Women's social, economic, spiritual, and political contributions to African history from precolonial to contemporary times. Emphasizing African women, it also addresses European and Asian women immigration. Women's interpretations of their identities, social worlds, and experiences, recognizing their essential role in African societies.
Athena Title
Women in Sub Saharan Africa
Prerequisite
Any HIST course or ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1101E or ENGL 1101S or ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or POLS 1101 or POLS 1101E or POLS 1101H or POLS 1101S
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about the history women in sub-Saharan Africa by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of women in sub-Saharan Africa has shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward race, gender, and sexuality, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
Course Introduction and African geography
Overview of African history: Women in African Colonial Histories, pp. 1-10
African women and African slavery: Collins, 183-212 on Reserve
Gendered perceptions of medieval Africa: al-Bakri (esp. 64-69, 77-87) in Corpus, on Reserve
Women and the Kingdom of Mali: Ibn Battuta, 279-304, in the Corpus (Reaction Paper #1)
Arenas of women’s power: Collins, 213-250 on Reserve
Introduction to Hausaland and Nana Asma’u: Nana Asma'u, preface and 1-29
Women’s roles in Hausaland/Sokoto: Nana Asma'u, 30-62
Islam in the Sokoto Caliphate: Nana Asma'u, 63-91
One woman’s poetry: Nana Asma'u, 93-131
Poetry and power: Nana Asma'u, 132-171 (1st Essay due)
Missionaries and imperialism: Women in Afr. Col. Histories, chs. 2,4,9
Mary Kingsley, European women and imperialism: Travels in West Africa, 1-49
Fans of ‘Civilization’: Travels, 50-133 (Reaction Paper #2)
The politics of being ‘civilized’: Travels, 135-197
Fetishizing the fetish: Travels, 199-269
Assessing European narratives: Travels, 270-320 (2nd Essay due)
Baba, A Hausa woman’s Youth: Baba of Karo, 1-65
The British and marriage: Baba of Karo, 66-137
Marriage in Hausaland: Baba of Karo, 138-213
The Fourth Marriage: Baba of Karo, 214-254 (3rd Essay due)
Women and gender in Southern Africa: Women in Afr. Col. Histories, chs. 1, 8, 13
Women and marriage in Colonial Ghana: Women in Afr. Col. Histories, chs. 5 and 10
Women and French Colonialism: Women in Afr. Col. Histories, chs. 3, 6, 12
Mariama Ba and Senegal: So Long a Letter, 1-30
Islam in French West Africa: So Long a Letter, 31- end (Reaction Paper #3)
Buchi Emecheta and Nigeria: Joys of Motherhood, 1-62, Women in Afr. Col. Histories, ch. 11
Urban women in Nigeria: The Joys, 63-128
Working women: The Joys, 129-158
Political women: The Joys, 159-end, (Reaction Paper #4)
