Africa

Compiled by the African Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Last verified April 24, 1999

African Studies Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison
http://polyglot.Lss.wisc.edu/afrst/k-12.html

http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/afrst/asphome.html

GENERAL AFRICAN STUDIES RESOURCES

African Studies World Wide Web (University of Pennsylvania)
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/AS.html

This site has many links including the African Studies Association, East African Resources, Feeds from Africa, K-12 Africa (providing lesson plans and E-mail addresses of teachers and students in Africa), Books on Africa, and detailed country-specific information, from flags, languages, and maps to U.S. State Department Travel Advisories.

Africa News Service
http://www.africanews.org/

Site established by Africa News Service, a non-profit U.S. organization that distributes reports from African newspapers, magazines, and news agencies. Information is organized chronologically and thematically. You can search by regions and countries, topics, and news agencies, or go the Resource Pages for background documents, Internet links, and archives.

An A-Z of African Studies on the Internet
http://docker.library.uwa.edu.au/~plimb/az.html

An A-Z of African Studies on the Internet is an invaluable resource for specific country studies. Just browsing we found ten web sites for one nation (Namibia), including the National Archives, Fact Sheet, History, Government Homepage, Internet Resources, Newspapers, the National Library, Ministry of Tourism, and a discussion group. Links are arranged by subject in alphabetical order.

AKAN Cultural Symbols Project
http://www.marshall.edu/akanart/Akanartintro.html

This site gives a general introduction to the Akan culture of Ghana and provides photographs and detailed information on Akan cloth (including Adinkra and Kente) as well as wood carvings and metal casting, architecture, economics, cosmology, and politics.

Africa South of the Sahara
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/guide.html

Africa South of the Sahara provides Internet resources by country or region of the continent as well as by topic (ranging from art to women). A trial search for one country produced a listing of about sixty related web pages. A great source for general information.

The Wonders of the African World
http://www.pbs.org/wonders/

"The Wonders of the African World"

National Geographic Society
http://www.nationalgeographic.com

This web site features two very interesting Africa-related pages, "Escape from Slavery" and "In Search of Human Origins." You'll also find lessons designed to help teachers bring geography into the classroom. National Geographic also offers a comprehensive atlas that features maps, national flags, and basic geographic, demographic and political information on African countries.

Africanet
http://www.africanet.com

Africanet.com provides country-specific information, tips for travel to Africa, as well as a search engine to facilitate research on specific topics and countries.

African Lives
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/africanlives/front.htm

African Lives is a series of recent articles from the Washington Post representing the everyday lives of people across Africa, from Child Brides in Ivory Coast to Young Urban Kenyans.

Africam
http://www.africam.com/

This site allows you to view live images taken by cameras in the Djuma and Sabi Sabi Game Reserves, as well as Satara and Orpen National Parks in South Africa.

South Africa: Can a Country Overcome its History?
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/southafrica/

South Africa: Can a Country Overcome Its History? is from the exhibits collection of the Annenberg/CPB project. The history of South Africa from the arrival of Europeans in 1652 through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is covered. After each section is an Interactive Timeline quiz. Students can use an e-mail address to be entered into a drawing for each timeline solved correctly. Includes a related resources section.

South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
http://www.truth.org.za/

This web site gives legal background, transcripts, updates and press releases, a recommended reading list, audio recordings of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's speeches, and photographs from the hearings.

The Nubia Salvage Project
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/PROJ/NUB/Nubia.html

The Nubia Salvage Project web page provides background information on Nubia, the world's first Black civilization. Nubia stretched from central Sudan to southern Egypt.

Ethiopia: Land of Plenty
http://www.webstories.co.nz/focus/etiopia/index.html

(Note: This is not a typographical error. The "h" is left out of Ethiopia in the URL.) Ethiopia: Land of Plenty is a presentation of OneWorld magazine, and contains beautiful images and stories about the nation's past (e.g. Sellassie vs. Mussolini), the land (e.g. Gelada Baboons), and the people (e.g. Women in Power).

