AFRICA: A Legacy in Memory





				The following list represents only a few of the online resources available about Africa, African culture, history, and art, and related topics. Most of the sites listed here also provide information about other online resources to further your research and exploration. Resources with features of particular interest to or designed specifically for grade school children are indicated with: *Also For Children. GENERAL INFORMATION, NEWS, CULTURE, AND HISTORY* BBC NEWS - AFRICA http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/default.stm One of the best sources for the latest news reports about Africa. ALL AFRICA http://allafrica.com All Africa is a leading online news service for Africa, providing current news and information each day from over 70 news organizations throughout Africa. AFRICA RESOURCE CENTER http://www.africaresource.com/index.htm Read e-journals on African art, women's issues, immigration policies, poetry and philosophy. Also includes a well-organized listing of resources on a wide range of topics. AFRICA SOUTH OF THE SAHARA http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/guide.html An extensive guide to online Africa-related internet resources. Search by country, region, topic, or keyword. Prepared by Karen Fung, Curator, African Collection, Stanford University Libraries, for The Electronic Technology Group of the African Studies Association (USA). AFRICAN VOICES Also For Children http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices African Voices is a permanent Smithsonian Institution exhibition that examines the diversity, dynamism, and global influence of Africa’s peoples and cultures over time in the realms of family, work, community, and the natural environment. Through this wonderful website, visitors can explore a number of themes, review an African history timeline, and listen to African voices. Interactive features involve children, as well as adults: "make" your own bògòlanfini, or mudcloth, and "watch" the stages of Yoruba wood carving. AFRICA http://www.pbs.org/africa/ Based on the AFRICA series broadcast on PBS and co-produced by Nature and National Geographic Television (see below), this site is an in-depth informational resource on Africa. Explore the people, countries, and environments of eight African regions and view five photo essays. AFRICA FOR KIDS For Children http://pbskids.org/africa/ This site provides a fun approach to learning about school, mask making and folktales, as presented by an online friend from Africa. TEACHER TOOLS http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/tools/music/activities.html In creating lesson plans in African Arts and Music, any teacher can find assistance in this guide for creating fun and educational programs for children. There are also many links provided depending on region of study to create a more focused lesson plan. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC: AFRICA http://www.nationalgeographic.com/africa/ Learn more about Africa at National Geographic's site for the AFRICA series. Check out photo galleries on topics ranging from rainforest dwellers to Southern Africa's Bushmen, maps, and travel guides. Get the latest news from hot spots throughout the continent. There is also an interactive page for kids in the classroom. WONDERS OF THE AFRICAN WORLD http://www.pbs.org/wonders/index.html From the mosques of Mali to the pyramids of Egypt, join Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. as he explores Africa in this online companion to the 1999 PBS television series. THE STORY OF AFRICA http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/ Drawing on the perspective of African historians, this BBC World Service site explores events, people, and cultures that have shaped African history from ancient times to the de-colonization campaigns of the 1960s. THE ARTS NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART http://www.si.edu/nmafa/ Explore the collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) and learn about uses of and imagery in African art. The NMAfA's collection "embraces the diverse artistic expressions found throughout Africa, from ancient to contemporary times. Collection objects range from ceramics, textiles, furniture and tools to masks, figures and musical instruments. The arts of painting, printmaking, sculpture and other media are well represented by living artists whose works highlight individual creativity, address global and local art trends and innovatively transform artistic traditions into modern idioms." AFRICAN VOICES Also For Children http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices African Voices is a permanent Smithsonian Institution exhibition that examines the diversity, dynamism, and global influence of Africa’s peoples and cultures over time in the realms of family, work, community, and the natural environment. Through this wonderful website, visitors can explore a number of themes, review an African history timeline, and listen to African voices. Interactive features involve children, as well as adults: "make" your own bògòlanfini, or mudcloth, and "watch" the stages of Yoruba wood carving. ART AND LIFE IN AFRICA PROJECT http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/ This site from the University of Iowa features images, videos, essays, and resources organized on the theme of Art and Life in Africa, "making a valuable cultural resource accessible at institutions which do not otherwise have access to such material locally." Objects in a museum context are recontextualized making use of field photographs, films, maps, narration, and text, placing them in the context for which they were created in the lives of African peoples. ART AND LIFE IN AFRICA ONLINE http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/index.html This site contains information about African art and culture. Some of the material on this site has been adapted from similar material developed for the Art and Life in Africa CD-ROM produced at the University of Iowa and featured in the Material Differences exhibition at Hamline University. ART AND LIFE IN AFRICA TEACHER'S FORUM http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/teachers/index.html This area is designed as a resource for teachers who are using the Art and Life in Africa Online website and/or Art and Life in Africa CD-ROM program with their students. