Akwantu: the Journey in the Classroom
Akwantu: the Journey was created to not only entertain but also educate audiences about a people whose story has too often been misunderstood or omitted from the history books. To foster greater understanding we have developed the Akwantu: the Journey Discussion Guide, designed to promote and encourage dialogue and debate around the film. The film and the Discussion Guide will assist professors, teachers, instructors, tutors, group leaders, or any other person in charge of presenting lectures, workshops, seminars and discussions on the Maroons in formal educational settings.
Action 4 Reel Flimworks, LLC is the author of this Discussion Guide, for copyright purposes. Permission is granted for reproduction of this material for educational use only. All other rights reserved.
Educational Outreach
A word from Akwantu's Educational Outreach Director
The Agency of Maroon Intellectuals
Maroons and their descendants have lacked the agency to represent their own history and culture, at all levels of academia, both in scholarly writing as well as on film. The production of knowledge about the Maroons has historically been the domain of European colonial officials, Western journalists, researchers and scholars in a variety of disciplines, who have had the requisite training, preparation, funding and access to carry out this research. In a sense, Maroons have largely been written out of and marginalized by history, notwithstanding the voluminous works about them, because others have spoken on their behalf. Roy T. Anderson’s film Akwantu: the Journey is by far the most successful, far‐reaching and accessible work of scholarship produced by anyone – Maroon and non‐Maroon alike – which endeavors to depict the Maroon epic. As a scholar of Maroon descent, and as a filmmaker of Maroon ancestry, we hope that the collaboration between Roy Anderson and I, as well as the works of other Maroons inside and outside of academia, can make a significant contribution to our understanding of the dynamic history and culture of the Maroons and their contemporary descendants in Jamaican and the Maroon Diaspora. As Akwantu shows, the collaboration between Maroon and Maroonist scholars and intellectuals is an essential alliance to build, which can produce representations of Maroon people’s history and culture that is objective, balanced, inclusive, insightful and engaging.
About Dr. Fuller
Dr. Fuller received his PhD from the International History Department at the London School of Economics. He is an Assistant Professor of History at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Professor Fuller previously taught African and International History courses at Connecticut College, Emmanuel College, Florida International University, and was a visiting scholar in the African American Studies Program at Boston University. Dr. Fuller's publications include the co‐edited book Money in Africa (London: Trustees of the British Museum, 2009), articles in the refereed journal Nations and Nationalism, as well as other print and online media. Forthcoming works include the book project titled Maroons in the Family, History, Memory and Ethno-National Migration in the Life of a Jamaican Maroon Clan; and the book Slavery, Marronage, and Legacy of the Jamaican Maroons which he will co-author with Anderson. For the former, Professor Fuller was successful in securing a competition grant from Georgia State University which will enable him to travel to Jamaica to interview Fuller Maroon clan members in the Rio Grande Valley region in Portland. He will also be taking DNA samples from family members in Jamaica and London.
DVD for Educational Institutions
If you would like to use Akwantu: the Journey in your classroom, church, library, museum, or community event, our Educational Licenses is reasonably priced and may be used by the purchasing institute in perpetuity. The DVD comes with Public Performance Rights, allowing your organization a single showing of our film publicly. For multiple public screenings, please contact us for details. Akwantu: the Journey is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use of the film may lead to civil liabilities and criminal penalties.
By purchasing an Akwantu: the Journey Educational License, you are agreeing to these terms. Please review before making your purchase
- This license is strictly intended for education and classroom use. This license is available for purchase to any college, university, museum, public library, high school or other similar entities.
- This license allows unlimited classroom use in classes through Grade 12; on the campuses of licensed institutions, and may be used in perpetuity.
- This license allows students' use for clubs and private screenings where no fees are collected..
- This license comes with Public Performance Rights, allowing your organization a single showing of our film publicly, whether free or paid admission. For multiple public screening, please contact us for details.
- Akwantu: the Journey is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use of the film may lead to civil liabilities and criminal penalties.
By ordering an Educational DVD of Akwantu: the Journey, you are hereby agreeing to:
I hereby certify that I will not screen the film in any way that would contravene the License terms noted above. You are solely responsible for any damage to the DVD/Blu-ray. If the DVD/Blu-ray is received in damaged or unsatisfactory condition, please return it to us within 14 days of receipt, and it will be exchanged with a new one.
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All orders will be shipped priority mail via United States Postal Service. There is an additional cost of $10 for shipping and handling for all orders fulfilled in the United States. We will notify you when your order has been shipped. For international orders please email us at inf@akwantuthemovie.com for more information.