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Discover Africa: Kids Zone
http://www.afroam.org/children/discover/discover.html

Discover Africa: Kids Zone features one nation every month using a very kid-friendly format. Eighteen nations have been reviewed to date. The site also has sections called: Fun & Games, Brain Teasers, Myths & Fables, and Discover Africa.

Humanities and Social Sciences Online: Teaching About Africa
http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~afrteach/

A Teaching About Africa site developed by H-Net (Humanities and Social Sciences Online). This excellent site offers Discussion Lists, Lesson Plans, Unit Outlines, Course Syllabi, Perspectives on Stereotypes, and reviews of educational materials.

The Living Africa
http://hyperion.advanced.org/16645/

This web site was created as part of the international Thinkquest 98 contest, a worldwide competition that challenges students from around the world to collaborate and create educational resources for the Internet community. Features the people, the land, the wildlife and the national parks of Africa. Includes games, virtual postcards of African animals, different quizzes for elementary and high school levels, and more. This is a great site.

Africa Access Review
http://www.inform.umd.edu/mdk-12/homepers/africa/

Contains Africa Access Review of K-12 Materials and Afrophile: Recommended Titles on Africa for Children and Young People, an annotated bibliography listing over 500 titles referenced by grade level. This site is a little bit difficult to maneuver, but the reviews of the books are thoughtfully done.

Africa Stories
http://www.umich.edu/~aaps/africa_stories/

The Africa Stories site is jointly sponsored by Huron High School in Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan. It is the result of a project in which high school sophomores conducted historical, geographical, and cultural research about African countries and then authored fictional narratives representing these settings. After posting the stories to the Web, students were matched with readers from the nations in which the stories were set in order to receive comments and suggestions. Both original stories and responses are online, and you are invited to submit responses as well. This site was awarded an Academy Online award for excellence.

Lesson Plans and Resources for Social Studies Teachers
http://www.csun.edu/~hcedu013/index.html

This site, Lesson Plans and Resources for Social Studies Teachers, is a collection of Internet resources gathered by California State University-Northridge Professor Marty Levine. Click on "Online Activities" for links to Africa Online For Kids Only, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Egypt WebQuest, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Odyssey in Egypt, and South Africa Notebook Assignment.

African Links and Resources
http://www.execpc.com/~dboals/africa.html#AFRICA

Wisconsin resident Dennis Boals created this History/Social Studies Site for K-12 Teachers. The Africa section is a annotated bibliography of 72 links to Africa-related educational sites.

Knowledge Unlimited
http://www.ku.com/

Good source of teaching materials available for purchase. Africa-related materials include maps (How Big is Africa?), posters (Math of Africa), videos (The Roots of African Civilization) and more. Click on "Knowledge Unlimited Online Catalogue" and type "Africa" in the search box. You can also sign up to receive a print copy of the catalog by mail.

Africa Lesson Plans
http://www.peacecorps.gov/www.dp/fact/wwslesson.html

Developed by Peace Corps volunteers, these global lesson plans include many Africa resources for teachers (Grades 3-12)

AFRICAN NEWS

Africa News
http://www.africanews.org

This site contains up-to-date news and analysis of issues that impact Africa. It also provides a variety of links and resources related to African Studies.

AJR Newslink
http://www.newslink.org/nonusf.html

This site, developed by the American Journalism Review, offers links to African newspapers listed by country. This site would be of particular interest to foreign language teachers or any individual interested in following news directly from Africa.

Woyaa! Africa on the Internet
http://www.woyaa.com

Woyaa offers African news and events, as well as a vast network of information on business, government, education, society, and much more.

Africa Online
http://www.africaonline.com/

Africa Online offers current information on news and weather, as well as an introduction to various aspects of African life including: women's issues, music, education, etc.

The Ulimate Collection of News Links
http://pppp.net/links/news

The Ultimate Collection of News Links includes links to newspapers around the world. This web site features links to newspapers in over 28 countries in Africa-a great way to keep up on current events making headlines around the world. This site loads slowly.

