The Black African in the Early Modern Imagination
FIST 273
Spring 2006
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
FRST 276 |
| Course Cluster: African Studies |
With a few notable exceptions, European missionaries, soldiers, slavers, and natural historians rarely penetrated into the interior of sub-Saharan Africa until the late 18th century. Nonetheless, travel accounts by those who did venture to the continent during the early modern era provided an abundance of raw material for a sustained and complex discussion of the black African in Europe. Not surprisingly, whatever the context within which the African was evoked-be it in discussions of cultural relativism, the state of nature, or comparative anatomy-the 'Ethiopian,' 'Hottentot,' or 'Guinean' functioned as yardsticks against which European civilization measured its presumed technical, cultural and, increasingly, biological superiority. This was, of course, most acutely true after the later part of the 18th century when pseudo-scientific racial theories were used to justify the continued existence of the slave trade. Members of this seminar will become familiar with the European discourse on Africa by reading selections from travel accounts and natural history treatises as well as novels featuring European perceptions of the African. While we begin our examination of this topic with an overview of the history of cultural contacts between Europe, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa, this course is anything but African history. Indeed, the objective of this seminar will be to examine the evolution of the portrayal of Africans against a backdrop of shifting European concerns. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Speaking, Speaking, Writing, Writing |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 | | Special Attributes: FYI |
| Instructor(s): Curran,Andrew Times: .M...F. 01:10PM-02:30PM; Location: RLAN106; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 20 | | SR major: 0 | JR major: 0 | | |
| Seats Available: 12 | GRAD: 0 | SR non-major: 0 | JR non-major: 0 | SO: 0 | FR: 20 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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