Development & Social Change

In partnership with Dickinson College and open to all students, this program examines development and social change in Cameroon in the context of culture, politics, and the economy. This program examines critical issues in development from decolonial and African perspectives. SIT and Dickinson’s long presence in Yaoundé and dynamic on-site staff and faculty offer students opportunities to develop an intersectional understanding and appreciation of Cameroonian and West African culture and society. Students may choose an intensive French- or English-language program track with no language prerequisites.

Cameroon, an ethnically diverse and rapidly changing country, is an ideal setting to study decolonial approaches to development. Alongside Cameroonian college students, you’ll visit NGOs working on a variety of social issues in Cameroon and learn from development experts and grassroots activists. Through excursions to visit the Bamiléké and Bagyeli ethnic groups and through modules on gender, dis/ability, Indigenous culture, language, and religion, you will discover the complex relationships between identity and development. Spring semester students of French may enroll at Catholic University of Central Africa where you’ll have the opportunity to explore cocurricular university activities with Cameroonian students. Both spring and fall students may request a Francophone or Anglophone homestay, depending on French ability.