SOCIOLOGY OF AFRICA
Instructor: Tugrul Keskin
Office: 333 East Hall International Studies
Google Phone: (202)
630-1025
The oppressed will always believe the worst about
themselves.
― Frantz Fanon
― Frantz Fanon
For a colonized people the most essential value, because the
most concrete, is first and foremost the land: the land which will bring them
bread and, above all, dignity.
― Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
― Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth
Course Description and Objective
This
course will explore the ongoing social, political and economic dynamics in 20th century Africa. In this course, we will
try to understand the transformations in African societies and communities.
However, we will also briefly examine historical colonialism. Colonialism has led
to a set of serious and long-lasting unintended consequences on the continent. Ethnic
tensions in Kenya, Apartheid racism in South Africa, the Darfur conflict in
Sudan, Christian and Muslim religious misunderstanding in Nigeria, increased
political conflicts in Mali, democratic transformations in Northern Africa and
the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda are each related with the earlier exploitation of
African peoples and lands, and as such are a product of colonization. This
history has set in motion a dynamic that has created artificial social,
political and economic boundaries among African communities and societies.
Whatever conflicts we see today on the continent are not because Africans are
not capable of enhancing and developing their own civilization, but are a by-product
of the colonial political social and economic structures left behind by the
colonizers, internalized within Africa.
There
have been many changes in Africa following the colonization period, 1885-1950s.
Most of the African countries received independence in the 1960s; however, today
we witness social, political and economic problems, which are direct consequences
of historical colonialism and the impacts of global capitalism. In this course,
we will explore the relationship of the past to modern Africa. Today in Africa,
we observe massive urbanization, economic revivalism, Chinese investment,
democratization, greater women’s participation in education and the work force,
and more openness in each aspect of African societies. As a result of this dynamism,
we see the increasing trend of popular culture and consumerism, which reflects
Africa’s is evolution toward globalization. One of the best examples of this
trend is the Nigerian Movie industry – Nollywood.
In
order to understand what the Sociology of Africa is, you should clearly follow
the chronology of this course. There are five stages of this course. We
will start re-visiting the colonial past of the continent, from the 1885
Berlin conference to WWI. In the second part of this course, the effects of the
Great Depression will be examined. In the third stage of the course, the
implications of WWII and independence and anti-colonialist movements are explored.
The fourth stage of the course will critically analyze the chaotic nature of
the nation state in Africa. In the last stage, we will review the current
social, political and economic conditions, which are embedded in
globalization. However, we also attempt to explore the Chinese economic
exploitation of the African continent.
In
this course, we will incorporate perspectives derived from the positions of
African leaders from an internal as opposed to an Orientalist perspective;
leaders such as the anti-colonialist Julius Nyerere (Tanzania), Pan-Africanist
Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), conservative African Jomo Kenyatta (Kenya), Idi Amin Dada (Uganda), the pro-African
Nationalist Nnamdi Azikiwe (Nigeria), Thomas Sankara (Burkina Faso) and South
African leader, Nelson Mandela.
Pan-African Leadership:
Edward
Wilmot Blyden (1832–1912) - Liberia
Omar Mukhtar (1862-1931) – Libya
Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) - Jamaica
W. E. B."
Du Bois (1868 –1963) US and
Ghana
Jomo
Kenyatta (1889 - 1978) - Kenya
Haile
Selassie I (1892–1975) - Ethiopia
Moses
Kotane (1905-1978) – South Africa
Kwame
Nkrumah (1909-1972) - Ghana
Leopold Sedar Senghor (1906–2001) Senegal
Mojola Agbebi (1860–1917) - Nigeria
Govan
Mbeki (1910-2001) – South Africa
Ahmed
Ben Bella (1918-2012) - Algeria
Baruch
Hirson (1921-1999) – South African Jewish
Julius
Nyerere (1922-1999) - Tanzania
Amilcar
Cabral (1924-1973) - Guinea-Bissau
Idi Amin Dada (1925–2003)
- Uganda
Robert
Gabriel Mugabe (1924-) Zimbabwe
Frantz
(Ibrahim) Fanon (1925-1961) – Martinique and Algeria
Patrice
Lumumba (1925-1961) - Congo
Joe
Slovo (1926-1995) - South Africa
Walter
Rodney (1942-1980) – Guyana
Alhaji
Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof (1924-2011) - Gambia
Agostinho
Neto (1922-1979) - Angola
Robert
Mangaliso Sobukwe (1924-1978) – South Africa
George
Padmore (1902-1959) – Trinidad and Ghana
C
L R James (1901-1988) – Trinidad
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996) - Nigeria
Ahmed
Sekou Toure (1922-1984) – Guinea
Kwame Ture
(1941-1998) Trinidad
Maulana Karenga (1941-) US
Molefi
Kete Asante (1942-) US
Thomas
Sankara (1949-1987) – Burkina Faso
Learning outcomes:
1. Students should become familiar with
significant aspects of the history, culture and politics of Africa, and be able
to appreciate the range of historical and contemporary experiences on the
continent.
