History 115: History of Africa to 1800 (Spring 2016)
Prof. Christopher Tounsel, ctounsel@macalester.edu
111 Old Main
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 2:20-3:20pm
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 9am-12pm in 308 Old Main
This course is designed to provide a survey of African history from antiquity to the end of
the eighteenth century. Important themes that will be covered include (but are not limited
to) Ancient Egypt, Africa’s place in the Greco-Roman world, Early African Christianity,
the Islamic conquest, Increased European contact, and the Atlantic Slave Trade. By the
end of the course students will be able to trace Africa’s general progression from ancient
times to the onset of modernity, its historical engagements with non-African civilizations
and cultures, and fully equipped to take the successor course 'Africa since 1800.'
The course will follow the following thematic trajectory:
1) Ancient Africa
2) Africans, the Bible, and Early Christianity
3) Africans and the Islamic World
4) West Africa
5) East Africa
6) Central and Southern Africa
7) African Slavery
8) Transatlantic Trade
The course will be based on primary sources, articles, chapters, and monographs that will
be manageable for students to complete in one week. To this end more recent scholarship
will be paired with works from canonical figures in African scholarship from the mid to
late twentieth century. This will be done so that students can trace the ways in which the
historiography—along with the history of the continent—has changed over time.
Grading: Assignments will include weekly quizzes and journals, a map quiz, mid-term
exam, and final exam.
5% -- Attendance
10% -- Participation
10% -- Map of Africa Quiz
10% -- Quizzes
5% -- Weekly Journals
30% -- Mid-Term Exam
30% -- Final Exam
Policies:
Attendance: Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. While students are
expected to attend every class, each student will be allowed two unexcused absences.
Each subsequent absence will result in a significant blow to your final grade. Thus, not
turning up to class is entirely sufficient for a bad grade. Three late arrivals (entering class
after I have received a completed attendance sheet) or early departures will count as an
unexcused absence.
You must provide written, official documentation to excuse your absence; this
documentation will be accepted at my discretion. If you are sick and went to the clinic to
seek medical attention, a business card from the nurse/doctor who you spoke to will
suffice. As classes will focus on close readings of assigned texts, assigned readings must
be brought to class. Failure to bring assigned readings can negatively influence your
participation grade.
Participation: It is important that you come prepared to actively participate! It should be
clear that participation is critical to your learning, understanding, and success in this
course. Ten percent of your final grade is assigned according to your performance in
section, so it should also be clear that not participating is sufficient for a high grade. If
you believe that I would have difficulty accounting for your contribution to class
discussions, you should naturally be concerned and seek to correct this.
Even if you are unsure of what a particular reading is getting at, asking specific questions
that showed that you tried to engage with the material will benefit you. I will make sure
that everyone gets a chance to talk and will ask questions of people who are not talking in
order to give them a chance to express themselves. If you think that you are not getting a
fair opportunity to participate in the discussion, please come and talk to me.
Quizzes: Throughout the term there will be quizzes testing reading comprehension and
general aptitude of what we have covered. Unless otherwise stated, they will always be
on Wednesday and cover the readings and lessons since the last quiz. Your lowest quiz
will be dropped. The map quiz is given in addition to these quizzes and cannot be
dropped. Quizzes will consist of multiple choice and short identification answers based
on lectures and assigned readings. If you miss a quiz due to an excused absence, you are
allowed to come see me in office hours and make it up within a week of that quiz—
otherwise, it will count as a zero.
If you miss a quiz due to an unexcused absence, you will earn a zero for that quiz.
Academic Integrity: Academic Integrity is assumed and will be enforced. In brief, cite
other people when you use or reference their work! When citing a reading or lecture,
make absolutely sure to use footnotes including the name, book/article title, location,
publisher, and specific page number(s) used. For example,
Diane Bjorklund, Interpreting the Self: Two Hundred Years of American Autobiography.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999; 7-8.
When taking someone else’s words verbatim, use quotation marks and footnotes! I will
elaborate on this in class, and if you have more questions please do not hesitate to ask.
Simply put, plagiarism is an extremely serious offence.
