Dr. Abe Mengestu Q&A

Teaching in the MLA since:				2018
Specialty/Area of Research:				Religious Studies Society & Religion
MLA Courses Taught:				Perspectives on Africa Perspectives on Africa

 

 

 

 

 

How many years have you been teaching in the MLA program and what class or classes have you taught?

I have been teaching in the MLA program since 2018. I designed and taught courses on Africa (Perspectives on Africa), and on Migration (Perspectives on Migration).

 

Tell us a little bit about your specialty or area of research?

While my specialty began in religious studies, particularly in early Christianity and its role in identity formation and social construction, my research and teaching interest evolved into exploring the interface between society and religion, and the identity forming factors in society, culture, and religion. Originally from East Africa, both as an immigrant and as an African-American, I am also fascinated with how understanding history, society, culture, religion, and politics shapes one’s perspective on several issues including policies on immigration and understanding Africa and Africans.

 

 

How do your courses relate to events that your students experience or read about on a day-to-day basis? 

The courses I teach currently, Perspectives on Africa and Perspectives on Migration, explore two areas that are continually present on news media as well as in political, social, and economic policy discussions. They are full of contemporary issues that we encounter daily.

• The course, Perspectives on Africa, examines the miss/representations of Africa that depict Africa and Africans on daily basis and their effect on how the world relates to Africa and Africans around the world. These images of Africa are the lenses through which Africa and Africans are depicted and evaluated daily. Students will have the opportunity to explore these images and related perception of Africa, to develop a critically balanced perspective on Africa and things related to Africa, to recognize the role of images in creating popular narratives and perceptions, and to realize the importance of examining images, perceptions, and narratives to formulate one’s own understanding of society and culture.
• The course, Perspectives on Migration, explores different perspectives on migration with a particular focus on the policy debates on immigration in the U.S. and Europe in recent years. Immigration is central in social, political, and economic policy debates. Students are exposed to these debates on daily news and political discourses. Taking this course will give students the opportunity to explore multiple perspectives and develop skills to analyze and assess immigration discourses and build their own perspective in a well-informed way.

 

How do you try to make the material in your class engaging considering most students complete their MLA degree 100% online?

• Frame each topic in connection to a current issue that an aspect of the course deals with
• Make the learning activities relate to contemporary issues that are circulating in the news media and/or in the social, political, and economic discourse.
• Use images and short videos that communicate both the issue and its applicability.
• Create and facilitate student to student interaction in the form of discussions, student introduction and response, and projects making the learning activity a collaborative work
• Create study group to promote collaboration
• Student self-reflection
• Video clips adding clarity to the assignments and their due dates
• Communicating regularly and clearly

 

What do you hope students walk away from your class having learned or gained?

I want my students to walk away with better understanding and better skill:

• better understanding regarding what Africa is and what Africa is not, the impact of images on one’s perception, the nature of immigration and crucial contemporary issues involved in it, the role history, politics, culture, religion, and society play in shaping one’s understanding
• better critical skill to decipher and analyze complex issue and build their own understanding of several issues including policies on immigration and understanding Africa and Africans.