Friday, November 2, 2012

SOCIOLOGY OF AFRICA



INTL 372 -Winter 2013  
Monday and Wednesday 2:00-3:50 PM 
This course can be petitioned to receive University Studies Credit 
 
Uzodinma Iweala (2007), a Nigerian-born author and physician, wrote an astonishing article in the Washington Post, titled “Stop Trying To ‘Save’ Africa” in which he argues that the slogans of western humanitarianism, such as “save Darfur,” “stop genocide in Sudan” or sloganeering to save “starving black children” in Africa are a result of a region wracked by guilt at the humanitarian crises it has created in the Middle East, and so the West has turned to Africa for redemption. This fantasy of saving Africa materializes within liberal academic discourse, yet often does not reflect a clear picture of the continent, and often ignores the creative mind of African thinkers such as DuBois, Fanon, Nkrumah, Lumumba, Nyerere, Nathan Hare, Maulana Karenga and many others. In this course, we explore the social and political transformations of modern Africa in the 20th century. We will also look at how neoliberalism is shaping the power structures in the African continent. 

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