Five College African Studies Course Listings for Spring 2008
Five College Center for the Study of World Languages - African language
instruction
The Five College Center for the Study of World Languages also supports instruction in African languages including Mentored Swahili and Five
College Supervised independent study (FCSILP) in Twi (from Ghana), Woloff (from Senegal), Yoruba (from Nigeria), Hausa (from Nigeria),
and Zulu (from South Africa).
FORLANGC xxx
MENTORED SWAHILI
Agnes Kimokoti
See schedule below
The courses consists of a Conversation session and tutorial sessions (see language levels and schedules below).
To schedule the required registration information session for Swahili contact the Five College Center for the Study of World Languages:
fcsilp@hfa.umass.edu or call 413-545-3453. For more information visit : www.umass.edu/fclang/mentored_registration.html.
Information Session Schedule for Preregistration:
* November 7 (Wednesday) 4:00 pm at Hampshire College
* November 9 (Friday) 2:15 pm at UMass
* November 9 (Friday) 3:45 pm at UMass
* November 13 (Tuesday) 4:15 pm at UMass
* November 14 (Wednesday) 4:15 pm at UMass
* November 15 (Thursday) 2:15 pm at UMass
* November 15 (Thursday) 4:15 pm at UMass
* November 16 (Friday) 2:15 pm at UMass
* November 16 (Friday) 3:45 pm at UMass
Spring 2008 Conversation Session Times and Locations (see below for the related tutorial session times)
FORLANGC 111E Swahili I
Fridays 2:30-3:30 pm
at Amherst College
Beginning course, no prerequisites. Independent study combined with weekly small group conversation sessions and individual tutorials with the
Five College Swahili mentor. Emphasis on developing speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Final grade based on weekly homework
and conversation session preparation, an end of semester writing skills assessment, and a final oral exam.
FORLANGC 111E and 112E Swahili I-II (full-course)
Fridays 3:30-5:00 pm
at Amherst College
Full-course pace for those who want to complete both Swahili I and Swahili II in one semester. 1.5 for each course for a total of 3 UMass credits.
Students will have one 1.5 hour conversation session per week, plus sixty minutes of individual tutorial. Beginning course, no prerequisites.
FORLANGC 112E
Swahili II
Prerequisite: Mentored Swahili I or the equivalent.
Fridays 1:30-2:30 pm
at Amherst College
FORLANGC 112E and 121E Swahili II-III (full-course)
Fridays 3:30-5:00 pm
at Amherst College
Full-course pace for those who want to complete both Swahili II and Swahili III in one semester. 1.5 for each course for a total of 3 UMass
credits. Students will have one 1.5 hour conversation session per week, plus sixty minutes of individual tutorial. Prerequisite: Mentored Swahili I
or the equivalent.
FORLANGC 121E
Swahili III
Prerequisite: Mentored Swahili II or the equivalent.
Fridays 2:30-3:30 pm
at Amherst College
FORLANGC 121E and 122E Swahili III-IV (full-course)
Thursdays 6:30-8:00 pm
at Amherst College
Full-course pace for those who want to complete both Swahili III and Swahili IV in one semester. 1.5 for each course for a total of 3 UMass
credits. Students will have one 1.5 hour conversation session per week, plus sixty minutes of individual tutorial. Prerequisite: Mentored Swahili
II or the equivalent.
FORLANGC 122E
Swahili IV
Fridays 1:30-2:30 pm
at Amherst College
FORLANGC tba
Swahili Colloquium
Thursdays 6:30-8:00 pm
at Amherst College.
Topic for Spring 2008: to be determined
Swahili Colloquium is open to students in Swahili IV and above. The topic will vary each semester and can be repeated as long as the topic
varies. The course will focus on developing conversational skills and cultural knowledge. The course will be lead by the Five College Swahili
Mentor. It will meet weekly for a 1.5 hr. conversation session. Emphasis will be on discussion, projects, and presentations. There will be no
individual tutorials for this course.
