Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme.
Limited places are also open for exchange students.
Please note: this course takes place in The Hague. Traveling between University buildings from Leiden to The Hague may take about 45 minutes.
Description
This course is designed to provide a general introduction to the history of Africa from the ancient times to the post independence from colonial imperialism. In its most general terms, this course seeks to familiarize students with the history of Africa and offers them a historical context for understanding Africa today. This entails that at the end of this course students will have a good grasp of the general chronology of the history of the continent; they will have a broad understanding of both the history of African societies and that of the transnational dynamics that shaped the region. On a methodological and theoretical level, students will be encouraged to question received wisdom and challenge established knowledge on Africa by critically engaging with the mainstream discourses on Africa.
Issues covered during the course will be among others:
Africa and Human Origins;
Ancient African Civilizations;
The rise of monotheistic religions in Africa;
Slavery and the Creation of the Atlantic World;
Colonialism and African Resistance;
Decolonization and Independence;
Pan-Africanism and other Ideaologies;
Post-Cold War Africa.
Course objectives
The student has:
Acquired knowledge and understanding of history, its processes, structure, actors, factors, and events, and has familiarised him- / herself with the academic understanding of history and the history specific to the chosen area, with an emphasis on the last two centuries. Furthermore, the student has acquired a basic understanding of the theories used in the field of History and those with specific relevance to the Area History. Finally the student has acquired basic research skills, which he/she has put into practice for the first time in the shape of a small individual research project.
Acquired knowledge and understanding of the concepts and conceptual structures relevant for the study of history from an area perspective, i.e. local, national, regional but also transnational and from a comparative, international, and global perspective.
A basic understanding of the methodologies used in the field of History. Both the methods and theories will be explained and activated through exercises based on the handbook common to all Area History courses and used for the overall History track in the programme. Robert Williams, The Historian's Toolbox; A Student's Guide to the Theory and Craft of History will be the common frame of reference. The student will make a first attempt to put into practice one relevant method in an individual research project.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Lectures are held every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Weekly lectures will cover issues both inside and outside the readings.
Tutorials
Tutorials are held once every two weeks, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform your Tutorial-lecturer in advance. Being absent at more than two of the tutorial sessions will result in a lowering of your tutorial grade (40% of the end grade) with 1 point for each session missed after the first two sessions. Please note that being absent at any tutorial session may have a negative impact on the grade of the assignment due for that particular tutorial session. This is at the discretion of the Tutorial-lecturer.
Skills Lab
There are four skills lab sessions that supplement the tutorials. These sessions will focus on the fundamental academic skills necessary for successfully writing a research paper. Attending the sessions is compulsory. Being absent at more than one of the tutorial sessions will result in a lowering of your tutorial grade (40% of the end grade) with 1 point for each session missed after the first session.
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm Exam:
Written examination with short open questions and (up to) 50% multiple choice questions.Final Exam:
Written examination with short open questions and (up to) 50% multiple choice questions.
Weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Tutorials | 40% |
| Midterm Exam | 30% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
End Grade
To successfully complete the course, please take note of the following:
The end grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of Tutorial grade, Midterm Exam grade, and Final Exam grade.
The weighted average of the Midterm Exam grade and the Final Exam grade needs to be 5.5 or higher.
This means that failing Exam grades cannot be compensated with a high Tutorial grade.
Resit
If the end grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), or the weighted average of Midterm- and Final Exams is lower than 5.5, there is a possibility of retaking the full 60% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier Midterm- and Final Exam grades. No resit for the tutorial is possible.
Please note that if the Resit Exam grade is lower than 5.5, you will not pass the course, regardless of the tutorial grade.
Retaking a passing grade
Please consult the Course and Examination Regulations 2023 – 2024.
Exam review and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organised.
Reading list
The following are the two main textbooks used for this course. Students are encouraged to buy paper versions of these books (also available second hand), for it is easier and more effective to read on paper than in front of a screen. However, these books are also available online and for free to students enrolled at Leiden University, via LU Library. Additional material will be also circulated.
Robert O. Collins and James D. Burns, A history of Sub-Saharan Africa [Second Edition] Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014 (also available online at LU Library)
Phillip Naylor, North Africa: A History from Antiquity to the Present [Revised Edition] Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015 (also available online at LU Library)
Registration
- Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA International Studies
Remarks
All other information.