Healing & Justice: Medieval Stories from Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Egypt Summer Institute for Educators
By Wendy Laura Belcher
August 30, 2024
In summer 2024, the Howard University Center for African Studies hosted a Summer Institute for public teachers on using PEMM for teaching.
It was a great success, with between 15 and 25 people attending in person and 20 and 50 people online.
DAY 1: Tuesday, July 23, 2024
The Long Tradition of Writing in Ethiopia and Eritrea by Dawit Muluneh
This presentation provides an overview of Geˁez, an ancient Ethiopian language dating back to the third century.
Healing and Justice: The Virgin Mary in African Literature and Art by Wendy Laura Belcher
This session is an introduction to the extraordinary folktales that Africans have been writing since the second century about the mother of all, the Virgin Mary. These stories about healing, reparative justice, and personal ethics in a violent world represent an important body of medieval written African literature and a rich repository of African thought and innovation.
Classroom applications by Lesina Martin and Helen Bond
DAY 2: Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Monks, Monasteries and Manuscripts: Scribal Practices by Jeremy Brown
Ethiopia and Eritrea are home to a living scribal tradition. This presentation will consider a manuscript as a physical artifact of a culture, not just a text to be read. We will explore the details that you can learn about a manuscript from Ethiopia or Eritrea without having to read a single word of the text.
Painting the Human and the Divine: The Virgin Mary in African Literature and Art by Jenica Brown
In this session, participants will learn about the visual and symbolic strategies that the artists of the Ethiopian and Eritrean “Miracles of Mary” utilized to communicate narrative and spiritual meaning to their audiences.
Sacred Music and Chant of Ethiopia and Eritrea by Liqetebet Tekle and Deacon Yonatan Dawit
In this session, participants will learn how traditional Ethiopian music known as Yaradwi music is taught in traditional schools, using the Ethiopian musical notation system.
Participants visit the collection of Ethiopian manuscripts at Catholic University of America.
DAY 3: Thursday, July 25, 2024
Learning the Ethiopic Script by Tafessework Gebeyehu
Participants will learn the strokes, techniques, and historical context of Ethiopian calligraphy
Creating Hareg by Aleme Tadesse
In this session, participants will learn the intricacies and historical significance of harag. By the end, they will be able to draw and understand the deeper meanings behind each pattern.
DAY 4: Friday, July 26, 2024
Making a Double Pamphlet Stitch Book with Historical References by Karen Brown
In this workshop participants will continue the hands-on bookmaking by creating a double pamphlet binding, using beautiful materials and utilizing historical techniques to add embellishments and place-holders.
Manuscript Making - Painting by Aleme Tadesse
In this workshop, participants explored the rich heritage of Ethiopian art. They learned the concept and application of traditional Ethiopian painting.
Next generation of teachers painting an icon of Mary
Other photos
CAS Team Vanessa Oyugi and Ania Ueno
The PEMM team presenters: Jenica Brown, Dawit Muluneh, Wendy Belcher, Jeremy R. Brown, with Catholic University of American manuscripts
One of the tables of resources for teachers.
Participants had a lot of positive feedback!
