Harvard Summer Program in Ghana
This page contains content from the Summer School 2009. For current information, visit the Harvard Summer School website at www.summer.harvard.edu.
Information on the programs being offered summer 2010 will be available online in early September.
An investigation of slavery and slave trade through lectures and fieldwork
Faculty: Emmanuel Akyeampong and Yaw Bredwa-Mensah
(8 credits: UN, GR) Limited enrollment
Program dates: June 12–August 7
Application deadline: February 27
Cost: $6,630
The Harvard program in Ghana offers an eight-week lecture course that explores the history and material culture of slavery and slave trade in West Africa and the Caribbean (Danish Caribbean and Jamaica). Students attend formal classroom lectures given by professors and oral historians, and participate in archaeological fieldwork and field trips to sites of enslavement and slave trade. Building on a partnership between Harvard and the University of Ghana, faculty at the University of Ghana also guide Harvard students in research and in finding suitable internships after the eight-week course.
Course of study
In addition to the course on slavery and slave trade, students can arrange to study Ghanaian languages through the University of Ghana.
AFAM S-136 Study Abroad in Ghana: Slavery and Slave Trade in West Africa and the Caribbean—Historical and Archaeological Perspectives
This course combines lectures, the critical use of contemporary sources, oral history, film and images, field trips to sites of enslavement and slave trade (European forts along the coast, interior slave marts, and settlements that survived slave raids) and archaeological fieldwork on Danish plantations in the reconstruction of the period between about 1650 and 1850. Britain, Denmark, and the Netherlands were the preeminent European powers in the Gold Coast in this period. Gold Coast influences on material culture, religion, and socio-political organization in the Danish Caribbean islands and Jamaica underscore the diasporic connections that unite the black Atlantic. Prerequisites: none.
Course credit
For Harvard College students, this program counts as one full-year course (8 credits) of degree credit.
Transfer credit. Harvard Summer School courses and credits are accepted toward degrees at most colleges and universities. Since degree requirements vary among schools, students are advised to obtain transfer credit approval from their home institutions before registering for Harvard Summer School courses.
Faculty
Emmanuel Akyeampong, Professor of History and of African and African American Studies, Harvard University
Yaw Bredwa-Mensah, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, University of Ghana
Application
Students must be at least 18 years old to apply. The application materials, outlined below, are due February 27:
- An application form (applications for this program are no longer being accepted)
- Official transcripts (sent directly from schools to the address below; unofficial copies of transcripts are accepted for Harvard College students only)
- A $50 nonrefundable application fee
- A supplementary statement describing interest in the program, relevant coursework, and travel experience abroad (not a prerequisite)
In addition, applicants will be interviewed.
Applications should be addressed as follows:
Matilda West
Study Abroad Coordinator
Harvard Summer School
51 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Students are notified of admission decisions by mid-March.
Cost
The cost of the program is $6,630, plus a nonrefundable $50 application fee. In addition to the program fee, students are responsible for a health insurance fee ($165; waived if students have US insurance that provides coverage outside the United States) and their travel to and from Ghana. The cost of the program covers the following:
- Tuition
- Room and some meals
- Excursions (including in-country transportation)
Program directors will advise students of likely additional expenses.
Payment deadlines
Harvard Summer School online services allows accepted students to make payments or deposits with a valid credit card.
Students can also mail their payment, along with a completed Study Abroad Payment Form (available in Forms), to:
Student Financial Services
Harvard Summer School
51 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
For admitted students, a nonrefundable deposit of $663 must be received by April 15 to secure a place in the program. Payment in full is due by May 15. A $100 late fee will be charged for payments received after this date.
Funding
Harvard College students are eligible for funding through the Harvard College Office of International Programs (OIP), as well as a variety of centers around campus. All Harvard Summer School study abroad programs qualify for summer funding. Programs of eight weeks or longer in duration (including extensions of Harvard Summer School Programs approved by faculty members) qualify for Rockefeller International Experience Grants; programs of shorter duration qualify for other summer grants.
Students may consult the Funding Sources Database for more information on all sources of funding. Please note that the funding application deadline for summer grants and Rockefeller International Experience Grants is February 27.
To apply for any study abroad funding, students need to provide information about the program’s budget, submit an application through the Common Application for Research and Travel (CARAT), as well as supplementary documents to the relevant center, if necessary. Additional information on the funding application process is available through CARAT.
Also see the Harvard College Financial Aid Office summer school page for information about assistance.
Other Harvard students may be eligible for financial assistance through their Harvard financial aid offices. Students enrolled at other institutions should consult their respective financial aid offices.
Accommodations
Students stay in shared, dormitory-style accommodations (two in a room) at the International Students Hostel at the University of Ghana in Accra. For field trips outside of Accra, students stay in paired accommodations at Hans Cottage Botel in Cape Coast, at the Engineering Guest House at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, and at Gariba Lodge in Tamale. There are cafeteria/restaurants on all the premises.
Additional information
Contact Matilda West, matilda_west@harvard.edu.
Students with disabilities should contact the disability services coordinator as soon as possible: (617) 495-0977, (617) 495-9419 (TTY), or disabilities@dcemail.harvard.edu. Request-for-accommodation forms and supporting diagnostic documentation must be submitted by April 15. See the Disability Services page for more information about disability services, including request forms and guidelines for documentation.
Students applying for admission to Harvard’s study abroad programs should understand that although the University provides reasonable assistance and support to facilitate the participation of qualified students in its programs (including students with disabilities and health impairments), some of our programs are located in parts of the world where accommodations may not be readily available. Students are encouraged to be forthcoming with the disability services coordinator about any specific needs and functional limitations so that the Summer School can collaborate with those students in a way that fosters their safe participation and allows them to fully appreciate any barriers that they may face, depending on the location and rigors of the particular program.
Harvard Summer School is aware of the risks associated with international travel. Should the US Department of State issue a travel warning for any of the countries in which a study abroad program is planned, the program in that country may be canceled.