African Studies: Ancient Africa Unit Project
In this unit, you will work with a group to study either the Mongo people (present-day DR Congo; Lianja Epic), the Mande/Mandinka
people (present-day sahelian West Africa; Sundiata Epic), or the Igbo people (present-day Nigeria; Igbo Traditional Verse).
Together, you will read and analyze a number of texts, and then integrate your research to answer these questions:
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What are some of the traditional practices of the group you studied?
How do these traditions appear in the text you selected?
What might this tell you about the group more generally?
As a group you will go through the following steps to complete your work. You will take notes in an ongoing fashion, and your final
project will be one group presentation, and one 5- to 7-page paper per person in the group. Although you can support each other in
writing the paper, everyone will compose their own.
Part 1: General Background Research (2 days; 20 of 225 points)
Work with your group to divide this work over 2 days of class time. You should be able to define and explain the following using the
Khapoya text. You should take notes in your notebook on each of these concepts.
 Kinship (pp. 19-26)
 Forms of marriage (pp. 26-31)
 Nonkinship groups (pp. 32-36)
 The role of the individual (pp. 36-41)
 Family life and socialization (pp. 41-45)
 Traditional religious beliefs (pp. 45-52)
 Politics & government (pp. 52-56)
 Political development in prehistoric and ancient Africa (pp. 59-71)
Part 2: Specific Background Research (2 days; 20 of 225 points)
Work with your group to divide this work over 2 days of class time. Using the World Culture Encyclopedia
(http://www.everyculture.com/Africa-Middle-East/), Encyclopedia Brittanica (http://school.eb.co.uk) and print sources available in
class, research the people on which your group focuses (Mongo, Mande/Mandinka, or Igbo). Concepts should include:
 History
 Economy
 Kinship
 Marriage and family
 Sociopolitical/Government organization
 Religion and expressive culture
Part 3: Literature Reading (3 days; 50 of 225 points)
Work with your group to divide this work over 3 days of class time. Read and discuss the book you selected. As you read, identify key
events in the story, and locate examples of traditional cultural practices belonging to your group. Take note of these examples with
page numbers.
Part 4: Presentation (3 days; 60 of 225 points)
Work with your group to create a 10-minute presentation that answers the essential question: What are some of the traditional
practices of the group you studied? How do these traditions appear in the text you selected? What might this tell you about the
group more generally?
Your presentation should include:
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Overview of the people you studied
Overview of the book you read
Summary of key traditional practices of this group
Examples of the practices in the text
Conclusions you’ve drawn about the group from your study of these traditions
Part 5: Essay (4 days; 80 of 225 points)
Individually, you will compose a 5- to 7-page, double-spaced essay that summarizes your learning, including:
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Overview of the people you studied
Overview of the book you read
Summary of key traditional practices of this group
Examples of the practices in the text
Conclusions you’ve drawn about the group from your study of these traditions
Your paper should adhere to all MLA formatting rules.
Presentation date: _________________
Essay due: __________________
Name: _________________________________________________________________
Part
Date Due
Scoring Method
Points Possible
Part 1: Khapoya Text
Discussion Rubric
10
Part 1: Khapoya Text
Discussion Rubric
10
Part 2: Background
Research
Part 2: Background
Research
Part 3: Literature
Discussion Rubric
10
Discussion Rubric
10
Discussion Rubric
15
Part 3: Literature
Discussion Rubric
15
Part 3: Literature
Discussion Rubric
15
Part 4: Presentation
Presentation Rubric
60
Part 5: Essay
Writing Rubric
80
TOTAL
225
Points Earned