Ghana: Pan-Afrikan Visions for Liberation: Past, Present, Future

Summary

*** Info Session: Monday, February 10, 4-5 p.m. Register here ***

SUMMER ABROAD GHANA: Pan-Afrikan Visions for Liberation: Past, Present, Future

This immersive experience in Ghana explores the history of seminal Pan Afrikan Social Movements using the Ghanaian Independence Movement as a case study. Engage with work from revolutionary scholars and leaders like Kwame Nkrumah to understand how communities in Ghana, and globally, think about revolutionary praxis and theories of liberation today. Students will visit important and historic sites, meet with local community leaders and organizations, and visit villages outside of the city center to learn more and explore these themes. All the while, students will dive into the vibrant cultures of Ghana, engage with the arts/food scene, learn how to make traditional crafts, participate in dance & drumming workshops, and visit various major cities and outlying villages. This program is an in-depth exploration of Pan Afrikan social movements in (and inspired by) Ghana, and how we can continue to learn from and engage with those struggles today.

A partnership between African American Student Development, the African American & African Diaspora Studies Department and Study Abroad, this program is designed to create access to study abroad to historically underrepresented communities who demonstrate a commitment to Black/Afrikan communities and their liberation.
 

Highlights include:

• Lectures from scholars and movement leaders in Ghana to understand present day issues in Ghana
• Learn and engage with non-traditional educational pedagogies via pre-colonial traditional arts, teaching and storytelling forms including Ghanaian Drumming and Dance as well as Bead and Kente cloth making.
• Excursions to Kumasi (center of Ashanti culture), Lake Bosomtwe, Mole National Park, Volta Lake and other important natural and historical sites in Ghana.
• Visit to the Cape Coast region for a spiritual, ancestral and healing experience tracing the legacies of european colonialism and chattel slavery
   

Dates:

• May 28 - July 3, 2025

All dates are subject to change.

Course:

On this program you will be enrolled in one course for 6 units:

• African American and African Diaspora Studies: 127 (6 units)

Units: 6 units

Language of Instruction: English

Requirements satisfied through participation in this program:

• L&S International Studies Breadth
• L&S Social Behavioral Science Breadth or L&S Historical Studies Breadth
• Consult with your college/major advisor to see which degree requirements this course may fulfill.

Note: Requirements above must be satisfied through full participation (all courses must be completed with C-/P or better)

Eligibility:

• At least one year of college coursework completed by the start of the program
• 2.0 GPA or higher
• Must be 18+ years old at the time of application
• May not be on academic probation or under censure for student misconduct at any point from application review to the end of your program.
• Please note, because of tight timelines for obtaining travel visas to Ghana all students must have a valid passport at the time of application (expiring January 2025 or later), or passport application receipt showing expedited processing service

Housing & Food:

• Housing: Students will be housed on-campus in student dorms. Students will be housed with other UCB Summer Abroad Ghana students and will have single beds in rooms of 2 total program participants. There is one bathroom per floor, one laundry room, 2 kitchenettes and a TV lounge. There is also an open air market one block away and free Wi-Fi.
• Meals: Meals are provided during excursions and in general one meal a day will be provided on the program. SA Ghana program staff will also orient students to affordable and healthy market and restaurant options in the neighboring area.

Application:

Application opens February 5, 2025

While most Summer Abroad applications are first come first serve, this application will prioritize applicants whose responses reflect a commitment to Black/Afrikan communities and Black/Afrikan liberation. In addition to the essay questions outlined on the Berkeley Summer Abroad - How to Apply page, the SA Ghana application will contain the following additional questions:

• The core curriculum of this program speaks to movements for Afrikan/Black liberation on a global scale. What does Afrikan/Black liberation mean to you? How have you demonstrated your commitment to the liberation of the Afrikan/Black community? (200-300 words)
• In this Summer Abroad Program you will be traveling to a predominantly Afrikan/Black country with an economic standing that is different from that which exists in the United States. You will be regularly interacting with students, staff, faculty, community members and workers from a different context who call Ghana home. Considering the global phenomena that is antiblackness alongside your own identities and privileges as someone who lives/studies in the United States, what does being a cultural ambassador mean to you? How do you plan to represent yourself and Berkeley in your interactions with international communities?

Deadline to apply is March 12, 2025

Note: A valid passport (expiring January 2026 or later) is required at the time of application, or a passport application receipt showing expedited processing service

Courses

During the program, you will take one course for a total of six UC Berkeley units.

Course: African American and African Diaspora Studies 127

Title: Pan Afrikan Social Movements: Past, Present and Future

Units: 6 units

Through site-based experiences, weekly lectures and weekly interactive workshops, students will examine Black/Afrikan Liberation Stories.  This course will provide students with an in-depth perspective/case study from the historical trajectory of the Ghanaian Independence Movement which saw revolutionary scholar and leader, Kwame Nkrumah, theorize “liberation” and engage in revolutionary praxis under the banner of Pan-Afrikanism. Students will gain a deeper understanding of Pan-Afrikanism and strengthen their critical thinking skills through examining the success and failures of various social movements which were, and have been, organized under the banner of Pan-Afrikanist.
 

