Syllabus
Structure of the course 1. Geography of Africa a. Topography of the continent b. The great Rift Valley c. Highlands, mountains & the rainforests d. Sahel, deserts &the coasts of Africa e. Rivers, lakes and Islands
Required readings
Collins O. R. & Burns M. J. 2008. A History of Sub- Saharan Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University, p. 7-22
Recommended readings
Adams W. M. Goudie A. S. & Orme A. R. (eds.) 1996. The physical Geography of Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ajayi J. F. A. & Crowder M. (eds.).1985. Historical Atlas of Africa. Cambridge& New York: Cambridge University Press. 2. Africa and Human origins
Required readings
Ehret C. The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, p. 17-25
Isichei E. 2000. A History of African societies to 1870. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 25-39
Recommended readings
Fleagle J. G., Shea J. J., Grine E. F., Baden A. L., Leakey R. E. (eds.) 2010. Out of Africa 1: The First Hominin Colonization of Eurasia. London & New York: Springer. 3. African language families a. Afro-Asian b. Nilo-Saharan c. Niger-Congo d. Khoisan
Required readings
Child T. G.2003. Introduction to African languages. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. 2003, p.19-53
Map of African language families: http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/african-language-map.htm
Recommended readings
Heine B. & Nurse D. (eds.). 2000. African Languages: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University press. 4. Pre-colonial African political systems
-Pluralism of African political systems
-Various forms of indigenous democratic systems
-Various forms of indigenous of monarchy
-Some case studies of African political systems
Required readings
Potholm C. P. 1978. The theory and practice of African Politics. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, INC., p.3-33
Collins O. R. & Burns M. J. 2008. A History of Sub- Saharan Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University, p. Kingdoms of Nile 23-39, Horn of Africa 64-77,West African Savannah empires 78-95, East Africa & the Indian Ocean 96-113, the Lake plateau of East Africa 114-127, states of West African forest 128-141, states of central Africa 142-158, states of southern Africa 159-172
Recommended readings
Isichei E. 2000. A History of African societies to 1870. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.101-260 5. Religions of African societies a. Indigenous African religions b. Christianity in Africa c. Islam in Africa
Required readings
Mbiti J. S. 1991. Introduction to African religion. Oxford: Heinemann Educational publishers.
Iliffe J. 2007. Africans: the history of the continent. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.39-64 6. Africa and Atlantic slave trade- Africans in diaspora a. Global history of slave trade b. Different types of slavery c. Atlantic slave trade
Required readings
Lovejoy P.E. The volume of the Atlantic Slave trade; A synthesis. The Journal of African History, vol.23, no.4 (1982), p.473-501
Recommended readings
Patterson O. 1982. Slavery and social death: A comparative study. Massachusetts and London: Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 7. Africa under colonial domination
Required readings
Boahen A. A. (ed.) 1985. General History of Africa Vol.VII: Africa Under Colonial domination 1885-1935. Oxford: Heinemann Educational publishers, p.1-45
Recommended readings 8. The process of decolonization and African Independence
Required readings
Mazrui A. A. (ed.). 1993. General History of Africa Vol. VIII: Africa since 1935. Oxford: Heinemann Educational publishers, p.1-28 9. The role of Cold War and its destabilizing consequences in Africa a. The assassination of African leaders and military coups in Africa b. The various internal movements against independent African states c. Structural Adjustment program and its social consequences in Africa
Required readings
Reno W. 2011. Warfare in Independent Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Recommended readings 10. Economic development in contemporary Africa.
Required readings
Mazrui A. A. (ed.). 1993. General History of Africa Vol. VIII: Africa since 1935. Oxford: Heinemann Educational publishers, p. 285-434 11. Democratization and its obstacles in contemporary Africa
Required readings
Diamond L & Plattner M. Democratization in Africa. Baltimore & London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 12. Terrorism in Africa a. State terrorism b. Non- state terrorism c. International terrorism
Required readings
Hentz J. J. (ed.) 2014. Routledge Handbook of African Security. London& New York: Routledge.
Various articles will be added.
Annotation
The aim of this course is to elucidate the development of African society through their long journey of political systems, their various economic sectors, the indigenous African religion, the expansion of Christianity and Islam- the three main influential faiths in the continent. The course is divided into three parts: the first part of the course illustrates the long period of African society’s historical independent development, before the colonial era, the second part explains the short period of colonial overrule of Africa and its consequences and finally the longest part of the course concentrate on post-independent period of contemporary Africa, in which the political, economic, religious movements and various violent conflicts will be discussed.