African Studies Courses

Courses
Semester Specific Course Descriptions

The following African studies courses are accepted for the African studies combined major and minor.

101. Introduction to African Studies: History and Development.

A team-taught introduction to fundamental issues in the study of Africa, ranging from historical contexts to economic and political structures to African arts and issues of development. The value of interdisciplinary study and the challenges of moving beyond one’s own framework to study other cultural systems are also discussed. Also offered as History 108.

or

102. Introduction to African Studies: Environment and Culture.
The physical environment of Africa, with particular emphasis on distribution of water resources. Culture is approached as it relates to environment. The course examines how people of different cultures conceptualize and value water resources, how the indigenous peoples of Africa have coped with frequently variable and unreliable water supplies, and the impact of some controversial water development projects on people’s lives. Also offered as Anthropology 153.

402. SYE: Seminar on African Development.
An interdisciplinary research seminar that focuses on the critical theme of development and requires students to produce a substantial research essay confronting a development question, using the resources and methodologies of more than one discipline. Often, students can extend their investigation of a topic first studied in Kenya.

Departmental Offerings

Anthropology
153. Introduction to African Studies: Environment and Culture.
240. Environment and Resource Use in Kenya.
245. Women and Land in Africa.
255. Environmental Perception and Indigenous Knowledge.
342. Pastoralist Peoples. (AFS 348)
343. Famine.
355. African Archaeology.

Economics
228. African Economies.

English
220. Introduction to African Literature.

Fine Arts
215. West African Arts.
235. Abstract Drawing: Uli and Other Forms
246. Art and Politics in Nigeria.

Government
230. African Politics.

History
108. Introduction to African Studies: History and Development.
265. West Africa and the Diaspora.
266. West Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries.
363. Topics in African History.
369. Pan-Africanism: Past, Presnet and Future Prospects
479/480. Seminar in African History.

Modern Languages
101,102. Elementary Swahili.

Students wishing to go on the Kenya program are strongly encouraged to take 101 before they leave. Swahili is a required course on the Kenya Program and is offered at various levels.

Music
210. Musics of the World.

Performance and Communication Arts
323. South African Drama: Voices of Protest and Selfhood.

Philosophy
332. Africana Philosophy.

Sociology
310. Slavery, Race and Culture.

Kenya Semester Courses

Swahili is required, as is AFS 337 (Culture, Ecology and Development in East Africa ), which is offered only on the Kenya Semester Program.

Other courses offered in Kenya vary according to student demand and availability of instructors. Recent offerings:

Anthropology
349. Health, Sickness, and Healing in Kenya.

Environmental Studies-Biology
342. Wildlife Conservation and Ecology in East Africa.

Government
326. Critical Issues in Socio-Economic Development in Kenya.

History
354. Introduction to the History of Modern Kenya.

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