The College’s standards for academic conduct are provided at the following link:
https://www.macalester.edu/studentaffairs/studenthandbook/03academicpolicies/0305academicintegrity.html
Weekly Journals: With the dual realities that we may not get to each reading each class
and that every student may not have a chance to say everything that they’d like in class,
weekly journal are allowed as intellectual spaces in which you can formally engage the
material. This journal should be kept in electronic form and should be ready to be turned
in at my discretion.
The reading responses should be no less than three paragraphs long and should only
consider material engaged in a particular week. The response should clearly indicate
which readings you’re responding to (a heading would be easy) and should be written in
formal/semi-formal language—free of grammatical errors, slang, or colloquialisms.
Writing in the first person is fine, and aim to be concise, insightful, and analytical—
summary is highly discouraged and will negatively impact your grade. In addition, cut to
the chase—rambling and flowery language indicate poor reading and will, consequently,
result in a poor response.
The structure is relatively open. One possible model would be to:
- use your first paragraph to discovers/states the central thesis of the work (or
works) that you’re responding to
- this would be followed by two (or more) paragraphs that respond to this thesis or
the evidence used in the piece. Is the argument unusual, innovative, problematic?
Is it convincing? Supported by evidence? Or, you could critique or counter the
argument. How might one draw a different conclusion based on the evidence?
Finally, you might take a reflective position by thinking about how a particular
reading (or readings) casts light on other material/discussions we’ve had (and how
it does so).
Grading Policy: Any requests for reconsideration or grade changes must be submitted to
me after 24 hours and within a week of receiving the grade. In order to have a grade
reconsidered you must submit, in writing, your one-page, single-space justification for a
higher grade. After submitting the justification your grade will be assessed and may result
in a higher or lower grade than the original. Late work will be penalized. If you foresee a
time conflict, you must consult with me via email or in person prior to the assignment’s
deadline. I will personally decide if and/or when your assignment deadline will be
changed.
Note: reading journals will not be accepted late.
Religious Holidays: Students who expect to miss class or examinations because of
religious holidays must inform me by the add/drop deadline. You must reschedule your
exam time before your absence.
Accommodation: I am deeply committed to supporting your learning! If you are meeting
challenges to your learning that I can assist you with, please bring them to my attention.
If you need adjustments or accommodations in light of a disability, please let me know at
your earliest convenience. Academic adjustments and accommodations should be
accompanied by notification from the Student Affairs Office at 119 Weyerhaeuser
Administration Building.
There is a no cell-phone, no laptop policy in the classroom. Please turn your cell
phones to vibrate or silent. If you are seen typing on a cell phone during class,
you should expect your participation grade to suffer.
Books to Purchase:
Robert O. Collins and James Burns, A History of Sub-Saharan Africa. Second Edition.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Michael Gomez, Reversing Sail: A History of the African Diaspora. Cambridge
University Press, 2004.
D.T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Revised Edition). Pearson, 2006.
The Classic Slave Narratives. Henry Louis Gates, ed. Signet, 2012.
Stephanie Smallwood, Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American
Diaspora. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008.
Week One:
Friday, January 22: Introduction
Week Two: Ancient Africa
Monday, Jan. 25th: Collins and Burns, ‘The Peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa: Society,
Culture, and Language’ and ‘Kingdoms on the Nile’ in A History of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Second Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014: 23-51.
Gomez, Reversing Sail, ‘Antiquity’, 7-16
Wednesday, Jan. 27th: Benjamin Isaac, ‘Egyptians’ in The Invention of Race in Classical
Antiquity. Princeton University Press, 2006: 352-370.
