CU Home  >  Libraries Home Search  |  Site Index  |  FAQ  |  Help 
African Studies


Search Library Catalog:
Go To CLIO >>

Bullet Home

Teaching Resources on Africa

Internet Resources for K-12 Teachers of Africa
*Access with Mozilla Firefox or Safari web browsers!
Produced for the African Studies Association's 2007 Teachers Workshop held at
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, October 19, 2007

General Education and Outreach
African Diaspora
Art, Film, and Music
Business & Economics
Conferences on Africa
Cooking Recipes
Embassies, Missions & Flags
Environment, Geography, Maps, and Science
History, Philosophy, and Religion
How To Cite Internet Resources
Languages and Literature
Libraries, Archives, and Bibliographic Resources
News and Contemporary Issues Analysis
Programs, Research Centers, and Universities
Travel Information
UNESCO on Education
United States Government Agencies

General Education and Outreach

    ***African Studies Association's 2007 Teachers Workshop on Africa, October 19, 2007, New York.
    Co-sponsored by the Local Arrangements Committee of the 50th Anniversary Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the ASA Outreach Council.

  • Africa (PBS Online, Public Broadcasting Corporation, Alexandria, Virginia)
    Promotional site for "Africa" the 8 part television series co-produced by WNET/Thirteen's Nature and The National Geographic Society, which begins airing in September 2001. The site includes excerpted texts, photos, "teacher tools", and other resources. See also, the National Geographic website below.

  • Africa Access Review (Brenda Randolph, Silver Spring, Maryland)
    "Africa Access was founded in 1989 to help schools, public libraries, and parents improve the quality of their children's collections on Africa. Our online database, Africa Access Review, contains over 1000 annotations and reviews of books for children. These critiques and descriptions are written by university professors, librarians, and teachers most of whom have lived in Africa and have graduate degrees in African Studies. In recent years, we have expanded beyond our original mission to include Research and Reading projects."

  • "Africa Connects: Education in the Internet Age, Cape Town, South Africa, 10-13 July 2001 (Western Cape Schools' Network, SchoolNet SA, International Education and Resource Network--I*EARN, and the University of Cape Town)
    General conference information, call for papers, and registration. The deadline is June 1, 2001. "Using the Internet and computers in schools, to support and transform education. AFRICA CONNECTS will cover a wide range of topics in educational computing and educational use of the Internet, in the form of presentations and hands-on workshops. A central theme will be developing access to technology in Africa and developing countries."

  • Africa: Africa World Press Guide to Educational Resources from and about Africa. (Online) Compiled and edited by WorldViews. -- Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc., 1997.
    This web site is the electronic version of a 200+ page illustrated book. The electronic edition contains the full text of the chapters, without illustrations, and very helpful, albeit incomplete, bibliographic citations. A full bibliography of the works cited in the text is only available in the print edition.

  • Africa's 100 Best Books (Zimbabwe International Book Fair Association, Harare; via Columbia University)
  • Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent (University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries and African Studies Program, Madison, Wisconsin)
    The website offers downloadable images, sound files, and other materials on Africa drawn from contributions by UWM faculty over the last 20-30 years.

  • African Educational Research Network (AERN) (via North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina)
    • The website includes research papers, an online journal, and selected web links relating to education in Africa and African studies in the USA. 'Founded in 1992, the mission of the AERN is to promote research capacity building through collaborative actions.' The network includes Cumberland College (Kentucky), Ohio University, NC State University, University of Manchester (UK), University of Ottawa, National University of Lesotho, Bayero University (Nigeria), Oklahoma University, Kenyatta University, and Clark Atlanta University.
    • African symposium: a journal of educational research on Africa. (Online) -- Raleigh, North Carolina: African Educational Research Network (AERN); via North Carolina State University, 2001--
      See the "Archives" for the most recent and all of the back issues.

  • African Studies Center Outreach Program, Boston University (Boston, Massachusetts)
    Information about the resources available from the Outreach Center, includes: online "travelling kits" on Ghana and Kenya, the online catalog of videos, materials for purchase, and other services.

  • "Area studies in search of Africa" (2003) by Pearl T. Robinson. The Politics of Knowledge: Area Studies and the Disciplines ; UCIAS Edited Volume 3, Article 6. University of California eScholarship Respository Journals & Peer-Reviewed Series. -- Los Angeles and Berkeley: University of California Press and California Digital Library, 2003. 42 pages in PDF format.

  • Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) = L'association pour le développement de l'éducation en Afrique (Paris, France)
    • "The ADEA was established at the initiative of the World Bank in 1988. Its objective was to foster collaboration and coordination between development agencies in support of education in Africa. ADEA now focuses on developing partnerships between Ministers of Education and funding agencies..."

  • Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH) (Silver Spring, Maryland)
    The web site of the organization originally founded by Carter G. Woodson in 1915. General information about the ASALH's activities and leading members; and about Woodson's contributions.

  • Association of African Universities (AAU) = Association des Universités Africaines (Accra, Ghana)
    • "The Association of African Universities [founded in 1967] is an international non-governmental organisation set up by the universities in Africa to promote cooperation among themselves and between them and the international Academic community."
    • AAU newsletter. (Online) -- Accra, Ghana: AAU, 1997-- PDF format.
    • Study Programme on Higher Education Management in Africa
      This section of the website includes a listing of AAU research projects and an archive of online research papers (PDF format).

  • Centre for Higher Education Research and Information, Open University: The Role of Universities in the Transformation of Societies (London, UK)
    See 2003 reports on Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa (in PDF format).

  • Council on Foreign Relations: Africa (Washington, DC)
    This site offers current US foreign policy news and general information on the Council's Africa program, including: brief biographical profiles of research fellows at the Council & contact information; selected online texts on projects and policy meetings; and links to related sites. See also the general home page.

  • Colloque International << Le droit à l'éducation: quelles effectivités au Sud et au Nord? >>, du 8 au 12 mars 2004, Université de Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (via Association Francophone d'Education Comparée--AFEC, Paris, France)

  • East Africa Living Encyclopedia--"Teaching and Learning About East Africa" Project (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia)
    Basic information on five East African countries summarized and organized under broad subject headings, some teaching ideas, and internet links. "Teaching & Learning about East Africa Project (TLEAP) is a 'living library'--a work in progress--of resources for teaching and learning about East Africa and about Swahili, the most widely spoken language of that region. The educational resources are provided or recommended by East Africa experts on the faculties of the University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College, and Delaware State University, and by Master Teachers of the School District of Philadelphia."

  • Global Volunteers Service Programs (St. Paul, Minnesota)
    • "Global Volunteers, a private non-profit, non-sectarian development organization, was founded in 1984 with the goal of helping to establish a foundation for peace through mutual international understanding. Our programs center around a one-, two-, or three-week volunteer work experience in Asia, Africa, the America, the Caribbean, Europe, or the Pacific."
    • Ghana
    • Tanzania
    • GV Home Page

  • H-AfrTeach Web Site & Discussion List (H-Net; Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan)
    "The mission of the H-AfrTeach web site and discussion list is to provide a stimulating forum for considering the possibilities and problems involved in teaching about Africa. It is intended for a wide audience, encompassing educators, students and others with an interest in teaching about Africa at all educational levels." The web site itself also includes links to lesson plans and other resources.

  • K-12 Educational Resources for African Studies Outreach (University of Wisconsin, Madison, African Studies Program--Outreach Services)
    A collection of annotated lists of resources.

  • K-12 Electronic Guide for African Resources, 1994-96
    (Dr. Ali Dinar, African Studies WWW, University of Pennsylvania)
    "The aim of this guide is to assist K-12 teachers, librarians, and students in locating on-line resources on Africa that can be used in the classroom, for research and studies. [includes "lesson plans"] This guide summarizes some relevant materials for K-12 available on the African Studies WWW. The African Studies Web also contains information that is not listed in this guide. ... This guide illustrates both how to find resources for teaching about Africa on-line; and how to navigate the Internet."

  • Ohio University: Institute for the African Child (Athens, Ohio)
    "The children of Africa are the interdisciplinary focus of the Institute for the African Child at Ohio University. We seek to promote research, teaching, and service that consider children in the process of the African continent's socio-economic development."

  • Portes d'Afrique (Le Figaro, Paris, France)
    Huit mois de voyage, près de 20.000 milles parcourus à la voile autour de l'Afrique...Retrouvez le récit d'un grand périple à la rencontre de l'afrique maritime...avec 12 écrivains-voyageurs contemporains, y compris: Ken Bugul, Abdourahman Waberi, Florent Couao-Zotti, et Alain Mabanckou.

  • ProTeacher! -- Africa Lesson Plans for Elementary School Teachers (USA)
    A collection of links to ideas for teaching Africa in grades K-6 in the United States; part of a larger website for American elementary school teachers.

  • SchoolNet: African Education Knowledge Warehouse (Braamfontein, South Africa ; Dakar, Senegal)
    The website --in English or French-- includes information on ICTs and computers in schools, reports on ICTs & education in Africa, programs, conferences & workshops, etc. "[Founded in 1999] SchoolNet Africa is one of Africa's first African-led, African-based non-government organisations (NGO) that operates across the continent in its endeavour to improve education access, quality and efficiency through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in African schools."

