Skip to main content
School of Social Work
Indiana University
SWK 407/607

Ghana: Journey Toward Healing and Reparative Future

Program Dates: May 17-31, 2027 - Apply by November 15 for priority admission consideration. Only admitted students are eligible to apply for the Elsa M. Iverson International Travel Scholarship. Applications received after November 15 will be reviewed as space and funding permit.

This culturally immersive course connects students with local students, faculty, and communities in Ghana to explore the interconnected links between the past, present and future in the construction of structural inequalities and their repair. Through dialogue with local communities, visits to critical heritage and memorial sites linked to the transatlantic slave trade, students draw on their emerging global and structural competencies to develop creative ideas and practices toward reparative future.

landscape of a road in Ghana surrounded by palm trees

Program Overview

  1. Visit heritage sites of memory and knowledge such as the slave dungeons, Dubois cultural center, Aburi Botanical Gardens, etc.
  2. Interact with communities and sites of memories in Ghana
  3. Experientially visualize human hierarchy by which societal resources are allocated through the organizing power of race.
  4. Critically evaluate the impact of race-based slave trade and slavery on persons of African and European descent identity and culture.
  5. Engage in critical dialogue about our collective cultural memory and the embodied trauma.
  6. Build competencies in historical and structural consciousness
  7. Explore pathway to collective healing through structural intervention.
old buildings on the right, canons on the right facing the ocean

Eligibility

Graduate students in the IU system in Social Work, African Studies, Liberal Arts, Education, SPEA, Public Health, Medical Humanities, and other disciplines with an interest in building structural competencies for working in contexts shaped by structural and environmental racism. Students who apply for this course must: (1) Be in good standing with their programs of study. Africana Studies students can enroll through AFRO A-595.

Anticipated Cost

Estimated Cost: $5,622 + standard tuition expenses

Expenses include:

  • include airfare
  • accommodations
  • meals
  • transportation
  • program fees/cost.
group photo in front of bamboo

More Information

Want to study abroad? Learn about the programs, scholarships, deadlines, and everything you need to make your dream a reality—from application tips to visa requirements. Embark on an unforgettable academic journey today!

Find out more!