THE RECORD Online

Fall 2002 News Briefs

Greenville Launches New Semester Program in Africa

On August 27, 2002, twenty students left campus to spend three and a half months living and studying in Africa. The students live in traditional African homes while studying and traveling throughout Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Greenville in Africa is designed for students to consider the complexity and beauty of the world. The program requires commitment to academic study as well as introspective spiritual contemplation in order to engage both the heart and mind.

In order to accomplish these goals, five core classes were designed specifically for the program. Issues in Poverty and Development allows students to use the tools of their discipline to evaluate and define poverty through a series of interviews, guest lecturers and published sources. Ecology of Southern Africa introduces the students to the biodiversity of the African continent through a series of labs throughout Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Religion and African Philosophy presents students with African spirituality and thought systems through the eyes of Christianity using lectures and field trips. Seminar on Southern Africa teaches students to look beyond the ordinary perspective of Africa and see the importance of the continent to the rest of the world. Finally, Post-Colonial African Literature introduces students to major authors of Africa’s literary renaissance. In addition to these required courses, students can pick up two additional credits through Leisure Sports, Service Projects or Independent Studies.

For the program’s first semester, five students from Huntington College and one from Taylor University join thirteen Greenville students for this unforgettable experience. The students were chosen by committee through an application process which included a lengthy application form, faculty references, student development references and a college transcript. To apply, students must be college juniors or seniors with a 2.7 cumulative GPA.

Leading the program this fall are Dr. Robert Snyder, Co-Academic Director, Dr. Jameson Kurasha, Co-Academic Director, Alice Snyder, Program Director, and Yvi Martin, Resident Director/Assistant Program Director. The Snyders, who helped plan the program, are Greenville professors on extended leave working in Mozambique with Food for the Hungry. Dr. Jameson and his wife, who led the program planning team, work for the University of Zimbabwe. Yvi Martin graduated from GC in 2001.
For more information on Greenville in Africa or to contact the program participants please visit www.greenville.edu/academics/africa.

Last updated: January 17, 2003