African Studies

This course is designed to help students practice and interact in Setswana during visits to local historical and cultural sites, while engaged in various community-based learning projects. This is a task-based course and requires students to take the lead to complete tasks or research projects of personal interest. This course also serves as a language clinic, so that students can have all of their questions related to Setswana learning answered. Assessment: attendance and participation in discussions and exercises, focus questions, group research project, midterm and final exams, scavenger hunt.

This course explores the place and role of Africa in world politics and unravels the structural position of Africa in the world economy and what this implies for African development. The course examines the mode of incorporation of Africa into the world economy, the formation of the African state system, the nature and character of the post-colonial state, and its role in development. The course emphasizes Africa's relations with the major powers both during and after the Cold War, and contemporary relations with Europe. Topics include the insertion of Africa into the world economy; the African debt crisis including issues of democratization and "good governance"; the evolution and trajectory of the African state system, especially the role of the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union) in conflict management and resolution; colonialism and its impact on African social formations; pan-Africanism and the struggle for independence; and post-colonial Africa.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course is intended for students who have basic knowledge of African history and a strong background in political theory. The course focuses on the main policies and institutions of the European Union partnership in the fields of security and development cooperation, within the framework of the international debate on these topics. In particular, the course offers an analysis of contemporary literature on the political and military relations between the European Union and Africa. Special attention is placed on the main global and regional transformation processes governing the relations between the EU and Africa. A section of the course is devoted to the historical evolution of EU-Africa security and increased cooperation in the area of development. The course is divided in 4 main parts. Part 1 focuses on the historical framework of African-European relations since the late nineteenth century. Emphasis is placed on patterns of colonial domination and the decolonization process. Relations between African and European countries during the Cold War are also examined, and specific attention is devoted to the evolution of Africa-France relations and the role of the Western countries in the decolonization of Southern Africa and the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Part 2 focuses on the aims, instruments, and outcomes of development cooperation between African governments and the European Union since the early 1960's. Part 3 focuses on relations between Africa and Europe in the post-Cold War era. In particular, European policies aimed at promoting democracy and human rights, the prevention and resolution of violent conflicts and the promotion of economic development and poverty reduction. Part 4 focuses the "new scramble" for Africa's natural resources and its complex political and economic effects. Required readings: FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN AFRICA. FROM THE COLD WAR TO THE WAR ON TERROR by E. Schmidt, THE EU AND AFRICA. FROM EUROAFRIQUE TO AFRO-EUROPA by A. Adebajo, K. Whiteman, TERRORISM AND COUNTER-TERRORISM IN AFRICA by H. Solomon. Assessment is based on an oral examination on lecture materials and the required readings.

The course examines the complex and varied aspects of contemporary Africa, a continent consisting of over fifty states with different histories, colonial experiences, economies, values, and social structures by discussing a range of contemporary approaches used to analyze and theorize African politics and key contemporary issues. The course covers topics including colonial rule, legacies of colonialism on post-colonial African states, governance, political instability, and conflict in the horn of Africa. 

This course provides an introduction to the study of politics in contemporary Africa. It focuses on the historical dynamics of state formation since the establishment of colonial rule and on the relations between state and society, as well as current debates on politics and the state in Africa. The course is structured both chronologically and thematically. It begins with the legacies of colonial rule and moves on to the formation of one-party states in the Cold War context, the crisis of modernization and the implementation of neo-liberal policies, the post-1990 democratization dynamics and their consequences, civil wars and the "failure" of the State in the 1990s, and the current rhetoric of "Africa Rising." The course is comprised of a weekly lecture as well as a course complement, which provides an opportunity to explore some themes more in depth.