Courses
The course descriptions provided below pertain to all courses that meet the requirements for the undergraduate certificate in African Studies. Courses are offered by many departments across the University of Pittsburgh throughout the academic year. To verify course information and when a course is being offered, please visit the Office of the Registrar’s website.
AFRICANA STUDIES
AFRCNA 0031: _INTRODUCTION TO AFRICANA STUDIES (CORE COURSE)
AFRCNA 0127: _INTRODUCTION TO AFRICA (CORE COURSE)
AFRCNA 0212: _WEST AFRICAN DANCE
AFRCNA 0242: _AFRICANA URBAN WOMAN
AFRCNA 0318: _HISTORY OF AFRICA BEFORE 1800
AFRCNA 0352: _AFRICAN AMERICAN DANCE
AFRCNA 0385: _CARIBBEAN HISTORY
AFRCNA 0522: _AFRICAN LITERATURE
AFRCNA 0523: _SWAHILI 1
AFRCNA 0524: _SWAHILI 2
AFRCNA 0586: _AFRICAN CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE (CORE COURSE)
AFRCNA 0628: _AFRO-LATIN AMERICA
AFRCNA 0629: _AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORY 1 (X/LISTED HIST 0670)
AFRCNA 0630: _AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORY 2 (X/LISTED HIST 0671)
AFRCNA 0787: _BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS
AFRCNA 1011: THE RISE OF MODERN PAN-AFRICANIST MOVEMENT (X/LISTED HIST 1070)
AFRCNA 1012: _EARLY 20TH CENTURY BLACK SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
AFRCNA 1021: _HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
AFRCNA 1026: _AFRICAN PRESENCE IN LATIN AMERICAN LIT (X/LISTED SPAN
1707)
AFRCNA 1030: _AFRICAN POLITICS
AFRCNA 1039: _HISTORY OF CARIBBEAN SLAVERY
AFRCNA 1046: _AFRICAN POETRY
AFRCNA 1047: _FRANCOPHONE AFRICANA LITERATURE
AFRCNA 1053: _COMPARATIVE DANCE EXPRESSION
AFRCNA 1061: _POLITICAL ECONOMY OF AFRICA
AFRCNA 1704: _AFRICANA WORLD LITERATURE (X/LISTED ENGLIT 1715)
AFRCNA 1083: _SPECIAL TOPICS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
AFRCNA 1725: SOCIAL AND HEALTH ISSUES IN EAST AFRICA X/LISTED ANTH 1725
AFRCNA 1901: _INDEPENDENT STUDY (INDP.) RESEARCH/COMMUNITY
AFRCNA 1903: _DIRECTED RESEARCH
AFRCNA 1240: _AFRICAN LITERATURE AND SOCIETY
AFRCNA 1306: _WORLD LITERATURE IN ENGLISH (x/listed ENGLIT 1380)
AFRCNA 1309: _WOMEN OF AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
AFRCNA 1310: _CULTURES OF AFRICA (x/listed ANTH 1778)
AFRCNA 1331: _AFRICAN LIBERATION MOVEMENTS (x/listed PS 1353)
AFRCNA 1334: _MUSIC IN AFRICA (x/listed MUSIC 1340)
AFRCNA 1347: _FRANCOPHONE AFRICANA LITERATURE (x/listed FR 1089)
AFRCNA 1644: _THE AFRICAN NOVEL
AFRCNA 1656: _HISTORY OF AFRICA SINCE 1800 (x/listed HIST 1796)
AFRCNA 1711: _THE CITY IN AFRICA (x/listed ANTH 1742)
AFRCNA 1661: _POLITICAL ECONOMY OF AFRICA
ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 1725: _SOCIAL AND HEALTH ISSUES IN EAST AFRICA
ANTH 1742:
ANTH 1787: _COMMUNITY HEALTH IN EAST AFRICA (STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM) cross listed AFRCNA 1901
ENGLISH
ENGLIT 1715: _AFRICANA WORLD LITERATURE
HISTORY
HIST 0670: _AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORY 1
HIST 0975: _HISTORY OF AFRICA BEFORE 1800
HIST 1796: _HISTORY OF AFRICA SINCE 1800
HIST 1070:_THE RISE OF THE MODERN PAN-AFRICANIST MOVEMENT x/listed AFRCNA 1011
POLITICAL SCIENCE
PS 1352: _INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS
SOCIOLOGY
SOC 1365:_ RACE, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
AFRCNA 0031: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICANA STUDIES
This course is an introductory survey of the socio-cultural experience of Africans in the United States. The aim is to introduce students to the field of Africana Studies. An interdisciplinary approach will be used to examine eight primary subject areas of the “Black” experience: history, religion, social organization, politics, economics, creative production, psychology, and education. The aims of the course are threefold: 1) analyze the discourse that surrounds African-American history and culture; 2)observe major trends in African-American history and culture; 3)examine the critical nexus of race/class and its implications for future generations.