1
FORLANGC tba Swahili V - conversation sessions to be arranged, probably on Thursdays or Fridays
Prerequisite: Mentored Swahili IV or the equivalent
FORLANGC tba
Swahili VI Prerequisite: Mentored Swahili V or the equivalent.
conversation sessions to be arranged, probably on Thursdays or Fridays
FORLANGC tba
Swahili Senior Research
to be arranged
Students involved in senior projects, special concentrations, or theses using Swahili sources may arrange a special Swahili course working with
the linguistic aspects of those sources. Students should discuss this possibility with Agnes Kimokoti and with the program director/associate
director during the semester prior to starting the project. A written project plan will need to be created and approved in order to enroll for senior
research credit. Prerequisite: Mentored Swahili IV or the equivalent.
Spring 2008 Tutorial Time Slots For All Levels/Courses of Swahili
Tutorials will be scheduled at the end of the first week of the semester. Students will be given preference in tutorial times and locations based on
order of application and registration. Enrolled students must provide the mentored program staff with up-to-date schedule information by Friday,
February 1st. Students who make changes in their schedules after that date will have to take whatever time slots and locations are still available.
Mondays at UMass - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Tuesdays at Smith 8:30 am - 1:30 pm
Tuesdays at Hampshire 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Wednesdays at Mt. Holyoke 8:30 am – 1:30 pm
Wednesdays at Hampshire 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Thursdays at Amherst 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
FORLANGC xxx
FIVE COLLEGE SUPERVISED INDEPENDENT STUDY OF TWI, YORUBA, HAUSA, ZULU
Five College Supervised independent study (FCSILP) in Twi (from Ghana), Woloff (from Senegal), Yoruba (from Nigeria), Hausa (from
Nigeria), and Zulu (from South Africa). You can find an independent study application form and instructions on their web site at
http://www.umass.edu/fclang/fcsilpreg.html . To schedule a registration appointment for language classes or for more information contact:
fcsilp@hfa.umass.edu or call 413-545-3453.
An FCSILP course consists of three components:
1) seven to ten hours a week of independent study using a combination of textbooks, workbooks, audio and video tapes, software, and online
materials (course components vary by language);
2) a weekly conversation practice session led by a native speaking conversation partner; and
3) a final oral evaluation given by a professor accredited in the target language.
Each language offered in the program is divided into four levels of study. The four levels constitute four parts of an elementary course. A student
who completes all four levels can expect to acquire basic speaking skills as well as a limited amount of reading and writing proficiency. The
syllabus for each level defines the amount of material a student must learn during the semester. Students normally need to commit 10-12 hours a
week to language study in order to master the material.
Credit for these courses varies by college:
--at Amherst College these courses carry 1/2 credit each;
--at Hampshire College these courses carry credit;
--at Mount Holyoke College these courses carry 2 credits each and two semesters (or equivalent) must be completed to receive credit;
--at Smith College these courses carry 2 credits each and two semesters (or the equivalent) must be completed to receive credit;
--at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst these courses carry 1.5 credits each.
2
Amherst College
BLST 11-01
Intro to Black Studies
C. Rhonda Cobham-Sander
T
2:00-4:30
This interdisciplinary introduction to Black Studies combines the teaching of foundational texts in the field with instruction in reading and
writing. The first half of the course employs How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren as a guide to the careful reading of
books focusing on the slave trade and its effects in Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. Important readings in this part of the course
include Black Odyssey by Nathan Huggins, Racism: A Short History by George Frederickson, and The Black Jacobins by C. L. R. James. The
second half of the course addresses important themes from the turn of the twentieth century to the present. Beginning with The Souls of Black
Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois, it proceeds through a range of seminal texts, including The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon and The Fire Next
Time by James Baldwin. This part of the course utilizes Revising Prose by Richard Lanham to extend the lesson in reading from the first half of
the semester into an exploration of precision and style in writing. Computer exercises based on Revising Prose and three short essays-one on a
single book, another comparing two books, and the last on a major theme in the course-provide the main opportunity to apply and reinforce skills
in reading and writing learned throughout the semester. After taking this course, students at all levels of preparation should emerge not only with
a good foundation for advancement in Black Studies but also with a useful set of guidelines for further achievement in the humanities and the
social sciences.
