
Testing my ethnographic mettle in Elmina
I learned about the process, etiquette, and household names of ethnography in the classroom, and so I was ecstatic about the opportunity to test my know-how out in the field and conduct a study for myself.

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.

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.

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.

Choosing between violin, engineering, or both
For the Michigan native graduating with dual degrees from the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Eastman School of Music, Ivan Suminski found himself in an enviable dilemma.

On stage, in the lab
Thanks to the Dual Degree Program with the University’s Eastman School of Music, Ivan Suminski ’18, ’18E finds himself in an enviable dilemma. Should he apply to graduate school to continue his violin studies? Or to research the biophysics of the inner ear?