AFRCNA 0127: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICA (CORE COURSE)
This is a multi-disciplinary course intended to introduce the student to the diversity of the African continent and its peoples. The richness and dynamism of the African experience will be presented through discussions of its culture, social structure, history, economy, politics and other aspects of Africa’s development. A wide range of topics will be covered such as:
• the geographical setting (impact of physical geography on history and development
• the African past and present (early kingdoms, colonialism, historical continuities between Africa and the Americas)
• the social setting (kinship and lineage, ethnicity, thought and belief systems)
• politics and contemporary issues (political development, military rule, apartheid, international relations)
• development issues (education and development, language policies, women-in-development)
• traditional arts (music, dance)
• contemporary arts (literature and society)
The course will draw upon invited speakers from the University’s experienced Africanist faculty.
AFRCNA 0212: WEST AFRICAN DANCE
This course is designed to pursue at an introductory level specific ethnic dance forms of West Africa. These include the Yoruba of Nigeria, the Akan of Ghana and the Mande people of the Senegal-Gambia area. The dance cultures will be introduced from theoretical and aesthetic perspectives based upon historical material, videotapes illustrating the various ethnic dance forms and guest artists. The practicum will consist of learning specific dances of West Africa, such as “Gota” of Ghana, “Ajaja” of Nigeria and “Lenjen go” of the Senegal-Gambia area
AFRCNA 0242: AFRICANA URBAN WOMAN
Writings by African and Afro-American women reveal similar problems inherent in a woman’s moving from a rural to an urban setting. The women are concerned about their families’ welfare; social, economic, educational and cultural changes; loneliness; the quest for greater self-fulfillment; and the acceptance that the move to an urban setting was worth it. During this course we will look at how several female writers in an American or African urban environment express their feelings, view their situation, and have chosen “independence.”
AFRCNA 0318: HISTORY OF AFRICA BEFORE 1800
This course will survey the history of Africa from the evolution of the human race to the eve of the European colonization of the continent. Its basic aims are to promote: (1) an understanding of the historical processes and developments that have shaped modern Africa, and (2) an appreciation of Africa’s contributions to world civilization before its subjugation by European powers. A fundamental approach will be to look at Africa from the inside out, that is, to analyze African societies from the perspective of their internal growth and development and their reactions to external influences. Among the principal themes and trends that the readings and discussion will focus on are: state formation, the history of the ancient kingdoms, the impact of Islam, slavery and the slave trade, and the European contact with Africa.
AFRCNA 0352: AFRICAN AMERICAN DANCE
African American Dance is designed to pursue at an introductory level influences of the Black American Experience in a historical and creative perspective. The course will cover the evolution of Black dance from Africa throughout the Diaspora tracing traditional dances which evolved conditionally during plantation life through the jook houses and the concert stage. The practicum and creative component of the course will consist of the Black dance styles and expressions which were done as social dances, modern and jazz. This course fulfils the creative expression selection elective.
AFRCNA 0385: CARIBBEAN HISTORY
This course will examine the historical roots of contemporary Caribbean society. Major historical developments from the period of the subjugation of the indigenous populations through the era of slavery and the plantation system to the rise of modern nationalism and the impact of the U.S. intervention will be examined, as will be related socio-economic systems and institutions. The pan-regional approach which recognizes shared identity and experiences not only within the Caribbean but also with Africa and the American south will be preferred, although illustrative studies of some individual countries will be undertaken.