BLST 11-02
Intro to Black Studies
Jeffrey Ferguson
BLST 18-01
The Changing Images of
Blacks in Film
Manuame Mukasa
T
2:00-4:30
MW 12:30-
Images in film reflect our culture. We can learn a great deal about the social dynamics, power struggles, truths and manipulations in American
culture by examining the changing images in film over time. Arguably the most important social dynamic in our country's history has been that
of race relations, something seen most poignantly in the context of Black and White. By examining the changing images of Blacks in film, we
can see that film is not a neutral reflection of "reality" but a way to represent and shape social reality to the advantage or disadvantage of those
seeking social control and social liberation. As we survey films from history to our present, we will look at how images tell stories, how they
need to be seen in context, and how dramatic structures reflect social constructs. In this class our journey will take us from the disturbing
celebration of the Ku Klux Klan in D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, still considered by many to be one of our most important films, to the
struggle of Black actors to move past Mammies and coons, from brave early attempts at independent Black filmmaking to the popularity and
paradoxes of Blaxploitation; from "Super Sidney Poitier" to our modern era of Black characters reflecting hope and ambiguity. Examining the
changing images of Blacks in film provides a fascinating look at the pain and promise of our attempts to use film to define and redefine ourselves
as a nation.
BLST 20-01
African Cultures/ Societies
Miriam Goheen
MW 12:30-
This course explores the cultural meaning of indigenous African institutions and societies. Through the use of ethnographies, novels and films,
we will investigate the topics of kinship, religion, social organization, colonialism, ethnicity, nationalism and neocolonialism. The principal
objective is to give students an understanding of African society that will enable them better to comprehend current issues and problems
confronting African peoples and nations.
BLST 25-01
Women and Politics in Africa
Catharine Newbury
MW 12:30-
(Also Political Science 29 and Black Studies 25.) See Political Science 29. Second semester. Five College Professor Newbury.
BLST 28-01
Religion in the Atlantic
World: 1441-1808
David Wills
MW 2:00-
An examination of the religious history of the Atlantic world, from the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade to the Anglo-American withdrawal
from that trade. Emphasis will be placed on the encounter of African and European religions. How did the religion(s) of Africans and the
religion(s) of Europeans differ and how were they alike at the time of their meeting in the Atlantic world? How did they change in response to
one another along the west coast of Africa, and in the Caribbean and the Americas? Attention will be given to both West African and KongoAngola religious traditions, to both Catholicism and Protestantism, to both elite and popular religious patterns, and to the role of Islam in Africa
and the New World.
3
(Amherst College continued)
BLST 34-01
Child Labor and Education in
Africa, the Caribbean and
Latin America
Peter Moyi
TTH 2:00-
What is child labor? What is the relationship between child labor and education? Until recently, most debates on national welfare policies and
international legal codes treated education and child labor as separate topics. But, over the last several years, there has been increased attention to
children's labor as a dimension in their education, and to education as a dimension in their labor. This integration has implications on the ways in
which we teach and learn about at-risk children in poor countries. Should education policymakers be interested or informed about children who
do not go to school? Should they care what students do in addition to attending school? This seminar seeks to explore child labor in Africa, the
Caribbean and Latin America. Topics to be explored include: the complex definitions of childhood and child labor, children's rights, gender and
child labor, globalization, intolerable forms of child labor, academic impact of work on children among others.
BLST 38-01
Foundations of African
American Literature
Marisa Parham
TTH 10:00-
This course acquaints students with the critical study of "entertainment" film by reading vampire films as immigration stories and by considering
these films in terms of the uneven and unequal global circulation of audiovisual media. The course situates cinematic vampires within the
historical and cultural context of pre-cinematic vampires, including vampires from central and eastern European folklore, vampires from western
European literature and drama, as well as supernatural creatures from much older traditions, such as the Indian vetala and the Chinese jiang shi,
that come to be confused with vampires through colonialism, modernity, postcolonialism, and alternative modernities. Weekly writing
assignments emphasize textual analysis of film in terms of its formal properties and generic codes and conventions, whether from horror and
melodrama, or from masala and wuxia, to support thematic analysis. The course ask students to consider ways that vampires function in
European, North American, and Asian popular cinemas in relation to questions of cultural assimilation, racialization, nativism, nationalism, and
violations of national sovereignty, such as political assassinations and vigilantism. As a counterpoint to vampire films, we will screen short films
on the subject of immigrants from the early days of cinema. The course asks students to reflect upon the politics of entertainment in films from
Canada, Cuba, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, the U.K., and the U.S. Preference given to first-year students and
sophomores.
