ANTH 271 - CULTURE AREA: AFRICA                                    Spring 2006

 

Instructor: Dr. Tom Conelly	Class Hours	Office Hours
Office: McElhaney G12H Phone:  724-357-2735 Email: tconelly@iup.edu	M-W 5:00-6:30	Tu 3:15-4:15 W  1:00-4:00 Th 3:15-4:15

COURSE DESCRIPTION  

This course examines a wide range of historic and contemporary societies in Africa from an anthropological perspective. We’ll begin the semester by briefly look at some common perceptions, myths, and stereotypes of Africa and African peoples and also discuss the geography, climate, and resources of the African continent.

Africa is an extremely large and diverse continent with dozens of countries, thousands of ethnic groups, and hundreds of millions of people — so it is obviously impossible to discuss all African cultures in a one semester class. With this in mind, the main part of the course will be structured around a series case studies that focus on key environmental zones in Africa: savanna, desert, tropical forests, highland mountains, the Great Lakes region, and the Swahili coastal zone. We will look at the history and ecology of these environments and then focus on the complex array of human cultural adaptations in each region. These case studies will be based on our reading and a series of ethnographic films that will be viewed during the semester.

As we consider each case study we will look at a number themes. These include the question of ‘race’ — are there any significant biological differences between the modern ‘races’ we see in the world today or is the idea that African peoples are biologically distinct from other races a myth? How are African peoples related to people of European or Asian or Native American descent? We will study the origins of the human species in Africa and also examine several hotly debated theories that seek to explain how the different ‘races’ evolved and how they are related.

A second theme addresses a common myth that Africa was an unsophisticated, backward, and ‘primitive’ continent before the arrival of Europeans who brought the benefits of western civilization. We will investigate several complex state-level societies or civilizations — such as Ghana, Great Zimbabwe, Aksum in Ethiopia, and the Swahili city states along the east coast of Africa — that evolved independently in Africa hundreds of years before the arrival of European explorers and colonizers.

A third theme will be to look at the process of European colonialism in Africa and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. What were the motivations for European colonialism? How did Africans respond to the European presence? In the long run, what was the impact of the trade in slaves and colonialism? Was it beneficial overall for Africans, as some scholars argue, or are Africans worse off today because of the legacy of colonialism?

A fourth theme will be an analysis of the wide range of modern cultural adaptations in different regions of Africa. In trying to understand contemporary African cultures we cannot ignore the many challenges that face African peoples today. Our discussion will look at some of these challenges including ethnic conflict, hunger and famine, the AIDS epidemic, and environmental decline.

REQUIRED READING

1. John Reader — Africa (Companion to PBS Series)

2. A series of electronic reserve (ER) articles

3. Several articles / web sites on the internet

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

Your final grade will be based on (a) a midterm and a final exam covering class discussion, reading, and films; (b) periodic quizzes on the reading and recent class discussion; (c) class participation, and (d) one short 4-5 page writing assignment.  

The exams will be a combination of short answer and essay questions. The quizzes will usually require you to respond to questions with short written answers. Both quizzes and exams will cover class lectures, the reading, and films. There will be six quizzes overall and they are tentatively scheduled about every ten days to two weeks in the syllabus — but the quizzes could be rescheduled as we go along. The exact date of each quiz will be will be confirmed one class in advance and you are responsible for being aware of the date when the quizzes will be given. The quizzes will help me judge how well you are comprehending the class material and reading and should help you to keep up with the reading assignments and encourage regular attendance. THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP QUIZZES, but your lowest two quiz grades will be dropped, i.e., only the best 4 out of 6 quizzes will be counted in computing your score.

I expect regular and thoughtful class participation from all students and will give a grade of 0 points (out of 50 possible) to those who rarely or never make a contribution to class discussion. Frequency of participation alone, however, does not assure a high grade. A frequent talker who is often off the point, confused and inarticulate, and/or who tries to dominate discussion or put down others will receive a low grade for participation. What I am looking for is regular, thoughtful, articulate, collegial discussion. It is expected that you will demonstrate that you have completed and thoughtfully considered the reading assignments. Absence from class means no participation so missing class (without a serious, documented excuse) will automatically lower your participation score. Be aware that a low grade for participation can drop the final grade you receive by one whole letter grade. I will provide you with a preliminary participation grade at the midterm so you know where you stand well before the end of the semester.

There is no attendance requirement for this class, but the quizzes are an important part of your grade (more than 20% of total) and you will also need to keep up with the reading and attend class regularly to do well on class participation and the exams. Classes will combine lecture, films, and discussion. You will get much more out of the course and you are likely to receive a better grade if you are prepared and willing to participate regularly in class. You also must be prepared to do a significant amount of reading and writing if you want to do well in this class. Periodically updated grades will be available on the web site.

Your final grade will be calculated as follows:

This class also will require the use of the internet to supplement the reading on some of our topics and as a source of information about the class. This will necessitate use of a computer with a graphical ‘browser’ such as Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer to be able to search the internet, read information, look at graphics, and download files. If you do not have access to the internet from your home or dorm room you can use one of the computer labs on campus that are equipped with a high speed internet connections.