2. Acquaint students with traditional
literature of post-colonial studies and contemporary research on African
Society
3. Identify crucial events, actors, and
trends in 20th century African politics and society and their
ramifications beyond the African continent.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of the
relationship of the geographical, political, socio-economic, and cultural
forces that have changed the map of Africa and the lives of the people living
there.
5. Understand how Europe dominated and
exploited Africa and African society in the 20th century following
the Berlin conference.
6. Introduce students to the historical
transformation of African society following the 1885 Berlin Conference
7. Recognize and respectfully defend or
challenge the underlying assumptions in class readings and discussions;
critically analyze various sources and maps.
Required Readings:
· Basil Davidson. 1995. Modern Africa: A
Social and Politic. History. Longman.
· Richard Dowden.
2010. Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. Preseus Book/Public Affairs.http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/publicaffairsbooks-cgi-bin/display?book=9781586487539
·
Padraig
Carmody. 2011. The New Scramble for Africa. Polity Press.
Other
readings will be posted on D2L and you will find them under the ‘news’ section.
Recommended Readings:
1.
Franz
Fanon. A Dying Colonialism. New York,
NY: Monthly Review Press, 1967. ISBN 0802150276, or 9780802150271
2.
Adekeye Adebajo. The Curse of
Berlin: Africa After the Cold War. Columbia University Press, 2010.
3.
Ifi
Amadiume. Reinventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion and Culture. New York, NY:
Zed Book, 2001. 1-85649-534-5
4.
Phyllis
M. Martin and Patrick O’Meara. Africa.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995. ISBN: 0-253-20984-6
5.
Jacob U. Gordon. African Leadership in the Twentieth Century: An
Enduring Experiment in Democracy. University Press of America, 2002.
6.
Basil
Davidson. The African Slave Trade. Boston, MA: 1980. ISBN: 0-316-17438-6
7.
Basil
Davidson. Africa: A Social and Political History.
London: Pearson, 1994.
8.
Albert
Memmi. The Colonizer and Colonized. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1991. ISBN:
978-0-8070-0301-5
9.
Kinuthia
Macharia and Muigai Kanyua. The Social
Context of the Mau Mau Movement in Kenya (1952-1960). Lanham, MD:
University Press of America, 2006. ISBN: 0-7618-3389-7
10. Peter Edgerly Firchow, Envisioning
Africa: Racism and Imperialism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Lexington,
KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 2000.
11. David Anderson, Histories of the
Hanged: The Dirty War in Kenya and the End of Empire
12. W. E. Burghardt Du Bois, World and
Africa: The World and Africa: An inquiry into the part which Africa has played
in world history
13. Yuri Smertin, Kwame Nkrumah: An
original study of the life and work of renowned African Marxist Kwame Nkrumah
that draws on key passages in Nkrumah's own writings and those of his
contemporaries.
14. Michael Conniff & Thomas Davis, Africans
in the Americas: A History of the Black Diaspora
(St. Martin’s Press, NY) ISBN 0-312-04254-x
15. Manning Marable, Race, Reform, and
Rebellion (University of Mississippi
Press, Jackson)
16. Robin Kelley, Race Rebels, Culture,
Politics, and the Black Working Class (The Free Press, Macmillan)
17. African Politics and Society: A Mosaic in
Transformation
(Hardcover) by Peter J. Schraeder
18. The Fate of Africa: A History of Fifty
Years of Independence
(Paperback) by Martin Meredith
19. Africa: A Biography of the Continent (Paperback) by John Reader
20. Africa and the New World Order (Society and Politics in Africa, Vol 7)
by Julius Omozuanvbo Ihonvbere (Paperback - Feb 2000)
21. Issues and Trends in Contemporary African
Politics: Stability, Development, and Democratization (Society and Politics in
Africa, Vol 1) (Paperback)
by George Akeya Agbango
22. Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon and Constance Farrington
(Paperback - Jan 7, 1994)
23. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by
Walter Rodney 1973
24. Patterns of Islamization and Varieties of
Religious Experience among Muslims of Africa by Nehemia Levtzion and Randall L.
Powels
25. Germany's Black Holocaust, 1890-1945: The
Untold Truth. Firpo W. Carr
26. Franz Fanon. The Wretched of The Earth.
New York: NY: Grove Press, 2004.
27. R. Grinker and C. Steiner
[eds] (1997) Perspectives on Africa: A Reader in Culture, History, and
Representation. Oxford and Cambridge,
Mass: Blackwell.
