Fate of historic forts rests in connecting them to the communities around them
The most help I can do for the preservation and heritage of Elmina castle, Fort Amsterdam, and the other slave castles along of the coast of Ghana is to teach others how they can study and care for the castle tomorrow.
Cary Jensen named assistant vice provost for international advocacy and engagement
In this new leadership role with the Office for Global Engagement, Cary Jensen will provide broader support to the University’s international populations amid the current shifting national policies affecting them.
Trip to Kumasi offers insights into Ashanti culture
In a break from their work on the forts of the Ghanaian coast, mechanical engineering major Seungju Yeo ’20 learns more about the culture and language of the Ashanti region of modern-day Ghana.
Like a fish out of water (with a side of banku)
The goal of this entry isn’t to try and definitively answer these questions, but rather to discuss how I got my feet planted. The first step was to acknowledge that I am not here to be comfortable.
Memorable Ghana
“As a student in the digital media studies department, it amazed me to see how the different tools and methods of studying the structures added to our understanding of how the forts were built and how they might have changed over time.”
Surveying the castle is ‘an honorable mission’
“Since arriving at Elmina, my heart has been flooded with sorrowful thoughts that fly back to the colonial period, when elegant pieces of architecture such as Elmina Castle were built to house pillaged materials such as gold and ivory, as well as human beings.”
On to Elmina Castle
Engineering student Kate Korslund ’20 finally reaches Elmina Castle, home for the field school she her classmates will be spending their summer learning about the historic importance and preservation of these coastal forts.
Students share research experiences in Ghana
Hear from eight Rochester students spending this summer at a field school in Ghana. Led by Professors Renato Perucchio, Michael Jarvis, and Chris Muir, the students are studying the engineering, historical, and cultural aspects of the country’s historic coastal forts.
Arriving in Ghana: Jollof rice hits the spot
On her first days in Ghana, mechanical engineering major Louisa Anderson ‘20 settles in for a summer at a field school near Accra, learning about the history, people – and food.
Food for thought—and research
In fields like anthropology and linguistics, scholars must earn the trust of the communities in which they work. A basic key to that trust involves the sharing of food.