Newspapers on the World Wide Web
http://www.gt.kth.se/publishing/news.html

This site allows you to access current editions of newspapers from cities and countries around the world. Useful for providing updates on current events in Africa from a local perspective, and contrasting that to what, and how, news is reported by the American media. African papers represented include the Ghanaian Newsrunner, The Monitor (Uganda), a variety of South African newspapers, and the Zambia Daily Mail and Post.

Africa World Press Guide
http://www.igc.org/worldviews/awpguide/

The Africa World Press Guide reviews literature that deals with African issues, such as conflict resolution, the environment, music, women's issues, and more.

One World Online
http://www.oneworld.org/news/by_country/index.html

One World provides country-specific news information for all regions of the world. The African section offers news information for over 41 countries in Africa. Information can be searched by country, today's headlines, theme, or by weekly news.

Columbia University African Studies Internet Resources
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/Africa/

This site features electronic journals and newspapers on Africa. Also includes a directory of African studies scholars, and resources organized by region, country, organization, and topic. Teaching resources also available.

The Washington Post: Africa
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/africa.htm

This site offers coverage of African current events from the Washington Post and updates from the Associated Press. A "Search the World" section also allows you to connect to a special page listing news, reference data, and web resources for any country.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Index on Africa
http://www.africaindex.africainfo.no/

Maintained by the Norwegian Council for Africa (NCA), this site contains a very useful "Search Index on Africa" as well as links catalogued by country and subject; also provides continually updated news on Africa. This is an excellent site for in-depth and current information about Africa.

Database on African Countries
http://www.cirad.fr/giews/afrbase.htm

The Database on African Countries is published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is part of the United Nations. This site provides a variety of resources including: maps, food and agriculture statistics, and a country profile for each nation as a part of the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) on food and agriculture.

InfoNation Database
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_infonation.htm

Sponsored by the UN CyberSchoolBus, InfoNation is an easy-to-use, two-step database that allows you to view and compare the most up-to-date statistical data for the Member States of the United Nations. Compare statistics from seven different countries at a time.

Atlas of the World
http://cliffie.nosc.mil/~NATLAS/

This page contains a link to the Maps of Africa section of the Atlas of the World. Select a nation and it will display a full-color map including international and regional/district boundaries, capitals, transportation, and waterways. This Atlas of the World features over 52 maps of Africa, as well as maps of other continents.

AFRICAN ART & MUSIC

Africa: The Art of a Continent
http://artnetweb.com/guggenheim/africa/index.html

This web site offers an interactive map allowing you to focus on the artistic culture of each region of Africa, giving geographical trends and explanations along with photographs. This exhibition is meant to celebrate the extraordinary contribution of the African continent to the world's visual culture. This exhibition includes works ranging from the tools and rock art of early humankind to objects produced well into the twentieth century.

African Art: Aesthetics and Meaning
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/dic/exhib/93.ray.aa/Exhibition.html

Photos and descriptions of African masks and sculptures highlight this site. General information about the role of art in Africa is also included.

African Odyssey Interactive
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/odyssey.html

African Odyssey Interactive, which was developed by the Kennedy Center, welcomes you with African music and images of African culture and art. This site offers a listing of African arts events around the world and a variety of educational resources. African Odyssey Interactive also features a section entitled Spinning Africa: Stories from Life, which invites teachers and students to share their own interpretation and understanding of African cultures through stories, music, dance, and other forms of creative expression.

Cutting to the Essence, Shaping for the Fire
http://www.fa.indiana.edu/~conner/africart/home.html

Cutting to the Essence, Shaping for the Fire is an experimental online catalog for an exhibit of Yoruba and Akan art. This great web site includes photographs of a variety of pieces along with their histories.

Tamarin: Art and Africa Online
http://www.tamarin.com/

Tamarin: Art and Africa Online provides an online exhibit of art and sculpture, with descriptions of the meaning of the work in cultural terms. This site is available in English and French.

