Ghana

This course covers the recognition of instruments, traditional roles, ranges, and capabilities; the scoring for strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and voice; the history of the Western Orchestra; conducting and conductors; and orchestral techniques. Aspects covered include texture, intersectional blends, balance, influence of dynamics and selection of instruments. Selections covered include Baroque, classical, Romantic and 20th century models, and a critical review of ensembles of African instruments.

This course is a hands-on activity that teaches the skills necessary for playing Ghanaian/African drums. It also examines the uses of African drums and other percussion instruments as it relates to the life and culture of Ghanaian and African societies. The course is largely practical but also touches on the origins and roles of African drums and other percussion instruments and explores the position of drumming within the larger context of African music. Students are required to play all of the basic rhythms of a particular musical ensemble at the end of the course.

The course examines the organization of spaces from the point of view of population (i.e. recognition of spatial patterns and dynamics, with population as the focus) and the relevance of the study of population dynamics with special reference to their spatial implications for development. Examples from both the developed and the developing world are be used to treat an introduction to population geography, data, spatial measures and mapping, population characteristics (such as age, sex, nuptiality, households, urban-rural patterns, and socio-economic), components of population change, population distribution, world population growth, and distribution.

The course looks at all aspects of the Pan-African Movement from its origins in the Black diaspora to its twenty-first century expression. It seeks to study the impact of the Pan-African Movement on politics and society in the Black Diaspora and on Africa. It emphasizes the reasons for the Pan-African congresses, issues discussed during these congresses and some outcomes of the congresses. Topics include the Pan-African Congresses, the Back-to-Africa movement, the African personality, African Renaissance, Garveyism, and the Diaspora’s relations with the African Union.