Atomic Africa: A Technological History of the Cold War
HIST 262
Fall 2022
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
SISP 263 |
| Course Cluster and Certificates: African Studies, African Studies Minor |
"Atomic Power Programme Moves Ahead: NUCLEAR REACTOR FOR GHANA" In 1962 the Ghanaian Times proclaimed Ghana's atomic ambitions. Strikingly, it was only two years after the West African nation raised the international alarm against France's nuclear testing in the Sahara. In the midst of the global Cold War, African activists, politicians and scientists called for an end to nuclear imperialism and struggled for political and scientific sovereignty. It was an era marked by the struggle for decolonization but also by the promise of a new technological age. As African politicians planned for an Africa of the future, they faced intense political pressures from both the U.S. and the Soviet Union. They also formed partnerships with China and Cuba, reshaping the international lines of Cold War cooperation and the nature of "development." Over the course of the semester, we will examine Cold War stories across the continent including the mining of uranium, the international Congo Crisis, the development of African radiation experts, the use of radio by liberation forces in Angola, the emergence of an African Jet Age, and the building of the Freedom Railway in Tanzania. In addition, we will examine how students, workers, and scientists negotiated the currents of the Cold War and responded in creative ways to produce their own Atomic Africa. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (AFST-MN)(HIST-MN)(HIST)(STS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Osseo-Asare, ATOMIC JUNCTION: NUCLEAR POWER IN AFRICA AFTER INDEPENDENCE (2019)
Mavhunga, ¿A PLUNDERING TIGER WITH ITS DEADLY CUBS? THE USSR AND CHINA AS WEAPONS IN THE ENGINEERING OF A 'ZIMBABWEAN NATION, 1945-2009¿ (2011)
Monson, AFRICA'S FREEDOM RAILWAY: HOW A CHINESE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT CHANGED LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS IN TANZANIA (2009)
Mooreman, POWERFUL FREQUENCIES: RADIO, STATE POWER, AND THE COLD WAR IN ANGOLA,1931-2002 (2019)
Reynolds, SOVEREIGNTY AND STRUGGLE: AFRICA AND AFRICANS IN THE ERA OF THE COLD WAR, 1945-1994 (2016)
Additional Readings TBA
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Examinations and Assignments:
In-class workshop participation, Regular reflection essays, Mid-term exam, Final research paper |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Twagira,Laura Ann Times: ...W... 07:10PM-10:00PM; Location: BOGH110; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 9 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 5 | FR: 5 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 3 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 1 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 2 |
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