This syllabus and other materials (class announcements, handouts, and writing assignments) will be distributed on the internet. You can access these web materials and make printed copies. The web site for this class is http://www.chss.iup.edu/anthropology/courses/TC271-Africa/AfricaHome.htm   

I encourage you to take advantage of my office hours (see top of syllabus) to talk to me in person about anything to do with the class. If you don’t have time to see me personally, or you have a question you’d like to discuss when I’m not available in the office, another good option is to communicate with me using email. If you are going to miss a class and would like to explain why, if you have a question about an upcoming assignment or test and you can’t talk with me directly, or for any other reason, you can email me at tconelly@iup.edu. I check my email at least once every day and will respond as quickly as possible.

 

         TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE AND READING

DATE	TOPIC AND READING
Jan 18	OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION TO CLASS IMAGES, PERCEPTIONS, IGNORANCE, MYTHS, & STEREOTYPES OF AFRICA
Jan 23    Quiz #1 (map)	AFRICAN CONTINENT: GEOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, CULTURES, POPULATION Reading: Africa text — Introduction (pp. 7-9), and               ER article by Neff, “Africa: a Geographic Preface”
Jan 25	THE AFRICAN SAVANNA: HUMAN ORIGINS Reading: Africa text — Savanna (pp. 11-35)
Jan 30	OUT OF AFRICA — HOW ARE MODERN HUMAN ‘RACES’ RELATED? Reading: ER article by J. Reader, “Out of Africa” Internet Reading: Johanson: “Origin of Modern Humans”
Feb 1	HUMAN ADAPTATIONS: HUNTING, HERDING, FISHING, AND FARMING Reading: Africa text — pp. 35-41 and ER article by Shillington, “Prehistory of Africa” (pp. 9-18)
Feb 6 QUIZ #2	FILM: SAVANNA HOMECOMING Reading: Africa text (pp. 43-47)
Feb 8	THE SAHEL: ECOLOGY AND PASTORALISM Reading: Africa text — “Sahel” (pp. 166-193)
Feb 13	THE SAHEL: SURVIVING DROUGHT AND DEVELOPMENT Reading: ER by Fratkin: “Drought, Development, and Kenya’s Pastoralists”
Feb 15	FILM: LOVE IN THE SAHEL Reading: Africa text — pp. 195-199
Feb 20	SAHARA DESERT: SALT, SLAVES, AND STATES Reading: Africa text — pp. 49-81
Feb 22 QUIZ #3	SAHARA DESERT: EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION ER articles by Shillington, “The Civilisation of Ancient Egypt” (pp. 18-29) and “The Impact of Iron” (pp. 36-45) / Film: “Black Kingdoms of the Nile”
Feb 27	SAHARA: TRANS-SAHARA TRADE AND EARLY AFRICAN STATES Reading: ER article by Shillington, “Trans-Sahara Trade & Kingdom of Ghana”
Mar 1	FILM: “DESERT ODYSSEY” Reading: Africa text — pp. 83-87
Mar 6	*** MIDTERM EXAM ***
Mar 8	TROPICAL FOREST:  ECOLOGY AND HUMAN ADAPTATIONS Reading: Africa text — pp. 92-115 Film: “Baka: People of the Rainforest”
Mar 13, 15	*** NO CLASSES – SPRING BREAK ***
Mar 20	AFRICAN HUNTER-GATHERERS Reading: ER article by Reader, “Ancestral Economies”
Mar 22	TROPICAL DEFORESTATION Reading: ER by Nyang’oro, “Contemporary Problems African Environment (pp. 199-203) and internet readings “Saving Man’s Distant Cousin” and “Our Closest Relatives Are Disappearing”
Mar 27 QUIZ #4	FILM: “Voices of the Forest” Reading: Africa text — pp. 117-121
Mar 29	GREAT LAKES REGION: FISHING AND FARMING ADAPTATION Reading: Africa text — pp. 204-207, 221-231
Apr 3	GREAT LAKES REGION: COLONIALISM AND ETHNIC CONFLICT[WTC1]  Reading: Africa text, pp. 207-218
Apr 5	GREAT LAKES REGION: HIV/AIDS ‘GROUND ZERO’ Reading: Africa text, pp. 218-221 Internet reading:  Overview , Impact of AIDS, Death Stalks a Continent (click on all links)
Apr 10 QUIZ #5	FILM: “RESTLESS WATERS” Reading: Africa text — pp. 233-237
Apr 12	EAST AFRICA COAST: SWAHILI CULTURE Reading: Africa text — pp. 242-267
Apr 17	SLAVERY: EUROPEAN AND ARABIC Reading: ER by J. Reader: ‘Atlantic Slave Trade & African Slave Traders’ Film: “The Swahili Coast”
Apr 19	MOUNTAINS: ETHIOPIAN CIVILIZATION Reading: Africa text — pp. 126-153
Apr 24	MOUNTAINS: MODERN ETHIOPIA AND FOOD SECURITY (guest lecture) Reading: Africa text, pp. 153-155 Internet reading: on hunger/famine in Africa: TBA
Apr 26 QUIZ #6	FILM: MOUNTAINS OF FAITH Reading: Africa text — pp. 157-61   Writing assignment due before beginning of class today !
May 1	Summary and conclusion
May 8	*** FINAL EXAM AT 6:00-8:00 PM IN REGULAR CLASSROOM ***