DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
TRENT UNIVERSITY
HIST/IDST 2402H: The Emergence of Modern Africa: Since c.1880
2015-16 WI
Peterborough
Instructor:
Dr. Katrina Keefer
Trent Email:
katrinakeefer@trentu.ca
Telephone:
705-748-1011 ex.6036
Campus:
Peterborough
Office Location:
Lady Eaton College N130.1
Office Hours:
Tuesday 14:00-15:50
Academic Administrative Assistant:
Email:
Francisca Eckstein
franciscaeckstein@trentu.ca
Office Location:
Telephone:
Lady Eaton College S101.3
705-748-1011 ex. 7706
Course Description:
This course examines the emergence of contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa through a series of case
studies within the continent to elaborate how African nations and peoples have endured and
responded to the impact of late 19th century colonization and the lasting legacy of the trans-Atlantic
slave trade. With reference to the colonial period, the course will focus on the impact of cultural
institutions and resistance to colonial expansion, the experience of colonial rule, the rise of African
nationalism and decolonization. For the post-independence period, key issues will include concepts
of economic development and underdevelopment, the nation state in Africa, monoculture and
subsistence, and the evolution and survival of important cultural traditions.
Required Texts:
Seminar Readings are to be obtained online from JSTOR accessible through the Trent Library
website.
learningSystem/Blackboard: (if applicable)
Course Format:
There will be a two hour lecture and one hour seminar each week. All students are expected to
attend the weekly lecture. Each student should be part of a weekly seminar group.
Peterborough Campus:
Please check http://www.trentu.ca/timetable/ to confirm times and locations.
Lecture/Seminar
Day
Time
Location
Lecture
Seminar
Seminar
Seminar
Monday
Monday
Monday
Monday
9:00-10:50
12:00-12:50
13:00-13:50
14:00-14:50
GCS 115
CCN K1
CCN I1
CCN K1
Learning Outcomes/Objectives/Goals/Expectations: I have developed the course to address
several learning outcomes. By the end of the course a successful student should:
1. Have a sense of African historical chronology and broad historical changes which
influenced the continent along with places of intersection with other disciplines.
2. Be able to engage with secondary sources and conduct independent research, and articulate
ideas within a framework of critical analysis and an understanding of the historiography.
3. Develop and hone oral and written communication skills through group discussion, a
research essay, and an essay outline.
4. Understand the basic conventions of historical writing, the rules of academic integrity and
professionalism, the importance of personal initiative and accountability, and the evolving
nature of historical knowledge.
Course Evaluation:
Type of Assignment
Essay outline
Participation
Research Essay
Final examination
Weighting
20%
20%
30%
30%
Due Date
8 February
7 March
ESSAY OUTLINE: Producing a strong and compelling research essay is a central aspect of this
course. Therefore each student will be expected to find a time to meet with the instructor and
discuss an acceptable essay topic which fits into the course’s parameters. Upon approval, each
student will generate a preliminary bibliography, and a main argument, along with at least three
pieces of evidence to support it. This outline does not need to be more polished than point-form, but
must be at least two pages lo`ng (approximately 500 words) and include at least 5 secondary
sources in the preliminary bibliography. The outline will be due in lecture on the assigned due date.
PARTICIPATION: Students are expected to prepare for seminars by completing the assigned
preparation whether audio-visual or text. See below for weekly assigned preparation. Students are
evaluated on their oral contributions to seminar discussions, and are expected to be familiar with
the readings or material assigned.
RESEARCH ESSAY: A well-considered and well thought out research paper is a primary activity
for this course. Following each students’ receipt of their marked outline, students are expected to
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fashion a cohesive paper which takes into account any and all suggestions from the outline
assignment, with an eye to writing a strong piece of scholarship. The paper must be typed/word
processed, and will include a bibliography incorporating suggested additions to that included with
the outline. Approximately ten sources including peer-reviewed articles from academic journals and
books are required for this essay. The research paper will be 2500 words along with footnotes or
endnotes (not both). Assignment sheets will be made available online as part of the course
materials.
FINAL EXAMINATION: This exam will focus on broad issues addressed in all lectures and
preparation.
Week-by-week schedule:
11 January:
Lecture: Prelude to the 19th century
No seminar
18 January:
Lecture: Major changes of the 19th Century
Seminar Preparation: Mathieu Deflem, “Warfare, Political Leadership, and State Formation: The
Case of the Zulu Kingdom, 1808-1879” Ethnology, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 371-391;
Yekutiel Gershoni, “Christians and Muslims in Nineteenth Century Liberia: From Ideological
Antagonism to Practical Toleration” Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des
Études Africaines, Vol. 42, No. 2/3, Engaging with a Legacy: Nehemia Levtzion (1935-2003)
(2008), pp. 409-422.
25 January:
Lecture: “This Magnificent African Cake” The Rise of Colonialism and the Scramble for
Africa
Seminar Preparation: Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAHxRD8dZOM)
1 February:
Lecture: Mission Schools and Freedom of Thought
Seminar Preparation: Evanson N. Wamagatta, “Changes of Government Policies Towards Mission
Education in Colonial Kenya and Their Effects on the Missions: The Case of the Gospel
Missionary Society” Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 38, Fasc. 1 (2008), pp. 3-26;
Austin Ahanotu, “The Nigerian Military and the Issue of State Control of Mission Schools” Church
History, Vol. 52, No. 3 (Sep., 1983), pp. 333-344.
