During the Pan African Studies program’s inaugural African Folktale Competition in February, students were tasked with writing an African folktale between 500 and 1,000 words. On April 5, winners Bethany Davis ’19, Megan Patterson ’22, Rebecca Hane ’20, and Facia Sirleaf ’21M were feted at an awards ceremony, where they received prizes and read excerpts from their stories.

“Folktale is an education tool in African context, a heavily oral communication society,” said Roland Adjovi, assistant professor of Historical and Political Studies and interim program director for the Pan African Studies program. “Africans have carried the tool abroad, and we can see it in the African diaspora worldwide. We wanted to use this tool in our university and teach students about African culture.”

Pan African Studies plans to run the competition annually from December to January, with a public reading at the award ceremony at the end of February.