University of Ghana, Legon

This course focuses on the economic issues of agriculture in developing countries. It looks at the structure and organization of agriculture in developing countries and the attendant problems for mechanization, the agricultural production function, pricing of agricultural inputs and outputs. The course also place special emphasis on technology adoption in agriculture.

The course analyses what it means to be a man or a woman in different socio-cultural contexts, how gender roles are learned, and how these gender roles translate into gender needs. The concepts of sexuality and gender, gender roles and how they are shaped and learned, triple roles of women, practical and strategic gender needs, gender-based access to and control of resource within households are explored. Gender equality, gender-based violence, gender mainstreaming and roles of the state, role of men and women in technology development and the innovation process are reviewed. During the practical session, students visit communities to identify gender roles and how such roles influence control and utilization of resource for crop and livestock production.

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.