AFRCNA 0522: AFRICAN LITERATURE
This course will examine major works by contemporary African writers in various genres, including fiction, poetry, and drama. There will be some preliminary reading and discussions of the social context of the works but the principal focus will be on recurring themes in African literature. Eight works in English or in translation will be studied and some supplementary critical reading will be required. Two essays on selected themes (culture clash, racism and apartheid, neo-colonialism, coups in Africa, male-female relations etc.) will be required: the topic will be chosen in consultation with the instructor
AFRCNA 0523: SWAHILI 1
The Language Acquisition Institute makes it possible to study foreign languages not available in other language departments in the University. Up to four courses may be taken in the languages that are offered, for a total of 14 credits over four semesters. LAI courses make use of the most appropriate language-learning materials available from various appropriate language-learning materials available from various sources. Textbooks are available for individual purchase at the Book Center; recorded material may often be duplicated through the language lab for home study in conjunction with the Institute courses. The greatest part of the first term will be devoted to the presentation and practice of the basic sound patterns of the language, its fundamental sentence patterns, and sufficient vocabulary to illustrate and practice them. An introduction to the writing system will be offered together with the opportunity to acquire elementary writing and reading skills.
AFRCNA 0524: SWAHILI 2
The Language Acquisition Institute makes it possible to study foreign languages not available in other language departments in the University. Up to four courses may be taken in the languages that are offered, for a total of 14 credits over four semesters. LAI courses make use of the most appropriate language-learning materials available from various appropriate language-learning materials available from various sources. Textbooks are available for individual purchase at the Book Center; recorded material may often be duplicated through the language lab for home study in conjunction with the Institute course. At the end of the second term of the first year of study the student should be able to produce the significant sound patterns of the language, to recognize and use the major grammatical structures within a limited core vocabulary. The student should be able A) to engage in simple conversations with native speakers about a limited number of everyday situations and B) to read and write simple material related to the situations presented.
AFRCNA 0586: AFRICAN CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE
This course is an introduction to the most basic elements of African civilization and culture. It provides students with an interdisciplinary understanding of African people, their civilizations, and diverse cultures. The course focuses on African traditional life, African contributions to world civilization, and the impact of other cultures on Africa. We will discuss the structure of the family, the community, communal participation, political institutions, and politics and society.
AFRCNA 0628: AFRO-LATIN AMERICA
AFRCNA 0629: AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORY 1 (X/LISTED HIST 0670)
This is a general survey course of the Black experience from Africa to the Civil War. Topics include the following: West Africa culture before the Atlantic Slave Trade; Afro-American culture in the New World; the Black family under slavery; rural and urban slavery; free Blacks in the North and South; the anti-slavery movement.
AFRCNA 0630: AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORY 2 (X/LISTED HIST 0671)
This course is designed as a general survey of the Black experience in America from emancipation to the present. Approximately one month will be spent on each of the following periods: Emancipation to World War I, World War I to World War II, and World War II to the present. Within each time period, particular attention will be paid to the efforts by Black Americans to alter their status in society
AFRCNA 0787: BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS
This course is designed to ground the student in the study of African/African American history and culture from and African-centeredness or Afrocentric perspective, location, and methodology. The course introduces the student to language of the discipline, Africalogy, i.e., Africana Studies. The course further provides the student with the awareness of the elements or categories that make up the Afrikan, European, and the Asian world views. This information will provide the student with the following learning outcomes or functions to perform in their everyday lives: the student will have acquired (1) “logical explanations of Afrikan peoples’ experiences from the origin of civilization to the present;” (2) will have acquired a minimum approach of a way to “develop a holistic approach to the role of Africa in world culture;” and (3) be able to “explain the behavior of Afrikan people by interpretations and analysis derived from an Afrocentric perspective” – and not a narrow, racist or stereotypical point of view. The student will develop a consciousness of humanity on a higher level
AFRCNA 1011: THE RISE OF MODERN PAN-AFRICANIST MOVEMENT (X/LISTED HIST 1070)
This course will survey the current of pan-Africanist thought from the partitioning of Africa to the independence movements. Its aim is to provide students a basic understanding of three broad developments in the Pan-African Movement. The first section pertains to the development of Pan-African consciousness and the people who shaped the movement. The second explores the different variants of Pan-Africanist thought (Liberal integrationist, Black Nationalists, Socialism, and Marxism). The third section involves the impact of the Cold War politics on the Pan-African Movement Issues of class, and gender and the themes of racism and colonialism will play a part in the analyses of these development.