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA MUSEUM OF ART http://www.uiowa.edu/uima/ MUSEUM FOR AFRICAN ART http://www.africanart.org The Museum for African Art in New York is the only museum in the United States solely dedicated to African art and is highly regarded for the excellence of its exhibitions, publications, and educational programs. It organized and previously exhibited Material Differences, the centerpiece of Hamline University's Africa: A Legacy in Memory festival. FACING THE MASK Also For Children http://www.africanart.org/facingthemask/home.html This specially designed website brings African masks to life with exhibition information, activities for kids and curricula lessons for teachers. Teachers: "We have created an online guide that you can use in your classroom with students. In it you'll find information and pictures about a variety of masks and masquerades and learn how masks are made. We have included the basics about Africa; it's climate, history and people. There are discussion questions in each section as well as a list of learning standards. A bibliography is included for further information. Finally, students will have the opportunity to make their own masks!" Families: "This kid-friendly online guide can be used by kids alone or with an adult. It contains information and pictures about Africa, masks, masquerades, as well as discussions about who makes masks and how. Kids also have a chance to make their own masks!" THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/department.asp?dep=5 This area of the museum's website provides an introduction to its Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas department and includes collection highlights. View 50 specially selected works of art. AFRICAN ART AND RITUALS OF DIVINATION http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/oracle/index.html Created in conjunction with the past exhibition, "Art and Oracle," the site includes featured objects (with color photographs, basic information, and explanatory text), essays on different aspects of divination in Africa, and a bibliography of sources on African divination. FINE ARTS MUSEUMS OF SAN FRANCISCO, DE YOUNG MUSEUM http://www.thinker.org/deyoung/collections/collection.asp?collectionkey=36 The de Young's African art collection features work from many areas of sub-Saharan Africa, and showcases some of the oldest and most diverse traditions in art. With 100 works digitized, visitors can view highlights from the collection. THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/afr/index.html The Art Institute's African collection features noteworthy works of wood sculpture, masks, ceramics, furniture, textiles, and beadwork from West, Central, and Southern Africa. BAYLY MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA http://www.lib.virginia.edu/clemons/RMC/exhib/93.ray.aa/African.html African Art: Aesthetics and Meaning. An Electronic Exhibition Catalog. AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY http://www.amnh.org/ One of the United States' premier natural history museums, it houses a vast collection of African objects. The website provides information about the museum's programming and exhibitions related to Africa. INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY OF AFRICAN MUSIC http://archive.ilam.ru.ac.za Founded in 1954, the International Library of African Music, was created by the late Hugh Tracey, as a research institution devoted to the scientific study of music and the oral arts in Africa. The original recordings were gathered over 25 years in remote areas of the continent. Since the 1950s I.L.A.M. has produced over 250 recordings, and publishes the journal "African Music." TOPICS P.O.V.: STATE OF DENIAL http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2003/stateofdenial/index.html This PBS site is based on "State of Denial," a film by Elaine Epstein, and focuses on the current state Africa's AIDS epidemic. The site's resource section provides a number informative online websites and articles about AIDS in Africa. "Although sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only 10% of the world's population, it accounts for approximately 70% (an estimated 29 million people) of global HIV/AIDS cases. The 21 countries in the world with the highest prevalence of HIV cases are in Africa, with the highest rates of HIV incidence occurring in Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe." HOPES ON THE HORIZON: AFRICA IN THE 1990s http://www.pbs.org/hopes/index.html This PBS site takes a look at forces for democratic change in six African countries: Benin, Nigeria, Rwanda, Morocco, Mozambique, and South Africa. It features information about the project, a discussion board, and video and audio clips. AFRICA'S DIAMOND WARS http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/040600africa-diamonds.html Find out how diamonds are fueling wars across Africa in this in-depth special report from The New York Times. AFRICAM Also For Children http://www.africam.com Watch wild animals in national parks and game reserves throughout Africa via Africam's live camera connection. Images are updated every 15 seconds. For more information on the animals featured, check out the site's Field Guide; the Camguide will give you information on African regions and additional wildlife resources. To suggest a correction or website to be included here, please contact the site manager at: acarlsted@hamline.edu. Hamline University is not affiliated with any organization listed here and gives no endorsement or guarantee regarding the organizations' products or services.