  • South African politics: an introduction using internet resources (Dr. Allison Drew, Department of Politics, University of York, UK)
    The site offers historical summaries, illustrations, maps, photographs, bibliographical sources, and exercises. "This course provides a brief introduction to South African politics and political history using internet-based resources. It introduces students both to the types of internet resources that are available on this topic and to their use. Students can develop research skills using the web through simple web-based exercises."

  • Takam Tikou: L'actualité de l'édition jeunesse en Afrique et dans le monde arabe La joie par les livres. (Centre National du Livre pour Enfants, Paris, France)

  • Tanzania Course (2003) (Dr. Frances Vavrus, Columbia University Teachers' College, New York)
    The website includes the course syllabus, photographs, and Tanzania-related  links. "This intensive (study abroad) four-week course provided students with a unique opportunity to observe development policy in practice in the Kilimanjaro and Arusha Regions of northern Tanzania. In this course, development refers to a reduction in a person's sense of vulnerability to the social, political, and economic forces which s/he does not necessarily control. Policy is used to describe a statement of an institutions stance on any issue, with the assumption being that every stance is a political strategy designed to effect change in a particular direction."

  • University of Cape Town: Multimedia Education Group (MEG) (Cape Town, South Africa)
    This site offers examples of projects and includes reports from Cape Town; plus related web links. "[Established in March 1997] MEG's central focus is the development and implementation of computer based teaching resources for selected disciplines."

  • The World Bank: EdStats: Country Profiles (Washington, DC)
    This site provides statistical indicators on educational development by country (since 1990), with reports on education (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and links to other topics in international development.

  • Coverdell World Wise Schools -- Africa Lesson Plans (Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools -- Educators; sponsored by United States Peace Corps, Washington, DC)

  • Yenza!: using the Internet for research and teaching in the Humanities and Social Sciences (Centre for Science Development, HSRC, Pretoria & INFOLIT of the Cape Library Cooperative, South Africa--Reader's Digest Association, Inc.; via National Research Foundation, South Africa)
    A general list of annotated links for basic research--mostly within South Africa.

Art, Film and Music

  • The African Guide (Nicole Smith & Albert Angel, USA)
    This searchable illustrated guide provides a listing of current and upcoming festivals and other major cultural events across Africa, with links to web sites. "The African Guide aims to promote cultural tourism in Africa as well as make Africa a priority travel destination."

  • African Odyssey Interactive: Arts and Education (ArtsEdge, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC)
    This site offers links to basic information about African arts (music, theatre, literature, and art) and past performances; plus some teaching lesson ideas mostly for elementary schools.

  • Guide to African Women Cinema Studies (Beti Ellerson, Department of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC)
    A teaching and learning guide, with suggested films, links to selected film web sites, and the 1991 Statement by African Women Professionals at Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

  • Art & Archæology of Africa (Columbia University Libraries)

  • Films and Videos on Africa (Columbia University Libraries)

  • Kiboko Projects & Galleries (Mark Scheflen et al., Visual Arts Program, St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, New York)
    Since 1995, Mark Scheflen has been director of a program designed to nurture child artists in New York, Kenya, and South Africa. This web site features information about the various programs and several galleries of the children's art (for sale).

  • Music and Dance of Africa on the Internet (Columbia University Libraries)

Business and Economics

  • Africa renewal. (Online) -- New York: UN Dept. of Public Information, 2004-
    Formerly known as: Africa Recovery (1996-2004).
    Current electronic issue in full; available in English or French. There is a link to an archive of some previous issues, but each back issue is only composed of a few excerpts and the table of contents.

  • AllAfrica.Com--Business & Technology Center (AllAfrica Global Media, Washington, DC)
    • Current and recent news from all over the African continent on business news. The principal sources of news reporting are African newspapers and news services, and UN agencies. Warning: the searchable archive for articles older than 30 days is only available through subscription.
    • NEPAD-related News
      A compilation of current news summaries related to the "New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development". See also: NEPAD official website below.

  • All Africa Foundation: "Sustainable Africa" Internet Channel (AllAfrica Global Media, Washington, DC)
    • A portal site for news stories and public domain documents relating to "sustainable development" issues in Africa: environment, trade, debt, population, water, climate change, forests, agriculture, etc.
    • Directory of organizations (International, regional, national, and community-based)

  • Business and Economic Information on Africa (via Columbia University Libraries)
    An extensive list of annotated links to African economic information, including news, economic research organizations, central banks, regional development organizations, chambers of commerce, stock exchanges, conferences, etc.

  • The Internet in Africa (Columbia University)
    A set of links to major web sites on Internet Service Providers (ISPs), conferences, Internet development projects, and connectivity issues in Africa.