BLST 40-01
Contemporary African Fiction
Andrea Rushing
TTH 2:00-
The best known African novel is Nigerian Chinua Achebe's masterful Things Fall Apart (1958) with its depiction of the tragic collision between
a "traditional" African society and the colonizing power of Great Britain. As dozens of African countries gained political independence from
their European colonizers, the next generation of novels presented renditions of post-colonial Africa. The novels for this course depart from both
those categories. We will focus on writers from such English-speaking countries as Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Although we
will consider political and cultural contexts, we will concentrate our attention on the stories the novels tell, the strategies their authors use to tell
them, and their use of language.
BLST 42-01
Myth, Ritual and
Iconography in West Africa
Rowland Abiodun
MW 12:30-
Through a contrastive analysis of the religious and artistic modes of expression in three West African societies-the Asanti of the Guinea Coast,
and the Yoruba and Igbo peoples of Nigeria-the course will explore the nature and logic of symbols in an African cultural context. We shall
address the problem of cultural symbols in terms of African conceptions of performance and the creative play of the imagination in ritual acts,
masked festivals, music, dance, oral histories, and the visual arts as they provide the means through which cultural heritage and identity are
transmitted and preserved, while, at the same time, being the means for innovative responses to changing social circumstances.
BLST 46-01
Survey of African Art
Rowland Abiodun
MW 8:30-
An introduction to the ancient and traditional arts of Africa. Special attention will be given to the archaeological importance of the rock art
paintings found in such disparate areas as the Sahara and South Africa, achievements in the architectural and sculptural art in clay of the early
people in the area now called Zimbabwe and the aesthetic qualities of the terracotta and bronze sculptures of the Nok, Igbo-Ukwe, Ife and Benin
cultures in West Africa, which date from the second century B.C.E. to the sixteenth century C.E. The study will also pursue a general sociocultural survey of traditional arts of the major ethnic groups of Africa.
BLST 47-01
Colonial and Post-Colonial Africa
Sean Redding
MWF
10:00-
This is a history of Africa from the late nineteenth century to the present day. In the first half of the course, we will study the imperial scramble
to colonize Africa, the integration of African societies into the world economy, the social and medical impact of imperial policies, and the
nationalist struggles that resulted in the independent African states. We will also examine the divisiveness of ethnicity in post-colonial states. In
the final half of the course, we will investigate three cases: Congo-Zaire-Democratic Republic of Congo and the state as a source of chaos; the
cultural and political dynamics of racial and individual identity in Botswana; and the historical background of the recent troubles and landseizures in Zimbabwe.
4
(Amherst College continued)
BLST 49-01
Intro to South African History
Sean Redding
TTH 2:00-
This course will explore major themes in the history of a historically troubled but intriguing country. It will begin by examining evidence
regarding indigenous cultures, move on to study the initiation and expansion of white settlement and African resistance, the effects of goldmining, the development of racially based conflict, and African nationalism and responses to apartheid. The course will end with discussions of
recent events in South Africa, particularly the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its aftermath, as well as the AIDS epidemic. Roughly
half the semester will be spent on the pre-industrial period (until 1869), and half on the period after the major mineral discoveries through to the
present.
BLST 52-01
Social Psychology of Race
Allen Hart
M
2:00-4:30
An interdisciplinary investigation of the social psychology of race in the United States examining the nature and causes of racial stereotypes,
prejudice, and discrimination. We will discuss alternatives to more traditional cognitive approaches that regard stereotyping primarily as a bias
produced by the limits of individual processing. While grounded in social psychological theory, we will examine the emergence of race as an
important social variable resulting from the interplay of various socio-historical forces. Readings will range from scientific journal articles to
personal and intellectual accounts by some key figures in race research including G. Allport, W.E.B. Du Bois, N. Lemann, J.H. Stanfield, S.
Steele, and C. West. Requisite: Psychology 11.
BLST 63-01
Alan Lomax
William Walker
M
2:00-4:30
W
2:00-430
(Also Black Studies 63) See Black Studies 63. Second semester. Visiting Lecturer Walker.
