AFR 207 - Comparative African History (NEW COURSE) (3 Cr.)

This course offers a comparative examination of several of the diverse histories, cultures, and societies that have contributed to making of the African continent. Divided into five parts, the course begins with a broad overview of precolonial state formation in both “medieval” Africa and the era of the Atlantic slave trade, continues with an analysis of the transition to “legitimate” commerce and the onset of colonialism, and concludes with a discussion about anti-colonial struggles and the rise of new post-colonial nation-states in the 20th century. After establishing this broad outline, the course will proceed by exploring three to four African countries in closer detail in an effort to draw out comparisons across linguistic, cultural, and national boundaries. Specific attention will be given to the social dimensions of changing relationships across ethnic, gender, and religious lines, strategies of dominance and resistance in the colonial era, and the intellectual and expressive contours of the post-colonial conundrum. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. Recommended: