“It’s my first day of class and I’m very excited” sounds like a canned response at the beginning of every semester that its meaning has been somewhat diluted, but I don’t think it is the case this time. My name is Geo Kamus. I’m a senior studying Economics and Political Science, informally concentrating on development studies. Development encompasses a plethora of topics — foreign aid, public health, education, government, finance, trade, econometric models thereof — that it therefore demands focus from its students. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t found that focus, which shifts according to the book at the time.
I am in this class to absorb as much as I can in this intensive, three-week course. Prof. Buckley has worked in several international organisations such as the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the IMF, and so he embodies in many ways the type of career trajectory I want to have as well. I don’t know much about the African continent, it is chiefly due to ignorance (and deliberate erasure by Western-centric narratives, as I later discovered) that I have passed through three tiers of education without any significant knowledge about the continent. Since I came into NYUAD, I have taken a few postcolonial courses throughout the way, but my image of Africa is still homogenous and dangerous. In fact, the idea that an “Image of Africa” can be created may be itself a homogenous and dangerous thought. Chinua Achebe has an article of the same title listed in our third class, and I am curious to hear what he has to say.
I hope that this course fulfils most if not all of my expectations as they are listed in the syllabus. I suspect that our trip to Cape Town will exceed these expectations further. We have a full schedule of site visits and guest lectures that are the envy of anyone interested in studying the region, and I have the immense privilege of going at such a young age. Hopefully I will get the chance to connect with these lecturers Plus, I heard that Table Mountain has a gorgeous view that defies description. I can’t wait. In the meantime, I want to keep my knowledge of African culture as deep and varied as well. I’ll share some African music that I have discovered online and shared between friends.
I am in this class to absorb as much as I can in this intensive, three-week course. Prof. Buckley has worked in several international organisations such as the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the IMF, and so he embodies in many ways the type of career trajectory I want to have as well. I don’t know much about the African continent, it is chiefly due to ignorance (and deliberate erasure by Western-centric narratives, as I later discovered) that I have passed through three tiers of education without any significant knowledge about the continent. Since I came into NYUAD, I have taken a few postcolonial courses throughout the way, but my image of Africa is still homogenous and dangerous. In fact, the idea that an “Image of Africa” can be created may be itself a homogenous and dangerous thought. Chinua Achebe has an article of the same title listed in our third class, and I am curious to hear what he has to say.
I hope that this course fulfils most if not all of my expectations as they are listed in the syllabus. I suspect that our trip to Cape Town will exceed these expectations further. We have a full schedule of site visits and guest lectures that are the envy of anyone interested in studying the region, and I have the immense privilege of going at such a young age. Hopefully I will get the chance to connect with these lecturers Plus, I heard that Table Mountain has a gorgeous view that defies description. I can’t wait. In the meantime, I want to keep my knowledge of African culture as deep and varied as well. I’ll share some African music that I have discovered online and shared between friends.
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