BLST 64-01
Black Studies Seminar
Jeffrey Ferguson
This seminar prepares students to conduct independent research. Although it concentrates on the field of Black Studies, it serves as a good
introductory research course for all students in the humanities and social sciences regardless of major. The first part of the course will intensively
introduce students to the library through a series of readings, exercises, and discussions aimed at sharpening the ability to locate information
precisely and efficiently. The second part of the course will introduce research methods in three important areas of Black Studies: the arts,
history, and the social sciences. Faculty members of the Black Studies Department, departmental affiliates, and visitors will join the class to
present their own ongoing research, placing particular emphasis on the disciplinary methods and traditions of inquiry that guide their efforts.
Also in the second part, through individual meetings with professors, students will begin developing their own research projects. The third part of
the course will concentrate more fully on development of these projects through a classroom workshop. Here students will learn how to shape a
topic into a research question, build a bibliography, annotate a bibliography, shape a thesis, develop an outline, and write a research proposal, or
prospectus. This class is required of Black Studies majors. It is open to non-majors with the consent of the instructor. Although Black Studies 11
and 12 are not required for admission, preference will go to those who have taken one or both of these courses.
BLST 64-02
Black Studies Seminar
Celso Castro Alves
W
2:00-4:30
5
Mount Holyoke College
ANT 301s (01)
Edust 301s (01)
Education in South Africa,
Policy and Practice:
M. McKeever, B.Bell,
M
Education and Health in
Post-Apartheid South Africa
L. Carlisle
M
(Community-based learning course; Educational Studies 301 and Sociology 301) This course will consist of seven meetings during spring
semester, designed to allow for participants to build their knowledge of the educational system of South Africa, followed by a three week fulltime placement in either a South African public school or the Center for the Study of AIDS
Dance 142s (01)
Cultural Dance Forms:
West African Dance
M. Middleton, S. Sylla
TTH 4:30-6:00
The objectives of the course are for students to understand the profound influence African dance has had on American dance forms, to
understand the significance of dance in African culture, and to understand the connection between drummer and dancer and to appreciate and
respect a culture that is different yet similar in many ways to American culture.
English250s (01)
Twentieth Century and
Contemporary African American
Literature: Innovation,
Strategy, Form
R. Wilson
TTH 1:15-2:30
(Speaking-intensive course) This course will explore twentieth-century and contemporary African American writers of great political import and
innovation, beginning in the 1950s before the Black Arts movement with Gwendolyn Brooks, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, and Lorraine
Hansberry, turning to writers such as June Jordan, Amiri Baraka, and Ishmael Reed. Post-movement writers may include Lucille Clifton, Toi
Derricotte, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Harryette Mullen, Rene Gladman, Gary Fisher, and Anna Deveare Smith. Students will address the role
of artistic strategy in these writers' works--poem, essay, play, novel, particularly in thinking about issues of race, gender and sexuality, and
(black) self representation.
Meets multicultural requirement; meets Humanities I-A requirement
English 253s (01)
African Literature
John Lemly
MW 2:40-3:55
An introduction to African literature in English since 1960. Fiction, drama, autobiography, essays by such writers as Ama Ata Aidoo, Ayi Kwei
Armah, Chinua Achebe, Buchi Emecheta, Ben Okri, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nadine Gordimer, and Bessie
Head. Particular attention to themes of exile and imprisonment, political struggle before and after independence, the convergence of oral cultures
and European languages, and the emergence of postcolonial and feminist discourses in contemporary Africa.
Meets multicultural requirement; meets Humanities I-A requirement
English 337s (01)
The Political Imagination in
Contemporary South Africa
D. Weber
T
1:15-4:05
This seminar examines the variety of literary and cultural expression in South Africa since the 1970s, focusing on the relations between art and
political struggle. Among the topics to be discussed are the imagination of history in South African literature; the emergence of the Black
Consciousness movement (and its legacies); the role of theater and poetry in the anti-apartheid movements; and the responses of the Truth of
Reconciliation Commission. Among the authors to be studied are Gordimer, Coeztee, Fugard, Ndebele, Wicomb, Tlali, and Mda, along with a
number of contemporary poets, playwrights, and filmmakers.
