John Carroll University
Political Science 397: Rwanda in Comparative African Perspective
Course Syllabus, Fall 2010
Designations: Core Course Division III, Diversity (D), International (R)
Instructor: Jen Ziemke
Room: AD 29
Date, Time: Wednesday 6:30pm-9:15pm
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:30-6:30 pm, or by appointment
Office: B06 Administration Building
Phone: 216.397.2021
Email: jziemke@jcu.edu
Course Objectives
This course aims to generate or further your intellectual curiosity about the nature of politics,
culture, and life in Rwanda in advance of our immersion experience in January 2011. We will
examine the nature of the modern African state and its relationship to the colonial state, the
determinants of genocide, the nature post-genocide reconciliation, Rwanda‟s economic recovery,
and regional geopolitics in order to enrich our field experience.
Required Readings
Naomi Chazan, et. al. Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa, Third Edition. Lynne
Rienner, 1999.
Philip Gourevitch. We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families.
Picador, 1999.
Timothy Longman. Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Filip Reyntjens. The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996-2006.
Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Scott Straus. Intimate Enemy: Images and Voices of the Rwandan Genocide. With Photographs
by Robert Lyons. Zone Books, 2006.
Peter Uvin. Aiding Violence: The Development Enterprise in Rwanda. Kumerian Press, 1998.
Recommended Readings:
Jeff Haynes. “Religion and democratization in Africa,” Democratization, Volume 11, Number 4,
August 2004 , pp. 66-89(24)
Adam Hochschild. King Leopold’s Ghost: a story of greed, terror, and heroism in colonial
Africa. First Mariner Books Edition, 1999.
Stephen Kinzer. A Thousand Hills: Rwanda’s Rebirth and the Man who Dreamed It. Wiley, 2008
Other Resources
Other readings mentioned in the syllabus will be passed out by hard copy in class and are
required. I do not make use of the blackboard system in my classes whatsoever.
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Evaluation Standards
10% Class Participation, attendance, and in-class assignments
10% Map Quiz: September 8, 2010
10% Book Quiz 1: September 22, 2010
10% Book Quiz 2: October 20, 2010
10% Book Quiz 3: November 3, 2010
10% Book Quiz 4: December 1, 2010
15% Reflection Paper #1: October 6, 2010
15% Reflection Paper #2: December 8, 2010
20% Final Quiz and Group Skit: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 6 pm.
Total = 110% (lowest Book Quiz score will be dropped)
Map Quiz
For the map quiz you will identify a selection of African countries on the map. To practice, visit
http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/afrquiz.html and take the online quiz.
Missed A Quiz? Policy on Quizzes and Papers
Each student will have the opportunity to drop their lowest Book Quiz score, regardless of
circumstances. If a student is absent for a quiz for any reason, that quiz will automatically be
considered their drop grade. No make-up quizzes are allowed for this class. Should extenuating
circumstances such as extended illness occur, alternate assignments will be arranged on an
individual basis, at the instructor‟s discretion. Otherwise, missed quizzes beyond the first allowed
miss will be recorded as a zero. Reflection papers must be turned in by hard copy on time at the
beginning of the class period or such papers will receive zero points, as they are prerequisites for
engaging in class discussion.
Grading Scale
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
93 – 100
90 – 92
88 – 89
83 – 87
80 – 82
78 – 79
73 – 77
70 – 72
68 – 69
63 – 67
60 – 62
59 and below
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Attendance Policy
From the Undergraduate Bulletin: “Students are expected to attend each and every scheduled
meeting of all courses in which they are enrolled and to be present for the full class period.
Absenteeism and tardiness, regardless of cause, are a threat to academic achievement.”
If you are absent for a class it is your responsibility to make sure to obtain all of the information
relayed in that class related to assignments, exams, and course material. Please first contact other
students in the course and your study buddy before speaking with me. I do not give out course
notes or slides to students who missed a class under any circumstances.
Academic Honesty
From the Undergraduate Bulletin: “Academic honesty, expected of every student, is essential to
the process of education and to upholding high ethical standards. Cheating, including plagiarism,
inappropriate use of technology, or any other kind of unethical behavior, may subject the student
to severe academic penalties, including dismissal. All work submitted for evaluation in a course,
including tests, term papers, and computer programs, must represent only the work of the student
unless indicated otherwise. Material taken from the work of others must be acknowledged.”
You must properly cite the source of all ideas, quotations, or empirical information that you use
for papers and exams. Anyone who plagiarizes in this class will receive an F in the course. In
addition, a letter documenting this offense will be placed in your file at the Dean‟s office.
Disability Statement
In accordance with federal law, if you have a documented disability, you may be eligible to
request accommodations from the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Please
contact Lisa Meeks (Director) Services for Students with Disabilities at (216) 397-4263 or come
to the office located in room 7A, in the Garden Level of the Administration Building. Please keep
in mind that accommodations are not retroactive so it is best to register at your earliest
convenience.
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Draft Course Timeline: Subject to Change
Week 1 September 1
Introductions, Colonial Legacies and Theoretical Approaches
Read: Ryszard Kapuscinski, “Encountering The Other.”
