Africa in World History
HIST 4390, Fall 2010
Tues Thurs 3-4:20
407 Stabler Hall
Dr. Charles Romney
Ph: 501 569 8154
cwromney@ualr.edu
Objectives: In this class we will examine Africa’s development from ancient times to the
present. In particular we will explore Africa’s relationships with other areas of the world
and discuss the points where the African experience converges and diverges from the
experience of other regions. We will also focus on three forces driving Africa’s
development: geographical contexts, economic systems, and cultural relationships.
In addition to understanding Africa's development, we will also learn how to make
comparisons between different regions and time periods, how to assess the logic of
particular cultural systems, and how to write an analytical essay using primary sources.
Books:
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (first published in 1959)
Chinua Achebe, The Trouble With Nigeria (first published in 1983)
Erik Gilbert and Jonathan T. Reynolds, Africa in World History: From Prehistory to the
Present (Second Edition, 2008)
Assignments, Attendance, and Grades:
You will take two in-class exams and write one paper (5-7 pages). Your final grade will
consist of the two exams (40% total), the paper (40%), and class participation (20%).
You are also expected to come to class, complete the readings for each class and
contribute to our discussion. Three or more unexcused absences might lower your grade.
Students with Disabilities:
It is the policy of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to create inclusive learning
environments. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in
barriers to your inclusion or to accurate assessment of achievement–such as time-limited
exams, inaccessible web content, or the use of non-captioned videos–please notify the
instructor as soon as possible. Students are also welcome to contact the Disability
Resource Center, telephone 501-569-3143 (v/tty). For more information, visit the DRC
website at http://ualr.edu/disability/
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Reading and Discussion Schedule:
Date
Class Topic
Reading
Week 1
Aug 19
Introduction
Part 1: Geography, Religion, and Slavery in Africa to 1800
Week 2
Aug 24
Africa’s Geography and Environment
Africa in WH Ch. 2
Aug 26
From Gathering to Farming
Africa in WH Ch. 3
Week 3
Aug 31
Islam in West Africa
Africa in WH Ch. 6
Sept 2
The Swahili Civilization in East Africa
Africa in WH Ch. 7
Week 4
Sept 7
Forms of Labor in Africa
Africa in WH Ch. 8
Sept 9
Culture and the Gun/ Slave Cycle
Eltis, Inikori, Hair essays
Week 5
Sept 14
West Africa and the Atlantic World
Sept 16
First In-class Exam
Africa in WH Ch. 9
Week 6
Sept 21
No class
Sept 23
No class, but extra credit for attending a panel at the Mid America Conf.
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Part 3: Strategic Responses to European Colonialism, 1800-1950
Week 7
Sept 28
East Africa and Indian Ocean Slavery
Africa in WH Ch. 11
Sept 30
South Africa and White Settlement
Africa in WH Ch. 12
Week 8
Oct 5
The Causes of Colonialism after 1850
No reading
Oct 7
Varieties of Colonialism in Africa
Africa in WH Ch. 13
Week 9
Oct 12
Economic Colonialism
Africa in WH Ch. 14
Oct 14
Politics during Colonialism
Africa in WH Ch. 15
Week 10
Oct 19
The Debate in the Legislative Council
Ghana documents
Oct 21
Colonialism in Nigeria
Things Fall Apart, 3-35
Week 11
Oct 26
Okonkwo's Way
Things Fall Apart, 36-74
Oct 28
Negotiating Change
Things Fall Apart, 75-125
Week 12
Nov 2
The Logic of Tradition
Things Fall Apart, 129-167
Nov 4
The Logic of Colonialism
Things Fall Apart, 171-209
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Week 13
Nov 9
How to Write a Primary Source Paper
no reading
First Draft of Paper due in class, Thursday, November 11
Part 4: Independent Africa? African Societies since 1950
Nov 11
Africa, Colonialism, and Modernity
Thiong’o, Tignor
Week 14
Nov 16
Era of African Independence
Africa in WH Ch. 17
Nov 18
Nigerian Politics After Independence
Trouble, Chapters 1-3
Week 15
Nov 23
Achebe’s Trouble with Leadership
Nov 25
No class--happy Thanksgiving
Trouble, Chapters 4-6
Week 16
Nov 30
Understanding Nigeria
Dec 2
In-class exam
Trouble, Chs. 7-10
Last day to submit the optional re-write of your paper:
4pm, Friday December 10, in the History Department Office
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Bibliography for Part I (in addition to Gilbert/ Reynolds):
Primary Sources:
Ibn Battuta, passages on the Swahili cities (1331) and on Mali (1353-1354) from G.S.P.
Freeman-Greenville, The East Africa Coast: Select Documents from the First to the
Earlier Nineteenth Century (1962): 31; and Nehemia Levtzion and Jay Spaulding,
Medieval West Africa: Views from Arab Scholars and Merchants (2003): 69.
Mungo Park, “West Africa in the 1790s” in David Northrup, The Atlantic Slave Trade
(Second Edition, 2002)
Secondary Sources:
From David Northrup, The Atlantic Slave Trade (Second Edition, 2002):
David Eltis, “The Cultural Roots of African Slavery”
Joseph Inikori, “Guns for Slaves”
P. E. H. Hair, “African Narratives of Enslavement”
Anne Hilton, The Kingdom of Kongo (1985): 55-60.
Charts and Maps:
“Farmer Power”
“The Indian Ocean Trading System”
“Major States and Trading Routes in Africa, 1300s” (color)
Bibliography for Part II (in addition to Gilbert/ Reynolds):
Secondary Sources:
Jean Allman, Quills of the Porcupine: Asante Nationalism in an Emergent Ghana (1993):
38
T. C. McCaskie, “Cultural Encounters: Britain and Africa in the Nineteenth Century,” in
Andrew Porter, edited, The Oxford History of the British Empire, Volume 3: The
Nineteenth Century (1999): 679-682
Diana Jeater, Law, Language, and Science: The Invention of the “Native Mind” in
Southern Rhodesia, 1890-1930 (2007): 129
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Maps:
“The Partition of Africa” (color)
“European Penetration of Africa before 1880—Britain and the Partition of West Africa”
“Administrative Regions of Ghana Before Independence”
Primary Sources:
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1959)
Statement by Kwadwo Asaaman (1945), from T. C. McCaskie, Asante Identities: History
and Modernity in an African Village (2001): 119
“After the War—Civilisation Commencing,” Cartoon (1896)
Prince Brew of Dunkwa, or James Brew, to the British Government, 22 March 1895,
PRO/CO/96/257
William Maxwell, Governor of the Gold Coast, Dispatch, 9 May 1895, PRO/CO/96/257
Debate in the Gold Coast Legislative Council, Accra, June 1897, PRO/CO/96/295
Petition of the Kings and Chiefs of the Western Province of the Gold Coast Protectorate
to the British Government, 27 May 1898, PRO/CO/96/333
Bibliography for Part III (in addition to Gilbert/ Reynolds):
Primary and Secondary Sources:
Robert Tignor, “Drawing the Boundaries of Africa” (2002)
Obafemi Awolowo, Path to Nigerian Freedom (1947)
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African
Literature (1986): 11-12, 16
Chinua Achebe, The Trouble with Nigeria (1984)
Maps:
British West Africa in the Mid Twentieth Century
Ethnic Map of Nigeria
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