helping out a previous leader in the fishery

industry, many of their leading officers hope that Senegal is able to set a better example for

neighboring African countries as well.

Furthermore, the MPAs are monitored so that endemic or endangered species, nearly 700 of

them, cannot be overfished, thus making the project a conservation effort as well. The United

Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) conducted an economic and environmental study

that showed that short-term financial gains from fishing will deeply hurt the long-term effects

of overfishing, leading to environmental damage and depleting the fish population for future

generations. A sustainable catch is approximately 420,000 tons per year, but this number is

now over 30,000 tons over the sustainable amount.In order to curb this problem, it is crucial that MPAs be monitored regularly and over a long

period of time; recovering populations may take several generations to reach a sustainable

amount again. The government must seek to educate fishermen that short-term gains from

overharvests will only seriously harm the careers of their children in the future.

Sources:

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol16no1/161fish.htm

http://www.unep.ch/etu/publications/Synth_Senegal.PDF

Week 14

NEWS:

Eco-Kids in Senegal Adopt Earth-Friendly Fuel ProgramAmanda FortierDate of publication: December 05, 2011


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Date accessed: December 11, 2011

Diourbel is a semi-desert region in Senegal that has suffered the combined effects of climatechange, deforestation, waste mismanagement and endemic poverty. But, in the city ofDiourbel, 50 bright, young students are making a positive environmental contribution byadopting a recycling project that provides a cost-effective, alternative fuel source for cooking.

Learning basicsAwa Deme and Bamba Ngom crouch down next to a large plastic bin, and begin churning asloppy brown and white pulp with their tiny hands. In the background, their instructor,Ibrahima Faye, coaches them. The other young boys and girls sit perched on their chairs,clambering for their own turns to get their hands into this goopy paper paste.

It is Saturday morning at Baol Environment, a green oasis sheltered from the scorching heatand whirling gusts of dust and sand so common to Diourbel. While most kids are at home,sleeping or playing, this energetic group of young school children is gathered for their weeklymeeting. It is a type of environment club that involves some of the citys best students,between the ages of 9 and 11, from five local schools. Here they learn the basics in trashcollecting, recycling and reusing.Baol Environment

Today the kids are making paper briquettes. It is a simple recipe of waste paper, peanut shells,sawdust and water. The mix is placed into a metal press, formed into rectangular paper bricks,and set on the roof to dry in the sun. Using old rice bags, the children collect the waste paperfrom their schools, homes and yards and haul them into Baol Environment. Here the kids ripand shred the paper, and finally transform it into little brown bricks that replace charcoal, gasand wood for cooking. The cost of making a single brick is little more than a few cents, andeach one burns long enough to prepare a local meal of rice and fish.April Muniz, a Peace Corps volunteer with Baol Environment, is helping with the paperbriquette project.

VOA - A. FortierStudents tear paper before making paper briquettes, Diourbel, Senegal, December 5, 2011.I think what makes this project unique is that were trying to combine a lot of elements andmake it a holistic approach to environmental work," said Muniz. "Our paper briquette project isone small project that we are doing within the eco-ecole program, but it is one that covers alot of bases. It covers the issue of trash in our environment. It covers the issue of theimportance of recycling. It covers the issue of reforestation. It covers the issue of alternativefuel sources."So it is a project that has been able to wrap up a lot of the concepts that we have been tryingto teach into one very tangible project that kids can get their hands on," continued Miniz."They can stick their hands into a bucket of water, play together and really understand and beable to apply those concepts.Economy

Diourbel is in the center of Senegals agricultural basin. But it is an area that has sufferedsince massive droughts swept through the region in the late 1970s and 1980s, reducing the

staple millet and groundnut crops. Many people here continue to live off less than a coupledollars a day, and with the costs of fuel rising, they can easily spend the same amount oncharcoal as they do on rice.

Ibrahima Faye is the president of the Baol Environment and has been living in the region ofDiourbel for 35 years.

Faye says kids look at what is happening around them and they watch how their parentsbehave and how they live. Their parents have lived through at least two or three cycles of dry


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spells that have completely changed customs in the region. This means that these kids haveno recollections of what Diourbel was like in the past. And what they have found is anincredible lack of sanitation, disrespect for rules and a vicious level of poverty that has evenforced families apart.