8 February: ESSAY OUTLINE DUE
Lecture: Economic extraction and Exploitation
Seminar Preparation: Augustine Ikelegbe, “Civil Society, Oil and Conflict in the Niger Delta
Region of Nigeria: Ramifications of Civil Society for a Regional Resource Struggle” The Journal
of Modern African Studies, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Sep., 2001), pp. 437-469;
I.K. Sundiata, “Prelude to Scandal: Liberia and Fernando Po, 1880-1930” The Journal of African
History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (1974), pp. 97-112.
15 February:
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Reading Week
22 February:
Lecture: Independence Movements and Decolonization
Seminar Preparation: Africa: A Voyage of Discovery “The Rise of Nationalism” by Basil Davidson
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Stq8tAyI&list=PLQXhujdDykQe0NTtC7peVNaigJNiAce
OY&index=7)
29 February:
Lecture: Cultural Echoes and Independence
Seminar Preparation: Stephen Ellis, “Liberia 1989-1994: A Study of Ethnic and Spiritual Violence”
African Affairs, Vol. 94, No. 375 (Apr., 1995), pp. 165-197;
Rosalind Shaw, “The Production of Witchcraft/Witchcraft as Production: Memory, Modernity, and
the Slave Trade in Sierra Leone” American Ethnologist, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Nov., 1997), pp. 856-876.
7 March: RESEARCH ESSAY DUE
Lecture: Military Rule and White Supremacists
Seminar Preparation: Ali A. Mazrui, “Between Development and Decay: Anarchy, Tyranny and
Progress under Idi Amin” Third World Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jan., 1980), pp. 44-58;
Alex Callinicos, “South Africa: End of Apartheid and After” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
29, No. 36 (Sep. 3, 1994), pp. 2355-2363.
14 March:
Lecture: Culture and resistance
Seminar Preparation: John Shoup and ‫ﺷﻮﺏ ﺟﻮﻥ‬, “Pop Music and Resistance in Apartheid South
Africa / ‫ ”ﺃﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﻣ ﺟﻨﻮﺏ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻌﻨﺼﺮﻱ ﻟﻠﺘﻤﻴﻴﺰ ﺎﻘﻣﻭﺎﺔﻣ ﺍﻟﺪﺍﺭﺟﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﻮﺳﻴﻘﻰ‬Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics
No. 17, Literature and Anthropology in Africa / ‫( اﻮﻟﻮﺟﻴﻣ ﻓﻲ ﺃﻓﺮﻳﻘﻴﻣﻭﺭثﻥﺃلﺍﻭ ﺏدﺃلﺍ‬1997), pp. 73-92;
Selected recordings of Miriam Makeba, Johnny Clegg and Juluka, Fela Kuti, Habib Koite and
Bamada. (to be linked online prior to seminars)
21 March:
Lecture: Development, Aid, and Neo-colonial Interventions
Seminar Preparation: Ian, Scoones, “The Dynamics of Soil Fertility Change: Historical
Perspectives on Environmental Transformation from Zimbabwe” The Geographical Journal, Vol.
163, No. 2, Environmental Transformations in Developing Countries (Jul., 1997), pp. 161-169;
Stefan Andreasson, “Orientalism and African Development Studies: The 'Reductive Repetition'
Motif in Theories of African Underdevelopment” Third World Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 6 (2005),
pp. 971-986.
28 March:
Lecture: New Conflicts and New Solutions
Seminar Preparation: War Don-Don (will be made available)
4 April:
Conclusions and New Futures
No Seminars
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Course Policies:
Late papers will lose 5% per day to a maximum of 15% after which point the paper will no longer
be accepted. Arrangements should be made well in advance to request extensions, and students
must secure proper documentation should emergencies arise.
University Policies
Academic Integrity:
Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely serious academic
offence and carries penalties varying from failure on an assignment to expulsion from the
University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set
out in Trent University’s Academic Integrity Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself –
unfamiliarity with the policy is not an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to visit Trent’s
Academic Integrity website to learn more: www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.
Access to Instruction:
It is Trent University's intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a student has
a disability and documentation from a regulated health care practitioner and feels that
he/she may need accommodations to succeed in a course, the student should contact the
Student Accessibility Services Office (SAS) at the respective campus as soon as possible,
(Peterborough, Blackburn Hall, Suite 132, 705-748-1281 or email sas@trentu.ca
For Trent University – Durham, Thornton Road, Room 111 contact 905-435-5102 ext. 5024 or
email corinnphillips@trentu.ca Complete text can be found under Access to Instruction in
the Academic Calendar.
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Safe Assignment (to be included where applicable):
Assignments/Essays/Papers [insert term of your choice] must be submitted electronically to the SafeAssign
drop box in Blackboard. SafeAssign utilizes plagiarism-checking software. Further information about
SafeAssign will be provided on the class LearningSystem/Blackboard site.
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