Greetings! My name is Dr. Ursula N. Embola, and I am a Teacher in the Literature Department at Bard High School Early College Manhattan. The purpose of this GoFundMe is to cover the cost of textbooks that will be used by students in my classroom during the 2025-2026 academic year.

THE PROJECT

“Nganang’s Historical Fiction” (Fall ‘25) and “Shaping the World: Enslavement, Freedom, and the African Diaspora” (Spring ‘26) are two non-traditional, reading-intensive, college-level, Humanities courses designed to introduce students to contemporary Literature from the African diaspora in English and English translation; spark/cultivate in students a lifelong love of the written word by modeling engaged reading practices in the classroom; and strengthen students’ ability to think and act critically as global citizens by equipping them to participate in the work of decolonizing African history through the close reading of African Literature.

“Nganang’s Historical Fiction” will offer students an opportunity to study the literary re-telling of the West/Central African nation of Cameroon’s birth in the 20th and 21st centuries, while “Shaping the World” will feature novels that examine the transatlantic, eastern, and indigenous slave trades which took place on the African continent in the 18th and 19th centuries. Students will develop an appreciation of the historical, cultural, thematic, and aesthetic preoccupations expressed in select novels by Patrice Nganang, Maryse Condé, Yaa Gyasi, and David Diop.

Students who take these courses will improve their close reading, critical analysis, and academic writing skills by engaging in the practice of making concrete observations, evaluating details, and writing formal/informal responses to the texts. Both courses are designed to provide students with exciting and challenging new learning experiences which they can easily apply to other areas of their academic journeys, and to foster in them the desire and capacity to learn deeply, think critically, and communicate proficiently.

Unlike with typical electives (under which school-funded textbooks are returned), students in these courses must retain ownership of their books. This is essential because the courses emphasize active, annotated reading directly in class, a core component of our engaged reading model. Thus, ownership fosters deeper learning and allows students to carry these valuable resources and the skills they’ve developed into their future academic endeavors.

The purpose of this appeal is to raise the funds necessary to purchase textbooks for every student in each class, with an anticipated registration of 25 students per semester — all of whom will be permitted to keep their books at the end of the course.

FUNDRAISING GOAL BREAKDOWN

All funds raised will be used to purchase new textbooks for the courses. All prices quoted are publishing house prices, as sufficient copies of the books on such platforms as Amazon, which may offer cheaper options, are not always available.

Fall 2025 Semester

Mount Pleasant, Patrice Nganang – 2016: $20

When the Plums are Ripe, Patrice Nganang – 2019: $18

A Trail of Crab Tracks, Patrice Nganang — 2023: $19

Total Cost per Student: $57

Number of Students: 25

Total Book Cost, Fall ‘25 Semester: $1,425

Spring 2026 Semester

Segu, Maryse Condé – 1984: $17

Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi – 2017: $18

Beyond the Door of No Return, David Diop – 2023: $18

Total Cost per Student: $53

Number of Students: 25

Total Book Cost, Spring ‘26 Semester: $1,325

TOTAL FUNDRAISING GOAL: $2,750