A few things make ALA the peculiar school that it is– Entrepreneurial Leadership (EL), African Studies, the diverse community and so much more! One of the things under “so much more,” is the Seminal Readings.
Yhuup, seminal readings! One week of each term in the academic year we drop everything to read (some) really interesting texts. Schedules get freer and bags lighter as all school related items are replaced for a big seminal readings booklet.
The discussions students and teachers have during this time are known to be thought evoking and address critical issues in Africa. They help us begin to think about what we need to do to really be the next generation of African leaders.
For those outside the academy, here’s a list of the readings for this term!
Year 1
Theme: Founding Beliefs (in relation to ALA)
1. Statement from the Dock at the Opening of the Defense Case at the Rivonia Trial – Nelson Mandela
2. Speech from the Founding of the Organisation for African Unity – Kwame Nkrumah
3. Getting to the Heart of the Matter; An Interview with Wangari Maathai – Wangari Maathai
4. Entrepreneur as Hero – Candace Allen and Excerpt from Nobel Lecture – Mohammed Yunus
5. The Talented Tenth – Du Bois
6. Letter from The Cathedral of Milan – Bill Shore
Year 2
Theme: Resistance and Oppression
1. Animal Farm – George Orwell
2. Message to the Tricontinental – Ernesto “Che” Guevara
3. Letter to Thomas Auld – Frederick Douglass and Letter to Birmingham Jail – Martin Luther
King
4. Enfranchisement of Women – Harriett Mill and The Masters Tools Will Never Dismantle
the Masters House – Audre Lorde
5. Pray the Devil Back to Hell – Gini Reticker
6. Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations – Haile Selassie
Have you read any of these? What did you think?!
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