Two faculty members of the Institute of African Studies (IAS), Drs. Benjamin Kwansa (immediate past Coordinator of IAS-UGRC) and Aristedes Hargoe (Ag. Artistic Director, Ghana Dance Ensemble) have won awards to embark on fellowships to the United States.
- Dr Aristedes Hargoe has been awarded the University of Michigan African President Scholars Fellowship programme from 1 August 2022 through 20 December 2022. He will participate in a programme that supports the development of the next generation of African scholars by integrating them into international academic networks. The Fellowship programme is expected to promote the University of Michigan's international commitment to research and teaching. It would also deepen collaborations across diverse disciplines. At the Fellowship, Dr Hargoe will conduct collaborative research in the field of dance anthropology, intangible cultural heritage and phenomenological hermeneutics.
- Dr Benjamin Kobina Kwansa has been awarded a one-year fellowship programme in the Takemi program of International Health for 2022–2023. The prestigious Takemi program puts together a small group of mid-career researchers and professionals from around the world each year, to spend an academic year at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, to conduct path-breaking research, and develop their leadership skills. Dr. Kwansa will work on the project titled Patterns in Intergenerational Construction of ill-health among Ga, Asante and Kasena. His research will aim to systematically illustrate through ethnolinguistic analysis of relevant Ga, Asante and Kasena lexicon of common words, proverbs, phrases, coinages, euphemisms and terminologies, the patterns in the constructions of ill-health among three generations. Additionally, Dr. Kwansa would participate in other activities of the Takemi programme, including weekly seminars and occasional lectures.
Speaking of this year’s cohort 39 group, the Executive Director of the Takemi program says “this group of Takemi Fellows is an exceptionally well-qualified group of professionals interested in issues of resource allocation for health in both developing and developed countries. The Harvard Selection Committee for the Takemi Program was greatly impressed by the quality of the candidates and has high expectations for the group's accomplishments in the Takemi Program. We are confident that each member of the group will find the experience both stimulating and rewarding, and on returning home will not only have benefited as an individual but will find herself or himself part of an international network of colleagues.”
This fellowship hopes to intensify the collaboration between the IAS and the Harvard Community.
The Institute congratulates Dr. Hargoe and Dr. Kwansa, and wishes them well!