AFRCNA 1012: EARLY 20TH CENTURY BLACK SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
This course is designed to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the evolution and struggle of the resistant, social movements against Jim Crow laws and lynching at the turn of the 20th century to the civil rights, Black power and nationalist movements in the sixties. The purpose is to examine and analyze the political and nationalist organizations that advanced the cultural, social and economic equality of the African America. This includes the Niagara Movement, NAACP, UNIA, Pan-African Congress, the shift from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, the migration pattern during and after the depression, the Phillip Randolph’s labor movement, the National Council of Negro Women, African American relationship with the Communist Party, the civil rights and Black Power movements and the Nation of Islam. We will also examine the racial conflict between white and Black labor movements and attempts at unity. Through the use of historical texts of a topical nature, biographies, autobiographies and films, students analyze the historical context in which the African American combated lynching, Jim Crow laws, racial, cultural and economic oppression in the 20th century toward the recovery of black dignity and race pride.
AFRCNA 1021: HISTORY OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
This course will focus on the global ramifications and impact of the African Diaspora. It will examine the historical roots of the African Diaspora and the triangular relationship between the African homeland and its European and American Diasporas. The central thrust of our study will incorporate the political, economic, cultural and intellectual frameworks for conceptualizing the American Diaspora. Of particular importance will be an examination of the role of the trans-Atlantic slave trade played in the creation of a new global economic order and its impact on the Diaspora identities. In this respect, the dialectical relationship between Africa and its Diaspora will be examined, using movements such as Pan-Africanism and cultural productions such as music and fabrics as case studies. The teaching method will combine lectures with a colloquial format.
AFRCNA 1026: AFRICAN PRESENCE IN LATIN AMERICAN LIT (X/LISTED SPAN 1707)
The primary objective of this course is to provide students with a concrete frame of reference for the African presence in Latin America. It aims also to foster an appreciation for the meaning, significance, and widespread influence of the African Diaspora, by way of a general introduction to the human and cultural elements of African origin in the Spanish-, Portuguese-, and French-speaking countries in the region. Where necessary and/or appropriate, the course will compare and contrast the social and racial dynamic of the United States with these other countries in the hemisphere to foster an appreciation for the specificity and universality of the experience of Latin Americas of African descent.
AFRCNA 1030: AFRICAN POLITICS
This course is designed as a basic introduction to the study of African politics. An examination will be made of the major theories and issues in African politics. The course focuses on the historical evolution of the African political systems, and the comparative analysis of selected features of African political systems. We will emphasize authoritarianism in African systems (traditional, colonial rule, one-party dictatorships and military regimes), and the crisis of political legitimacy. This course will also emphasize the African search for democracy, and the challenges of democracy in Africa through various military transition programs to civilian rule.
AFRCNA 1039: HISTORY OF CARIBBEAN SLAVERY
The purpose of this course is to help students understand and appreciate the historical experience and implication of Caribbean slavery. The origins, nature and ramifications of the institution of slavery in the Caribbean will be examined against a comparative background of slavery in classical, African and American societies. Special issues to be discussed will include the economics and demography of slavery, the plantation system, resistance and the disintegration of slave systems, resistance and the disintegration of slave systems, development of Creole societies, and the role of slave women. Attention will also be given to constructions of slave identity and an examination of race relations and the legacy of slavery. Case studies of selected slave communities will be undertaken to illustrate and highlight principal themes and ideas.
AFRCNA 1046: AFRICAN POETRY
This course will examine several principal streams of African poetry, and will focus on certain specific aspects – the oral tradition, griots, Negritude, European influences, and themes in contemporary African poetry. The course also examines a variety of poetic forms, both in the African and Western poetic traditions. Students will be encouraged to focus on specific poets or countries or forms for their essays. Several anthologies and critical studies will be used and there will be supplementary material in the form of handouts.
AFRCNA 1047: FRANCOPHONE AFRICANA LITERATURE
Unknown to many in the United States, several of the presidents of African countries are writers of fiction and poetry. One of these writers is Leopold Sedar Senghor, the former president of Senegal, West Africa, member of the French Academy and author of several collections of poetry. Reading poetry, folklore, and novels produced by African writers from French-speaking countries sheds light on the issues confronting people living in developing nations such as polygyny, rapid urbanization, assimilation, post-independence, the marginal man or woman, myths and rituals, and the concept of negritude. The course will be taught in English with readings in English translations.
AFRCNA 1053: COMPARATIVE DANCE EXPRESSION
This course will focus on Black Dance in America and its origin from a comparative and historical perspective. These perspectives will be introduced through a critical analysis of the aesthetics, social and political aspects and Black choreographers. The historical and aesthetic aspects of the course will be introduced through lectures, films and tapes, guest speakers, and viewing dance performances.
