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Project Team
Professor Magdalena
Hauner, Principal Investigator
(608) 262-2487
Magdalena Hauner is Professor of African Languages and Literature and Associate Dean of the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As principal investigator, she provides overall leadership and direction for the Utamaduni Online project. Professor Hauner oversees the creation of lessons, ensuring that they are pedagogically, linguistically and culturally sound, and that they fulfill the goals of the project.
Dr. Katrina
Daly Thompson, Faculty Associate
Dr. Thompson earned her Ph.D. in African Languages and Literature in 2004, with a research focus on Shona and Swahili languages and cultural production in Zimbabwe and East Africa. Her work on the project involves researching Swahili newspapers and radio broadcasts in search of appropriate and authentic textual, visual, and audio materials to include in our lessons; designing interactive exercises to accompany each sound and video clip; and developing the course dictionary and cultural glossary. Now a Professor at UCLA, where she teaches Swahili and coordinates the teaching of other African languages, Katrina served as Faculty Associate to the project from July 2004 - September 2005, and
returned to co-author lessons in the Summer 2006.
Karin Gleisner, Graduate project assistant (Summer 2003 - Spring 2004)
Gleisner worked on the project during the 2003-04 academic year, when she was a graduate student in the Department of African Languages and Literature. She was instrumental in designing the overall structure of the course, researching authentic materials for Lessons One and Two, and in developing Listening Assistant material to accompany the film Bongoland.
Zablon Mgonja, Graduate Project Assistant (Spring 2008-Spring 2009)
Mgonja worked on the project during the 2007-09 academic years, when he was a graduate student in the Department of African Languages and Literature. He did all the technical work in crafting the lessons in addition to editing, translating, producing the “Help” materials for the Listening Assistant, and searching for authentic materials.
Beatrice Mkenda, Graduate Project Assistant (Spring 2008-Spring 2009)
Mkenda worked on the project during the 2007-09 academic years, when she was a graduate student in the Department of African Languages and Literature. She was responsible for all editing, most of the translation and transcription, dictionary entries, producing the “Help” materials for the Listening Assistant, and reviewing of lessons.
Dr. Dianna
Murphy, Project Coordinator
(608) 262-1575
Murphy holds a Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics from Ohio State University, and is currently the Associate Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Language Institute. She oversees all technological, financial and logistical aspects of the project, as well as contributing her expertise in foreign language pedagogy and instructional design. |
