As the cradle of the human race, Africa is where storytelling began. This presentation will briefly highlight this fact and share some examples of this heritage, including proverbs and folktales, exploring their meanings and functions as an artistic tradition and a vehicle for moral and ethical education. Joseph L. Mbele will engage audiences during this program. Mbele is a professor in the English Department at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. His offerings at St. Olaf focus on folklore and the connection between folklore and literature. He has conducted folklore fieldwork in Kenya, Tanzania, and the USA, and he has given lectures and conference papers on folklore in Canada, Finland, India, Israel, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and the USA.