Meets multicultural requirement; meets Humanities I-A requirement
French 311s(01)
Period Courses Topic: Paris dans
l’imaginaire Africain
Samba Gadjigo
M
1:15-4:05
The usual periodization of French literature and culture is by century. Some period courses focus on the characteristics of specific centuries.
Others focus on artistic or intellectual movements: gothic, Renaissance, romantic. All period courses, whatever their conceptual framework,
integrate texts and historical contexts.
Colonial relations have not only been a contest over land ownership but were also always centered around the question of who has the right to
represent whom. This course will examine how, from the fifties and sixties, African students in France have represented France and Paris in their
narratives. Readings will include novels and travelogues.
Meets Humanities I-A requirement
6
(Mount Holyoke College continued)
Geog 215s(01)
Geography of the Middle East and
North Africa
Girma Kebbede
TTH 11:00-12:15
In this course, the Middle East and North Africa are studied in terms of their physical, cultural, economic, and political geography. Emphasis is
placed on the environmental conditions and ecological evolution, population and demographic characteristics, the resource base and major
problems in the social, political, and economic transformation of the region.
History 141s(01)
Violence and Social Change
in Modern Africa
Holly Hanson
MW 8:35-9:50
This course examines processes of change that have shaped modern Africa. It seeks to provide both the information and the conceptual tools
necessary for an informed interpretation of African affairs presented (and not presented) by popular media. Using fiction, historical narratives,
and a wide range of interdisciplinary sources, the class examines nineteenth-century interactions of Africans and Europeans and the nature of
colonial conquest, economic and social change during the colonial period, and the emergence of postcolonial African societies.
History 241s(01)
African Popular Culture
Holly Hanson
M
7:00-10:00
This class uses popular music, dance, fiction, film, street art, bus slogans, newspapers, and other sources to document African interpretations of
the decades since "flag independence" in 1960. We will let African musicians, writers, filmmakers, and artists direct our investigation of the big
questions of the class: Why is the gap between rich and poor in African societies increasing? What is happening to gender relations? What do
African people think of their political leaders and how do they imagine political situations might improve?
MUS 161s (01)
Beginning West African
Drumming Ensemble
Faith Conant
T
5:00-7:00
This course will focus on learning by ear and playing the polyrhythmic traditional music of the peoples of southern Ghana, Togo and Benin,
including sections of Adjogbo and Agbekor. All students will learn drum, rattle and bell parts, some songs and some dance steps as well. Non
musicians are welcome, but practicing between classes is required. The group will perform in a workshop at the end of the semester.
MUS 226 (01)
World Music
Bode Omojola
TTH 1:15-2:30
A survey of selected musical traditions from Africa, Asia and North America
Musical traditions from non-Westen societies often present social and aesthetic issues that challenge Western assumptions about music. This
course presents an opportunity for students to explore new horizons of musical thought and practice, and re-evaluate previous assumptions
relating to the structural and social significance of musical styles.
This course will focus on the social and aesthetic significance of musical traditions within their respective historical and cultural contexts, and
explore how musical traditions change over time, and how such changes reflect and relate to social and political changes within a given society.
MUS 261s (01)
Intermediate West African
Drumming Ensemble
Faith Conant
T
7:00-9:00
This course will focus on learning by ear and playing the polyrhythmic traditional music of the peoples of southern Ghana, Togo and Benin,
including sections of Adjogbo and Agbekor. All students will learn drum, rattle and bell parts, some songs, and some dance steps. Non-musicians
are welcome; practice between classes is required. The group will perform in a workshop at the end of the semester.
Hampshire
SS-291
The State and Politics in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Frank Holmquist
TTh 9:00-10:20
Sub-Saharan Africa is facing severe multi-faceted difficulties including a crisis of the state. The state loomed large in all post-colonial scenarios
of African development as the major agency of economic growth and of popular participation. The 1960s and 1970s brought mixed returns on
those expectations, but the 1980s dashed prior hopes with international debt, structural adjustment economic policies, and repressive regimes.
