Cultural Connections:
From Senegal and West Africa to your Classroom

Project Themes

Photo of a busy street scene inlcuding a market and bustling motorway.

Migration

by Anya Wiley

There is a large migration from rural to urban centers in Senegal which leads to a modification of traditonal cultures and rituals (i.e. it is not uncommon to find sheep tied up in city streets)

Many men leave their villages for work and migrate to Senegalese urban centers or abroad which is a very difficult, sometimes dangerous endeavor.

This migration of the men from villages to urban centers has left many young wives as heads of households for months or years at a time.

Many women from Senegal and West Africa migrate from rural to urban areas seeking work. These women and young girls often take on positions doing domestic work for extremely low wages.

Explore more themes

Migration

by Dr. W.F Santiago-Valles.

Globalizaton & Migration are important because the presence of students [and issues] from other parts of the world is multiplying in US classrooms. Placing such issues in an international context will not only help teachers and students identify economic causes and obstacles, but also problem solving strategies [applied in similar situations] such as:

  • Using economic and cultural histories to explain inequalities between groups in cities, countries, and continents.
  • Transmitting problem solving methods from one generation to another.
  • Creating institutions to transmit memories of a shared past between generations of migrants.