South Africa's Nelson Mandela rises from prison to the Presidency. Massacres darken the future of Rwanda. Riots in Kinshasa, the capital of Zaire, lead to economic decline as the political impasse continues there, and Ebola breaks out. These and other current events in Africa will be analyzed in this course, with an emphasis on the historical roots of today's situations. A country by country approach will also include Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria. Each country will serve as a paradigm of broader issues confronting Africans today: economic development, democratization, ethnic pluralism, racism, class formation, and foreign intervention. Lectures will be complemented by films, student presentations, and discussions. A term paper, two tests, and a final exam will be required.

                   AFRICAN HISTORY THROUGH NOVELS BY AFRICANS

Underneath the facts and figures about any civilization lie the realities of life as it is lived, thoughts as they are conceived, images as they are perceived by those within the culture. We will explore the society, political organization, arts, and religion of traditional African culture during the first part of the course, then look into the culture conflict, colonialism, and dilemmas of modern Africa, using novels written by Africans. All class members will read seven novels (including those of Achebe, Ba, Laye, and Ngugi) and a short text of African anthropology and history in preparation for class discussions, do a term project, and take two tests and a final exam. Lectures and films will complete the program. Emphasis will be on understanding African culture and history rather than on literary criticism.

A study of selected topics in African History: early kingdoms, the slave trade, l9th century leaders such as Shaka and Usuman dan Fodio, the Partition of Africa, African resistance to imperial conquest, systems of colonial rule, the issue of economic exploitation, and others. Conflicting perspectives on the various topics will be presented. There will be several videos. Methods include term papers, book reports, class discussions, lectures, and oral presentations.

        AFRICA MEETS EAST AND WEST: PHARAOHS, PROPHETS, AND PROFITEERS

For thousands of years Africa has been in contact with the rest of the world. In Antiquity, Greece was influenced by Egypt (the degree is the subject of a heated debate which we wish to explore). In late medieval times African gold fed European commercial growth. In modern times Africans were taken to work in America, and more recently Europeans went to conquer Africa and exploit its riches. This course will look at these various encounters between Africa and the rest of the world, selecting a few which were most significant--and interesting to us as Americans.

An introductory course designed to give students a basic understanding of the traditions of Western Europe since the l7th century. Significant emphasis is placed upon acquainting the student with the distinctive features and problems of the historical approach and on furthering his/her skills of critical reading, analysis and reflection. There will be lectures, discussions, student presentations, and videos. Class participation, quizzes, several short papers, two tests and a final exam will help evaluate work.

This course replaces History lll and ll2, Development of Western Civilization I and II. It is designed to introduce students to the subject matter of western civilization, from its origins to the present day, and to familiarize them with some of the basic skills and concepts of the discipline of history. The final grade will be based on class participation, several short papers, a number of quizzes, two tests, and a final exam.
 
 
 

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