Darasa is in session, baby!

DSM, March 2007

So, as many of you know, I'm actually teaching a course on US History at the University of Dar es Salaam. Though I (we) have yet to receive our work permits yet, I decided to start class (darasa) prior to receiving said permission. My chair does know...if, perhaps, the Ministries of Higher Education and Immigration do not (shhh!).

I'm teaching The Political Economy of the USA, 1620-1973, schmancy title and random dates to be sure. You might be asking yourself, why not start in 1607, with the first permanent English settlement? Or 1492? Or 1763...? The end date is even more curious. Even I am not certain what key event happened then, first oil crisis? Beginning of end for Nixon (who used to be the most corrupt president in US history)? My 4th birthday?

More important is that I have an insane amount of material to cover in just a semester; keep in mind that my 3 hours of class include 1 hour of seminar (discussion), meaning I get but 2 hours of lecture (mhadhara; yes an Arabic word in a mostly Bantu language) a week! For instance, this week, I'll cover the Civil War AND Reconstruction! At my home university, WIU, we have an entire semester just on that topic. The result is I simply skip entire interesting and integral aspects of US History. So it goes.

My students, you ask? Well, they're great. All 8 of them, count 'em, 8! My course is optional for 3rd (final) year majors and so not very popular. Plus, apparently, the normal prof. scares some students, who had no idea that there was a new/American/mzungu prof. teaching this term. Tanzanian students are very polite, respectful, quiet during class, and take lots of notes--all unlike many American students! Alas, they know little about US History, not even geography--yeah, yeah, neither do Americans but this is way different. I make lots of copies of maps (and must goto 3 offices to get form, signature, and actual photocopying done).

Also, as English is, for many, their third language (or, at best, their second), their ability to speak English is, oft, limited. Even greater challenges are their abilities to read and write English. I can't imagine how I would be able to goto university in my third (non-existent language). Honestly, I think the entire univ. should switch to Kiswahili as the language of instruction and there is some discussion along those lines. Stay tuned.

Though I wish I had maybe a dozen more students, the tiny number means I have less work to do AND can get to know my students better, both plusses. They're all quite friendly, though they wish I spoke slower. I'm trying!

So, if you're in Dar on a Monday at 12:00, Wednesday at 17:00, or Thursday at 11:00--course timetables are a whole nuther discussion, rafiki wangu--please come on by. We'd love to have ya and it's great fun, if hot/sweaty. The room is open (hell, it's all windows, but rarely with lights or a fan; and the blackboard is trashed). Don't even get me started on the Library, which was great in the mid 1970s...

If you have any suggestions for teaching (mafundisho), now is the time.

Darasa dismissed!