NUBIANET AND DIGNUBIA,
1992-2008 AND BEYOND:
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Ronald W. Bailey
Northeastern U/Savannah State U
@UICU/NCBS Info Tech Workshop, 7/24/08
1992: ROOTED IN STRUGGLE:
Town/Gown, Campus/Community
“Cooperating” with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in their
“community outreach” activities for the opening of the permanent
gallery of Nubian or Kushite art (1992)
MFA: Largest collection of Nubia
artifacts outside of Khartoum, Sudan
Dana Chandler,
3/26/1968
Kush Club teens dig nubian
roots at MFA Bay State Banner |
Sept. 1, 1994 (Theresa India Young)
AAMARP
Black
Studies
Initiative:
Joyce Grant
Peggy Kemp
Museum of the National Center for
African American Artists (Barry Gaither)
Madison Park Development
Corporation (Danette Jones)
Roxbury
Heritage
State Park
Africa and Human Origins
What “civilizations” did the earliest
humans create?
“ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, MODERN”
NUBIANET’S MISSION: 1992
• The main mission of the project is to create a community
of teachers, scholars, students, educators in museums
and libraries, and others who want to learn and teach
about Nubia as a significant ancient civilization, and to
integrate this knowledge into the school curriculum,
informal educational activities, and self- study programs.
The project also seeks to promote the use of new
technologies in humanities education and contribute to
the pool of culturally diverse educational materials
accessible to all learners using these technologies.
KEY COLLABORATORS:
DR. TIM KENDALL, formerly with
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
MARCIA BAYNES, 8th Grade
Teacher, Cambridge & VA
Marcia Baynes at AFI
EARLY HISTORY
• 1993 Nubia Institute (Funded by NEH, ES-22447-92)
• 1994:Nubia Institute (funded by NEH, ES-22644-94).
Professional development programs for teachers,
including summer institutes.
• 1994-1996 Planning for a Documentary on Nubia
(Funded by NEH, ES 25129-95). With Judith McCray,
Juneteenth Productions
• 1995 5-hour teleconference, "Nubia, Ancient and
Majestic" broadcast over MCET (Massachusetts
Educational Telecommunications Network. Produced by
Michelle Halsell, hosted by Marcia Baynes)
• 1998-2000 NubiaNet: A Website and Resources for
Studying Ancient African and World Civilizations funded
by NEH through the Education Development Center
• 1998: Hosting conference of the International Society of
Nubian Studies with Museum of Fine Arts and others
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
FOR EDUCATORS
NubiaNet
1998 International Conference
An anticipated outcome: Tara Morrison,
Africana major/Nubianet work-study
assistant now Park Ranger in Charge,
African Burial Ground
PARTICIPATING SCHOLARS:
Bill Adams, Frank Snowden, etc.
Published by
Dept. of African-American Studies
Northeastern University
Welcome to digNubia!
digNubia introduces young people to
archaeology through an exciting
archaeological find: the remains of the
ancient African civilization of Nubia in
northern Sudan and southern Egypt
that emerged over six thousand years
ago.
Nubia
Geared to middle school children 8-14
Components of digNubia
• A traveling exhibit intended for after school centers,
boys & girls clubs, small museums, churches, libraries;
• A web site filled with information about archaeology
and ancient Nubia (http: www.dignubia.org)
• A documentary film entitled Nubia and The Mysteries
of Kush
digNubia Traveling Exhibit
digNubia Venues, 2003-2008
2002: Harriet Tubman House, Boston, Massachusetts
The Discovery Museum and Planetarium, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Concordia Educational Technology Center, Vidalia, Louisiana
Zeum, San Francisco, California
2003: The Tech Connection and School Age Children's Camp, Monterey, CA
Francis C. Hammond Middle School, Alexandria, Virginia
Family Center and Imagine Nation Museum, Bristol, Connecticut
Greater Philadelphia Federation of Settlements, Philadelphia, PA
Office of Emergency Shelter and Services, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dakota Science Center, Grand Forks, North Dakota
2004: I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium, Orangeburg, South Carolina
Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia
Afro Studies--U. of Florida/Sante Fe Community College, Gainesville, Florida
Georgia Southern University Museum, Statesboro, Georgia
2005: Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland (MI) Center for the Arts
Putnam Museum of History and Science, Davenport, Iowa
2006: Youth Museum of West Virginia, New River Park, West Virginia
Children's Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
2007: New Jersey History Museum, Trenton, New Jersey
Las Cruces-Museum of Natural History, Las Cruces, New Mexico
2008: Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia
digNubia Web Site
www.dignubia.org
Good Press Coverage!!
digNubia in Savannah
February 6, 2008- March 9, 2008
Adams Hall, Savannah State University
Preparation
digNubia in Savannah
MAJOR ACHIVEMENTS in Savannah:
Weekly delegations from Savannah’s rec centers,
staff professional development session
New digNubia brochures for outreach (7000)
Ten showing of documentary on COMCAST
digNubia in Savannah
SUDAN and NUBIA 2008: CRISIS
See http://www.nubiansociety.org/MDASP_appeal.htm
• In 2006, a 100 miles stretch
of the Nile River that has
been home to human
civilizations since the
beginning of time will be
flooded when the Merowe
Dam is completed in 2007.
While well-known ancient
sites such as Jebel Barkal,
will not be destroyed directly,
there are concerns that
environmental changes such
as changes in the level of the
water table will wrought
massive damage.
Working on Nubia: The Future
•Updating Websites: DigNubia and NubiaNet
•Documentaries: 2006 Salvage Campaign and Nubia and
Human Origins with Juneteenth Productions
• Edit and Distribute 150-200 hours of videotape
•Use the Web for Ongoing Photo Documentation
•Continue to travel DigNubia exhibit with Update/brochure
•Organize Delegation of K-12 and College Educators to Sudan
•digNubia: Cybergame Exploring Ancient Africa
•Adopting Gebel Barkal, a World Heritage Site as a
Curriculum Project
(http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=1073:
(cybercasting by archaeologists in the field, live webcam shots of
ongoing excavations, all highlighting Nubia, ancient African civilizations,
and historical/cultural heritage preservation and technology)
CAN WE COLLABORATE?????
Broader Implications for the Future:
TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING: TOOLS
EDUCATION
ONLINE
VISUALIZATION
“EDU-TAINMENT”/GAMING
INTERPRETATION
See Alkalimat, “Social Informatics of the Black Experience: The Emergence
of a Research Literature;” Champion, “Otherness of Place: Game-Based
Interaction and Learning in Virtual Heritage Projects” (Nieves)
Crystal Island
Science Learning/FI-NCSU
Babylon
BUILDING CAPACITY: PLACES & PROCESSES:
THE SOUTHEAST GEORGIA COLLABORATION OF
AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUMS, PLACES, AND SPACES
Beach
(CAMPS)
First African Baptist Church
Institute
(1867)
(1777)
Savannah State University (1890)
Dorchester
Academy
(1871)
KingTisdell
Cottage
July 2008:
Proposal
Pending,
Willow Hill Renaissance Heritage Center
(1874)
Institute for
Museum and
Library
Services.
$150,000