Sudan: A World in Conflict Core 5 , IDST 2500, MTWF 9
Greg Miller, 1302, milledg Office Hours: MW 10-11, Th 1:15-3:15 & by appt.
Foci: Literature and History; service learning
SAVE THE ELECTRONIC COPY OF THIS SYLLABUS TO YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER AND CAMPUS ACCOUNT TO
PRESERVE LIVE LINKS TO WEB ASSIGNMENTS
Description: Since the beginnings of the Sudanese civil war in the early 1980s, more than two million people have been killed, hundreds of thousands in the region of Darfur in the last few years. What are the sources of this conflict? Are there global implications to be learned? We will explore Sudan's history and some of the religious, ethnic, linguistic, geographical, economic, and political components of this ongoing conflict. In addition to historical studies, we will view films and documentaries and read autobiographies, a novel, a travel narrative, poetry, and essays. We will examine current efforts to save threatened lives and build a peaceful society and the effects of the January 2011 referendum on the independence of Southern Sudan. For context, we will also ready short stories by African writers who are not from Sudan. Students will have the opportunity to work with local Sudanese refugees to document their lives and their connections with family and friends still in Sudan or refugee camps in surrounding
African countries.
This class will count as one of the three Africa-focused classes required for the African
Studies minor (in addition to the seminar, study abroad, and language).
Required Books :
Francis Mading Deng. Dinka Folktales: African Stories from the Sudan. New York: Holmes & Meyer,
Publisher, 1974.
Dave Eggers. What is the What? The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng: A Novel. New York:
Vintage Books/Random House, 2006.
Douglas H. Johnson
. The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
2004.
The Long Journey: Sudanese Refugees in Mississippi Tell Their Stories. Millsaps College Faith & Work
Initiative, 2004.
The Anchor Book of Modern African Stories , Nadezda Obradovic, editor. New York: Anchor books, 2002.
Web Resources:
Understanding Sudan: http://understandingsudan.org/index.php
Stanford University: Africa breaking news http://wwwsul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/news.html
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BBC World Service: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/index.shtml
AfricanNews.org: http://allafrica.com/
Millsaps College Faith & Work projects on Sudan: http://www.millsaps.edu/faithwrk/servelearn.shtml
Films / Documentaries:
God Grew Tired of Us
Lost Boys of Sudan
The Devil Came on Horseback
Darfur Diaries
Liberal Arts Abilities
Reasoning: the ability to analyze and synthesize arguments, to question assumptions, to evaluate evidence, to argue positions, to draw conclusions, and to raise new questions; varieties of reasoning include quantitative, scientific, ethical, and aesthetic. As we develop a body of knowledge, based on first-hand accounts, video documentation, and historical analysis, we will become increasingly competent to evaluate the reasonableness of arguments about the nature of peace and civil society not only in Sudan but in the world at large. The course revolves around the central ethical questions of how best to live with other human beings in peace and hope and how best to work for justice beyond national boundaries. Our discussion of roads in Sudan is one example of how we can examine both quantitative and ethical arguments in considering good public policy. Our discussion of global warming and migration patterns, in light of old patterns of conflict resolution, will allow us to assess political arguments about whether conflict in Sudan is basically a question of changing weather patterns. We will evaluate questions of rhetoric and aesthetics in considering literary texts and films attempting to convey the reality of lived experience in a war-town country to those of us who have never had such experiences.
Communication: the ability to express ideas, arguments, and information coherently and persuasively orally and in writing. Students will develop essays in drafts, one of which will include researching primary documents, news reports, and secondary scholarly sources in the development of a larger conclusion. We’ll make group presentations evaluating press reports.
Historical Consciousness : the ability to understand the achievements, problems, and perspectives of the past and to recognize their influence upon the course of events. We’ll begin by studying the British
Colonial rule of what became the country now called Sudan. In many of the works of fiction and historical accounts we’ll read and the films we’ll watch, we’ll encounter sophisticated means of conflict resolution developed by different groups in Sudan prior to civil war. We’ll also consider the question of whether the international press’s coverage of conflicts may in fact mask the root causes of conflict and hence perpetuate conflict.
Social & Cultural Awareness : the ability to engage perspectives other than one’s own. To be honest, this professor sees the category “other than one’s own” as part of the problem to be addressed. We’ll explore complicated ideas of group and personal identity in Africa and the United States based on overlapping linguistic, religious, economic, and geographic patterns of communal and individual life.
Participation
Since discussion is essential to the development of ideas, come to class prepared to participate.
As an added incentive, class participation, including quizzes, will constitute 15% of your final grade. The final participation grade will reflect your attentiveness to the ideas of other members of the class as well as the frequency and thoughtfulness of your own contributions.