Trash in Diourbel

Today, Diourbels landscape is a barren sea of brown, dotted with colorful mounds of litter.Waste management is a major problem throughout Senegal. But in Diourbel, particularly,there are not even garbage cans in the schools.

Moussa Diallo is a principal at one of the elementary schools in Diourbel and has 10 studentsinvolved in the Baol environment program.

Diallo says people here generally do not have a culture of managing garbage. It is not in theirmind-set to properly dispose of trash. But even if this did start happening, they are confrontedby another problem - how to get rid of it. Today it is actually the poor people who use theirwagons and carts to move the garbage out.

The paper briquette project is still in its early stages, but the Baol environment team has bigplans for its expansion. The group works with more than 500 women from surroundingvillages, and hopes to introduce these paper bricks into their cooking practices as a healthierand cost-effective alternative - one that helps save trees and cleans up their environment.

QUESTION:

How can the region of Diourbel, considered a haven of environmental degradation andextreme poverty, push its green, environmental program to influence the bigger cities ofSenegal?

ANSWER:

Each Saturday morning, a group of gifted students meet at a school to participate in thenewest eco-ecole program designed for children. Today, theyre making paper briquettes.Its a brown, pasty combination of peanut shells, old, used paper, sawdust, and water. Afterthe children knead it with their own hands, they place the paste in rectangular molds, moldthem into bricks, and leave them in the sun to dry. The bricks are then used in home stoves inovens for cooking and heating water.Because Diourbel has undergone quite an amount of environmental changes in the past years,and as a result, fuel prices have risen. Families are likely to spend the same amount of moneyon charcoal for the stove as on rice and millet. Paper briquettes are cheaper, more efficient tomake, and easier to use.

This program is its beginning stages, but Diourbel has big plans to expand it to more and morefamilies in the area, to allow them to take better care of their families. This project may onlybe working on a small-scale right now, but it is possible to extend its influences to the city.Its even more important to educate inhabitants of the big cities of the possible environmentaleffects of their energy use, especially because large cities use more fuel and more resources

on an even more massive scale. But if each household was able and willing to perform thesimple task of making their own briquettes, instead of spending the money on coal and otherenergy each month, energy waste could be cut by almost half the amount.Free courses, or for very little money, on how to cut down a familys energy costs could be setup in Dakar, alongside the very crucial primary schooling for children, because educating thechildren is the best way to hope for a countrys future. An example of resource shortage is inDakar, where electricity is particularly unstable. Incentive to take this course will becomelarger when the economy hits a dive, and its resources plummet, as well.

The first step to resource conservation in the entire country is to expose the impoverished


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areas, such as Diourbel, to the city people. This can be done through campaigning throughbillboards, pamphlets, and public speaking.

Part 2: Midterm Report

Rhythms of Senegal, Souls of West Africasenegals music scene and its rich cuban influences


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I. INTRODUCTION


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There are several popular musicians in the present day who are ofSenegalese descent. They include Youssou NDour, MC Solaar, and a veryfamiliar name, Akon. The capital of Senegal, Dakar, is what the New York Times calls one of the globes most dynamic yet least touristed musiccenters. Today it is a smorgasbord of reggae, jazz, pop, and hip-hop

influences, all mashed up together. The Malian rhythms and gypsy musicalinstruments involved incorporate both old ideas into new ones, proudlydisplaying the evolution of its current state.

This report details the outside musical influences gifted to Senegal,centering mainly on Cuba, and their journey towards finding a voice of theirown, while remaining true to their historical roots.

II. HISTORY AND INFLUENCES

In the early twentieth century, Senegal was a colony of France.Negritude, or becoming black, was a movement started in response to this

colonization. The president of Senegal at the time, Leopold Senghor, was oneof the primary leaders of the movement. It was a movement that included allforms of artistic expression, not limited to music, painting, poetry, and prose.The term was coined by a magazine called Letudiant noir, or the blackstudent.