Artistry of African Masks
http://www.harlemm.com/nokbeta/exhibit/artistry/exhibit/

The Artistry of African Masks exhibition features beautiful slides of masks from several museums reflecting a diversity of culture groups and nations. For each mask, details of construction, use, and ownership are provided.

California Newsreel
http://www.newsreel.org/topic.htm#LibraryofAfricanCinema

The Library of African Cinema offers descriptions of contemporary African films on a wide variety of topics. This is a great resource for anyone looking for a diverse collection of African and African-American film.

African Music Encyclopedia
http://www.matisse.net/~jplanet/afmx/ahome.htm

This site includes lists of musical artists by country, but also offers links to general, country-specific information on all the countries of Africa.

Africa Online: Music
http://www.africaonline.com/AfricaOnline/covermusic.html

This site offers information concerning the history, trends, and artists of African music. This web site, which is divided regionally, includes a listening booth where you can hear selected songs online.

Africa on Roots World
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/africa.html

This site includes reviews of African recordings by region, interviews with African musical artists, sound files, and links to related sites.

Rumba-Kali: The Home of African Hip-Hop
http://rumba-kali.www.cistron.nl/

At this site you can learn about rappers from over twenty African countries (Crews), check out other sites with Pan African perspectives (Links), download from the Sounds archive, listen to Rumba Radio, and read Geto 3000, the South African Hip Hop magazine.

Cora Connection
http://www.drive.net/kora.htm

Cora Connections provides an introduction to the music of the Mandinka people of West Africa, including information on the instrument itself, and Mandinka culture.

South African Arts, Culture & Heritage Home Page
http://196.2.18.61/saarts/index.html

Produced by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science, and Technology in South Africa, this site has information on history, music, dance, theatre, culture, etc.

Art and Life in Africa
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/index.html

An introduction and guide to the related CD-ROM project. Online resources include profiles of 107 African cultures and 27 Sub-Saharan African countries, a databank of 47 lesson plans for K-12 teachers, and a Teacher's Forum with a discussion group and chat room.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Environmental Atlas
http://www.mi.org/envatlas/africa/africa.html

This site describes the environmental challenges facing the countries of Africa. In addition the Environmental Atlas elaborates on the policies and resources available to slow environmental destruction.

African Wildlife Foundation
http://www.awf.org

The African Wildlife Foundation seeks to conserve African wildlife and its natural habitat. This site includes news and information about conservation efforts and wildlife.

Wildnet Africa
http://wildnetafrica.co.za/index.html

In addition to travel information, this site includes wildlife news and a kid's corner with photos and games.

Earthlife Africa
http://www.earthlife.org.za/

This site is the home page of Earthlife Africa, a South African environmental organization. Includes sign-up for an e-mailing list regarding environmental concerns in South Africa and fact sheets that can be downloaded. A section specifically for children will be launched later this year.

The Environment Internet Guide
http://environment.miningco.com/

Detailed site on environmental issues worldwide, with a new article each week on an environmental topic with associated Internet links. Scroll down and click on "More Links" to find "Africa."

The Real WORLD Resources Guide
http://www.gn.apc.org/eco/resguide/index.html

The Real WORLD Resources Guide was published by the Campaign for Political Ecology in 1996. This site features a bibliographical study about the growing imbalance between human activities and the capacity of environmental systems to sustain them. Scroll down to 1.7, Specific Countries & Regions, to find an excellent bibliography of books related to the African environment.

The World Wildlife Fund
http://www.wwf.org

The World Wildlife Fund details the work they are doing in Africa and Madagascar, providing maps and conservation analyses, which can be viewed using the Macromedia Flash plug-in. World Wildlife Fund publications, such as The Challenge of African Elephant Conservation (4/97), Balancing Population and Conservation (12/96) and Is Sustainable Use Sustainable? (6/96) can be purchase from this site.

Ken Saro-Wiwa
http://www.dnai.com/~argyre/sarowiw2.html

Details the Nigerian government's execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who fought the destruction of his homeland at the hands of the oil industry. This site offers links to several related environmental sites.