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If any student in the class has special needs because of a learning disability or another kind of disability, please inform me and see Patrick Cooper: http://www.millsaps.edu/stuafr/disabilityservices.shtml
).
Attendance
You may miss four class meetings without a penalty. For each subsequent unexcused absence, your final grade for the course will be reduced by one point. If you miss twelve or more classes, you will be dropped from class rolls and given an F for the course. Two tardies will be considered the equivalent of an absence.
If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out whether there have been any additional assignments and to prepare properly for the next class. If you are absent because of your participation in sports or other college activities, you must discuss the class with a student who was present on that day and then meet with me during my office hours to discuss the material in order to be excused the absence.
Grades
Students must complete all assigned essays and examinations in order to receive a passing grade for the course. mid-term: 15% analytical essay: 15% research essay: 20% service learning component: 20% final exam: 15% participation & quizzes: 15%
Students must read the assigned works before the class periods during which they are scheduled to be discussed.
Make copies of your essays before handing them in.
Late Policy
The essays are due on the assigned date, so plan accordingly. If you need an extension, you must ask my approval before the due date . Late essays will be docked one third of a grade per day late. If you do not hand in the annotated bibliography or the draft on the assigned date and time, your final grade on the essay will be docked one full grade.
Week One
Monday, January 12: Introduction to course and each other; Bul Mabil and Gabriel Panchol, interviews by students on You Tube.
Tuesday, January 13: in class: view documentary film, Lost Boys of Sudan
Wednesday, January 14: read this syllabus; Find the following article on the library’s site, using
EPSCO Host, print it out, and bring it to class for discussion: “The Challenge of Cultural, Ethnic
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and Religious Diversity in Peacebuilding and Constitution-Making in Post-Conflict Sudan.”
Luka Biong Deng. Civil Wars , Autumn 2005, Vol. 7 Issue 3, 258-269.
Friday, January 16: current conflict in Darfur; we’ll watch sections of a
60 minutes report in class. Before class--
Read ”Darfur: A Case Study and Curriculum Unit,” from Globalization 101.org, a project of the
Carnegie Endowment. Published On: 04-30-2007 at http://www.globalization101.org/news1/Darfur_
Read Contextualizing Darfur in Sudan Prepared by UnderstandingSudan.org. Latest version:
March 2
Week Two
Monday, January 19: Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday: NO CLASS
Tuesday, January 20: view scenes from film Khartoum, 1966, starring Charlton Heston &
Laurence Olivier
Wednesday, January 21: view Douglas H. Johnson’s commentary on
The Root Causes of
Sudan’s Civil Wars : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=228947149821344231; read preface, xi-xx; chapters 1-3, “The Historical Structure of North-South Relations,” “British
Overrule 1899-1947,” 1-20
Friday, January 23: What is the What: the Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, xiii-xv; 1-
33; visit http://valentinoachakdeng.org
; listen to interview of Deng and Eggers on National
Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6412768
Week Three
Monday, January 26: discuss assignment for first essay; What is the What , 34-71
Tuesday, January 27 : view and discuss interviews from Faith & Work website: in preparation, read at least one group’s site, listening to the interviews or reading the essays before class; be prepared to present and discuss what you have watched and read to the class as a whole.
Wednesday, January 28: What is the What, 72-108
Friday, January 30: What is the What, 109-160
Week Four
Monday, February 2: The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars, Chapters 3 & 4: “Nationalism,
Independence, and the First Civil War, 1942-72,” “The Addis Ababa Agreement & the Regional
Governments. 1972-83,” pages 21-5, 33-37, 39-43, 45-47, 50, 57-8
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Tuesday, February 3: group editing: essay 1: analysis of narrative
Wednesday, February 4: The Anchor Book of Modern African Stories, Tayeb Salih, “A Handful of Dates,” 3-7; Mohammed Moulessehoul, “The Wicked Tongue,” 167-179
Thursday, February 5: final draft of essay 1 due by 5:00, under my office door, include draft
Friday, February 6: What is the What , 161-227
Week Five
Monday, February 9: What is the What, 231-287
Wednesday, February 11: What is the What, 288-346
Friday, February 13: The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars : chapters 5-6, “The Beginning of the Second Civil War 1983-5,” and “The Momentum of Liberation 1986-91,” 61-66, 70-71, 75-
77, 79-81, 84-85, 88-90
Week Six
Monday, February 16: Exam 1(in class)
Tuesday, February 17: view documentary God Grew Tired of Us
