Fili, Jeli, Asik, Scop; Scientist, Healer, Poet, Teacher: “Engaged and Integrated Scholarship”...

Fili, Jeli, Asik, Scop; Scientist, Healer, Poet, Teacher:

“Engaged and Integrated Scholarship” across millennia and

around the globe

Dr Christopher J SmithVernacular Music Center

Texas Tech University

"Though [the griot] has to know many traditional songs without error, he must also

have the ability to extemporize on current events, chance incidents and the passing scene. His wit can be devastating and his

knowledge of local history formidable.“--Paul Oliver

[In memoriam Howard Zinn 1922-2010 and Knut Haugland 1917–2009]

Gopi Podila, Adriel Johnson, Maria Ragland Davis - RIP

Education