  • MBendi AfroPaedia (MBendi Information Services, South Africa)
    • "To assist companies and business people around the world to do business in and with Africa. In its pages you will find information on the business opportunities and challenges in the countries of Africa, the companies and organisations active in various industry sectors (Oil, Gas, Chemicals, Mining etc.), the leading business and government personalities, stock exchanges, details of conferences and exhibitions, a directory of products and services, the larger development projects currently underway in Africa, and information on the African Stock Exchanges."

  • NEPAD: New Partnership for Africa's Development, New African Initiative & Related Documents, 2001-- (via United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

  • US Government Agencies on African Economic Development (via Columbia University Libraries)

Environment, Geography, Maps, and Science

  • Action Bioscience: "Origins of Modern Humans: Multiregional or Out of Africa?" (May 2001) by Donald Johanson. (American Institute of Biological Sciences, Washington, DC)

  • African Indigenous Science and Knowledge Systems Page (Dr. Gloria Emeagwali, Department of History, Central Connecticut State University)
    An outline of links to other sites (including selected books available from Amazon.Com) and brief historical summaries on African history, science, and technology.

  • Climate, Environment, & The Weather in Africa (Columbia University Libraries)

  • A Day in the Life of Africa: one day in Africa as seen by 100 photographers (Olympus Corporation, Japan)
    Requires Adobe Flash Player or equivalent: The website features a gallery of photographs, the names of photographers, location of filming, recorded sounds of the the ocean, birds, people, traffic, and other human activities; plus, information about the print publication. "'A Day in the Life of Africa' was held on February 28, 2002 with nearly 100 photographers from 26 countries around the world using the 53 countries of the African continent as the backdrop...The main objective of this years project is the increasing of awareness of the crisis situation on the African continent with more than 25 million HIV positive males and females, including children, and currently increasing at a rate of 2 people infected every minute."

  • The Environmental History of Africa -- An Internet/CD Course (Prof. James C. McCann, Department of History and African Studies Center, Boston University, Boston, Massacusetts)
    This website includes the course syllabus, thematic maps and photographs, other images, and related information.

  • Maps of Africa (Columbia University Libraries)
    A list of online maps and other Internet resources for African geography.

  • National Geographic's "Africa: The Series" (Washington, DC)
    Promotional site about the 8-part television series beginning on public television in September 2001, co-produced by WNET/Thirteen's Nature. The site includes text excerpts and photographs; plus, related links to Africa-related resources and a "Kids" section.

  • Science and Technology in Africa (Columbia University Libraries)

  • Science in Africa. (Online) -- Grahamstown, South Africa : Science in Africa, 2001-
    Current issue and back issues since January 2001. A popular monthly news magazine about scientific research and development on the African continent, plus information about funding and job opportunities and links to organizations.

  • USAID Famine Early Warning System (See below under "United States Government Agencies.")

History, Philosophy, and Religion

Languages and Literature

  • African Language Resources (Columbia University Libraries)

  • African Literature on the Internet (Columbia University Libraries)

  • African Studies Association of the United States: Childrens' Africana Book Awards (via AfricaAccess.Com, Silver Spring, Maryland)
    Since 1991, the Outreach Council of the ASA annually honors outstanding authors and illustrators of children's books about Africa published in the United States.

  • African Writers Series -- Heinemann (Harcourt Publishers, Oxford, UK; Portsmouth, New Hampshire)
    A commercial publisher's site which offers a list of their African authors, with biographical and book information.

  • Children's Literature Research Unit, University of South Africa (Pretoria, South Africa)
    Select bibliographies of South African and other African children's literature.

  • Humanities Course on Africa (Cora Agatucci, Department of Humanities, Central Oregon Community College, Bend, Oregon)
    This web site is designed to support a college course on the 'study of significant Sub Saharan African works of traditional oral arts or 'orature,' and modern literature and film, representing a diversity of peoples and cultures from key historical periods.' The site includes a useful table of  African Timelines, with hypertext links to other resources on the Internet.

  • The Virtual Institute of Mambila Studies (University of Kent, U.K.)
    "The Virtual Institute of Mambila Studies seeks to collate and connect the different research and researchers with an interest in the Mambila people of the Nigeria - Cameroon borderland and their neighbours; their languages and the area in which they live. We take a broad view of Mambila, including other groups speaking related languages such as Kwanja, Vute, Wawa, Nizaa, Njerep (3 speakers at last count!), Twendi (35 speakers), Tep, and others. Our research is primarily of an anthropological and linguistic nature; abstracts or full texts of papers are available at the site."

News and Issues Analysis

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

United States Government Agencies
© Columbia University Libraries My Library Account  |  Hours  |  Contacts  |  Suggestions 

Last published: 2009-07-05
Page ID: 22761