African Studies

This course explores the geopolitical past, present, and future of African foreign policy and international relations. Through the complex analysis of African's geopolitical policy regime, it considers how the country's geography supports and complicates its political role and status in the global community. Furthermore, through analyzing international development policy in the region, the course explores how exploitation, war, and regional instability continue to lead to unfortunate political, economic, and social consequences.

The course explores debates and approaches to the study of economic history in Africa, placing South Africa's economic history within the context of the continent as a whole. It examines the economic legacies of colonialism, and the place of institutions in the growth and development of the continent. Using comparisons between different regions and countries, this course investigates why countries which are resource rich have not been able to use these resources to improve living standards and encourage broad-based economic development. It also examines the roles international business and labor have played in the economic history of individual countries. Finally, the course tracks the changing place of Africa in the global economy. Course entry requirements: At least two courses in historical, social science or cultural studies offered by the Faculty of Humanities.

This course develops an understanding of key concepts and theories related to climate issues, sustainability, and environmental governance in Africa. It debates climate adaptation and mitigation, sustainable development, and governing the environment, and discusses specific African cases related to climate-smart interventions, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and governance initiatives related to biodiversity conservation and rural development. The course examines key actors in Africa's development and the roles they play in responding to the climate crisis, in sustainability, and in governing natural resources. It discusses relevant questions concerning the relationship between climate, scarcity, and abundance; internationally-driven, climate-smart initiatives in Africa related to the role of state, market, and civil society; and the impacts and coping strategies related to implementing the SDGs in Africa. The course consists of a combination of lectures and workshop-like activities with active student participation and presentations by a number of external lecturers, including guests from the private sector, NGOs, and researchers. This version of the course is worth 6 quarter UC units and assessment consists of a written paper on a topic of the student's own choosing comprising 24,000-28,800 characters.

How do our unconscious biases impact the way we view people within the African Diaspora? This course explores intersectional inequalities of citizenship and the politics of Belonging and how our unconscious biases impact the way we view (Black) Africans and people within the African Diaspora. The relationship between migration, social cohesion, and national German identity has become an increasingly contentious political issue. Historically, the settlement of migrant groups and the formation of minority ethnic groups have changed the socio-cultural, political and economic fabric of receiving societies. The course explores the relationship between racial and ethnocultural diversity. Students are encouraged to the intentional notion of undoing – unlearning and dismantling unjust practices, assumptions, and institutions – as well as persistent action to create and build alternative spaces and ways of knowing, particularly concerning the Black (African) Diaspora. Berlin is used as a case study for themes covered, however, students are encouraged to reflect on their own identities and the expressions of various identities around the city.

This course analyzes the success of development strategies in relation to when and where they were used throughout Africa. It studies the factors contributing to why certain development strategies were chosen and under what circumstances, as well as the factors that impacted the success of each of these strategies. It focuses on the main approaches to development including neo-liberal, import substitution industrialization, export- and state-led industrialization, basic needs, ERP/SAPs, HIPC, and African-based strategies from the Lagos Plan to NEPAD.

This is a language course designed to build the communicative competence in oral and written Twi for students who have completed the beginners' course (AFST 001), lived, and immersed themselves in Ghana for a semester. It focuses on the structure of the language as well as the culture of the people. It will improve oral skills, written expression, and listening comprehension. There will be an eight-week classroom lecture (16hrs) and about 28hrs field engagements. Students will witness and participate in; a traditional marriage ceremony, funeral, naming ceremony, going to the market to buy foodstuff and cook, a visit to a chief’s palace. There will be a pre and post-processing of each field engagement.

This course covers Africa's current international relations and provides a historical outlook on relations and connections between African societies or states and the world from the first Pan-African conference in 1900 until the end of the Cold War. Drawing on the global history approach, the course goes beyond the traditional imperial history that tends to focus exclusively on Euro-African exchanges and demonstrates how Africa became entwined with world politics, interacted with diversified actors across the world (in Asia, Middle East and Latin America), and tried to shape global affairs. The first part of the course focuses on Great Divergence and Atlantic revolutions to contextualize European colonial conquests. The second part considers the history of African resistance and struggles, anti-colonial and post-colonial solidarities across the world, Panafricanism(s), and African integration. The third part of the course addresses divergent paths of decolonization, Africa's role in the Third world setting, the role of technology, and the Cold War rivalries. More generally, this course combines the transnational, cultural, and diplomatic history of Africa. Each session consists of two parts: a short introduction by the seminar leader and academic discussion around required readings to analyze primary sources and documentaries.