General Description
This summer program is a relatively new initiative, rooted in the thirty-four years of
experience that St. Lawrence University has in offering its Kenya Semester
Program. Like the semester program, the summerterm will offer students an
exciting, multifaceted, intensively cross-cultural experience, combining
classroom instruction and field experience in one of Africa’s most
stable and thriving countries.
Kenya is part of East Africa; it is a country of dramatic landscapes--the Rift Valley flanked by magnificent escarpments, Lakes Victoria and Naivasha, snow-capped Mount Kenya, and numerous national parks protecting a wide range of animals, including several endangered species. Kenya is home to the earliest human populations; its history includes Bantu and Swahili immigration, settler colonialism and the complex dynamics of the MauMau resistance; great ethnic pluralism accommodated within democratic structures; indigenous, Christian and Islamic religious traditions; new threats like AIDS, new challenges and new opportunities for social and economic development in rural areas and in the bustling capital of Nairobi. Students spend the majority of their time in the field, learning from Kenyans and addressing particular case studies requiring interdisciplinary approaches.
The Academic ProgramBecause of the earlier beginning/ending dates for the Pastoral Nomads course, it is possible for students to participate in the Pastoral Nomads course and one of the courses that follows on May 31 -- at a prorated cost. However, students cannot particpate in two of the May 31 - June 28 courses.
Each program will begin with several days of orientation. Students will stay for this period on the SLU five-acre compound which is home to the semester program, 8 kilometers from downtown Nairobi. Orientation will include a game drive in Nairobi National Park, introduction to Kenyan cultures and to Swahili language, lectures on history, geology, archaeology and contemporary issues in Kenya, the opportunity to get to know the museums, markets, music and art in the nation’s capital city.
These courses emphasize the value of study in the field. Students
enrolling in the conservation course will have extended field trips to two
of Kenya’s great national parks. Students in the archaeology course will
be in the Great Rift Valley for 3 weeks. Students in the Health Care
Delivery course will spend much of their time in urban and in rural hospitals,
clinics, treatment centers and orphanages. Students in the Pastoral Nomads course will visit the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Shompole Group Ranch. St. Lawrence emphasizes the importance
of learning from Kenyans so there will be ample opportunities for doing so.
Current Summerterm 2008 Course Descriptions:
Pastoral Nomads and Wildlife Conservation: The Case of the Maasai (May 20 - June 4)
The Maasai are a traditionally nomadic pastoralist people who have lived in East Africa together with wildlife for hundreds of years. Human development has been encroaching on wildlife habitat, resulting in the restriction of wildlife to smaller and more isolated areas, some of which lie inside fenced parks and reserves. In some areas of East Africa, Maasai have shifted from traditional livestock grazing to agriculture, which leads to increased conflict with wildlife. On this course we will investigate the relationship between wildlife conservation and the Maasai people, through study at the Maasai Mara National Reserve, one of the most visited game parks in Africa and partially managed by the Maasai, and through interaction with the Maasai community at the Shompole Group Ranch, a communally owned area in southern Kenya where the local community has undertaken a community-based conservation and ecotourism project. We will be off the beaten path, experiencing Kenya in a unique and remarkable way. Conservation Biology/Anthropology 248
Health Care Delivery in a Developing Country (May 31 - June 28)
This community-based learning course explores critical issues about health care in a resource-constrained environment. What formal and informal institutions are most effective in providing preventive and primary health care? How can communities develop participatory approaches to the management of HIV and other diseases? Why do highly preventable diseases still continue to burden Africans? What are the belief systems and health-seeking behaviors in different populations, both rural and urban? How can traditional healing practices complement western medical approaches to disease? Health care professionals and researchers will address these and other issues. Students will be placed in clinics, teaching hospitals, and community health programs, contributing to the work of the organization while assessing its role in the broader provision of health care. The course will be of interest to students concerned about economic justice, social welfare, and health. Sociology/Anthropology/African Studies 248
Archaeology in Kenya: In Search of Our Ancestors (May 31 - June 28)
This field course has been designed to provide students with an interdisciplinary introduction to Kenyan archaeology and early human evolution in Africa . Emphasis will be on integrating the research fields of geology, vertebrate biology, physical anthropology and African archaeology.
Fieldwork will be based primarily at Lenderut, a 500,000 year old Acheulean site and Olkena, a 10,000 Later Stone Age site located at Lake Magadi , Kenya , which the course instructor has been investigating since 1987. While in the field, students will learn the fundamentals of archaeological methodology including site survey, stratigraphy, taphonomy, excavation techniques, and laboratory analysis. Excursions to well-known archaeological sites in Kenya , including Olorgesailie, are planned. While engaged in fieldwork, students will participate in individual research projects. Field conditions will be physically demanding as Lake Magadi is situated within the southern most Kenyan Rift Valley. The environment is semi-desert and temperatures often soar above 100 degrees. Anthropology/African Studies 448
Challenges in Conservation: National Parks at Risk (May 31 - June 28)
This field-based course addresses the necessity for active management of two of Kenya ’s national parks. Population growth and encroachment on the parks threatens loss of biodiversity, deterioration of rangelands, frequent animal population crashes, accelerated human-wildlife conflicts and loss of income from park visitors. A case study approach is used, whereby the problems in each protected area are introduced, and local practitioners, scientists and other stakeholders provide arguments and counter-arguments for how the parks may best be managed. Students themselves then participate in research and debate, acquiring field techniques and analytical skills that can be the basis of their own future projects. This approach emphasizes analytical, interactive and solution-oriented work rather than factual learning. The course can accommodate students at introductory and advanced levels and will be of particular value to majors in biology and environmental studies. Environmental Studies/ Biology/African Studies 248
Eligibility for the Program
The courses are intended for students from colleges and universities at any
stage of study. The archaeology course has a pre-requisite of one course
in archaeology or biological anthropology. There are no prerequisites for
the Health, the Conservation, or the Pastoral Nomads courses, which can accommodate students
at introductory and at advanced levels. Students will be asked to read
background material about Kenya before arrival in country. Applicants
should have a solid academic record (at least a B- average).
Program Cost and Credits
Students will earn 1 SLU units or 3.6 credits for the Pastoral Nomads course. Students will earn 1.5 units or 6 credits for the Archaeology, Health and Conservation courses. The program fee will include
tuition, room and board, airfare from a pre-determined departure point, cultural activities and park entrance fees, use
of program field equipment, and all program-related local transport. The program fee will be determined by mid-December. Students
will want to have some pocket money for personal items, occasional meals
out, and gifts.
Applying
Application deadline has been extended to February 29, 2008.
To apply, click on the link below to print out a pdf version of the application to be filled out and mailed in. The application is formated to print front/back.