Kenya Summer Program

Program Overview

This field school offers students an opportunity to learn about Kenya through intensive, firsthand experiences. Through travel and engagement with our Kenyan hosts, we will study topics in anthropology, history, politics, development, environment, literature, and the ways in which these general foci interrelate with one another.

Instruction

The program serves majors from many different disciplines. Students earn 6 credit hours upon successful completion of the field school. Credit hours are divided into a core course (4 credit hours) and a directed field study (2 credit hours).

The core course is led by JMU faculty (Dr. Jennifer Coffman in 2003; Dr. Ramenga Osotsi and Dr. Liam Buckley in 2004; Dr. Jennifer Coffman in 2005; Dr. Liam Buckley in 2006; Dr. Jennifer Coffman in 2007) and includes guest lecturers from Kenya, such as rangeland ecologists, health clinic directors, artists, and youth leaders. Further, the core course includes Kiswahili instruction at skills-appropriate levels throughout the program. The core course incorporates lectures, films, readings, field trips, and class discussions to help students contextualize their experiences and pursue their directed field projects.

The directed field study allows each student to focus on a topic of interest throughout the program. This provides the opportunity to practice ethnographic research skills in each of our three major sites.

Program Outline

The program is divided into three major sections, focusing on different modes of life in Kenya. They include:

Kakamega (rural, agricultural)

While in Kakamega, host families will serve as our guides and co-instructors. Although we will continue to meet in classes, we will accompany members of our host families to work, school, church, and markets as appropriate. Day trips will include Kisumu, Lake Victoria, Kakamega National Forest.

Kajiado District (rural, pastoral)

By visiting area residents, game ranches, and national parks, we will learn about the ways in which wildlife and ecosystems are understood, managed, and contested in areas popular for tourist safaris. Of particular interest will be current debates surrounding conservation, biodiversity, and ecological change as manifest in “wildlife-human conflicts” and impacts on local habitats and residents.

Nairobi (urban, industry & service)

Again, we will stay with host families in and around Kenya’s capital city. Classes and field trips will provide insights into the birth and growth of this large urban center. Field trips will include visits to the industrial sector, a grassroots health clinic in Kibera, Nairobi National Museum, NGO offices, a bus tour of the “White Highlands”, and more.