Read: Naomi Chazan, et. al. Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa, Third Edition. Lynne
Rienner, 1999. Chapter 1
Week 2 September 8
MAP QUIZ
Liberation movements and independence, challenges of state building and neopatrimonial rule
Read: Naomi Chazan, et. al. Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa, Third Edition. Lynne
Rienner, 1999. Chapter 3 and 4
Week 3 September 15
Democratization movements & reversals
Read: Naomi Chazan, et. al. Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa, Third Edition. Lynne
Rienner, 1999. Chapter 2 and 5
Week 4 September 22
The Rwandan Genocide: Structural Explanations.
Book QUIZ 1: “We Wish to Inform You” & “The political salience of cultural difference”
Discussion: Philip Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed with
Our Families
Discussion: Daniel N. Posner, "The political salience of cultural difference: Why Chewas and
Tumbukas are allies in Zambia and adversaries in Malawi" American Political Science Review,
98, 4 (November 2004), pp. 529-545
Week 5 September 29: NO CLASS THIS WEEK
Read: Scott Straus, Intimate Enemy: Images and Voices of the Rwandan Genocide
Week 6 October 6
We hope to welcome a Special Guest Speaker to this class (more information soon)
Reflection Paper #1 Due: Imagine that the interviews in the book, Intimate Enemy, are the
personal field notes you collected after doing research in Rwanda. Based on the evidence you
collected, what would you conclude is the reason or reasons people participated in genocide?
Why? Be sure to cite plenty of evidence from the reading to support your theory.
Discussion: Scott Straus, Intimate Enemy: Images and Voices of the Rwandan Genocide
Read: “Rwandan leader snubs US lawsuit.” BBC News.
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Week 7 October 13
The Rwandan Genocide: Individual/Psychological Explanations for Participation
Outside looking in: The lack of response from the international community
Discussion: Scott Straus, Intimate Enemy: Images and Voices of the Rwandan Genocide
Discussion: Samantha Power, “Bystanders to Genocide: Why the United States let the Rwandan
Tragedy Happen,” Atlantic Monthly: September 2001.
Film: Ghosts of Rwanda
Film: Hotel Rwanda
Week 8 October 20
Deep Causes: NGO‟s and Civil Society
Book QUIZ 2: Aiding Violence.
Discussion: Peter Uvin. Aiding Violence.
Week 9 October 27
Transitional Justice: Gacaca and the ICTR
Film: Gacaca: Living Together Again in Rwanda?
Film: My Neighbor, My Killer: Gacaca (KTD 157.7.M9 2009)
Film: Flowers of Rwanda: Making Peace With Genocide
Week 10 November 3
Religion and genocide in Rwanda, and faith today.
Book QUIZ 3: Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda.
Discussion: Timothy Longman. Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda.
Week 11 November 10
Civil Society, Women‟s Movements and Women in the Political Sphere in Rwanda.
Read: Article, Peter Ekeh, “Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement”
Comparative Studies in Society and History, 17(1): 1995.
Read: Aili Tripp, “Women in Movement: Transformations in African Political Landscapes,”
International Feminist Journal of Politics 5(2): July 2003.
Film: Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai
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Week 12 November 17
The Economy and reconstruction: Rwanda‟s Development Miracle; the East African Community.
Read: Filip Reyntjens, The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics. Introduction,
and chapters 1, 2, 3, 7 and conclusion.
Read: Charles Onyango-Obbo, “Rwanda: Kagame‟s „Congo Crisis,” East African. 19 July 2010.
Read: Josh Kron, “Rwanda: Missing Rwandan Opposition Figure Beheaded in Grizzly Attack,”
The Nation (Kigali): 14 July 2010.
Film: Rwanda Rising
Film: Congo’s Tin Soldiers (online)
Week 13 November 24
No Classes: Thanksgiving Week
Read: “DRC: Who‟s who among armed groups in the East,” IRIN News.
Read: Filip Reyntjens, The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics. Introduction,
and chapters 1, 2, 3, 7 and conclusion.
Week 14 December 1
The government today in regional/historical perspective
Book QUIZ 4 and Discussion: The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics
Read: Jeffrey Gettleman,“Rwanda Pursues Dissenters and the Homeless,”NYTimes: 4/30/10.
Read: Paul Rusesabagina, “I‟m Very Concerned About Rwanda,”The Wall Street Journal: 5/6/10.
Read: Josh Kron, “For Rwandan Students, Ethnic Tensions Lurk,” The New York Times: 5/16/10.
Read: “Rwanda is not ready for the medicine of democracy…” The Independent 6/4/10.
Read: “Women and children first: on the frontline of war in the Kivus,” Oxfam. June 2010.
Week 15 December 8
Culture-shock, current events, course lacunae and preparing for our immersion experience.
Reflection Paper #2 Due: Anticipations, thoughts, expectations, concerns, & feelings as I
prepare for the journey to Rwanda.
Read: Josh Kron, “Grenade Attacks Shake Capital of Rwanda,” The New York Times: 5/16/10.
Read: “Rwanda denies shooting exiled army chief in S. Africa,” BBC News. 6/20/10.
Read: “Rwanda „assassins‟ kill reporter Jean Leonard Rugambage,” BBC News: June 25, 2010.
Final Quiz and Group Skit: Wednesday, December 15 at 6 pm.
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