GOVERNMENT / HISTORY 353
Africa
Course syllabus
African History and Politics
Fall 2000
Dr. Lloyd Johnson
Associate Professor of History
Telephone (910) 893-1489, voice mail
Office: D. Rich Room 209
Office Hours: 12:40 to 2:00 Tuesdays and Thursdays, and by appointment
Course Objectives:
Not long ago it was common for Westerners to regard Africa as cut off from the rest of the world, and even without a history until European colonization in the late nineteenth century. Only then according to this view, was Africa finally brought into history, though this history as written focussed mainly on European activities and initiatives in Africa, and not on Africans.
One main objective of this course is to redress the imbalance of this old view, to show the un truth of the old western myths. Students will be introduced to dynamic African societies interacting with a wider world, in some cases a world of European colonization. In our survey of the postcolonial periods, we will focus on African experiences, perceptions, adaptations, and initiatives as they attempt to deal with a world dominated by the West.
Another important objective is to introduce the student to some material by which African history before the nineteenth century is recovered, reconstructed, and interpreted. Such material includes not only written documents, the traditional source for the writing of history, but evidence from the disciplines of archeology, anthropology and linguistics, and especially from the collection and use of oral sources.
Africa does have a history, one that is worthy of study both in its own right and as part of the great kaleidoscope of peoples and processes of change that have shaped both the past and the present world.
Course Approach and Readings:
Lectures, readings, short written exercises, map quizzes, book reviews, in class projects and discussions and examinations are all-important components in meeting the course objectives. They include specific topics and readings in the course objectives and schedule. Much of the reading will come from the following required texts available for purchase in the bookstore:
Required Textbooks:
Kevin Shillington, History of Africa, New York, St. Martin’s Press Latest edition.
John Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1499-1800.
London: Cambridge Univ., Press, 1998.
Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings, New York, Penguin Books, 1995.
Inke van Kessel, "Beyond Our Wildest Dreams": The United Democratic Front and the Transformation of South Africa, Charlottesville and London, Univ. of Virginia Press, 2000.
Internet Sources: http//www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/history/hisweb.html
In addition, other Internet sources on Africa t.b.a.
Required readings will also be placed on reserve in Carrie Rich Library, and the instructor will announce those assigned readings.
Course Requirements:
Before each class meets, you are responsible for completing the readings of each assignment and participating in-group discussions. A lack of preparedness, absences, or tardiness will have an impact on your class participation.
There will be twelve or more pop quizzes and short written assignments this semester that will count 25% of your grade. Some assignments will involve using the New York Times in Carrie Rich Library, to research various countries or topics related to Africa.
You will be required to research and write a twenty-five page, typed, double spaced paper using both secondary and primary sources (a minimum of least twenty-five different sources must be used and cited. You must follow the Turabian or the Chicago Manual of Style format when documenting this paper. Remember footnotes rather than endnotes are recommended and the APA version is not acceptable. The term paper should also have a bibliography of all works cited in the footnotes; as well as other works consulted but not use in the term paper. Examples of certain topics you might want to consider include:
Apartheid in South Africa
ANC (African National Congress)
Nelson Mendela
Pan African Movement
Marcus Garvey
Leopold II
The African Slave Trade
Wole Soyinka’s Literary Writings
Africa during World War II
Economic Community of West African States
Baptist Missionaries in Africa
Christianity in Africa
Art in West Africa
African Music
Yoruba People
Book Reviews
Two four to five page, double spaced, and typed critical book reviews are required to complete this course. The instructor must approve the books you plan to read and review.
Exams
There will be three exams during the semester on the material covered. This includes a unit exam, a mid-term, and a final exam, each is worth 25%.
Honor Code: Campbell University has an honor code and it obligates you to refrain from cheating, and to report any violation of the code of another student. The honor code also includes plagiarism. To avoid this you should document the source whenever you make use of another person’s words, concepts, organization, or ideas with a footnote. For proper documentation in this class, see Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Pares, Theses, and Dissertations, Chicago, Univ. of Chicago Press, latest edition.
Attendance: Attendance will be checked each day. You are expected to be on time. This class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays and every class class period is important. Only four cuts will be allowed and this includes emergencies. All written assignment must be turned in when due; past due assignments will result in a lowered grade.
Africa 353
Tentative Schedule, Fall 2000
Date Assignments
Aug. 24 Introduction
Aug 29-31 Early Pre History of Africa Shillington, 1 and 2
The Impact of Iron Shillington, 3
NY Times, 1860s
Sept. 3-5 The Early Iron Age and Bantu Migrations Shillington, 4
North and Northeastern Africa to 1000 AD Shillington, 5
NY Times, 1870s
Sept. 10-12 Trans-Saharan trade and the Kingdom of ancient Ghana
Shillington, 6
Islam and the Sudanic States of West Africa, Shillington, 7
Sept. 17-19 Africans in Africa, the Birth of the Atlantic World
Thornton, 1
NY Times, 1880s
Map Quiz, Identify all the 38 countries of Africa on a blank map, and
Spell the countries correctly
Sept. 24 Three Page typed Prospectus for 25 page research paper due
Eastern Africa to the Sixteenth Century Shillington , 8
Trading States of the East African Coast to the 16th
Century Shillington, 9
Sept. 26 Later Iron Age States in Central and southern Africa
Shillington, 10
NY Times, 1890s
Oct. 3 North and Northeast Africa to the 18th century, Shillington, 11
Oct. 5 The Slave Trade Shillington, 16
Commerce between Europeans and Africans
And the Slave Trade Thornton, 2, 3, 4, pp. 43-125
NY Times, 1900s
Oct. 10 Mid-term Exam
Oct. 12-15 Fall Break
Oct 17 Africans in Colonial and Atlantic Societies, Thornton 5, 6, 7 pp. 129-205
Oct 19 Transformations of African culture in the Atlantic world
Thornton, 8. 9, 10
pp. 206-334
NY Times 1910s
Oct 24 Southern Africa to the Eighteenth Century, Shillington, 15
West Africa in the 19th Century and the Ending of the Slave Trade
Shillington, 16
NY Times, 1920s
Oct 26 Olaudah Equiano: The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings
Read the entire book
Nov. 2 Central and East Africa in the 19th century Shillington, 17
Pre-Industrial Southern Africa in the 19th century, Shillington, 18
North and Northeast Africa in 19th century, Shillington, 19
Prelude to Empire in Tropical Africa, Shillington, 20
NY Times, 1930s
Nov. 7 The Scramble for Africa and Industrialization and Colonial Conquest
Shillington, 21, and 22
Nov. 9 Consolidation of Empire and Africa Between the Wars, Shillington, 23, 24
NY Times, 1940s
Nov. 14 The Second World War and Africa, and the Winning of Independence
Shillington, 25, 26
Nov. 16 The Winning of Independence (part 2), Shillington, 27
NY Times, 1950s, or 1960s
Nov. 21 Africa Since Independence (part1) , Shillington, 28 Africa Since Independence (part 2), Shillington, 29
Presentations on research (10 minutes each)
Nov. 23 Thanksgiving
Nov. 28 and Nov 30
Kessel, pp. 1-149
Presentations on research (10 minutes each)
N.Y.Times, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s
Dec. 5 Kessel, pp. 150-314
Research Papers due
Presentations on research (10 minutes each)
Dec. 7 Reading Day
Final Exam, TBA