Faculty, Students 'Reverse Sail' in African Study Abroad By
Christine Neff In West Africa, the Sankofa bird – a mythical
creature that flies forward while looking backward – teaches
that we must go back to our roots to move ahead. It’s an
appropriate symbol for a study abroad trip taken by East
Carolina University faculty and students this summer. The group
traveled to Ghana as part of an intensive study of Africans in
the diaspora with an emphasis on the transatlantic voyage from
West Africa to the Americas. David Dennard, history professor
and director of ECU’s African and African American Studies
program, and Kenneth Wilburn, director of undergraduate studies
for the ECU Department of History, led the two-week trip this
July. Dennard referred to it as “reversing sail,” returning to
African roots in order to better understand the African American
experience. “We can return,” he said, “but we’re returning as
different subjects.” |ECU travelers to Ghana enjoyed warm
hospitality from the people. Above, a Ghana