Global Learning
Explore Library resources for study abroad, international learning, and countries represented by our Kirkwood students.
About Ghana
Some facts about Ghana, from the Global Road Warrior database:
- "Ghana is located in West Africa. The country covers roughly 240,000 square kilometers (93,000 square miles)."
- "The official language of Ghana is English; however, many languages are recognized such as Ga, various Akan languages, Ewe, Dangme, and Guan, which are spoken amongst various ethnic groups throughout the country. Due to the widespread use of French in West Africa, it also is widely spoken in Ghana."
- "Ghana’s mild climate promotes a high level of biodiversity throughout the country. It is home to several endemic species of frogs, lizards, and butterflies. Elephants, lions, panthers, and gazelles also can be found. Many species of snakes and amphibians thrive in the nation's forests and grasslands. There also is exceptional diversity of bird species including eagles, hornbills, and parrots. A large variety of fungi grow in Ghana’s forests. In addition to crocodiles, the rivers boast hundreds of species of fish. The Gulf of Guinea is home to whales, dolphins, and endangered sea turtles."
- Read much more about Ghana in Global Road Warrior!
Books and other sources about Ghana
Amphibious Subjects by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780520381865Publication Date: 2022Amphibious Subjects is an ethnographic study of a community of self-identified effeminate men--known in local parlance as sasso--residing in coastal Jamestown, a suburb of Accra, Ghana's capital. Drawing on the Ghanaian philosopher Kwame Gyekye's notion of "amphibious personhood," Kwame Edwin Otu argues that sasso embody and articulate amphibious subjectivity in their self-making, creating an identity that moves beyond the homogenizing impulses of western categories of gender and sexuality. Such subjectivity simultaneously unsettles claims purported by the Christian heteronationalist state and LGBT+ human rights organizations that Ghana is predominantly heterosexual or homophobic.
Black Power: Three Books from Exile: Black Power; The Color Curtain; and White Man, Listen! by Call Number: 305.896 W952bISBN: 9780061449451Publication Date: 2023Black Power: A Record of Reactions in a Land of Pathos is Richard Wright's chronicle of his trip to Africa's Gold Coast before it became the free nation of Ghana. It speaks eloquently of empowerment and possibility, freedom and hope, and resonates loudly to this day. The Color Curtain: A Report on the Bandung Conference is a vital piece arguing for the removal of the color barrier and remains one of the key commentaries on the question of race in the modern era. White Man, Listen! is a stirring assortment of Wright's essays on race, politics, and other social concerns close to his heart. It remains a work that "deserves to be read with utmost seriousness, for the attitude it expresses has an intrinsic importance in our times" (New York Times).
Contesting Africa's New Green Revolution by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781786996558Publication Date: 2021Through interviews with farmers, policymakers and agricultural scientists, Jacqueline Ignatova shows how efforts to transform the seed sector in northern Ghana - one of the key laboratories of this 'new Green Revolution' - may serve to exacerbate the inequality it was notionally intended to address. But she also argues that its effects in Ghana have been far more complex than either side of the debate has acknowledged, with local farmers proving adept at blending traditional and modern agricultural methods that subvert the interests of global agribusiness.
A Dam for Africa by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780253059956Publication Date: 2022Since its construction in the early 1960s, the hydroelectric Akosombo Dam across the Volta River has exemplified the possibilities and challenges of development in Ghana. Drawing upon a wealth of sources, A Dam for Africa investigates contrasting stories about how this dam has transformed a West African nation, while providing a model for other African countries.
El Anatsui: Art and Life by Call Number: 730.92 A535eISBN: 9783791346502Publication Date: 2012An African artist who has garnered worldwide recognition while based permanently in Nigeria, El Anatsui is best known for shimmering tapestries made from liquor bottle tops, which are part of the permanent collections of many of the world's great museums. Author Susan M. Vogel, who worked closely with Anatsui while directing a documentary film about the artist, offers a uniquely personal perspective on Anatsui and provides the first penetrating study of his artworks.
Emmanuel's Dream: the True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Call Number: Easy Reading 362.409 W782eISBN: 9780449817445Publication Date: 2015Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people-but not by his mother, who taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family, and, eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message- disability is not inability.
Exiles, Entrepreneurs, and Educators by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781438474717Publication Date: 2019After repeated coups and periods of military rule, Ghana is now one of Africa's longest enduring democratic republics. Exiles, Entrepreneurs, and Educators compares the political proclivities of two generations of African Americans who moved to Ghana. Steven J. L. Taylor blends archival and ethnographic research, including interviews, to provide a unique perspective on these immigrants who chose to leave an economically developed country and settle in an impoverished developing country.
Ghana - Culture Smart! by Call Number: 966.7 U91g 2021ISBN: 9781787022720Publication Date: 2021-03-04Culture Smart! Ghana describes the complexities and nuances of Ghanaian society with clarity and humor, and offers the reader an opportunity to get to know Ghanaians on their own terms, and to enjoy all that this beautiful country has to offer. Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.
Homegoing by Call Number: 813.6 G996hISBN: 9781101971062Publication Date: 2017Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.
Kofi and His Magic by Call Number: Easy Reading 966.7 A584kISBN: 9780517704530Publication Date: 1996A young Ashanti boy describes some of the wonders of his life in and around the West African village of Bonwire.
The Scarcity Slot by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780520975149Publication Date: 2020Amanda L. Logan argues that African foodways have been viewed through the lens of 'the scarcity slot,' a kind of Othering based on presumed differences in resources. Weaving together archaeological, historical, and environmental data with food ethnography, she advances a new approach to building long-term histories of food security on the continent in order to combat these stereotypes.
The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Call Number: BAZISBN: 9780593496237Publication Date: 2022Fleeing persecution in 1960s America, a Black couple seeks asylum in Ghana, but fresh dangers and old secrets threaten their newfound freedom in this hypnotic debut novel.
Films available to stream:
- Documentary: J.C. Abbey, Ghana's PuppeteerThis film documents an exceptional fifty-year artistic career, from Accra's streets to Ghana's villages to international TV.
- Documentary: Kente - Woven Ceremonial Cloths of GhanaKente is one of Africa's most celebrated textiles. Kente is woven in long narrow bands. Finished strips are cut to the same length and sewn together to produce a large cloth. Kente's bold and colourful patterns are intricately woven and each design and finished cloth has a name and a meaning. Emanuel Adari explains the history and significance of Ashante designs.
- Movie (Drama) Azali: KaderThrust into Accra by circumstances, a 14-year-old girl from Northern Ghana must endure life in the slums of Accra, and find a way to get back home.
- Film (Animated history) Abina and the Important MenBased on an award-winning graphic novel, this is the powerful yet little-known story of story of Abina Mansah. Enslaved by a wealthy planter in Africa's Gold Coast (modern day Ghana), she successfully fought for justice and freedom in the region's colonial legal system.
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