Level: 2

Semester: 1

Prerequisite: None

 

Course Description:

This is a survey course of the history of Africa from ca. 1860 to ca. 1960. It focuses on the preliminaries (the mid-19th c.), imposition and development of the British, French, Belgian, German and Portuguese colonialisms in Africa. The course is designed to provide students with key concepts, themes, theoretical debates, and historical trajectories of these colonialisms. It focuses on colonialism as a highly diverse process, with wide geographical, economic, political and cultural variations, encompassing distinctive styles of governance among different nations. The colonized regions of the continent were also extraordinarily diverse and the responses of African peoples to Europeans colonialism varied both in time and place. Grasping this diversity in contexts, processes and outcomes is crucial to understanding the history of modern Africa. The legacies of this colonialism are still perceptible in contemporary world.

 

Learning Outcomes:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  1. Analyze historical resources, both primary and secondary, including oral histories, memoirs, archives, media and ethnographic data for key points and significance of arguments
  2. Analyze the cultural historical texts such as news reports, magazine and online articles, music, and films following course guidelines
  3. Identify online resources and internet for assignments, including research and analysis of podcasts, documentaries, music and other
  4. Organize information in a clear and effective manner and formulate arguments supported by historical evidence
  5. Conduct research  through the identification of  information on historical topics for a research essay
  6. Develop written communication skills through the completion of writing assignment
  7. Develop oral expression by participating in class discussions and student presentations
  8. Assess methods and sources for uncovering African history between ca. 1860 and ca. 1960 CE
  9. Examine different approaches to colonial rule, states and policies in different regions under British, French, German, Belgian and Portuguese regimes
  10. Evaluate the responses and perspectives of Africans under European colonial rule, including resistance, accommodation and acceptance
  11. Compare the processes of decolonization in Belgian, British and French African colonies
  12. Examine African political parties, independence movements and ideologies that led to independence, including negritude, pan-Africanism and African socialism

 

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