African Studies

The course is part of the LM degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by consent of the instructor. Combining the fields of migration studies and labor studies, the course introduces students to social issues connected with the Chinese presence in Africa and the African presence in China. The relationship between China and African countries is at the center of heated debates with Chinese investments, infrastructure construction, job creation, and raw material appropriation in Africa often portrayed in binary terms: China is either pitched as a predator and the new imperialist power in Africa, or else celebrated as a friend offering to the African counterpart a win-win cooperation. This takes place against a global background in which scholars and pundits alike are increasingly forced to take a stand as non-partisan analysis is in vertical decline and views on China have rapidly polarized. Using images and videos, the course offers a nuanced discussion of the many facets of the Chinese presence in Africa. At the same time, it delves into the action of African states, and agency enacted by African elites and the populace in relation to the Chinese presence and activism on the continent. The Chinese presence in Africa is not analyzed in isolation but is discussed in the framework of the “global China” phenomenon, visible in China's increasing outward flows of investment, loans, migrants, infrastructure, media, and international engagement. Additionally, the course also offers an introduction to visual sociology as a tool that enables students to elaborate sociological interpretations of the visual materials presented. Specific topics include: racialization and intersectionality in Africa-China Encounters; China in Africa; Chinese Soft Power; Chinese and African Labor in Africa; the gold rush in Ghana; China as a model for Africa; the African Perspective; development, aid, and the reproduction of dependency; and Africa in China.

This class is an opportunity to engage critically with all aspects of the experience studying in Morocco, and further understanding of various issues in Moroccan culture and society. The texts and topics addressed include language, history, economics, literature, religion, arts, politics, and gender issues. The course takes into account the heterogeneity of Moroccan society, keeping in mind the country's connection to its broader geographical context. It views Morocco from both local and regional standpoints while simultaneously relating it to student's own perspectives. This comparative approach serves to identify the dynamics of Moroccan culture's major patterns and what drives the behavior, attitudes, value,s and judgments of Moroccans.

This course focuses on the history of South Africa from 1948 and the institutionalization of Apartheid onward. It covers the National Party leaders as well as African National Congress leaders on the way to the fall of Apartheid. It discusses the various ways people fought against the regime as well as the lasting effects of Apartheid on South Africa today.

This is a language course designed to provide basic communicative competence in oral and written Twi for beginners. It focuses on the structure of the language as well as the culture of the people.

This course is a three-week intensive experiential course in Ghana, West Africa that features concentrated study, lectures, roundtables, field trips, and interactions with the people of Ghana. The course involves an in-depth examination of Ghanaian history, culture, governance, family and society, gender issues, and development challenges. The course also includes language instruction, language practice situations in the field, dance lessons, drumming lessons, and field excursions to culturally and historically significant sites in Kumasi, Cape Coast, or other areas. It also introduces a host of practical skills and information to help with adjustment to and living in Ghana. The course is comprised of 45 hours of lectures and over 30 hours of field interactions.

This course examines the major political and economic trends in African history since 1800. Through exploring the wide-ranging debates about the origins of modern Africa, the course equips students with critical analytical tools with which to understand Africa's complex pasts and place in world history and in the contemporary world. Topics include the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, colonial conquest and rule, socio-economic changes, and the decolonization process. Through a selection of regional case studies, the course covers the entire continent so as to understand the diversity of the historical forces that have shaped contemporary Africa.

This course focuses on the historical and current government, politics, and economy of Ethiopia and the Horn from an international context. It covers the history of Ethiopia and provides context for how Ethiopia is situated in Africa and the wider world while also explaining its internal dynamics.

This course is an introduction to the history of Africa South of the Sahara from the 19th century to the 1990s. To balance historical breadth with depth, the course analyzes some selected case-studies to highlight major historical trends and see their effects on the local level. The first lectures are an introduction to the history of the continent. The course discusses the idea of “Africa without history,” the evolution of the historical studies on Africa and the sources that Africanists have at their disposal. The course then analyzes the slave trades - local, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean- and highlights their economic, social, and political effects on the African societies involved. The course continues with the origins of imperialism, to see how Western scientific and technological discoveries, the European political and economic situation, the 19th-century racism as well as the work of missionaries and explorers, put the basis for the scramble for Africa. The course then sees the reactions of African societies to the colonial occupation and analyzes the different forms of colonialism. Particular attention is given to the early developments of African nationalism. The course investigates the participation of Africa in WWI and WWII and the development of international movements, especially panafricanism and négritude. The course then considers the most important phases of the decolonization process, from the independence of Ghana in 1957 to the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994. The last part of the course focuses on specific case-studies to provide examples of the political and economic choices of the leaders of post-independence Africa. The course discusses some of the most prominent political leaders, such as Julius Nyerere, Thomas Sankara, Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, and Nelson Mandela, and their writings. The course investigates the impact of colonialism on independent African countries and analyzes the relationship between history, nationalism, and the formation of the post-colonial state.