AFRCNA 1061: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF AFRICA
This course focuses on the interaction between political and economic development in Africa. The analysis of the political economy issue is organized around the interaction between the state and markets in the post-colonial state in Africa. It looks at historical origins of African underdevelopment, the nature of development process, and international dimensions of African development (foreign trade, foreign and structural adjustment programs, and debt).
AFRCNA 1704: AFRICANA WORLD LITERATURE (X/LISTED ENGLIT 1715)
Despite their geographical and cultural differences, writers from the Caribbean, Africa and the United States have undergone similar experiences of oppression, problems of self-identity, and the quest for self-respect. These similarities will be discussed in class based upon the chosen texts. Thus, the prose, essays, poems, and autobiographies of these three groups of Black writers will be compared in terms of differences and similarities.
AFRCNA 1083: SPECIAL TOPICS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
This course will survey the current of pan-Africanist thought from the partitioning of Africa to the independence movements. Its basic aim is to provide students with an understanding of three broad developments in pan-African thought. The first section pertains to the development of pan-African consciousness and the people who help compose the movement. The second section explores the different variants of pan-Africanist thought – liberal integrationist, Black Nationalist, and Marxist. And the third section involves the impact of the Cold War politics on the independence movements. Issues of class and gender and the themes of racism and colonialism will play a part in the analyses of these developments. The goal of this course is to increase the student’s use of analytical skills and promote an understanding of the impact of ideology on the information of the pan-Africanist movement
AFRCNA 1725: SOCIAL AND HEALTH ISSUES IN EAST AFRICA X/LISTED ANTH 1725
This course is designed to expose students to health and social issues in East Africa. The course emphasizes the diversity of the continent and its cultures. Students will discuss global issues as they exist on the African continent. Emphasis will be placed on critically examining issues and developing community based responses appropriate to local cultural environments. Students will be expected to develop a research proposal which will address a current issue and how it might be examined in an African community as part of the course. Recommended prerequisites include ANTH 0780 or ANTH 1308 or a previous course on African history or culture, or permission of the instructor.
AFRCNA 1901: INDEPENDENT STUDY (INDP.) RESEARCH/COMMUNITY
Students desiring to take an independent study should develop an outline of the independent study, consisting of a two to three page typed proposal containing: (a) the substance of work to be accomplished, (b) the OBJECTIVES of the study, (c) the METHODOLOGY or APPROACH toward completion of the study, (d) the EVALUATION by which to determine when the objectives of the study are met, and (e) the SCHEDULE of meetings and interactions with the faculty sponsor that the student selects. These items will be reviewed by the individual faculty sponsor and agreed upon before any independent study is approved.
AFRCNA 1903: DIRECTED RESEARCH
This course is designed for students who wish to undertake individual research under the supervision of a faculty member. Student
AFRCNA 1240: AFRICAN LITERATURE AND SOCIETY
This course examines significant aspects of contemporary African social, political, cultural and human problems as perceived by African writers. These problems are approached through a detailed study of carefully selected and representative African writing which focuses attention on the predicaments of African historical identity, the duality of the African historical heritage, the dynamics of African social progress, individual as well as collective psychological adjustments in the process of rapid social and value changes. Comparisons are made between Western and African processes of coping with the range of human problems of alienation, self-actualization, changing patterns of marriage, child rearing and the roles of women. It is not a course on literature, but a course on the use of literature to study African social experience.
AFRCNA 1306: WORLD LITERATURE IN ENGLISH (x/listed ENGLIT 1380)
This course serves as an introduction to the Anglophone literatures of the world, and will address the issues involved in reading across cultures. Students will study colonial literatures about Africa and the Caribbean, and African and Caribbean novels that explore the meanings of national independence, a range of cultural practices such as carnival and migration. Authors might include Conrad, Achebe, Brodber, Kincaid, Lovelace, Caryl Phillips. Nourbese Philip, and El-Saadawi.
AFRCNA 1309: WOMEN OF AFRICA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA
This course is a comparative study of the complex roles of women of African descent in cross-cultural perspective. The societies in which these roles will be examined include western and southern Africa, the United States, Brazil, and the Caribbean including Cuba. Among the topics to be explored are women’s participation and/or lack of participation in these societies within and outside the domestic domain, issues surrounding gender relation, the impact of urbanization and industrialization on their roles, religious and political participation, health issues, class status, and Diaspora women as cultural workers.
