Time Schedule:
Ronald Stanley Krabill
BIS 420
Bothell Campus
Considers the history of colonization in Africa and the writing of that history, dealing with debates around post-colonial theory. Provides a better understanding of how relationships between Sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world have developed, and how we have come to understand those relationships.
Class description
Spring 2009
This course will look at both the history of colonization in sub-Saharan Africa and the writing of that history, dealing with current debates around neo-colonialism and post-colonial theory. Special attention will be paid to ways in which the colonial history of the region continues to play a role in current events affecting both Africa and the rest of the world. Although the course will focus on sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Southern Africa, it will also consider similarities and differences between the region’s experience of colonialism with other regions and continents. The aim of the course is to provide students with a better understanding of how relationships between sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world have developed, and how we have come to understand those relationships through the process of writing history.
Goals of the Course:
1.To develop critical and comparative historical and analytic skills. 2.To gain a basic understanding of sub-Sahara African colonial history. 3.To gain a basic understanding of the preludes to and results of that history. 4.To become familiar with fundamental debates in the writing of colonial history.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
There are no prerequisites for this course; students should arrive with an enthusiasm for learning.
Class assignments and grading
Class Assignments and Grading:
The format of the class is discussion-based; therefore a relatively large portion of your final grade depends on your overall contribution to the course. You should come to class having read the assignment and having given it some thought in preparation for discussion. In addition to general participation, each of you will be designated as a discussant (in teams of two or three students) for which you will give a summary of the reading(s) and introduce some key questions for class discussion at least one time during the course.
Every other week you will complete a one page “reflection paper." Each paper should take an issue or topic from the assigned reading and then assert your own thoughts on the subject. These papers are not intended to be research papers, but rather to give you an opportunity to interrogate the readings, challenge their assumptions, and practice critical thinking skills. Each of you will complete a final project which allows you to focus on your particular interest in more detail. This project can take a number of different forms, and will include a presentation of your work to the class as a whole.