The turn of the past decade found angry people in the streets demanding democracy, while the end of the Cold War meant that major Western
countries were willing to 147let go148 of some very unpopular leaders the West used to support. But despite democratic openings, and the
unleashing of political voices, several states are marked by their failure to function as well as they did two decades ago, and a few have all but
collapsed. Meanwhile economies are growing slowly and poverty maybe spreading. The way out of the general crisis will require state reform
and that will require an understanding of the forces that created the current situation. This is the central issue that the course will address. Some
prior study of Africa, Asia, or Latin America is expected
7
Smith College
AFS 300
Five College Capstone Colloquium
in African Studies
David Newbury
T
7:00-9:50
This interdisciplinary Capstone Colloquium allows students to share their interests in Africa through probing readings and vibrant discussions.
Incorporating African Studies faculty from across the Five Colleges, the course will explore both western perceptions and lived experience in
Africa through such themes as: African Historiographies; Governance and Political Conflict; Development and Environmental Issues; Health and
Society; African Literature and the Arts; and Youth and Popular Culture. Students will be asked to write frequent short papers summarizing the
different disciplinary approaches to the field. Prerequisites: at least three FC courses in African Studies and junior/senior standing; or permission
of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 20.
AAS 202
Topics in Black Studies: Anthropology
in the African Diaspora
R. Barnes
TR 1:00-2:30
This course, covering an expansive global distance, historical period, and intellectual tradition will be divided into two parts. The first half of the
course will locate and define the African Diaspora and will provide a bio-cultural, historical, political and economic overview of their
descendants' origins and major movements. The second half of the course will explore how members of the African Diaspora negotiate identity,
construct citizenship, and develop nation within the Diaspora and in relation to Africa. African Diasporic cultures considered may include those
residing in North America (including the US, Mexico and Canada), Brazil, Cuba, and parts of Europe.
ANT 348
Topics in Development Anthropology:
Health & Healing in Africa
Eliot Fratkin
T
1:00-2:50
This seminar focuses on the variety of healing systems in Africa. While there is some discussion of biomedical aspects of infectious disease and
reproductive health, we approach the issue of healing in Africa from an anthropological perspective where concepts of health, illness, and healing
are embedded in particular cultural, social, and historical contexts. This course looks at the internal logic and practices of indigenous healing
systems including issues of causality, illness categorization, and therapeutic approaches including divination, trance and drumming, herbal
medicines, and spiritual treatments. Necessarily, discussion of indigenous healing deals with African systems of thought and belief, including the
role of ancestors, sorcery, and witchcraft. Finally, the course examines the integration of, and contradictions between, traditional and western
approaches to healing, particularly in areas of reproductive health, mental illness, and HIV/AIDS.
CLT 266
South African Literature & Film
Katwiwa Mule
TR 1:00-2:50
A study of South African literature and film since 1948 in their social, political, and economic contexts and as sites for anti-apartheid struggles.
We will study South African writers, autobiographers, and film-makers of various racial and social backgrounds and also examine some
testimonies from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as staged public drama. Texts include Mazisi Kunene's Mandela's Ego, Njabulo
Ndebele's The Cry of Winnie Mandela, Zoe Wicomb's You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town; anti-apartheid films such as Cry Freedom, Ipi Tombi,
South Africa Belongs to Us, Country and City Lovers.
CLT 271
Writing in Translation
Dawn Fulton
TR 10:30-11:50
A study of bilingualism as a legacy of colonialism, as an expression of exile, and as a means of political and artistic transformation in recent texts
from Africa and the Americas. We will consider how such writers as Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Kenya), Assia Djebar (Algeria), Patrick Chamoiseau
(Martinique), and Edwidge Danticat (Haiti/U.S.) assess the personal and political consequences of writing in the language of a former colonial
power, and how they attempt to capture the esthetic and cultural tensions of bilingualism in their work.
FRN 244
French Cinema: Cities of Light:
Urban Spaces in Francophone Film Dawn Fulton
TR 3-4:20, M 7:30-9:30
From Paris to Fort-de-France, Montreal to Dakar, we will study how various filmmakers from the francophone world present urban spaces as
sites of conflict, solidarity, alienation and self-discovery. How do these portraits confirm or challenge the distinction between urban and nonurban? How does the image of the city shift for "insiders" and "outsiders"? Other topics to be discussed include immigration, colonialism, and
globalization. Works by Sembene Ousmane, Denys Arcand, Mweze Ngangura, and Euzhan Palcy. Offered in French. Prerequisite: FRN 230 or
permission of the instructor. Weekly required screenings.