28. John Iliffe. Africans: The History of A
Continent. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
29. Global Studies: Africa Thomas Krabacher,
Ezekiel Kalipeni, Azzedine Layachi
30. African Politics and Society: A Mosaic in
Transformation
(Hardcover) by Peter J. Schraeder. Cengage Learning, 2004.
Documentaries and Movies:
·
Documentary:
General Idi Amin Dada (A self Portrait) by Barbet Schroeder
·
Congo: White King, Red
Rubber, Black Death (2006)
·
Catch a Fire (2007)
Youtube Videos:
· Colonialism in Africa
·
Decolonization in Africa
· Part 1 of 4: Journey to Nationhood | The Colonial Legacy
·
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah visits Nigeria
·
Thomas
Sankara
·
The
Imam and Pastor in Nigeria
· Knaan talks w/ Davey D about the truth behind the Somali
Pirates
·
Hakim
Adi on Slavery in Africa
·
Germany's
Black Holocaust 1890-1945
·
Niall Ferguson - Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World
·
The
House Negro and The Field Negro
· How can Africa prevent the plunder of its
lands by Western powers?-Africa Today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHW9DSeWZVo&feature=youtu.be
·
Israel:
No Place to Go
·
The
Death of Samora Machel - South Africa
·
The
Assassination of Patrice Lumuba
·
Idi
Amin Dada Autobiography - Uganda Discovery
·
Conflict
Minerals, Rebels and Child Soldiers in Congo
Recommended News on
Africa
Course Requirements
To prevent confusion later, please read the following
information carefully:
Final Paper: You
will choose an African country and review the country’s social, political economic
transformation after its independence. I must approve your topic and plan ahead
of time. The final paper proposals are due by Friday, February 15 and must
be approved by this date. The final paper is a short empirical or theoretical
paper of at least 4000 words (Font should be Times New Roman, 12 point),
double-spaced. The final paper is due on Sunday March 17th.
Send it to me by email attachment.
Criteria: If your final paper proposal is late you
will loose 2 points, if your final paper is late you will loose 5 points.
Therefore, you should be careful about timing. You will also present your final
paper in the last week of class, Wednesday March 14th. The
presentation is worth 4 out of 20 points.
Format:
ASA citation and bibliography format will be followed. All work should adhere
to the guidelines published by the American Sociological Association (ASA) at http://www.asanet.org/cs/root/topnav/sociology_depts/quick_style_guide
This
is not a definitive source, but is a Quick Guide provided by ASA.
You will use the following format in your
final paper:
1.
Introduction (200 words) – What is your thesis? (This will
be your final paper proposal.
2.
A Brief History of the country: Before independence and a brief
History of Colonialism in the country: Who colonized the country and how long
did they stay…. (At least 800 words)
3.
Political Structure and transformations: Independence,
monarchy, dictatorship, parliamentary democracy, and military rule (At least
600 words)
4.
Social and Cultural Structure and transformations:
Ethnicity, race, gender, population, education level, urbanization (At least
800 words)
5.
Economic Structure and transformations: Foreign debt, World
Bank influence, privatization, the social welfare and health system …… (At
least 1000 Words)
6.
Ethnic or Religious Conflicts (At least 400 words)
7.
Future Trajectories and Conclusion (At least 200 words)
Reflection papers: The reflection papers will include an open book essay that
will determine what you have learned in class each week. I will ask you two or
four questions regarding the same week’s class subject and discussion. The
reflection papers should be
at least 1200 words. Font size should be Times New Roman, 12 point. The due date for each exam is Monday by
12:00 midnight. Criteria:
If your paper is less than 1200 words, or late, you will loose 2 points.
Weekly Presentations: Each week, two or three students will be
assigned a weekly topic from the readings. These students will summarize the
readings and prepare an outline and 4-6 questions for class, in order to come
prepared to lead the class discussion. Each student must always read the course
materials before they attend class, and I expect you to participate actively in
the class discussion. I strongly recommend that you present in earlier weeks
rather than later in the semester, because you may not find the right time available
to present, and will loose presentation points. Presentation dates are
available on a first-come first-served basis. The timeline for weekly
presentations will be provided in the first week of the class. After we have
filled in student names and finalized the weekly presentation schedule, it will be posted to D2L.
Newspaper Articles:
During the semester, you
can bring 5 newspaper articles related with our class subjects. You cannot
bring more than one article in the same week. You will have to summarize
these articles verbally in class and will find the recommended newspapers
listed on blackboard, under the external links section. Newspaper articles sent by email will not be accepted. Please bring the
first page of the printed/hard copy of the article to class. You can only bring
an article from the selected newspapers, posted on blackboard, which you will
find under the links section. Some of the recommended newspapers include The
Guardian, Al-Jazeera, Democracynow.org, Financial Times, The New York Times,
The Wall Street Journal and the Economist. You can only bring an article on
Mondays.
