African Immersion: American College Students in Cameroon

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Based on previously unused primary sources including extensive interviews in Cameroon, personal journals, diaries, responses to questionnaires, and a variety of secondary sources, this study is a critical analysis of US study abroad programs in Africa. Using the University of Dayton Cameroon Immersion program as a case study, the work examines different aspects of experiential learning including selection, orientation, activities of US college students in Cameroon, post-immersion meetings, and impact of program. The nation of Cameroon and University of Dayton are uniquely ideal for the study as Cameroon is considered Africa in miniature and serves as a window to understanding many of Africas political, economic, cultural, and social complexities. Located in the American Midwest, the University of Dayton, while unique, shares many similarities with other American universities. The study expands the boundaries of scholarship on study abroad. By comparing the impact of the African experience on students to that of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who served in that continent, the study opens up avenues for comparative analyses. Africa is vital to the global community and, with its complex political, economic, cultural, and social systems, offers important lessons to understanding students ability to adapt to change in a rapidly changing global environment.

Reviews

The publication of Julius Amin's African Immersion: American College Students in Cameroon takes the emergent scholarly research on study abroad programs to an altogether different level.... The ten-chapter book with three appendices proffers some profound meanings and relevance of the study abroad concept, drawn not only from the author's expertise but also other scholars and think-tank groups.... Amin's book has the potential of being very useful for the orientation sessions of the good number of Study Abroad Programs all across U.S. campuses, as well as for student participants, their parents and friends, who may have any qualms regarding such travels to various destinations. Additionally, those who have completed the program in Africa as well as other destinations elsewhere may want to read it for comparative purposes or just to indulge in reminiscences. Finally, the book also provides useful information for the general reader. The forthrightness with which Amin discussed the strengths and shortcomings of the immersion program is as commendable as it is insightful. * Journal of Global South Studies *
Education for global citizenship and experiential learning are today trumpeted as among the defining goals of a college education, making all the more self-evident the value of study abroad programs as part of the undergraduate experience. Based on a detailed study of University of Daytons study abroad programme in Cameroon, Amin, a Professor of History at the university and faculty leader for the Cameroon program for many years, provides a nuanced and honest analysis of the benefits and challenges of study abroad programs. College administrators as well as students involved in or contemplating study abroad programs in Africa and elsewhere will profit from his effort. -- Dickson Eyoh, University of Toronto

Author Bio

Julius A. Amin is professor of history at the University of Dayton.