AFRI 101: Introduction to Africa Course Overview Course Goals Required Texts Course Requirements Supplementary Resources Academic Policies Course Mechanics Course Schedule Course Overview In the post-1945 period there has been a growing debate in both policy and academic circles on the nature of cultural, political, and economic processes in the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial period of Africa. The rise of this debate has led to interesting and complex studies demonstrating the historical development of African societies. In this course, building on works of contemporary leading scholars such as Peter J. Schraeder, the author of your main textbook, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, and others, we will engage in critical and analytical reflections on the historical and contemporary forces (both internal and external) that have influenced socio-cultural, political, and economic developments in Africa. The course does not assume a prior knowledge of African history or contemporary developments. Thus you should not feel intimidated. From the beginning of the term, I look forward to hearing from each of you about your views and knowledge about various aspects of the diverse societies that comprise the African continent. Of course, we all have different views about African societies and I look forward to learning from the dialogue that I hope will emerge in each lesson. Having said all that, you may ask the question: why should anyone bother studying a continent that some scholars refer to as being at the margins of the global south and the international system? I hope that most of you are as curious and keen as I am about exploring what I call the poetics of other societies. In the case of African societies, there are many reasons that should lead us to engage in a critical dialogue of historical and contemporary developments. For instance, despite the expansive post-1945 literature on African societies, these societies, in the main, continue to be viewed in very simplistic and monolithic terms. But more importantly, in the context of the latest phase of globalization, a process that is leading to a deeper form of interconnectedness of our world, understanding the nature of issues beyond the borders of our towns, states, and nations is increasingly becoming a central feature of our everyday consciousness. Further, we cannot escape this, given the nature of global media networks such as CNN and the constant flow of information through the web. With this as a bit of background, I'd like to welcome you to AFRI 101 online! Each week we will have a core set of readings and questions to think about. For each lesson you will
have summary lecture notes outlining the core elements of the readings and providing guidelines as to what issues to consider from the readings and research. The course is comprised of five parts and will evolve on four levels: an examination of the theoretical perspectives that scholars and policy makers use to describe Africa's social, cultural, political, and economic developments an examination of concrete historical development processes in various African countries a discussion of contemporary debates in African Studies: Africa and neo-liberal globalization and transitions to democracy the reading of three African novels to demonstrate the centrality of the continent's sites of cultural production in documenting social, cultural, political, and economic change. Course Goals Introduces students to the dominant theoretical tools used in the study of Africa's cultural, political, and economic change. Provides students with basic geographical data. Discusses the cultural, political, and economic features of precolonial Africa. Examines the nature and legacies of European imperialism in Africa. Discusses the rise and characteristics of African nationalist movements. Explores the core elements of Africa's political and economic path in the post-1945 period. Provides a critical examination of ethnicity and class in the evolution of Africa's historical development. Discusses the impact of political and economic globalization with specific reference to Structural Adjustment Policies and transitions to democracy. Introduces the study of African literature. Discusses the role of arts in African societies. Considers three novels. Required Texts See course description for an up-to-date list of materials. The texts are available from Friday Center Books & Gifts at the Friday Center. You can order the books online, or you can print out the book order form to fax or mail with payment for texts as indicated on the form. Supplemental e-reserve readings may also be assigned throughout the semester. Course Requirements Discussion Forum: 10%
Students are expected to participate in the weekly discussion forums by responding to questions or issues presented for each week's lesson. Postings should be directly tied to the course readings, using specific page references. The most valued postings are those that seek to make connections between the readings or between one lesson and another. The forum is a site for a stimulating and engaging dialogue on weekly themes. You are expected to both post an original comment and respond to at least one classmate's posting every week. Consequently, you will need to post a response to the discussion forum questions or issues by Wednesday and then respond to a colleague's posting by Friday. Late responses will not be accepted. Personal reflections on Questions to Consider At least once during the semester, students will post their reflections on one or more of the Questions to Consider that are a part of each lesson. These questions are designed to be non-academic inviting the student to make connections between their own lives and societies and the peoples and societies we are studying. In every discussion forum, you will find a thread for personal reflections. While other discussion forum postings are expected to be directly tied to the readings, personal reflections need only show an awareness of the course content. Students are encouraged (but not required) to make weekly postings to this part of the forum! Exams: 90% You will be required to complete three exams, each worth 30 percent of your final grade. Exams will consist of short-answer questions and a longer essay (1,000-word maximum). The exams will appear in the Exams section of the Sakai site at the noted dates and times in the Schedule, and they are due to me via email. Exams are open book, and you will have 24 hours to complete them. Readings Students are expected to do their weekly readings. The readings are organized thematically and form the foundation for our weekly discussion forum. Grade Distribution Discussion Forum Exam 1 Exam 2 Exam 3 10 percent 30 percent 30 percent 30 percent Supplementary Resources Films (available for viewing at UNC's Media Resource Center) Separate But Equal Mastering the Continent The Bible and the Gun This Magnificent Africa Cake Rise of African Nationalism Faat Kine
