Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies.
Limited places are also open for exchange students. Please note: this course takes place in The Hague.
Description
This course is designed to provide a general introduction to the history of Africa from the ancient times to the indepencence from colonial imperialism.
Issues covered during the course will be:
UNDERSTANDING AFRICAN PAST AND GEOGRAPHY
Physical Context of African History: Geography and Environment
Africa and Human Origins
Egyptian, Greek, Roman Civilisations
Christianity and Islam
AFRICA AND MODERN WORLD 1500 TO MID-1900
Slavery and the Creation of the Atlantic World
African societies, economies and states from 1500 to 1880
Colonialism and African Resistance
Africa, Economic Changes and the World System
Political Change in the Time of Colonialism
African Culture in the Modern World
Political Economy of Decolonization and Independence
Pan-Africanism and other Ideaologies
Course objectives
In its most general terms, this course seeks to familiarize students with the history of Africa and offer them a historical context for understanding Africa today. This entails that 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 level, students will be encouraged to question received wisdom and challenge established knowledge on Africa by critically engaging with the mainstream discourses on Africa.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the BA International Studies website
Mode of instruction
One two hour lecture per week; bi-weekly tutorials. Lectures are held every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Weekly lectures will cover both issues discussed in the readings, and issues outside of the readings.
Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform the tutor of the course in advance, providing a valid reason for your absence. Being absent without notification and valid reason or not being present at half or more of the tutorial sessions will mean your assignments will not be assessed, and result in a 1.0 for the tutorial (30% of the final grade).
Course Load
Total course load for this course is 5 EC (1 EC = 28 hours), this equals 140 hours, broken down by:
Atending lectures: 2 hours per week x 12 weeks: 24 hrs
Atending attending tutorials 2 hours per two weeks: 12 hrs
Assessment hours (midterms and final exam): 4 hrs
Time for studying the compulsory literature: 64 hrs
Time for completing assignments, preparation classes and exams: 36 hrs
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm Exam:
- Written examination with closed questions (eg multiple choice)
Final exam:
- Written examination with both closed questions (eg multiple choice) and written examination with short open questions
Weighing
Tutorials 30%
Midterm Exam 30%
Final Exam 40 %
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following: the final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
To pass the course, the average of mid- and end term exams (70%) has to be 5.5 at least.
Resit
If the final grade is insufficient (lower than a 6), there is the possibility of retaking the full 70% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier mid- and endterm grades. No resit for the tutorials is possible.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used. For tutorial groups: please enroll in blackboard after your enrolment in uSis
Students are requested to register on Blackboard for this course.
Reading list
Erik Gilbert & Jonathan Reynolds, Africa in World History (3rd edition), Pearson, 2012
Colin McEvedy, The Penguin Atlas of African History (new edition), Penguin, 1995
Further written and video material will be distributed to students via Blackboard
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable