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.

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!