OVERVIEW

This course aims to introduce the student to modern and contemporary African history between the early 19th century and the early 21st century. The course will offer an overview of the main themes of African politics and insights into African political thought. The seminar, entitled “Pan-Africanism and African nationalism: Theory and Practice”, will be dedicated to closely examining African political and philosophical thoughts, particularly concerning nationalism and Pan-Africanism and the concrete applications of these concepts in African politics.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course is aimed at providing students with the analytical tools to understand the African political, social and economic reality with a critical eye, deconstructing the stereotypes and simplified narratives which too often characterize the representation of Africa on mass-media. Africa has the highest demographic growth in the world. It is a continent of dire challenges and tremendous opportunities. This course will be particularly useful to students who are eager to pursue a diplomatic career, to those who will find themselves working in an international organization or in the field of development cooperation, providing them all the basic notions and the theoretical paradigms to approach the complexity of the African continent.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course is divided into two modules plus a seminar. The first module will examine African history from the early 19th century to the decolonisation of the continent. In it, the student will learn about late precolonial African states, the European conquest of the continent, its colonization, African resistance and liberation struggles. The second module will cover African history from the early post-colonial period to the early 21st century. It will examine the development and crisis of African post-colonial states, the role played by the Cold War, the conflicts which have spread across the continent, and the process of democratisation. Throughout the two modules, students will familiarise themselves with the main concepts and themes of African politics and history. The seminar, entitled “Pan-Africanism and African nationalism: Theory and Practice”, will be dedicated to closely examining African political and philosophical thoughts, particularly concerning nationalism and Pan-Africanism and the concrete applications of these concepts in African politics. The aim of the course is to consider the African continent not as a passive actor on the international stage but rather as a protagonist.

PREREQUISITES

No prerequisites

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures and in-class discussions

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• The lectures will take place at the Albergo dei Poveri (aula 6 and 9) and broadcast simultaneously on the Microsoft Teams platform (channel: 2mrdtfi)
  .  The seminar “Pan-Africanism and African nationalism: Theory and Practice” will be held on the same channel.
• Lectures will take place on:

• Wednesday from 6pm to 7.30pm in Aula 9
• Thursday from 8.15am to 9.45am in Aula 6
• Friday from 9:00am to 11:00am in Aula 6

• The lectures will be recorded and will be available only to students attending the classes in person or online. Following the course through class recordings can be allowed only in the presence of contemporary engagements due to a student’s university career (other courses, curricular stage, etc.). These exceptions will have to be documented and communicated to the lecturer as soon as possible.
• The whole course (two modules + seminar) will consist of 18 classes (12 classes for the two modules and 6 for the seminar). In order to be considered attending students for the whole course, the presence of at least 13 classes is required. In order to be considered attending students of the seminar only, students will have to be present for at least four classes. Whenever they miss a lecture, students are nonetheless required to watch the recording of the classes they cannot attend (seminars included).

COURSE CALENDAR

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Attending students (whole course: two modules plus seminar):

• K. Shillington, History of Africa, fourth edition (London: Red Globe Press, 2019), chapters 16-32.
• Alex Thomson, An Introduction to African Politics, fifth edition (New York: Routledge, 2022).
• H. Adi, Pan-Africanism: A History (London: Bloomsbury, 2018), chapters 1 to 7.

A list of additional suggested readings will be provided during the course.

• Attending students (Seminar only)

• K. Shillington, History of Africa, fourth edition (London: Red Globe Press, 2019), chapters 18-29.
• H. Adi, Pan-Africanism: A History (London: Bloomsbury, 2018), chapters 1 to 7.

A list of additional suggested readings will be provided during the course.

• Non-attending students

• K. Shillington, History of Africa, fourth edition (London: Red Globe Press, 2019), chapters 16-32.
• Alex Thomson, An Introduction to African Politics, fifth edition (New York: Routledge, 2022).
• H. Adi, Pan-Africanism: A History (London: Bloomsbury, 2018), chapters 1 to 7
• One reading book among the following:
  • V.Y. Mudimbe, The Invention of Africa (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988).
  • C. Young, The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994).
  • M. Mamdani, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996).

LESSONS

LESSONS START

1 March 2023

Class schedule

L'orario di tutti gli insegnamenti è consultabile all'indirizzo EasyAcademy.

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

• The programme for the final examination will be different for the attendant and non-attendant students.
  • Attending students (whole course: two modules plus seminar) will be required to undergo one mid-course written assessment and an oral presentation at the end of the course. The mid-course written assessment will consist of multiple choice and short open answers covering the topics presented during the first module of the course. The student’s knowledge will be assessed based on the information included in the required readings provided by the lecturer and in-class lectures. Students can participate in the written examination only in class. They won’t have the opportunity to give the written examination on Teams except for documented health or other serious reasons. For the oral presentation, each student will have 10 minutes to introduce and discuss an issue or topic related to the course programme (two modules and seminar) in front of the rest of the class. Each student’s presentation topic will be picked by the student in accordance with the lecturer at an early stage of the course, and the relevant supporting reading(s) will be provided by the lecturer.  If the student is not satisfied with the mark proposed after the mid-course written assessment and the oral presentation and wants to get a higher mark, he will have to write a short essay (min. 1500 words - max. 2500 words) on the same topic as the oral presentation and submit it within three weeks from the end of the course.
  • Attending students (Seminar only) – Students will have to write a short essay (min. 1500 words - max. 2500 words) on an issue or topic covered during the seminar’s programme and submit it within three weeks from the end of the seminar. The topic has to be agreed upon with the lecturer beforehand.
  • Non-attending students will have to write a short essay and undergo an oral examination. The short essay (min. 1500 words - max. 2500 words) must be sent to the lecturer’s email one week before the chosen date of the oral examination. The essay must be on a topic or issue included in the required readings and agreed upon with the lecturer via e-mail at least a month before the oral examination takes place. It is not possible, except for verifiable medical reasons or other serious personal reasons, to take the exam in written form.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

See “exam description”