Cuban music has also had a large impact on the Senegal music cultureduring its entire journey. In the 1920s, several workers came to the Caribbeanas workers, from Senegambia, a loose West African community consisting ofSenegal and its neighbor, Gambia. During the ride to the Caribbean on largecargo ships, they were often mingled with Cuban workers from the BlackAtlantic coasts, whom often served as crew members. In traveling and

working together, their music became a shared form of enjoyment andpleasure, and Cuban influences began to permeate into Senegals creation of amusical culture. Radios and records helped to advance the influences ofCuban music in Senegal. In addition, good Afro-Cuban music was associatedwith good taste in dressing.


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Figure : Colonial plantation song and dance.

However, the Cuban influences slowly began to represent old, colonialthemes, and instead failed to adequately represent the contemporary beats ofthe modern West African community. The Senegalese discovered that, and inthe 1970s began to reform some of the bands whom frequented the nightclubsand were well known by its patrons. By the 1980s, the Senegal music scenebegan to develop its own taste and distinct direction. Cuban music was anational, apolitical, and uni-layered sound, and singer Youssou NDourdescribed it as an outdated aesthetic orthodoxy that had to be abandoned inorder for further advances.

Fiddles and piano music was transcribed and re-written for saxophones,

electric guitars, and trumpets. Slowly, the music scene turned modern, andslowly began to find favor with the young, new-scene nightclub goers.

III. COMPONENTS AND TYPES

The use of percussion has always been an essential part of the Africanmusical scene. The talking drum, bougarabou, and djembe are primarily usedin West Africa. They differ in shape of the drum body and the types of stringsused to string the sides. Each drum is strung to a different tightness andcarved in a unique, elegant shape. The djembe is currently gaining worldwide

status. It rose to even more fame when it was featured in Les Ballets Africains,a ballet performance by a Guinean company, Fodeba Keita. It is featured inseveral CD recordings and has slowly become an industrial product, and evenis the cause of several study tours to Africa.


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Figure : Various types of drums used in West Africa

Figure : An industrially produced djembe drum.

Harps are also influential in West Africa. There is the simple four-stringedbolon that was typically used as music to bring warriors into battle; the six-stringed donso ngoni and the seven-stringed simbi to excite and incite passionin hunters before a hunt; the twenty-one stringed kora to symbolize royalIslamic influences. Some of the harps represent the African blues tonality.


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Figure : The kora, a twenty-four stringed harp.

An important outlet for musical expression is the five nightclubs open inDakar; the music they play is primarily of Latin influences. They are nicknamedTemples of Salsa and most importantly, the patrons come to dance andlisten to the music, not to drink or to chit-chat. The most common nightclubsare not expensive ventures, charging approximately two to five U.S. dollars foreach person per night. All sorts of people take part in nightclub culture: from

government employees to young working adults to expatriates.

Figure : Young people dance at a nightclub in Dakar.


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Figure : A man plays on the sabar drum.

Figure : A modern Afro-Cuban performance

IV. CURRENT


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As mentioned earlier, Senegalese music has all sorts of variations; itcannot be defined in a simple manner. It is a grand amalgamation of Cubanroots, traditional African percussions, and call-and-response chants.

The most famous and popular Senegalese singer and in Africa, atpresent, is Youssou MDour. He not only composes and writes songs but also

has a powerful, supple voice, making him versatile in almost anything thatcomes to music. His music contains a bit of Cuban samba, and alsoincorporates more present-day influences such as jazz and hip-hop. He hasworked with famous organizations, including Amnesty International andUNICEF, and performed on Amnesty Internationals benefit album, The SecretPolicemans Third Ball.

In his song, 7 Seconds, featuring Nenah Cherry, the song opens withlyrics written in Wolof dialect. It then enters an English stanza, and then Frenchis introduced. The song closes in English.