Days will consist of students participating in the Ghanaian international student experience as visitors to the University of Ghana, Accra campus.  Students will travel to various major cities, engage with the local arts and cuisine, tour historical monuments and sites of liberation as living acknowledgements of freedom work, and attend workshops/lectures led by local academics and social organizations. Classroom time will consist of students studying and learning from Pan-Afrikan theorists, leaders, revolutionaries and freedom fighters across various ideologies, locales and eras. Students will be further exposed to the ideas and texts of movement leaders and scholars including Assata Shakur, Claudia Jones, Shirley Graham DuBois, Marcus Garvey, el-hajj Malik el Shabazz/Malcolm X, Walter Rodney, Amilcar Cabral, Kwame Ture, Tuoissaint L’Ovetoure, The EZLN (Zapatistas), CLR James, Neighbor Program, The Malcolm X Academy for Afrikan Education Curriculum Team (mel, dejay, Jordan), Sonia Borges, the Combahee River Collective and Frantz Fanon to provide an international and intersectional perspective on the stories of revolution as they have existed globally.
 

Finally, this course will provide insight to students on modern day Black/Afrikan-led movements for liberation and give them space to dialogue on the progress, obstacles, failures and successes of movement work.
.

Requirements satisfied through participation in this program:

• L&S International Studies Breadth
• L&S Social Behavioral Science Breadth or L&S Historical Studies Breadth
• Consult with your college/major advisor to see which degree requirements this course may fulfill.

Note: Requirements above must be satisfied through full participation (all courses must be completed with C-/P or better)

Course Enrollment:

Summer Abroad staff will enroll you in courses after your acceptance to the program. Please make sure there are no active blocks on your student account that may impact your course enrollment.

Costs

The fees to participate in this program are broken down into 1) tuition and 2) program fees, which are applied to your student billing account as follows:

Fees are subject to change. All non-Berkeley students must pay an additional Document Management Fee of $71.

Estimated Out-Of-Pocket Expenses

In addition to the fees outlined above, Berkeley Study Abroad has estimated amounts for out-of-pocket expenses. These amounts are used to calculate financial aid packages for eligible students. Actual expenses will vary depending on your lifestyle and spending habits.

It is your responsibility to obtain any necessary travel documentation for your program destination (i.e. passport, visa, etc). This may require you to pay fees of up to a few hundred dollars depending on the type of paperwork required.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available for Berkeley students who are enrolled in at least 6 units during the summer. Students can request a financial aid package estimate to understand what their individual financial aid package will look like. We recommend all financial aid eligible students request a financial aid estimate.

​​Requesting a financial aid package estimate: If you wish to receive a financial aid package estimate, please fill out a financial aid estimator form (CalNet Authentication required). You will receive an email with your financial aid estimate (please allow a minimum of one week for response).

If you have a specific question about a study abroad financial aid issue you are encountering, please email TravelAid@berkeley.edu. Please do not email to request a financial aid estimate, these requests should be made using the form above. 

All other students should contact the financial aid office at their home institution for more information.

Explanation of Fees

Tuition is based on a per unit cost:

• The UC undergraduate student rate is $419 per unit
• The visiting student rate for all non-UC participants is $615 per unit

The program fee includes the following items:

• Student housing & some meals (see summary tab for more details on the housing and which meals are provided)
• Excursions including entry fees to local museums, historic sites, etc.
• On-site orientation activities
• Travel insurance, including accident/sickness medical coverage, emergency medical evacuation, security extraction, and other travel assistance services
• Other program-related costs including fees for placement services
• The $300 deposit. If accepted to the program, the $300 deposit will be applied towards your program fee. If you are waitlisted or denied admission to the program, your deposit will be refunded. If you request to withdraw your application prior to an admission decision being issued, or cancel your participation after being accepted to the program, the deposit remains charged to your account.

*Please note that the list of items included in the program fee is not all-inclusive and is subject to change.

The following items are excluded from the program fee and included in the Out of Pocket expenses estimate:

• International airfare
• Personal expenses (souvenirs, routine medical expenses, toiletries, etc.)
• Course materials (textbooks and readers) if applicable. You can contact the instructor of the course to clarify.
• Other travel expenses (passport, visa, etc.)
• Additional meals

Timeline

* The pre-departure orientation is mandatory and takes place on the UC Berkeley campus. If you are not on campus during this time, we will schedule a meeting via phone or Zoom.

† Students should plan to fly to Accra and check into program housing on May 28, 2025. Students are expected to check out of program housing in on July 3, 2025. Students who arrive early or depart after the last day may do so, but they are responsible for arranging their accommodations outside of the program end date. 

All dates are subject to change.

Instructors

Faculty Director: Melissa Charles

Email: mcharles@berkeley.edu

melissa charles is an educator, organizer, and teaching artist. She is of Haitian & Cuban descent and was born & raised on the east coast of Turtle Island before slowly making her way out west.

melissa believes in the power of the people and the necessity of commUNITY in order to engage in a r/evolutionary practice to move us all towards liberation.  as an educator, this looks like carrying on the tradition of Pan-Afrikanism and Black Studies through her work as a Black Studies lecturer and as a Co-founder the the Minister of Education for a full-time K-8 community liberation school called Malcolm X Academy for Afrikan Education (@916mxa). the school is grounded in the militant and liberatory pedagogies of various r/evolutionary education projects.

overall, melissa’s work finds grounding and inspiration from the poem, R/evolution is Love. you can learn a bit more about her teaching philosophy and find more of her work at @agapemvmt