A. Abu Bakr, ‘Pharaonic Egypt’ in UNESO General History of Africa, Volume II:
Ancient Civilizations of Africa. Ed. G. Mokhtar. Heinemann, California, UNESCO, 1981;
84-107. [online]
Friday, Jan. 29th: **No class—assignment must be submitted on Moodle by 3:20pm**
Stanley M. Burstein, ‘When Greek Was an African Language: The Role of Greek Culture
in Ancient and Medieval Nubia’ Journal of World History Vol. 19, No. 1 (Mar., 2008),
pp. 41-61. [JSTOR]
A.A. Kwapong, ‘Africa Antiqua’ Transactions of the Gold Coast & Togoland Historical
Society Vol. 2, No. 1 (1956), pp. 1-12. [JSTOR]
Week Three: Africans, the Bible, and Early Christianity
Monday, Feb. 1st: Gomez, ‘Africans and the Bible’ in Reversing Sail, 18-27.
David M. Goldenberg, "The Curse of Ham: A Case of Rabbinic Racism?" in Struggles in
the promised land: toward a history of Black-Jewish relations, ed. Jack Salzman and
Cornel West. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997; 21-52.
Wednesday, Feb. 3rd: J. Daniel Hays, ‘From the Land of the Bow: Black soldiers in the
ancient Near East’ Bible Review Vol. 14 No. 4 (August 1998).
Collins and Burns, ‘Northeast Africa in the Age of Aksum’ in A History of Sub-Saharan
Africa; 64-76.
**Quiz One**
Friday, Feb. 5th: Elizabeth Isichei, ‘North African Christianity in Antiquity’ in A History
of Christianity in Africa: From Antiquity to the Present. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1995: 13-44.
Week Four: Africans and the Islamic World
Monday, Feb. 8th: Dilip Hiro, ‘The rise of Islam: Sunnis and Shias’ in War Without End:
The Rise of Islamist Terrorism and Global Response. London and New York: Routledge,
2002: 3-23.
Gomez, Reversing Sail, ‘Africans and the Islamic World’ (29-52)
Wednesday, Feb. 10th: M. El Fasi and I. Hrbek, ‘Stages in the development of Islam and
its dissemination in Africa’ in UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume III: Africa
from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. Ed. M. El Fasi, Ass. Ed. I. Hrbek. Heinemann,
California, UNESCO, 1988: 56-91.
Friday, Feb. 12th: **No class—assignment must be submitted on Moodle by 3:20pm**
Y. Talbi, ‘The African diaspora in Asia’ in UNESCO General History of Africa, Volume
III, 704-733.
Week Five: West Africa
Monday, Feb. 15th: Collins and Burns, ‘Empires on the plains’ and ‘Societies and states
of the West African forest’ in A History of Sub-Saharan Africa; 78-95, 129-142.
Wednesday, Feb. 17th: D.T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Revised Edition), viixvi, xxiii-xxiv, 1-43.
**Map of Africa quiz**
Friday, Feb. 19th: D.T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali (Revised Edition), 43-84.
Week Six: East Africa
Monday, Feb. 22nd: Collins and Burns, ‘East Africa and the Indian Ocean World’ and
‘The Lake Plateau of East Africa’ in A History of Sub-Saharan Africa; 96-128.
Wednesday, Feb. 24th: A.I. Salim, ‘East Africa: the coast’ in UNESCO General History
of Africa, Volume V: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Ed. B.A. Ogot.
Heinemann, California, UNESCO, 1992: 750-775. [online]
Friday, Feb. 26th: Richard B. Allen, ‘Satisfying the “Want for Labouring People”:
European Slave Trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500-1850’ Journal of World History, Vol.
21, No. 1 (March 2010): 45-73. [JSTOR]
Week Seven: Central and Southern Africa
Monday, Feb. 29th: Collins and Burns, ‘Kingdoms and trade in Central Africa’ in A
History of Sub-Saharan Africa; 143-158
John K. Thornton, “The Development of an African Catholic Church in the Kingdom of
Kongo, 1483-1750,” Journal of African History 25 (1984): 147-67 [JSTOR]
Wednesday, Mar. 2nd: John K. Thornton and Linda Heywood, “Central African
Leadership and the Appropriation of European Culture,” in Peter Mancall, ed., The
Atlantic World and Virginia, 1550-1624 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina
Press, 2007), pp. 194–224
Friday, Mar. 4th: Collins and Burns, ‘The peoples and states of southern Africa’ and
‘Southern Africa, 1486-1910’ in A History of Sub-Saharan Africa; 159-172, 279-283.
