I forgot to mention several other books I'm giving my students the option of reading. In my opinion these are some of the most important books on the list. They all read Francis Bok's Escape from Slavery for a school-wide interdisciplinary program last year, so I hope my students choose one or more of these other books on Sudan: Mark Bixler, The Lost Boys of Sudan: An American Story of the Refugee Experience, Abraham Nhial and DiAnn Mills, Lost Boy No More, Joan Hecht, The Journey of the Lost Boys, and Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak, with Judy Bernstein, The Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan.
Bringing public attention to the situation in (southern) Sudan and Darfur (western Sudan) is something I'm committed to and passionate about, so I try to find as many ways to bring this into the classroom as possible.
These books all give a nice historical overview of what's going on in Sudan. For another perspective on the conflict, read Mende Nazer's (a Nuer [southwest Sudan] woman who is Muslim) memoir called Slave. There are also currently three documentaries about the "Lost Boys": Lost Boys of Sudan, Not Lost: From South Sudan to North Texas, and A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan. I've not seen the third one (it is too expensive at $85), but I would recommend Not Lost, as it captures the historical dynamics of the conflict and effectively presents the human side of Sudanese life in America.
And speaking of Sudan, I found out this morning that an essay I wrote on Sudan was accepted for presentation at the Sudan Studies Association meeting in August. Given the scale of events in Sudan right now, this meeting will be especially important in terms of current scholarship, advocacy, and action.
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