Classroom Visits & Guest Speakers
Engage your students with guest speakers who are from the continent and who have extensive experience in, and knowledge of specific countries and topics. The K-16 Education program is happy to support your specific needs. We are able to:
- help identify, contact, and sponsor the right student, community member, or scholar to speak to your students. If outside of the Boston area, we can arrange for a Zoom guest speaking appearance.
- host groups of students on campus to introduce them to the African Studies Center, hear scholars of Africa, visit the Teaching Africa library and the African Studies Library.
- hold sessions introducing your students to specific African languages and cultures.
Current Speakers’ Bureau Guest Speakers
Currently, we are offering on demand:
- “Introduction to Ghana and Akan Twi,” led by Twi lecturer Tobias Ninson.
- “Introduction to Igbo Culture and Language”led by Igbo lecturer Nneka Agba.
- Other presenters on a variety of topics across disciplines. Contact africa@bu.edu to find out about guest speaker possibilities. Be sure to state the topic, grade level, and possible days and times in your email.
Guest Speaker Examples
Recently, we have hosted:
- Winsor High School (Boston, MA) 11th graders in African History/Literature class, with scholar lectures by historians and sociologists in addition to an introduction to doing research facilities by the African Studies librarians. The school typically co-sponsors an African-themed lunch for students (half a day).
- 2nd-3rd graders in Memphis, TN, on “Introduction to Ghana and Akan Twi, on Zoom (1 hour).
- 2nd-3rd graders at the Croft School in Jamaica Plain, MA, for an introduction to African geography and to meet an archeologist of Egypt and Nubia.
- Wheelock College of Education and Human Development Global Studies courses for an introduction on how to teach about Africa.
- Wheelock College of Education and Human Development Social Studies courses on teaching about African cultural practices.
- Cambridge Rindge and Latin high school (Cambridge, MA) 10th and 11th graders with in person and online lectures on Franz Fanon decolonial politics and on Tsitsi Dagaremba’s novel Nervous Conditions
- Leominster High School English class reading The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar, featuring a presentation by a leading member of the Amazigh Indigenous Cultural Community Organization (AICCO) to discuss Amazigh identity in Morocco.
Contact africa@bu.edu to share your idea and make a plan for a classroom visit or guest speaker.
