Levitov turns semesters in Africa into book

Sara Mettlen
Staff Writer
April 22, 2004, Page 2

Most people think of going on sabbatical as a break from work.
This is hardly the case for Betty Levitov, full professor of English. She’s using her time off to write a book.
“I’ve got a full draft now,” Levitov said. “Two hundred thirty four pages; 90,000 words.”
Levitov says that the book, with the working title “Into Africa: A Semester on Six Wheels,” is a hybrid; it’s partially a travelogue and partially pedagogy, a book about teaching.
The book is about Levitov’s semesters teaching in Africa, both in 1998 and 2002. Levitov began the studies in Africa as an interterm, but quickly realized that three weeks was not enough.
“I realized the impact of three weeks on the students, so I wanted to see if I could do a full semester,” Levitov said.
With the support of her department, the dean, and the president, Levitov planned the semesters by sending out applications to the Doane student body a year in advance. After selecting the students, 11 in 1998 and 13 in 2002, Levitov and the students met every month for a year to prepare for studying abroad.
Students have a full semester of courses in Africa: INT 310 Introduction to Africa; Intermediate/Advanced English Writing; African Literature; and Beginning Swahili. Also, Levitov offered a one-credit yoga class and some of the students were able to design independent and directed studies electives in areas of their majors. During the semester, Levitov found and hired local people to speak, lecture, and guide the students in their studies.
Levitov said she is offering a three-week Interterm to Kenya and Tanzania in May 2005, after graduation. She hopes to lead the next semester of studies in the fall of 2006. (If students are interested in the Interterm or the semester, they can contact her at blevitov@doane.edu.)
Levitov has recently begun a Doane College Educational Exchange Program in Tanzania. She has been raising money to support the needs of the Shangarao primary school in Moivaro, Tanzania. Jason Kennedy, who earned an English degree in 2002, is the program’s first volunteer teacher. Kennedy has 117 students in his class and only about 30 desks. Also, the school has no textbooks.
“I just sent $400 so that they would have one textbook per desk,” Levitov said.
The second volunteer teacher, Amber Smith, who earned her degree in art in 2002, arrived in Tanzania on March 25.
For three months of her sabbatical, Levitov traveled to interview people for her book. She first went to Southeast Asia in November and then flew to Africa to meet Kennedy. She spent two weeks with Kennedy in Tanzania getting ready for the school year, and then ended her trip by going to Ethiopia.
Levitov said the book contains several interviews and first hand accounts from people involved with the students as they studied in Africa.
Now that Levitov is finished with the book she has been working on since May 2003, she is working on creating a final draft and investigating what she needs to do to get her book printed.