GOV 321
Seminar in Comparative
Government
Catharine Newbury
T
3:00-4:50
The Rwanda Genocide in Comparative Perspective. In 1994, Rwanda was engulfed by violence that caused untold human suffering, left more
than half a million people dead, and reverberated throughout the Central African region. Using a comparative perspective, this seminar explores
parallels and contrasts between Rwanda and other cases of genocide and mass murder in the 20th century. Topics include the nature, causes, and
consequences of genocide in Rwanda, regional dynamics, the failure of the international community to intervene, and efforts to promote justice
through the U.N.International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. We will also consider theories of genocide and their applicability to Rwanda,
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exploring comparisons with other cases such as the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the destruction of the Herero, and war in Liberia and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
(Smith College continued)
MUS 220
Topics in World Music: Women in
Sub-Saharan African Music
Bode Omojola
MW 1:10-2:30
This course will focus on the role of women within Sub-Saharan African musical traditions. Relying on gender-specific ensembles as well as
those involving male and female participants, we will examine how the musical activities of women as well as the organization and structure of
performances reflect, reinforce, or challenge African perspectives of gender and structures of power as defined in selected African societies. The
course will cover both indigenous and modern musical idioms from different parts of Africa, including the Baganda of Uganda, the Akan of
Ghana and the Yoruba of Nigeria. In addition, the emergence of strong female voices like those of Miriam Makeba (South Africa), Stella
Chiweshe (Zimbabwe) and Oumou Sangare (Mali) in the twentieth century will provide the basis for examining how female musicians have
addressed gender-related issues in their music and attempted to break gender boundaries within their respective societies. No previous musical
experience is necessary; there are no prerequisites for this course.
University of Massachusetts
AFROAM 113
African Diaspora Arts
Omoniyi Afolabi
TTH 1:00-2:15
Visual expression in the Black Diaspora (United States, Caribbean, and Latin America) from the early slave era to the present.
AFROAM 254
Introduction to African Studies
Omoniyi Afolabi
TTH 9:30-10:45
Introduction to Africa from an interdisciplinary perspective. The chronological sequence from pre-history to contemporary times. Political
development and processes, the arts, ethnography, social structures, and economies.
ANTHRO 470
Cultures of Africa
Ralph Faulkingham
TTH 4:00-5:15
The variety and richness of African cultural traditions south of the Sahara, and of the experiences and issues that have confronted Africans during
and after European colonization. Issues in contemporary theory and method highlighted using African ethnographies. African anthropologists,
novelists, and filmmakers featured
COMM 397VV
ST-Cinema of African Diaspora
TBA
TTH 11:15-12:30
Mwangi wa Githinji
TTh 11:15-12:30
(Course Description TBA)
ECON 367
Economic Development in
Post-Independence Africa
Provides the tools for understanding the evolution of African economies after the independence and their current situation in the global economy.
Emphasizes the importance of the interactions between political institutions and economic systems in determining economic and social
outcomes. Topics include: The post-independence search for alternate economic systems, economic crisis of the 1970's and 1980's, impact of
structural adjustment policies, the role of the state and governance in economic development, economic and political causes of conflict and civil
wars, Africa's integration in the global economy, and the role of regional economic integration.. Course may be used for Five College African
Studies Certificate (see information at www.fivecolleges.edu/deptprog/african/menu.html). Prerequisites: ECON 103 or RESECON 102 and
ECON 104.
History 161
Africa since 1500
Joye Bowman
Discussions sessions:
TTh 10:10-11:00
F 9:05-9:55; 11:15-12:05;12:20-1:10
African and European imperialism, nationalism, and independence; how these developments have changed the life and culture of African people.
POLSCI 346
Government and Politics
of West Africa
Carlene J. Edie
MWF
2:30-3:25
Comparison of political economy of four former British colonies of West Africa: Nigeria, Ghana, the Gambia and Sierra Leone. Difficulties of
nation-state formation, the politics of the military state, role of governments in promoting, altering or retarding economic growth; impact of IMF
and other external institutions on development processes. The Gambia as deviate case: liberalism and electoral politics examined.
Recommended: POLISCI 111.
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