28760 - History and Institutions of Africa

Academic Year 2018/2019

  • Moduli: Karin Pallaver (Modulo 1) Karin Pallaver (Modulo 2)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo 2)
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology (cod. 0964)

Learning outcomes

• At the end of the course, students will be familiar with the historical sources needed to study the history of sub-Saharan Africa. They will know the main social, economic and political processes that have characterized the history of the African continent over the long term. They will be aware of the main historiographical debates on the history of sub-Saharan Africa, especially on colonialism, the decolonization process and the building of the post-colonial state. They will be able to plan and develop a research on subjects connected to African history and cultures. They will acquire the ability to talk and write about Africa using the specific terminology of the field.

Course contents

The course is divided into two modules.

MODULE 1:

The first part of Module 1 (6 hours) is an introduction to the history of sub-saharan Africa and its connections to global historical processes from 1800 to 1960. The students who do not have a background in African history can read R. Reid, A History of Modern Africa. 1800 to the Present, Wiley 2012. In this first part we will also analyse the  development of the filed of African History and the main elements of the historiographical debates, also in relation to the field of Global History. The second part of the module (14 hours) will explore sub-saharan Africa during the colonial period. The analyses will be situated into the larger framework of the history of European imperialism in the 19th and 20th century. This part of the course will specifically focus on the colonial encounters. Through the analysis of some specific thematic issues, such as gender relations in the colonies, the relation between European and local languages, the impact of colonial money on African societies, African national and international resistance, colonialism and witchcraft, we will reconstruct the history of colonialism in Africa as a process of continuos interaction and negotiation between the colonizers and the colonized societies. During this module, students are required to participate to group discussions (10 hours), during which we will discuss scientific articles and historical sources that students have to read in advance.

MODULE 2

During Module 2 we will focus on the decolonisation process and formation of the post-colonial state. The first part of this module (6 hours) will discuss the historiographical debate on decolonisation and the formation of post-independence states. The second part of the module will use some specific case studies in order to address the main dynamics of the decolonisation process, as well as the different political choices made by African leaders after independence. During this module, students will work in small groups and do research on the ways in which important historical events that happened during the last few decades in Africa have been represented by Italian and international newspapers. The research will be presents in class (6 hours).

The detailed schedule of the course will be uploaded on iol.unibo.it

 

Readings/Bibliography

STUDENTS ATTENDING THE COURSE:

Students attending the course will be given weekly readings, that are designed to complement the lectures. The readings and assignments will make students think about African history and historiography in a critical perspective. The material will be uploaded on iol.unibo.it at the beginning of the course and the material on specific themes will be uploaded each week.

STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE COURSE:

Students not attending the course will read a total of four books:

(This is a bibliography in English only; if you prefer to read the texts in Italian, please make reference to the Italian page of the course)

Compulsory readings:

Gilbert, Erik and Jonathan T. Reynolds, Africa in World History: From Prehistory to the Present. Boston: Pearson, 2012 [3rd edition]

AND

Cooper, F., Africa in the world. Capitalism, Empire and the Nation-State, Cambridge, 2014

AND two among the following:

Johannes Fabian, Language and Colonial Power. The Appropriation of Swahili in the Former Belgian Congo 1880-1938, University of California Press, 1986.

Katherine Luongo, Witchcraft and colonial rule in Kenya, 1900-1950, Cambridge University Press, 2015.

John M. Mugane, The Story of Swahili, Ohio University Press, 2015

Carina Ray, Crossing the Color Line: Race, Sex, and the Contested Politics of Colonialism in Ghana, Ohio University Press, 2015


Teaching methods

Lectures and class discussions. Archival documents and photographs, travelogues, biographies, novels, will be presented and analyzed in order to better situate the historical processes discussed in class.

Assessment methods

STUDENTS ATTENDING THE COURSE:

Students attending the course will be evaluated on the basis of:

a. participation to classes and discussions (50%)

During the course, you will have to keep up on the readings. To receive a positive evaluation for this part, you will have to engage with the readings and assignments, to think actively about them and to participate to class discussions in a positive way. There will be a total of five group discussions during the course. To be considered as attending students you have to participate to at least four of them.

b. oral exam (50%)

Students will also be evaluated on the basis of an oral exam. In this, you will have to discuss the material of the first part of the course (which will be uploaded on iol.unibo.it) and select one out of four of the main topics discussed during the course: gender, money, resistance, language, witchcraft (and prepare the material on the topic that will be uploaded on iol.unibo.it). During the exam, you have to show that you are familiar with the most important processes that characterize the history of Africa during the colonial period and that you are able to situate it in a wider historical perspective. You also have to demonstrate that you are able to discuss methodological problems and use an appropriate terminology.

STUDENTS NOT ATTENDING THE COURSE:

Students not attending the course, will be evaluated on the basis of an oral exam. During the oral exam you will be asked four questions, one on each book you have read. During the exam, you have to show that you are familiar with the most important processes that characterize the history of Africa during the colonial period and that you are able to situate it in a wider historical perspective. You also have to demonstrate that you are able to discuss methodological problems and use an appropriate terminology. You have to read all the books assigned. If the reading list is not clear enough or you have problems in finding the texts, please contact Prof. Pallaver by e-mail.

Teaching tools

We will use power point presentations with images and maps. These will be made available to the students and uploaded on iol.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Karin Pallaver