05437 Twentieth Century African Nationalism - Fall 2007
Instructor: Matteo Salvadore
Class Schedule: Tuesday 15:15 a.m. to 16:30 p.m, Robinson 103
Office: History Department, Robinson Hall.
Office Hours: Monday 11-12 and 3-4; Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment.
Email: salvadore@rowan.edu
Phone 856-256-4500 ext3972
Course Description:
This course will explore different ideologies and movements commonly grouped under the umbrella of modern African nationalism. Given
the impossibility to account for this extremely rich and diverse phenomenon in its entirety, this course will adopt a case-based approach,
focusing on a limited number of countries, of which we will explore the leaders, movements and dominant ideologies. The objective of this
course is to make students conversant with African nationalism and debunk commonly held views about ethnicity and “tribalism.”
The three main sections of the course are:
- Part 1: Understanding Nationalism. This part is dedicated to a discussion of nationalism as a theoretical concept. What is
nationalism, an idea or a movement? Is nationalism ancient or modern? Is it a force of emancipation or oppression?
- Part 2: Nationalism vs. Colonialism. This part considers the articulation of different strains of African nationalism together
with the political struggle for independence. What we call “African nationalism” was far from being a unified front against
European colonialism: different conceptions of nation, race, ethnicity and religion yielded distinct movements and ideologies.
- Part 3: Postcolonial Africa in a World Context. This part considers political and social development in postcolonial Africa.
African countries took very diverse roads after independence, some found themselves little united, others moved beyond political
emancipation and looked for ways to achieve greater social equality, in some cases military juntas took over and enforced policies
reminiscent of the colonial days. In this section we will also consider the most protracted struggles for independence and African
self-determination by looking at the decolonization of Portuguese Africa, Southern Rhodesia and the democratization of South
Africa.
The course is based on one key assumption: nationalism is a global phenomenon that started to play a fundamental role in human events in
the 18th century and later became one of the defining political trends of the 19 th century. In order to understand nationalism as it developed
in Africa in the 20th century, we need to understand the development on a global scale of what can be called “Third World” nationalism.
The reading assignments follow this logic and relate to developments that occurred in Africa, but also in Asia and South America.
Texts:
Paul Nugent. Africa since Independence : A Comparative History, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Jack Mapanje. Gathering Seaweed : African Prison Writing. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2002.
Anthony D. Smith. Nationalism : Theory, Ideology, History. Malden: Polity Press, 2001.
Vijay Prashad. The Darker Nations : A People's History of the Third World. A New Press People's History. New York: New Press, 2007.
Additional material will be provided in class or via WebCT and email. Students are responsible for checking their Rowan
accounts (email and WebCT) regularly.
Assignments and Grading
Participation and attendance 30%
Three Tests 30%
Country Study 40%
Country Study: Length: 18-20 pages (double-spaced). The purpose of this paper is for you to use the insight and tools developed during
the semester to analyze in detail a particular nationalist experience. Choose a particular country and explore the development of nationalist
ideas and movements in the colonial and postcolonial period. Make sure to utilize and cite at least five peer-reviewed secondary source and
one primary source (possibly the writing of a politician or intellectual relating to issues of independence, national identity etc.). Avoid
writing a chronological summary of a given country’s history and offer instead an analytical account of nationalist ideas and movements.
Participation and class policy: Students are encouraged to contribute to class discussions and to raise questions. About half of the course
will be dedicated to discussion. Students are also expected to attend every class. After the first 2 weeks students will be allowed no more
than 2 unexcused absences, after which 5% will be deducted from the total grade for each additional absence. Excused absences will be
only granted on the basis of an official note from a physician or a Rowan’s official such as a coach, a professor, a counselor etc.
********** IMPORTANT INFORMATION **********
Disability Disclosure: Your academic success is important. If you have a documented disability that may have an
impact upon your work in this class, please contact me. Students must provide documentation of their disability to the Academic Success
Center in order to receive official University services and accommodations. The Academic Success Center can be reached at 856-256-4234.
The Center is located on the 3rd floor of Savitz Hall. The staff is available to answer questions regarding accommodations or assist you in
your pursuit of accommodations. We look forward to
working with you to meet your learning goals.
