Course Description
The history, physical environment (landforms, vegetation, and climate), and sociocultural environment (artistic, political, and social development) of Africa.
Athena Title
Introduction to Africa
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in AFST 2100, ANTH 2100, CMLT 2100, GEOG 2100, HIST 2100, SOCI 2100, RELI 2100
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught 95% or more online.
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This is an introductory as well as an overview course. It is designed to serve two purposes. The first purpose is a general introduction to the field of African Studies. The other purpose is to allow faculty who participate in the African Studies Institute to present their areas of expertise and teaching interests so that students will have both a broad idea of the types of scholarship involving Africa available at UGA, and an opportunity to select an area of focus for their own studies. A major focus of the course will be the wholesome representation of how African societies are structured into groups, such as nations, linguistic groups, classes, and occupations. In providing this wholesome representation, we will consider three specific things. First, we will consider how these groupings developed historically and are maintained over time through institutions. Second, we will consider the different changes these institutions have gone through and their impact on all the identified groupings. Finally, we will focus on factors of solidarity and conflict, particularly as these relate to social hierarchy and conceptions of history and identity. The underlying theme will be about Africa then, now, and the challenges for Pan-Africanism. Organization of the Course: Four types of class activities will take place. First, I will involve you in a systematic reading with weekly assignments. This we will discuss every two weeks or so. Second, you will receive additional reading materials or selections from the class texts associated with the lectures of participating professors. These will be placed on reserve or handed out before the lecture. Third, you will be divided into pairs or small groups and assigned a country for which you will be expected to prepare and present a report at the end of the semester. Fourth, we will view films and may listen to various audio tapes and radio shows as much as possible. Taking notes will be very important to this class since most of our information will be obtained by lecture and discussion. Students must turn in summaries of the notes from each lecture and readings for the week. Other Requirements: 1)You will be required or expected to attend various African- related events, lectures, and programs on campus. 2)You might be required to listen to African-related programs on radio and television. 3)This class outline and the list of guest speakers (that you will receive next week) are subject to change and will be updated constantly. However, the evaluation procedure for the class will remain the same. 4)Students will be expected to augment their class discussions with information from assigned readings, internet surveys, and data collection from selected individuals of targeted African countries of interest. General Expectation: Engage the materials, the presenters, and myself to facilitate your learning of new information and reinforce what you already know.
Topical Outline
Topics for Required Readings (required text only) Week - Topic(s) 1 General Introduction Historical/Geographic Contextualization 2 Peoples and Languages 3 Pre-Colonial Legacies (Readings: Chapters 1,2, and 3) 4 Colonialism and its Aftermath 5 National Liberation and Political Change (Readings: Chapters 4 and 13) *TEST 1* 6 Religions and World Views (Readings: Chapter 11) 7 Economic Development (Readings: Chapter 5) 8 Social Structures and Institutions: Family and Kinship 9 Social Structures and Institutions (continued) a. Education b. Health c. Sports, etc. 10 Gender and Societies/Education (Readings: Chapters 9 and 10) *TEST 2* 11 Surveys: Pan-Africanism and African Diaspora 12 Literature and the Arts (Readings: Chapter 12) 13 Agriculture 14 Environment and Geography 15 Changes and Effects: Growth, Development, and Underdevelopment (Readings: Chapters 6,7,and 8) *TEST 3* 16 Africa and the World Today (Review and Students' Presentations) (Readings: Chapter 14) THE COURSE SYLLABUS IS A GENERAL PLAN FOR THE COURSE; DEVIATIONS ANNOUNCED TO THE CLASS BY THE INSTRUCTOR MAY BE NECESSARY!
General Education Core
CORE IV: World Languages and Global Culture