Africa is a Country

Africa is a Country Moves

August 12, 2009 by Sean Jacobs

P1-AP544_ZUMA_G_20090417185634

Not the continent. Just the blog. I am blogging here now.

Please bookmark my new site.

– Sean

Posted in Africa is a Country | 4 Comments »

taking a break is good for you

June 25, 2009 by Sean Jacobs

110-1078_IMG

I am going on vacation from Africa is a Country for a bit. It’s supposed to be summer in New York City–that’s if it can stop raining–so I am also taking a break from the site.

BTW, I changed my day job: If you read this site, you’ll know I have taught for the last four years at the University of Michigan in An Arbor. One of those years involving commuting between here in New York City and Michigan. So I applied and got hired as an assistant professor of International Affairs at the New School in Manhattan. My wife, who has been teaching at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, got a tenure track position (that’s academic jargon for full-time job) at Marymount Manhattan College.

So everybody is happy in my house.

* I am moving Africa is a Country over here and reverting to an old design here from August 1. Please adjust your bookmarks, RSS, and Links.

Posted in Africa is a Country | 4 Comments »

luis moreno ocampo is apparently a piece of work

June 24, 2009 by Sean Jacobs

de-waal_flint

That’s essentially the conclusion of a long piece by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal in the most recent issue of World Affairs Journal about the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. They describe his controversial past in Argentina, his media-driven personality, his disastrous management of his office, how he miscalculated with his indictment of Sudanese President, Omar Al-Bashir (and fuels unhelpful perceptions of the Court in Africa), and other more controversial charges against him.

Here.

Posted in Not just about Africa | Tagged Alex de Waal, International Criminal Court, Julie Flint, Luis Moreno Ocampo | Leave a Comment »

Yinka Shonibare on film

June 24, 2009 by Sean Jacobs

Clip of Shonibare from TV series, Art 21 (William Kentridge also stars). See also this profile of Shonibare in The New York Times.

A retrospective of his work opens at the Brooklyn Museum this week.

Posted in art | Tagged art, Art 21, Brooklyn Museum, Yinka Shonibare | 1 Comment »

it takes a woman

June 23, 2009 by Sean Jacobs

A few weeks ago (at a screening arranged by the International Documentary Foundation) I saw “Rough Aunties,” a film by director Kim Longinotto about a group of women in Durban, South Africa, who work with police to apprehend child rapists and molesters, as well as run a home for abused and molested women. The women, a mix of white middle class and black working class women, also make up a family of sorts. The film can be intense at moments (at one point I left the theater to take a break). There’s a lot of violence in the film.

In his review of the film, David Poland of Hot Blog describes the film as “emotionally over-powering.” (He also speculates on what the Hollywood remake would look like.)

I really liked the film and hopes it gets a wider airing.

In the clips below, you can see the aunties at work.

Posted in film | Tagged film, gender, Kim Longinotto, South Africa, violence against women | 4 Comments »

frederick chiluba’s shoes

June 22, 2009 by Sean Jacobs

22zambia.inline.650

The former Zambian President, who was a darling of the West and the Christian right, is in court for defrauding the state while in office. Details of his extravagant lifestyle include the following, are emerging in court: “Mr. Chiluba owned more than 100 pairs of size 6 shoes, many affixed with his initials in brass. He is just a little over five feet tall, and each pair has heels close to two inches high.