In Discovering West Africa: Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, take a 10-episode tour across three West African countries with Nathan Fluellen, known as “World Wide Nate,” as your expert guide. Moving through the nations of Ghana, Senegal, and Cameroon, you will join Nate and a mix of local artists, chefs, musicians, entrepreneurs, sportsmen, and other locals to see and experience what the region has to offer.
Discovering West Africa: Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon
Explore West Africa with adventurer "World Wide Nate."
Rated 1 out of
5
by
CC Lady from
Very Disappointed
This is not a class on West Africa! Nate, the travel influencer, simply takes you on a tour guide to fancy spots that a traveler might want to visit. Nate is intelligent, congenial, and very well-dressed, but he is not a professor and is not teaching a class. This travel show belongs on YouTube, not on the Great Courses.
Date published: 2024-05-22
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Ree1 from
Not what I expected or wanted.
I was hoping for far more history and in-depth exploration of cultures. While the technical production quality was high, the content was not what I've come to expect from The Great Courses. This was basically some self-proclaimed "influencer" type who found a way to take his blog to video. He talked to some potentially interesting people, but of the ten or fifteen minutes he spent on their specialty, half that time was used with the presenter gushing about his connection to the topic or his previous experience with it. The presenter might be a really great guy, but I'd rather have heard more about the guy making wine from cocoa beans or the history of the Ashanti drumming than the barely-there content was got. This was really just a six hour long video of some guy's vacation. It was the kind of fluff piece one would expect from The Travel Channel or a Chamber of Commerce Tourism package. In full disclosure, I stopped watching halfway through because I was bored with it.
Date published: 2023-12-28
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Treecie Raine from
Excellent!
I homeschool my children and was able to use this to give them a better picture of the places he visited. I hope he makes more content like this!
Date published: 2023-08-11
Rated 2 out of
5
by
Orchardjoan from
Mostly sports events and some food and music
I have watched about half of the lectures. I thought it would be similar in approach to the Maya travel which I really liked. It may be great for some but watching surfing, boxing and skate boarding was not what I expected. I thought I would see the countryside and sites, perhaps museums and learn more about the history from his visits with people.
Date published: 2023-05-02
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Geo99 from
Refreshingly interesting. Great photography, beautiful colors, well directed.
Date published: 2023-05-01
Rated 5 out of
5
by
jlsw from
On-site educational travel
This course is very different from the traditional Great Course template of a lecturer standing in front of the camera. Nate Fluellen travels across Ghana, Senegal, and Cameroon showing us cultural sites and interviewing the people doing great work in these countries. It is more like a PBS special than a lecture series. That is not a criticism! We learned a tremendous amount about West Africa and enjoyed the course very much. We would eagerly purchase other courses of this type.
Date published: 2023-04-24
Rated 3 out of
5
by
DonMDPhD from
Not what I expected
As one who has always enjoyed the "Great Tours" offered by TGC, this is the first in which I've been disappointed as it was less about the areas visited as it was about the presenter's personal journey. Some may think it rude but I'm not interested in his self-discovery. Nate was the center of everything in this course, not the regions or the people. Yes, the photography was beautiful. Yes, he did introduce some interesting people. But when push came to shove, it was all about him. It was a remarkable journey for him, and I emphasize "him;" I felt like an intruder. He is a personable fellow, full of passion and zest for life and I wish him well. But this sort of "travelogue" just isn't for me.
Date published: 2023-04-20
Rated 3 out of
5
by
Traveler from Ohio from
Modern Day African Tourism
Being familiar with the “Great Tours”, I was initially surprised by the content. The Great Tours includes a lot of historical background and context via lectures and then views the areas. Mr Fluellen’s approach aligns more closely to his work in tourism. The course explores current life in West Africa. It’s far more contemporary - looking at music, foods, and sports/recreation. There are small bits of history but were more limited than I would have liked. I found it difficult to ground myself in how these countries became the countries they are today. On the flip side, this course gave me visibility to cultural elements I would not see elsewhere. The more superficial content lost a star for me.
There were a couple presentation things that shifted my assessment another star lower:
* There were parts that I couldn’t hear well enough as I wasn’t as used to the accent or where background noise made it difficult for me. Some subtitles would have helped.
* The course was more instructor-centric than other Great Courses. A course with a similar format is America’s Great Trails yet that presenter didn’t seem to be as front and center but put his guests in the spotlight by how the interviews were conducted. Mr Fluellen’s interview style is more participative - not necessarily bad but less enjoyable for me as the guests were typically very interesting.