K-12 RESOURCES FROM OTHER NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTERS

Teaching about Amistad
http://www.bu.edu/afr/AmistadResources.html

Resources for teaching about the Amistad compiled by the African Studies center at Boston University. This resource includes teaching guides, videos, books, classroom exercises, posters, and links to related sites.

Yale University Curriculum Units
http://www.cis.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/

A compilation of curricular units created by teachers in the annual summer Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

Institute of African Studies-Columbia University
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/libraries/indiv/area/Africa/

This site for the Institute of African Studies at Columbia University, NY includes links to African Studies Programs, electronic journals and newspapers, and African Studies resources by region, country, and topic (including Teaching Resources).

Stanford Program on International Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE)
http://www-iis.stanford.edu/SPICE/index.html

SPICE, the Stanford Program on International Cross-Cultural Education, is an outreach program for the Institute of International Studies (IIS) and publishes curriculum materials for grades 6-12 with a focus on contemporary issues and their historic, geographic and cultural context.

African Studies Center (UCLA)
http://www.isop.ucla.edu/jscasc/outreach.htm

Outreach programs and activities from the African Studies Center at the University of California-Los Angeles. At this site you can learn about the annual summer Teacher's Institute on Africa, and follow educational and other Africa-Related Links, such as Africa Research Central.

African Studies (Michigan State University)
http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfricanStudies/asc_main.htm

This African Studies at Michigan State University site gives information on their extensive Outreach Program and offers a link to their African Media Program, a comprehensive guide to film, video and other audiovisual materials (under construction, completion expected Spring, 1999). You can view a recent copy of the educator's newsletter Elimu and learn about their National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institutes for Teachers.

SITES RELATED TO REGIONAL EXHIBITS AND PROGRAMS

Africa: One Continent, Many Worlds
http://www.lam.mus.ca.us/africa/

This on-line exhibit is from the traveling museum exhibit with the same name. It includes over sixty minutes of video and hundreds of photos of African cultural objects. Menu choices include African Stories, Atlas, and Classroom Ideas. The exhibit is at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul through 5/9/99. Check the web site for future dates and locations.

Africa's Elephant Kingdom
http://discoveryschool.com/specials/aek/

Discovery Channel School has developed an educator's guide to the new IMAX film "Africa's Elephant Kingdom." This film is currently being shown at the Humphrey IMAX Dome Theater in Milwaukee.

Public Broadcasting Service
http://www.pbs.org

Online resource for current and past programming as well as Teacher's Guides. This web site features information about past PBS programs related to Africa including "Night Creatures of the Kalahari, and the "Electronic Field Trip to the United Nations."

FRANCOPHONE RESOURCES

Africa International
http://www.focusintl.com/afrisom.htm

Africa International is a monthly, online magazine written in French, which provides news and analysis concerning politics and economics in francophone Africa.

Afrique Francophone
http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/depts/langlit/french/afrique.html

This is a fantastic list of links to sites dealing with (but not limited to) francophone Africa, on a wide range of topics. This site also includes links to information on the Maghreb.

Africa Net
http://www.ina.fr/CP/AeL/index.fr.html

This site serves as an Internet index of various servers in Africa that provide an introduction to African music, art, film, and culture in French.

Jeune Afrique
http://www.jeuneafrique.com

Jeune Afrique is a weekly magazine published in Paris by Africans from all francophone areas of Africa. The magazine--and this web site--provides an interesting perspective on events occurring in French-speaking areas of Africa.

L'Afrique RIO
http://www.rio.net/rio/liste.html

This is a good resource for Africanists, as it provides hundreds of contacts from organizations within African countries. Non-francophone African countries are also included. This site provides information for over 37 countries in Africa. Each section offers links to various sources of information.

ADVENTURE

Adventure Online
http://www.adventureonline.com/nile/index.html

Follow adventurers as they travel the globe. This site includes passages from travel journals, background information, and educational resources for each country.

Envirolink
http://www.envirolink.org/

Click on education, and in the "Quick Library Search" box, type in "Africa." This will lead you to several links, including AfricaQuest, an online educational expedition.