"The Spell of Africa":
Ghana, the Slave Trade, and African American Identity

Summer Study Abroad Program
28 June - 12 July 2014
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC, USA

All ECU-Registered Undergraduate and Graduate Students May Apply

Testimonials from the Ghana 2003 Summer Study Abroad Program: David J. Holloway and William Neal

View Fantastic Photos of the 2006 Program to Ghanaian Music
(Please be patient--may take several minutes to load because of embedded music)


Photos Courtesy of the World Wide Web

"The Spell of Africa" is an intensive study of Africans in the diaspora with special emphasis on the transatlantic voyage from West Africa to the Americas. It devotes primary attention to the nation of Ghana, both as a principal center of the Atlantic Slave Trade, and as a place that has figured prominently in the African American search for identity and post-colonial African independence. Through a survey of core readings, coupled with visits to important sites, students will explore the historical, cultural, and geographical terrain of Africans in West Africa, as well as the heritage of untold millions who were captured, sold, and enslaved in the Americas. Some of the key places students will visit include the Elmina and Cape Coast Castles (major slave trading sites), Accra, University of Cape Coast, the Nkrumah Memorial, the W.E.B. DuBois Centre, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Manhyia Palace in Kumasi (seat and capital of the Ashanti Kingdom), Bonwire and Ntonso for Kente and Adinkra cloth, Ahwiaa for wood carvings, Sankana, Assin Manso (an old slave factory), stunning Anomabo Beach, a drum ensemble, and a home stay with African families in Winneba. All ECU- registered undergraduate and graduate students are invited to apply. For more information contact Professors David Dennard at 252-328-4364 or dennardd@ecu.edu or Kenneth Wilburn at 252-328-1029 or wilburnk@ecu.edu.


Important Information:


First Online Edition: 25 January 2005
Last Revised: 14 November 2013