AFRCNA 1310: CULTURES OF AFRICA (x/listed ANTH 1778)
This course explores the cultures and societies of Africa from prehistory through the present. Beginning with an examination of traditional culture, we then turn to the cultural transformations, continuities, and dislocations experienced during enslavement, colonialism and the post-colonial situation. A comparative approach, drawing upon both ethnographic and historical sources, will illuminate these processes. While the course readings may refer to various countries and regions of the African continent, our in-depth analysis and comparison will focus mainly on three countries: Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ghana.
AFRCNA 1331: AFRICAN LIBERATION MOVEMENTS (x/listed PS 1353)
This course deals with theories of revolutionary political development and national liberation struggles, and the special application to the African continental experiences since the end of World War II. Major emphasis is placed on the processes of political transformation in Southern Africa, self-determination and democracy movements in post cold war Africa, and the general problems of debt, economic mal-development, regional marginalization, and violence across the continent.
AFRCNA 1334: MUSIC IN AFRICA (x/listed MUSIC 1340)
This course examines the historical, social and cultural background of music in Africa with particular reference to the social context of music, music and Islamic culture, music in kingship, music in ritual and theatre, musical instruments and ensemble practice, stylistic elements of traditional music, music in the Church, music in the nightclub and neo-African art music. (Slides, films and recordings will be used to illustrate lectures).
AFRCNA 1347: FRANCOPHONE AFRICANA LITERATURE (x/listed FR 1089)
This course will include reading poetry, folklore, and novels produced by African writers from French-speaking countries. The objective is to shed light on the issues confronting people living in developing nations such as polygyny, rapid urbanization, assimilation, post-independence, the marginal man or woman, myths and rituals, and the concept of negritude. The course will be taught in English with readings in English translations.
AFRCNA 1644: THE AFRICAN NOVEL
This course will examine major themes from contemporary African fiction through a detailed study of distinguished African novels/novelists. Themes will include: culture conflicts, the colonial experience and neocolonialism, the oral narrative tradition, the influence of foreign models, and human rights in Africa as reflected in fiction. This course is designed to introduce students to the richness of Africa literature through major works by contemporary African writers. The works come from East, West and South Africa and are chosen to show how African societies are depicted and, what are the dominant and recurring concerns of these societies and their literatures? Wile there will be some reading of supplementary material, the focus will be primarily on the texts for their literary and aesthetic value as well as for their social value. We will establish early on that most African literature is “committed” literature and must be read in its socio-political context. The student should come from the course with a better understanding of the complexities of African societies and an appreciation of their cultural and aesthetic richness. There will also be opportunities to make connections and comparisons with problems and values in other societies, particularly as they relate to Africans and African-Americans in the Diaspora.
AFRCNA 1656: HISTORY OF AFRICA SINCE 1800 (x/listed HIST 1796)
This course will survey the history of Africa since 1800 to the present day. Its primary goal will be to promote an understanding of the historical processes and developments that have shaped up contemporary African societies. Among the principal themes that the reading and discussions will focus on will be the growth of African statecraft, European colonization, African nationalism, and post-independence problems. An important concern will be an appreciation of the processes of African institutional growth within the perspectives of resiliency, change and adaptation. Thus a fundamental consideration throughout will be an understanding of the larger social and cultural frameworks within which those historical developments have occurred.
AFRCNA 1711: THE CITY IN AFRICA (x/listed ANTH 1742)
This course will examine the urban experience in Africa, beginning with the ancient Nile Valley civilizations. In spite of the antiquity of urban life in Africa, colonial discourse and administrative practices created the notion of the rural tribesmen whose presence in cities was unnatural and corrupting. The course investigates this moral contrast between town and country as it persists in the popular imagination and serves as a potent critique of both the possibilities and perversities of African modernity. Finally the course considers the prospects and contributions of distinctly African solutions to the problem of globalization, i.e., “the informal city”.
AFRCNA 1661: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF AFRICA
This course focuses on the interaction between political and economic development in Africa. The analysis of the political economy issue is organized around the interaction between the state and markets in the post-colonial state in Africa. It looks at historical origins of African underdevelopment, the nature of development process, and international dimensions of African development (foreign trade, foreign and structural adjustment programs, and debt).
ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTH 1725: SOCIAL AND HEALTH ISSUES IN EAST AFRICA
This course is designed to expose students to health and social issues in East Africa. The course emphasizes the diversity of the continent and its cultures. Students will discuss global issues as they exist on the African continent. Emphasis will be placed on critically examining issues and developing community based responses appropriate to local cultural environments. Students will be expected to develop a research proposal which will address a current issue and how it might be examined in an African community as part of the course. Recommended prerequisites include ANTH 0780 or ANTH 1308 or a previous course on African history or culture, or permission of the instructor.
ANTH 1742:
This course will examine the urban experience in Africa, beginning with the ancient Nile Valley civilizations. In spite of the antiquity of urban life in Africa, colonial discourse and administrative practices created the notion of the rural tribesmen whose presence in cities was unnatural and corrupting. The course investigates this moral contrast between town and country as it persists in the popular imagination and serves as a potent critique of both the possibilities and perversities of African modernity. Finally the course considers the prospects and contributions of distinctly African solutions to the problem of globalization, i.e., “the informal city”.
ANTH 1787: COMMUNITY HEALTH IN EAST AFRICA (STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM) cross listed AFRCNA 1901
Students in this program will spend four weeks abroad experiencing cultural immersion in a rural area of Tanzania and learning about the community health and social programs and culture of this part of East Africa. Local collaborators are various agencies in rural northwestern Tanzania including the Nyakahanga district hospital, the AIDS control program there plus numerous community NGO’s. The program is designed to expose students to a broad variety of topics related to health services and programs in Africa, public health, and international development. Prerequisites for this program include successful completion of ANTH 1725 or AFRCNA 1725
ENGLISH
ENGLIT 1715: AFRICANA WORLD LITERATURE
Despite their geographical and cultural differences, writers from the Caribbean, Africa and the United States have undergone similar experiences of oppression, problems of self-identity, and the quest for self respect. These similarities will be discussed in class based upon the chosen texts. Thus, the prose, essays, poems, and autobiographies of these three groups of Black writers will be compared in terms of differences and similarities.
HISTORY
HIST 0670: AFRO-AMERICAN HISTORY 1
This is a general survey of the black experience from Africa to the Civil War. Topics include the following: West Africa culture and culture before the Atlantic Slave Trade; Afro-American culture in the New World; the black family under slavery; rural and urban slavery; free blacks in the North and South; the anti-slavery movement
HIST 0975: HISTORY OF AFRICA BEFORE 1800
This course surveys the history of Africa from earliest times to eve of European civilization. It looks at Africa from the inside out and aims at promoting an appreciation of Africa’s contribution to world civilization and an understanding of the historical processes that have shaped modern Africa.
HIST 1796: HISTORY OF AFRICA SINCE 1800
This course surveys the history of Africa from 1800 to the present day. Major themes include African statecraft, European colonization, African nationalism and post independence problems. Processes of African institutional growth within the perspectives of resiliency, change and adaptation will be emphasized.
HIST 1070: THE RISE OF THE MODERN PAN-AFRICANIST MOVEMENT cross listed AFRCNA 1011
This course will survey the current of pan-Africanist thought from the partitioning of Africa to the independence movements. Its aim is to provide students a basic understanding of three broad developments in the Pan-African Movement. The first section pertains to the development of Pan-African consciousness and the people who shaped the movement. The second explores the different variants of Pan-Africanist thought (Liberal integrationist, Black Nationalists, Socialism, and Marxism). The third section involves the impact of the Cold War politics on the Pan-African Movement Issues of class, and gender and the themes of racism and colonialism will play a part in the analyses of these development.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
PS 1352: INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN POLITICS
This is an introduction to broad aspects of African politics, people, culture and the problems of new states. Specific topics to be covered include the early European encounter with Africa, colonial rule, de-colonization, African nationalism, African independence movements, and the post-independence problems of national building, national unity, political and economic development. It is an exposure to African macro politics. (Comparative field)
SOCIOLOGY
SOC 1365: RACE, GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT
This research practicum investigates the status of women across various countries in the “developed/developing” worlds, using as a qualitative analytical and historical index the relationship between production and reproduction and the intersection of gender, class, race and nation within the global system, and as qualitative measurement United Nations statistics and indicators with regard to demography, health, education and communication, work, human rights and political decision-making, as documented in the report “The world’s women 2005 (2006)”. Students are expected to come up with a theoretical and research framework as well as research findings for selected group.