Africa to 1800
HIST 217
Fall 2015
| Section:
01
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| Certificates: International Relations |
| Course Cluster: African Studies |
In this course, we will examine how ancient Africa has been imagined in the past, by African, early observers, and contemporary scholars. We begin with prehistory and the myths and misrepresentations of Africans that have come out of early European imaginings of Africa. Ideas about "pygmies" and "bushmen" have often been used to write about an Africa without a past or to inscribe people on the continent in a static, primordial past. We examine the problems of these representations and the ways that scholars are now unpacking the complicated histories of early African societies. However, this course covers a broad span of time and space on the continent. For this reason, we will only be able to touch upon some of the larger issues for thinking about ancient Africa.
We will move roughly chronologically from human origins to end our journey in the period of early European contact. Changing technologies, means of production, the manipulation of the environment, and trade are all bound up in these histories. As we trace a history of early Africa in the world, we will also pay close attention to gender. As we examine these issues, we will consider several methods for writing early African histories: linguistic, archaeological, ecological, and oral traditions. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AFST-MN)(HIST-MN)(HIST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
David Conrad (ed), SUNJATA: THE WEST AFRICAN EPIC OF THE MANDE PEOPLES (2004)
Innocent Pikirayi, THE ZIMBABWE CULTURE: ORIGINS AND DECLINE OF SOUTHERN ZAMBEZIAN STATES (2001)
Kwasi Konadu, TRANSATLANTIC AFRICA,1440-1888 (2015)
Additional Readings TBA
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Examinations and Assignments:
1 Map Quiz, 2 Short Papers, 1 Midterm exam, 1 Final Exam, Regular forum posts |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Attendance and class participation will be factored into the final grade |
| Instructor(s): Twagira,Laura Ann Times: .M.W... 08:30AM-09:50AM; Location: PAC422; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 25 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 19 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 13 | FR: 4 |
| 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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