Academic Advising: Academic Advising is available at the Career and Academic Planning Center, located on the second floor of Savitz
Hall. You can schedule an appointment calling (856) 256-4456, emailing advise@rowan.edu or simply visit the office.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of another person's labor, another person's ideas, another person's words, another
person's assistance. Normally, all work done for courses -- papers, examinations, homework exercises, laboratory reports, oral presentations
-- is expected to be the individual effort of the student presenting the work. Any assistance must be reported to the instructor. If the work
has entailed consulting other resources -- journals, books, or other media -- these resources must be cited in a manner appropriate to the
course. It is the instructor's responsibility to indicate the appropriate manner of citation. Failure to cite borrowed material constitutes
plagiarism. Undocumented use of materials from the World Wide Web is plagiarism. For a more exhaustive explanation see the
Department’s website at the following address:
http://www.rowan.edu/history/plagiarism.html
A plagiarized paper will automatically receive an F even when the plagiarism interests only a fraction of the paper. A student
caught plagiarizing will automatically be considered only for a final grade equal or lower than a C- and his/her conduct
reported to the Department.
Academic freedom: Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The freedom to learn depends
upon appropriate opportunities and conditions in the classroom, on the campus, and in the larger community. The University and the
faculty have a responsibility to provide students with opportunities and protections that promote the learning process in all its aspects.
Students similarly should exercise their freedom with responsibility.
Writing assistance: Good writing skills are essential to your success in this class. Writing assistance is available at two different centers:
- Writing Center: sponsored by the Writing Arts Department, it offers help at two locations: the Writing Lab in Bozorth Hall 26 and at the
Writing Lab Outpost 1 in the Campbell Library Resource Room. Assistance is available on a drop-in basis.
- Academic Success Center in Savitz Hall (3rd floor): the Center offers help with writing as well as other types of tutoring. You may drop in
or contact the coordinator explaining your needs by phone 856-256-4462 or email wilsonbo@rowan.edu.
Schedule
Part I: Understanding Nationalism
Week 1
Tuesday, January 22
Thursday, January 24
Introduction and guidelines
Smith 1,2,
Week 2
Tuesday, January 29
Thursday, January 31
Defining nationalism
Smith 3,4
Smith 5,6
Part II: Nationalism VS. Colonialism
Week 3
Tuesday, February 05
Thursday, February 07
Week 4
Tuesday, February 12
Thursday, February 14
Week 5
Tuesday, February 19
Thursday, February 21
Week 6
Tuesday, February 26
Test on Part I
Resistance during the scramble and peasant rebellion;
Material on WebCT
Early nationalist thinkers
Material on WebCT
Nationalism as a global phenomenon
Prashad 1
Material on WebCT: M.K. Gandhi; Ho Chi Minh;
African decolonization
Nugent 1-2
Ethiopia and its significance for early Pan-Africanism: Adwa (1896) and the Italian Ethiopian War (1935).
Material on WebCT: W.E.B Du Bois, Marcus Garvey.
Intellectual challenges to French racism: negritude and Franz Fanon
Material on WebCT
Thursday, February 28
Week 7
Tuesday, March 04
Thursday, March 06
Week 8
Tuesday, March 11
Case Study: from the Gold Coast Colony to Ghana
Material on WebCT
Gathering Seaweed: Kwame Nkrumah (all excerpts)
Case study: Kenya and the Mau Mau.
Gathering Seaweed: Oginga Odinga; Mau Mau Patriotic Songs; Jomo Kenyatta; Josiah Mwangi Kariuki (all
excerpts)
Screening: Lumumba (Part I)
Material on WebCT: Lumumba
Screening: Lumumba (Part I)
Test on Part II
Part III: Postcolonial Africa in a World Context
Thursday, March 13
Week 9
Tuesday, March 25
Thursday, March 27
Week 10
Tuesday, April 01
Thursday, April 03
Week 11
Tuesday, April 08
Thursday, April 10
Week 12
Tuesday, April 15
Thursday, April 17
Week 13
Tuesday, April 22
Thursday, April 24
Week 14
Tuesday, April 29
Thursday, May 01
Exam Day
Postcolonial challenges around the world
Prashad Part 2
Separatism: Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia
Nugent 3
Gathering Seaweed: Obafemi Awolowo
Conflicting ideas of Nation and Identity
Nugent 4
African socialism
Nugent 5
Nyerere and Tanzania
Material on WebCT:
Military regimes and coups
Nugent 6
Cabral as a socialist revolutionary
Material on WebCT:
The second wave of decolonization: the Portuguese colonies and Southern Rhodesia
Nugent 7
Gathering Seaweed: Agostinho Neto; Eddison J. Zvobgo;
Competing ideas of Nationalism in South Africa
Gathering Seaweed: Steve Biko; Albie Sachs; Dennis Brutus;
South Africa: resistance to apartheid and emancipation
Gathering Seaweed: Tshenuwani Simon Farisani; Nelson Mandela; Breyten Breytenbach (all excerpts)
Presentations
Test on Part III
Presentations:
Presentations
Presentations