Attendance: Regular class attendance is one of the
important parameters to successful completion of the course requirements.
Participation: Each student must read course material
before they attend class and I expect them to participate in class discussion.
Coming late to class: Late comers will not be accepted
to class, so be on time. If you are late for a class, please do not disturb
your classmates and me and do not come at all. Please also do not send an email
or call me regarding your class attendance. If there is a medical need, bring a
letter from a doctor. Whatever the reason is, if you cannot come to class, this
is your responsibility. If you miss more than 4 classes, you will not receive
an attendance grade.
Laptop and cell phone
policy: If you need
your laptop in class to take notes, please let me know. Otherwise I will assume
that you are surfing the Internet during my lectures. Please turn your cell
phone off before you come to class. If you use the Internet or your cell phone
during class, you will be asked to leave.
Grades: Your grade for this course will be based
on your performance on the following components, shown with their dates and
respective weights.
Item Date Weight
(%)
6 Reflection
Papers Sunday
60.0
Final Paper March 17th 20.0
Attendance/ Class Participation
5.0
Newspaper Articles
5.0
Weekly Presentation 10.0
The grading system in this class is as follows:
A 95-100
A- 90-94
B+ 86-89
B 85
B- 80-84
C+ 76-79
C 75
C- 70-74
D+ 66-69
D 65
D- 60-64
F (Failure)
General:
-You are expected to follow PSU’s student
code of conduct, particularly 577-031-0135 and 577-031-0136, which can be found
at
Violations of the code will be reported
to the Office of the Dean of Student Life.
-You are encouraged to take advantage of
instructor and TA office hours or email communication for help with coursework
or anything else connected with the course and your progress.
-If you are a student with a documented
disability and are registered with Disability Resource Center (503.725.4150 or
TDD 725.6504), please contact the instructor immediately to arrange academic
accommodations.
-Make sure you have an ODIN account; this
email will be used for D2L and important emails from the instructor and
TA. DO NOT USE THE INTERNAL D2L mail function to contact us. If you do
not typically use your PSU ODIN account, figure out how to get your mail from
this account forwarded to the account you usually use.
*FOR ALL ACADEMIC CORRESPONDENCE FOR
OBSERVING AND CONTACT WITH TEACHERS YOU WISH TO OBSERVE USE YOUR ODIN ACCOUNT*
Additional
Remarks: If you have
difficulty with the course, please schedule a time to discuss your concerns
with me, to help you get back on track.
If you have any questions
regarding class related subjects, please do not hesitate to ask me.
Course Timeline
First Week
January 7 - 11
|
· Introduction to Course
and overview syllabus
· Stop Trying To 'Save'
Africa By Uzodinma Iweala
· Rudyard Kipling, The
White Man's Burden (1899)
· Africa on My Mind by
Mervat Hatem
· The Black Man's Burden
by Edward Morel (1903)
· Chapter-1 The Early
Years of the Twentieth Century (Modern Africa)
· Africa is a night
flight away: Images and realities (Africa:
Altered States, Ordinary Miracles)
· Chapter 1: The New Scramble, Geography and Development. (The New Scramble for
Africa)
· Sociology of Africa: A
non-Orientalist Approach to African, Africana and Black Studies by Tugrul
Keskin (Critical Sociology, 2012)
|
Second Week
January 14 - 18
|
|
Third Week
January 21 - 25
|
|
Sunday
January 27
|
Reflection Paper-1
|
Fourth Week
January 28 – February 1
|
|
Sunday
February 3
|
Reflection Paper-2
|
Fifth Week
February 4 - 7
|
|
Sunday
February 10
|
Reflection Paper-3
|
Sixth Week
February 11 - 15
|
|
Friday
February 15
|
Final paper Proposal Deadline
Final Paper must be approved by this date:
|
Sunday
February 17
|
Reflection Paper-4
|
Seventh Week
February 18 - 22
|
|
Sunday
February 24
|
Reflection Paper-5
|
Eighth Week
February 25 – March 1
|
|
Sunday
March 10
|
Reflection Paper-6
|
Ninth Week
March 4 – 8
|
· Not just another
country: South Africa (Africa:
Altered States, Ordinary Miracles)
·
Meat and money: Eating in Kenya (Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles)
·
Look at word: Nigeria (Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles)
· Chapter 8: Markets and
The Embedding of Asian Investment: Evidence from Zambia. (The
New Scramble for Africa)
|
Tenth Week
March 11 - 15
|
· New colonists or old
friends? Asia in Africa (Africa:
Altered States, Ordinary Miracles)
·
Phones, Asians and the professionals: The new Africa (Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles)
· Chapter 9: Can African
Unscramble the Continent? (The New Scramble for
Africa)
Final
Paper Presentation is on Wednesday, March 13
|
Sunday
March
17
|
The last
day to submit your final paper is Sunday, March 17th
|