Honestly, I think if you approach the course as a personal travelogue, you will enjoy it more than if you come in with a Great Tours perspective. If you enjoy Rick Steves’ series on PBS, I think you would enjoy this course.
Date published: 2023-04-01
Overview
About
Nathan Fluellen is a travel influencer who has visited 6 continents and more than 75 countries. He is the creator and host of the show Escape with Nate: In Search of Black Utopia and the Telly Award–winning series World Wide Nate: African Adventures. He has served as an ambassador to multiple tourism boards and hotels internationally as well as for various brands and media outlets, including TIME, Fortune, Travel + Leisure, Ford and Lincoln Motor Companies, and Ebony.com. He prioritizes using his platform to encourage people of color to explore the world.
Trailer
01: Made in Ghana
Kick off your tour by visiting Ghana, a vibrant coastal country in the heart of West Africa. Explore its historic monuments and museums with locals who live and work there, and talk to entrepreneurs who are designing products like chocolate and luxury clothing that highlight Ghana’s contributions to the “Made in Africa” movement.
22 min
02: Ghanaian Botanical Gardens, Afropop, and Yoga
Continue your travels by focusing on Ghana’s natural landscape, from almond trees to cocoa wine. Then, spend some time with some of Ghana’s most creative musicians to see how they are blending new and traditional genres. And finish with some fitness, joining Nate for an African kemetic yoga session and nature hike.
27 min
03: Ghana’s Sports, TV, and Philanthropy Champions
Keep exploring Ghana with an in-depth visit to the cities of Kokrobite and Accra. You will explore the fascinating dimensions of surfing, boxing, tennis, skateboarding in the country. Sample some popular Ghanaian street food and get to know two particularly impressive Ghanaian women: TV host Anita Eskrine and High Commissioner Grace Jeanette Mason.
23 min
04: Reclaiming Ghana: History and Homecoming
Wrap up your Ghanaian adventure with a trip to the W. E. B. DuBois Museum. Then, attend a West African cooking class to make some traditional garden egg stew. Next, you’ll go to the town of Elmina, where you will reckon with the brutal history of the old African slave castle and you’ll attend a traditional naming ceremony with Nate.
32 min
05: Senegal’s African Renaissance
Turn your attention to the western most point of Africa: the country of Senegal. Tour the African Renaissance Monument in Dakar. Examine what Islam means to Senegalese people and their culture. Spend some time with top women boxers and race car drivers. And sample one of the country’s culinary delicacies, Yassa, a popular chicken and rice dish.
22 min
06: Senegal Style: Surfing, Textiles, and Art
Join “World Wide Nate” as he surfs along Dakar’s Yoff Beach. Sit down with Dakar’s first female mayor, Soham El Wardini, to see how the city has secured and is preparing to host its first Youth Olympics. And connect with a weaver and artist to learn about Senegal’s culture and past through its artifacts and textiles.
23 min
07: Senegalese Wrestling, Farming, Griot, and Dunes
Complete your Senegalese adventure by heading to Pikine where you will explore wrestling, an ancient sport in the country. Then, detour to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Saint-Louis for insight into preservation efforts there. And finish by examining how one, local artist uses graffiti and spoken word to tell Senegal’s story.
24 min
08: Cameroon’s Mountain of Greatness
Head to Cameroon, the final stop on your West African tour. Hike the country’s most impressive mountain before joining a gourmet cooking class that spotlights Cameroon’s crown agricultural jewel: Penja pepper. And conclude with a foray into Cameron’s history and cultural life by touring the Reunification Monument, and by learning about the local music scene.
23 min
09: Preserving Cameroon’s Wildlife and Heritage
Going westward, settle down in Limbe and Nkongsamba. See how wildlife, from chimps to drill monkeys, are protected and cared for at Cameroon’s Limbe Wildlife Centre. Shop for and make bouillon, a traditional Cameroonian soup. Check out ancient art and objects at the Blackitude Museum. And marvel at the beauty of the Ekom Nkam waterfalls.
22 min
10: Deep Connections in Cameroon
Wrap up your tour of Cameroon by accompanying PhD research assistant Francois Ngouoh on a proper archeological dig. Talk with a traditional village chief and queen. Explore film in the country, from comedy television shows to festivals. And see how truly connected Nate is to Cameroon and the broader West African region.
29 min
