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The course introduces students to African history, focusing on the precolonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. Through lectures and discussions, documentaries, films, news media, and secondary sources, students will be exposed to the main issues that have defined the continent of Africa and its peoples since the nineteenth century. The topics on socio-political and economic changes in the precolonial period will examine Africa’s international relations, the slave trade, and the Islamic Jihads of the nineteenth century. The partition and colonial conquest by European countries, particularly Britain, France, and Portugal, will be highlighted, along with the colonial dictatorships that governed virtually all of Africa from 1900 to 1960. Finally, the course will examine the struggle for political independence and the corresponding crises that resulted after the establishment of independent rule. We will study Africa’s post-colonial relationships with the wider world, critically unpack the legacies of colonialism, while keeping an eye open to African imagination.

*TENTATIVE*

Textbook: Robert Harms, Africa in Global History with Sources (New York: Norton, 2018).

Novel: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart.

To avoid the extra expense of a course kit, we will also be relying on sources available on the Internet, and the e-resources at the Scott library website.

*TENTATIVE*

Lecture Quizzes (Class Participation): 30%

Individual Article Presentations (two times, 7.5%):  15%

Book Review:  15%

Primary Source Analysis:  15%

Final Exam:  25%

It is asynchronous. Students are expected to complete weekly reading and watch videos (including recorded lectures by the professor, relevant documentaries, or movies). Videos will be uploaded on eClass. There would be no tutorials. Please get in touch with the professor if you have any questions. The only technical requirement will be access to eClass. If you don’t understand how eClass works, the Student Guide to eClass. If you need more technical assistance, please consult the University Information Technology (UIT) Student Services web page, or write to askit@yorku.ca.

The course aims to introduce students to the history of Africa since the precolonial period. Students will learn how a historical argument is constructed and work with both primary and secondary sources; understand how historians present different views of past events (historiography); improve critical thinking and analysis (by evaluating the written works of historians); and sharpen their communication and writing skills through writing assignments and class presentations.