Wednesday, February 18: The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars: “Multiple Civil Wars,” 127-
142
Friday, February 20: What is the What, 347-408
Week Seven
Monday, February 23: What is the What, 409-468
Wednesday, February 25: The Long Journey, 2-24, 44-7
Friday, February 27: What is the What, 469-535
Week Eight
Monday, March 2: The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars: Chapters 10-11, “The War
Economy and the Politics of Relief,”“Ideas of War and Peace in Sudan,” 143-46, 155-9, 162-80
Wednesday, March 4: The Long Journey, 23-43
Friday, March 6: Dinka Folktales: “ Aluel and her Loving Father
,”
33-48 ;
“Deng and his
Vicious Stepmother,” 49-58
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Week Nine
Monday, March 9: Dinka Folktales: “
Agany and his Search for a Wife,”
59-68; Nyanbol and
Her Lioness Mother-in-Law,” 103-106; “Ayak and her lost Bridegroom,” 107-110; “Ajang and his Lioness Bride,” 111-115; “Achol and her Adoptive Lioness-Mother,” 121-124; “Ageerpiu and a Lion,” 125-127
Wednesday, March 11: Dinka Folktales: “Amou and the Son of God,” 128-130; “Atong and Her
Lion-Husband,” 133-136; “Acienggaakdit and Acienggaakthii,’ 143-151; “Thaama and
Mohammed,” 152-155
Friday, March 13; Anchor book of Modern African Stories: Leila Aboutelela, “ The Museum,”
243-258; classes till 4:30
March 15-22: SPRING HOLIDAY
Week Ten
Monday, March 23: view the documentary The Devil Came on Horseback
Wednesday March 25: Nigeria: The Anchor Book of Modern African Stories: Funso Alyejina,
“The One-Handed Hero,” 271-283
Friday, March 27: Ethiopia: Hama Tuma, “The Waldiba Story,” 337-346
Week Eleven
Monday, March 30: view the documentary Darfur Diaries
Tuesday, March 31: annotated bibliography due: 2-3 pages, by 5:00, under my office door
Wednesday, April 1: Dinka Folktales: “ Chol and His Baby-Bride,” 69-77; “Diirawic and Her
Incestuous Brother,” 78-90; ”Kir and Ken and Their Addicted Father,” 91-96; “Duang and his
Wild Wife,” 97-102
Friday, April 3: Nigeria, Ben Okri, “What the Tapster Saw,” 262-70; Ken Saro-Wiwa, “Africa
Kills Her Sun,” 221-232
Week Twelve
Monday, April 6: draft of final essay: group editing
Wednesday, April 8: Documentation of Refugees: discussion
Friday, April 10: Economic Development, Case Study: the question of roads
Read South Sudan Economic Development Possibilities: Presentation material for policymakers, educators and activists, developed by: UnderstandingSudan.org, latest version: July 12, 2006
View ‘Economic Development in Southern Sudan” by Dr. Yongo-Bure is at Kettering University, filmed in August 2006, on YouTube.
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Week Thirteen
Monday, April 13: Egypt: Alifa Rifaat, “At the Time of Jasmine,” 233-242
Tuesday, April 21: final draft of research essay due by 5:00, under my office door; (available for inclusion in writing portfolio)
Wednesday, April 15: Climate Change and Conflict: Global Warming
Read “Is Climate Change the Culprit for Darfur?” By Alex de Waal. Posted June 25th, 2007 on his SSRC Blog: http://blogs.ssrc.org/sudan/2007/06/25/is-climate-change-the-culprit-for-darfur/ ; and one response of your choice at http://blogs.ssrc.org/sudan/category/sudan/darfur-climate/ ; also Photographs of Human Ecology in Sudan from online sources
Friday, April 17: Documentation of Service Learning with Refugees: Discussion and Analysis
Week Fourteen
Monday, April 20: news presentation/analysis : We will discuss together a common assignment from a recent American or British news report.
Wednesday, April 22: Documentation of Refugees: discussion of final project
Thursday, April 23 : by 5:00—service learning projects due
Friday, April 24: conclusions
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Service Learning Component
Purpose
*to deepen students’ global awareness
*to develop students’ skills as listeners and speakers
*to develop students’ skills in presenting a powerful, well-organized essay or in making and posting an engaging and substantive video presentation
*to educate society about the plight of refugees from Sudan and document their experiences for our contemporaries as well as posterity
Service Learning Collaboration
Each student will spend at least four sessions of approximately two hours each working with refugees. These meetings should take place roughly once every two weeks. Students with an interest in documenting refugees at work, school, or home may make use of school cameras and equipment. Others may choose to conduct interviews, record them, and build a narrative in collaboration with the refugees. Some may choose to tutor refugees in English or other subjects and write about the experience. Our primary purpose will be to document the effects of the
January 2011 Referendum on the independence of Southern Sudan and changing circumstances in Sudan on refugees in Mississippi. Please see me in the first two weeks of class to discuss how you would like to pursue this opportunity. Students must keep a journal in which they record the time and nature of their activities and reflect on them in relation to the course.
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