John K. Thornton, “Legitimacy and Political Power: The Case of Queen Njinga (16241663),” Journal of African History 32, no. 1 (1991): 25-40. [JSTOR]
Week Eight
Monday, Mar. 7th: Leonard Guelke and Robert Shell, ‘Landscape of Conquest: Frontier
Water Alienation and Khoikhoi Strategies of Survival, 1652-1780’ Journal of Southern
African Studies, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Dec. 1992), 803-824. [JSTOR]
Wednesday, Mar. 9th: Midterm Review
Friday, Mar. 11th: Midterm
Week Nine
No class—Spring Break
Week Ten: African Slavery
Monday, Mar. 21st: Collins and Burns, ‘Slavery in Africa’ and ‘The Asian slave trade’ in
A History of Sub-Saharan Africa; 201-211, 227-246
Wednesday, Mar. 23rd: J. Alexander, ‘Islam, Archaeology and Slavery in Africa’ World
Archaeology Vol. 33, No. 1 (June 2001): 44-60. [JSTOR]
Friday, Mar. 25th: Walter Rodney, ‘African slavery and other forms of social oppression
on the upper Guinea coast in the context of the Atlantic slave trade’, Journal of African
History, 7 (1966): 431-443. [JSTOR]
J.D. Fage, ‘Slavery and the slave trade in the context of West African history’, Journal of
African History, 10 (1970): 394-404. [JSTOR]
Week Eleven: Transatlantic Trade
Monday, Mar. 28th: Collins and Burns, ‘The arrival of Europeans in sub-Saharan Africa’
and ‘The Atlantic slave trade’ in A History of Sub-Saharan Africa; 175-189, 212-226
Wednesday, Mar. 30th: Gomez, Reversing Sail, ‘Transatlantic Moment’, 59-79
The Classic Slave Narratives, ‘Introduction’, xi-xxix
Friday, Apr. 1st: Stephanie Smallwood, Saltwater Slavery, ‘The Gold Coast and the
Atlantic Market in People’ (9-32)
The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter I (31-46)
Week Twelve
Monday, Apr. 4th: The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter II (46-61)
Smallwood, Saltwater Slavery, ‘Turning African Captives into Atlantic Commodities’
(33-64)
Wednesday, Apr. 6th: The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter III-IV (61-93)
Friday, Apr. 8th: The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter V (93-110)
Gomez, Reversing Sail, ‘Enslavement’ (82-106)
Week Thirteen
Monday, Apr. 11th: The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter VI (110-127)
Wednesday, Apr. 13th: Smallwood, Saltwater Slavery, ‘Turning Atlantic Commodities
into American Slaves’ (153-181)
The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter VII (127-140)
Friday, Apr. 15th: The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter VIII-IX (140-170)
Week Fourteen
Monday, Apr. 18th: The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter X-XI (170-209)
Wednesday, Apr. 20th: The Life of Gustavus Vassa, Chapter XII (209-225)
Ty M. Reese, “‘Sheep in the Jaws of So Many Ravenous Wolves’: The Slave Trade and
Anglican Missionary Activity at Cape Coast Castle, 1752-1816” Journal of Religion in
Africa, Vol. 34, Fasc. 3 (Aug., 2004), pp. 348-372. [JSTOR]
Friday, Apr. 22nd: George E. Boulukos, ‘Olaudah Equiano and the Eighteenth-Century
Debate on Africa’ Eighteenth-Century Studies, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Winter 2007): 241-255
[JSTOR]
J.F.A. Ajayi, ‘Africa at the beginning of the nineteenth century: issues and prospects’ in
UNESCO General History of Africa Vol. VI: Africa in the Nineteenth Century until the
1880s; pp. 1-22
Week Fifteen: Africa at 1800
Monday, Apr. 25th: In-class final exam review
Wednesday, Apr. 27th: In-class final exam review
Friday, Apr. 29th: **No class—review**
Week Sixteen
Monday, May 2nd: Final Exam