7 Seconds Youssou NDour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k&ob=av3e

Boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi re nga fokni maneKhamouma li neka thi sama souf ak thi guinawBeugouma kouma khol oaldine yaw li neka si yawmo ne si man, li ne si mane moye dilene diapale

Roughneck and rudeness,We should be using, on the ones who practice wicked charmsFor the sword and the stoneBad to the bone

Battle is not overEven when it's wonAnd when a child is born into this worldIt has no conceptOf the tone the skin is living inIt's not a second7 seconds awayJust as long as I stayI'll be waiting, I'll be waiting, I'll be waiting

J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout,

J'aimerais qu'on oublie leur couleur pour qu'ils esperentBeaucoup de sentiments de race qui font qu'ils desesperentJe veux les portes grandements ouvertes,Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joiePour qu'ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pasChanger

7 seconds away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k&ob=av3ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k&ob=av3e


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Just as long as I stayI'll be waitingIt's not a second7 seconds awayJust as long as I stay

I'll be waiting, I'll be waiting, I'll be waitingAnd when a child is born into this worldIt has no conceptOf the tone the skin is living inAnd there's a million voices, and there's a million voicesTo tell you what she should be thinkingSo you better sober up for just a second

Figure : Youssou N'Dour performing.

MC Solaar is particularly famous in France as a rapper, but he is ofSenegalese descent, making him a francophone artist. His lyrics are verycomplicated and rely heavily on word play. Though his work is less influencedby traditional Senegalese tastes, he often speaks about the difficulties Africansexperienced while migrating to France to live their lives, especially his parents,in his songs. The themes explored in his songs resonate with a large amount of


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African peoples and touch the roots of their ancestors; for example, slavesbeing transported to the Caribbean islands to work in the early 1900s.

Figure : MC Solaar performing at Fete de l'Espoir (Festival of Hope) inFrance

V. CONCLUSION

Cuban tones, styles, and rhythms were quite indispensable to thedevelopment of Senegalese music. However, their roots take a bit of tracingback when we try to find them in their music today. This is because the musicscene in this West African country has found a modern path, and reformed itsvoice with a contemporary, upbeat, even political flavor.

Because nightclub culture is so crucial to the promotion and spread ofpopular music in Senegal, it was recently found that Cuban-influenced bandsreceive the largest followings. This goes to show that the Cuban basis is stillpresent to this day, however abstract it may be.

The influence of Cuban music on Senegal provides a novel explanationfor social and cultural change across different countries and cultures.Countries do not receive change passively. In this case, Senegal used Cuban

styles and rhythms for decades following their introduction, and followed touse it as a spring, a base for developing their own cool beats.

VI. SOURCES

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/travel/06senegalmusic.html?pagewanted=allhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/brightblightcafe/4136050144/


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http://www.flickr.com/photos/alejandroperez/3587411928/http://www.flickr.com/photos/blainedavis/139719854/http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/percussion/images/drums.jpghttp://echarry.web.wesleyan.edu/Afmus.htmlhttp://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/system/images/thumbs/www/articles_200

9_08_18/kora_main_300x371.jpg?1273915433http://www.magictails.com/hand_drums_frame_drums/djembe_14_x_24.htmlhttp://music.unt.edu/percussion/ensembles.htmlhttp://www.islandmix.com/backchat/f6/images-slave-life-de-americas-179884/index2.htmlhttp://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ddb2d5f2-95a9-4ecf-803d-4dc529eec7ca%40sessionmgr115&vid=5&hid=112http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=ddb2d5f2-95a9-4ecf-803d-4dc529eec7ca%40sessionmgr115&vid=11&hid=112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=9618656

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4a1ca8e7-f51d-45e6-b5b1-65fb7bfa727b%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=112

Part 3:

Resource Mining:

For each weekend of this semester, producing my NQA assignments put me on power-modefor an hour and a half each Sunday night. The last time I had to write reports on currentevents at the national and the international level was in middle school, so I thought it wouldntbe much of a difficult task. It turned out to be more challenging than I originally expected,

