Class sections will be divided between lectures and seminar discussions. The seminar discussion sessions will serve as a forum for the analysis and discussion of scholarly literature and as a testing ground for student hypotheses. The instructor will encourage students to elaborate, refine and revise ideas. Discussion sessions will also include tutorials in conducting historical research, the exploration of primary source documents, and practice in oral presentations. Participation in both lectures and seminar discussions is required for the successful completion of the course.
A sample course outline would include the following topics.
Note: Content may vary according to the instructor’s selection of topics.
- Setting the Scene: Land, People and Climate
- African Civilizations and External Impact
- The Slave Trade
- Colonial Advances and the Missionary Factor: Britain, France, Belgium, Germany and Portugal
- Land, Settlement and Resistance: South Africa and Kenya
- Economic Development to 1945: Nigeria and Tanzania
- Assessing the Impact of Indirect Rule
- Towards Independence: From Protest to Uhuru
- Neo-Colonialism and its Ramifications
- Independence and Diverse Development Strategies: Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria
- The Long Road to Freedom: Rwanda and Tanzania
- After Apartheid: The Re-invention of South Africa
- Intersecting Identities: Ethnicity, Religion, Gender, Health and Sexuality in Contemporary Africa
- Development, Aid and Autonomy: Independent Africa?
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
1. Examine historical sources critically and analytically (reading history). These sources include not only survey texts and scholarly articles, but also short monographs and extended primary sources.
2. Create and communicate personal interpretations of historical problems (writing history). Forms for communication of personal interpretations include medium-length essays (from 1500-3000 words), comparative book reviews, short interpretive essays, primary source studies, and final examinations.
3. Independently analyze the ideas of other students and the instructor in class in both tutorials and seminars (discussing history).
Assessment will be in accord with the DouglasCollege student evaluation policy. Specific components of evaluation will include some of the following: mid-term and final exams consisting of short answer questions and essay questions; in-class written work, quizzes, research paper; seminar presentations; short debate/position papers; participation in class discussions.
Specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester and will vary according to the instructor’s assessment of appropriate evaluation methods.
An example of one evaluation scheme:
Any combination of the following totalling 100%
Short essay assignment 10%
Primary source analyses 10%
Seminar Presentation 10%
Mid-term examination 20%
Major research essay 20%
Participation 10%
Final examination 20%
Texts will be chosen from the following list, to be updated periodically:
An instructor’s Course Reader may be required.
Cooper, Frederick. Africa Since 1940: The Past of the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Decker, Alicia C. Africanizing Democracies, 1980-Present. African World Histories. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Fage, John, with William Tordoff. A History of Africa. 4th ed. New York: Routledge, 2001.
Falola, Toyin, ed. African Cultures and Societies Before 1885. Africa, Vol. 2. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2000.
Falola, Toyin, ed. Colonial Africa, 1885-1939. Africa, Vol. 3. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2002.
Falola, Toyin, ed. Contemporary Africa. Africa, Vol. 5. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2002.
Falola, Toyin, ed. The End of Colonial Rule: Nationalism and Decolonization. Africa, Vol. 4. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2002.
Gilbert, Erik, and Jonathan Reynolds. Africa in World History: From Prehistory to the Present, 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson, 2012.
Khapoya, Vincent B. The African Experience. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson, 2013.
Konadu, Kwasi. Transatlantic Africa, 1440-1888. African World Histories. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Laumann, Dennis. Colonial Africa, 1884-1994. African World Histories. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Parker, John, and Richard Rathbone. African History: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Reid, Richard J. A History of Modern Africa: 1800 to the Present. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. (ebook available)
Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa, 3rd ed.New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2012.
Worden, Nigel. The Making of Modern South Africa: Conquest, Apartheid, Democracy. 5th ed. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. (ebook available)
Web-based Resources
Halsall, Paul, ed. Internet Africa History Sourcebook, http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/africa/africasbook.asp
The Transatlantic Slave Trade Database http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/index.faces
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