Category | Arts & Living

Fall brings the start of the ‘Year of the Atlantic World’

Published on August 21, 2007 by The Sentinel

    This year marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave
trade in the British colonies. Though slavery has been abolished, it
still plays a vital role in teaching us today about human rights. Every
year the Office of International Services and Programs holds lectures
and events on different regions of the world.

The slave trade is just one historical issue investigated with this
year’s program. Last year the program was about Kenya. This year’s
“Atlantic World” involves Europe, the Americas and Africa.

    Dr. Dan Paracka, Director of the International
Services and Programs Office, described the impact slavery had on our
growing nation. He spoke of the different foods each country brought
which were not previously introduced to the Americas.

    “All coastal areas have had a great deal of
inter-coastal exchange,” said Paracka. The exchange of foods improved
diets among the inhabitants of the coastal regions. In addition to
introducing new types of food, the slaves also brought their own
religions, languages and cultures.

    This fall, a variety of historical topics,
wide-ranging around the Atlantic, will be covered in lectures and
special school events. The topics covered in the “Year of the Atlantic
World” will include social, cultural, political and artistic issues
within these growing regions. KSU will be hosting lecturing professors
from Yale, Emory, the University of Belize and the University of
London. Speakers will talk about slavery today and how we can right the
problem.

    Students in a variety of courses will be involved in
this program. Students taking KSU 1101 will be reading the book “Not
for Sale,” a novel about the modern-day slave trade and new generation
abolitionists seeking to end human bondage.

    Depending on the class and when it is scheduled,
professors will be taking their students to attend these lectures.
Lectures will be held every Thurs. at 6:30 p.m. in the Social Sciences
building, room 1019.

    Aside from weekly lectures, there will also be a
number of events connected to the “Year of the Atlantic World.” Oct. 10
is the “Year of the Atlantic World” Day held at 12:30 p.m. in the
gazebo. This will be an event of food, art and cultural exchange. An
art exhibit will be held in the fall also. There will be a joint
conference on globalization from Nov. 6-9 between KSU and the
University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

    In the spring, students will perform “Moby Dick,”
the story of a whale-hunting ship set in the Atlantic Ocean.

    “We really try to connect the program to what other
student organizations are doing,” said Paracka. This year the L.I.N.K.
[Leaders in Kennesaw] leaders chose to go to Brazil for their service
program, as it was the country most impacted by the slave trade.

    The “Year of the Atlantic World” will be an
informative, interesting and inspiring program this year. For more
information on the program, visit www.kennesaw.edu/atlanticworld or contact the Institute for Global Initiatives or the Office of International Services and Programs.

Graphic by Wendy Raven McNair