because NQAs were not supposed to be written shallowly. Each topic of the week required meto dig deeper than simply scraping the surface, and to analyze each current event critically.Writing NQA assignments was, surprisingly, my first experience with analyzing onlineacademic papers in-depth, something I barely touched upon during research projects in highschool. Also, in high school, we had to share secret usernames and passwords in order toaccess remote academic servers, such as JSTOR (and the password and username I used weredeactivated shortly after I graduated because of overuse). But after coming to NTU, I foundout that I could access virtually any academic paper server I wanted through the schoolswireless internet, including Cambridge Journals, JSTOR, and other databases. Eventually Ibegan to write my NQAs on academic papers instead of simply Googling my article topics. Itwas a new process, because it forced me to dig deeper into the topic by requiring me to read apaper that was upwards of twenty pages. Consequently, the papers I analyzed were usuallyseveral years old, rather than current events, but most of the time I tried to relate them to the

status of the country at present. As it turns out, the years-old information was still relevant.Some sites I would recommend for research include the following:- EBSCOHosts academic search: includes thousands of useful academic papers that you mayfind through detailed search parameters, using terms that are related by and, or,containing, and not containing.- CIA Factbook was particularly useful in the beginning, when I needed to get a brief overviewof my countrys economical, social, and technical developments. Each NQA written could bebrought back full-circle to a statistic or a part listed on the Factbook.- Google Alerts is particularly useful when you want updates sent to your inbox every night.


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Its a good way to get a good feel of whats going on currently in your country, but not alwaysa good choice to write your NQA based on the articles, because I have found they are rarely agood match for the weeks topic.With so much information widely publicized and available on various blogs, newspages, andvideo logs across the web, I believe that the value of finding information for writing papers hasbeen downplayed by the ready availability of Google. Just Google it has become the

of our generation, and the process of using more complicated means to search for valuableinformation has been lost to the big black hole of Google, Wikipedia, Yahoo!, and other largesearch corporations. Consequentially, I think its even more important to use morecomplicated search engines and more databases to find the information that cant be foundwith a simple Google search term. Digging deeper, to places where few people venture, canonly bring a new level of sophistication to research.

Final:

This class was a bit more different than I originally expected. It was, in short, not anintroductory course. It was not a class that was centered on Powerpoint slides, each touchinglightly on the various aspects that make up the subject of globalization. Instead, I wasattracted by the fact that we would be able to meet and discuss topics with differentprofessors who specifically specialized on each topic, who would come and give guest lectures

every week.

When I was growing up in California, there was a common woe that my government andeconomics teachers often mentioned during class, complaining to us at every chance. Thereason that foreigners found Americans stupid was because we couldnt care less aboutwhats going on in the world, in politics, in social and economic trends, on any current events,besides anything that directly and completely influences our daily lives. In other words, wedidnt keep up with current events, because it didnt matter to us and how we would spendtomorrow, or the day after. In other words, we are stupid because we are ignorant, and evenmore ignorant to the fact that we simply dont care.

This class changed the way I viewed current events, and how I used to live my life in theUnited States. Starving children in Africa was the epitome of poverty in our essays and in

our presentations in social studies classes. But after taking this class, I realized and learnedthat while African children and its people suffer deeply from a variety of political, social, andeconomic factors, there are other places of the world equally in need of our help. When itcomes to basic survival, there cannot be any kind of discrimination based on location orethnicity. For example, parts of Africa and parts the Middle East suffer from many of the sameproblems, lack the same resources, and are ruled under the same iron fist mentality.

There was one particular lecture about music and culture about halfway through the semesterthat stuck with me, although music was the center topic to the professors lecture. He coveredboth mainstream and more obscure artists, and compared the careers of artists from twodifferent worlds. This lecture made me question the real difference between the two: letscompare Lady GaGa and Bjork, an Icelandic artist who is rapidly gaining popularity in theUnited States. Bjork and Lady GaGa are similar in the fact that their music videos have hidden

meanings that are not immediately apparent when you view them for the first time. If manyfans can identify with the artists message, however obscure or however popular, does anobscure artist then become mainstream? What, essentially, is the definition of mainstream?

I recommend this class to future students for a few reasons. You not only begin to realize thatthere are parts of the world who struggle with infrastructure, but for every country that fallsbehind, there is a country that can do it better. Globalization hangs by a balance, and learningabout that balance is a constant experience. It taught me the importance of understanding theworld around me and to learn from their problems and their successes as if they are my own.


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Documents

End of Semester Package