Useful websites Please note that these websites provide excellent material on all the topics that we will be focusing on this term. Consequently, use these websites as supplementary material and additional sources when researching your term papers. News (old and new) AllAfrica news wire The New York Times Scholarly resources: Berkeley-Stanford Joint Center for African Studies Boston University Central Connecticut State University Columbia University Harvard Africa Studies Howard University Indiana University Bloomington Lincoln University Northwestern University Michigan State University Ohio State University University of California Los Angeles University of Florida Gainsville University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Yale University International African Institute (IAI) (London, United Kingdom) Nordic Africa Institute (Uppsala, Sweden) School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London (United Kingdom) Please note that the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC-Chapel Hill has the latest e-journals on the themes we will be covering in this class. Consequently, this library should be your entry point on web-based scholarly resources. If you have any questions or have trouble finding e-based resources for your essays and interests in Africa, please send me an email and I will direct you to relevant web-based sources. Academic Policies By enrolling as a student in this course, you agree to abide by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill policies related to the acceptable use of online resources. Please consult the Acceptable Use Policy on topics such as copyright, net-etiquette, and privacy protection. As part of this course, you may be asked to participate in online discussions or other online activities that may include personal information about you or other students in the course. Please be respectful of the rights and protection of other participants under the UNC-Chapel Hill Information Security
Policies when participating in online classes. When using online resources offered by organizations not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill, such as Google or YouTube, please note that the terms and conditions of these companies and not the University s Terms and Conditions apply. These third parties may offer different degrees of privacy protection and access rights to online content. You should be well aware of this when posting content to sites not managed by UNC-Chapel Hill. When links to sites outside of the unc.edu domain are inserted in class discussions, please be mindful that clicking on sites not affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill may pose a risk for your computer due to the possible presence of malware on such sites. Honor Code You are expected to adhere to the University of North Carolina's Honor Code in all of your work. Plagiarism is a particularly serious Honor Code violation. To become more familiar with the issues surrounding plagiarism, and how to best avoid this academic issue, take the UNC Libraries Plagiarism Tutorial. Course Mechanics Email We recommend that you use the Email feature of Sakai for this course. There is an Email link in the left navigation bar. Select Compose a Message, select your recipient(s), click the CC box to send a copy of the message to recipients email addresses (otherwise the message will be internal to the Sakai site), put CCO AFRI 101 in the Subject line, and compose your message. Then click Send. By using Sakai s email, a copy of any messages you send will be automatically saved in the Sakai site. All communication from me will go to your UNC Onyen email address. You can use your preferred email program to access your UNC email account, called HeelMail, by following the instructions on the About HeelMail page on UNC s Information and Technology Services website. Under Useful Links you will find a Help document called How to access HeelMail using your preferred email program. Library Services and Resources (including e-reserves) Students enrolled in Carolina Courses Online have access to the UNC Library System. Visit Distance Education Library Services to access a wide array of online services and resources including e-reserves, online databases, online journals, online books, and live help with research and library access. Most online resources require you to log in with your Onyen and password. If you have any trouble finding the resource that you need or logging in to a resource, you can contact the library through the contact information at Distance Education Library Services. You can chat live about your problem, or send an email to request assistance. Other Questions Contact your instructor with questions regarding the content of the course and your progress. Please include CCO AFRI 101 in the subject line of your email.
Contact the instructional designer at the Friday Center about problems with this website, including bad links or navigation problems (not being able to find your way around). Contact the UNC Help desk (not your instructor) for any problem you have with technology your Internet connection, downloads, Sakai, and so on. Help is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. If you have any logistical questions as you work through the course (enrollment, Onyen, credits, withdrawal, and so on), contact the Student Services staff at the Friday Center for Continuing Education (phone 919-962-1134 or 800-862-5669). Course Schedule Lesson Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Exam 1 Lesson 5 Lesson 6 Lesson 7 Lesson 8 Exam 2 Lesson 9 Lesson 10 Topic(s) Introduction and Precolonial Political Economy European Imperialism and its Legacies African Nationalism Kenyan Nationalism and A Grain of Wheat Exam 1 will be available in the Exams section. Understanding Politics After Independence: Third World Theories of Development and Geopolitics of the Cold War Political issues: Ethnicity, Social Class, and Africa's Political Economy Economic Neo-liberal Globalization (Structural Adjustment Policies) Critical Reflections on the Role of Art in the Political Economy; African Literature and Popular Culture Exam 2 will be available in the Exams section. African Politics in the Era of Global Democratic Reforms and the Rise of China and Africa-China Relations Neo-liberalism and Health in Africa: The Case of HIV/AIDS Exam 3 Exam 3 (Final Exam) will be available in the Exams section. Please complete the course evaluation. Course author/instructor: Barbara Anderson, PhD The University of North Carolina Last modified: May 8, 2012 Send comments and questions to fridaycenter@unc.edu.