Ghana: Origins of African Identity

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“The experience with research and the introduction to Ghana afforded by the SIT program in Cape Coast has shaped the trajectory of my life. Because of my experience with SIT Ghana, I was able to go back to Ghana on a Fulbright after I finished my undergraduate studies and now am working on a Ph.D. on governance and the state in Ghana.”

Erin Metz McDonnell, former SIT Ghana student
Current Doctoral Candidate, Department of Sociology
Northwestern University

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Explore African Diaspora studies and Ghanaian society and culture

This program examines the long-term socioeconomic and cultural impact of the slave trade’s violent history. Students learn how both forced and voluntary migration have shaped Ghana’s contemporary identity and conditions and created Ghanaian and West African Diaspora communities. 

In exploring Ghanaian culture and society, students learn about traditional healing; Ghanaian indigenous religions; social structures, gender roles and societal change; rural development; external influences on Ghana; and agriculture and the Ghanaian economy. 

Discover Cape Coast and beyond
The program is based in Cape Coast, a vibrant coastal community and the country's education capital. It is also the site where enslaved populations were held and traded during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

To gain broader exposure to Ghana and the region, the program also includes excursions to Elmina, Accra, Kumasi, northern Ghana, and the country of Benin.

Live with Ghanaian families in Cape Coast and Komenda
Time with homestay families immerses students in Ghanaian communities while adding additional context and meaning to Fante language study and thematic coursework.

Engage with Ghanaian university faculty, archaeological societies, village elders, and community leaders 

In-country resources and program partners generally include:

• University of Cape Coast
• University of Ghana
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Vibrant Culture, Troubled History
Ghana, a country rich in natural resources, is characterized by its complex history.  In 1957, Ghana was the first African nation to achieve independence from colonial powers after winning independence from the United Kingdom.  Tragically, Ghana also served as the departure point for a vast number of enslaved Africans shipped to the "new" world.  The slave castles lining the Ghanaian coast serve as contemporary reminders of the historical atrocities of enslavement and the forced migration which transpired on the country's shore.  Today, Ghanaian society continues to wrestle with the long-reaching effects of the slave trade.

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects / Undergraduate Research