International Summer School on Amharic Language and Ethiopian Cultures
Bahir Dar University (Ethiopia)
September 13-27, 2022
Objectives of the International Summer School
The International Summer School provides an innovative, attractive, communicative, and culture-interwoven training in the Amharic language, including immersion in Ethiopian cultural heritages for students who learn Amharic or are involved in Ethiopian Studies. Moreover, the International Summer School is also intended to facilitate cooperation and connections among students, researchers and higher education institutions in Europe and Ethiopia.
The Summer School consists of eight modules each offered by a well-known specialist of Amharic and Ethiopian Cultures. In addition to classroom teaching, extra-course activities will also be organized, such as visits to the Bahir Dar city market, ancient monasteries and churches on the Zäge Peninsula of Lake Ṭana, a visit to the traditional Ethiopian church school Ǝmmahoy Amätä Maryam at St George Church and an excursion to the exceptional farmers and artisans’ village at Awra Amba.
The specific objectives of the Summer School are as follows:
- Creating awareness of Amharic being as an important lingua franca in Ethiopia,
- Enhancing the knowledge of the Amharic language, in particular its morphosyntax and pragmatics,
- Practicing and improving the main language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing by appreciating Amharic creative writings and literature, and using Amharic in day-to-day contexts with the native speakers and speech communities,
- Acquiring basic oral language skills for academic, touristic, cultural and diplomatic purposes,
- Acquiring the foundations of Amharic literature and major themes dealt with by Ethiopian writers, poets and singers,
- Developing skills for gathering information from Amharic-speaking mass media,
- Learning about Ethiopian traditions and cultures through Amharic songs, poetry and short movies,
- Carrying out field visits and small projects related to the Ethiopian culture and the Amharic language,
- Developing social skills in mutual learning in an international environment,
- Intensifying research and academic collaboration and cooperation between Amharic students and lecturers,
- Strengthening future cooperation in German, European, Ethiopian exchange programs.
Please Note!
Dear applicants,
Please note that due to the current situation and the state of emergency in Ethiopia the planned Summer School has been postponed to the summer 2022. Our colleagues from Bahir Dar University have informed us that the teaching-learning activity has been temporarily suspended. Therefore, the application deadline has been extended until the end of January 2022.
Info
The first International Summer School on the Amharic Language and Ethiopian Cultures will take place in Ethiopia on 13 – 27 September 2022 and is supported financially by “Hamburgische Stiftung für Wissenschaften, Entwicklung und Kultur Helmut und Hannelore Greve” (Hamburg), the Universität Hamburg, Department of International Affairs, Section Strategic Partnerships, the “Architekturbüro Weinhardt” (Tübingen) and the Faculty of Humanities, Bahir Dar University.