Modern African History

Catalog description

This survey introduces some of the major topics in the history of Africa since 1750. While prominent figures and major events will be covered, the course emphasizes the experience of people who have remained “in the background” of African history. To do this, we will study academic histories alongside autobiographical testimonies, fiction by African writers, music videos, and podcasts. The course begins with the diverse political, social, and cultural conditions that shaped the lives of people in Africa prior to and during the nineteenth century—particularly experiences of enslavement, migration, and the spread of Islam. The second section shifts to the impact of European imperialism and African responses to the imposition of colonial rule. The third part of the course explores the movements that brought about the end of formal colonial rule and apartheid in South Africa between the 1950s to 1990s. In the closing weeks, we will examine the trajectories of post-colonial African societies, including contemporary roles of ethnicity and religion, the place of African economies in the world, struggles around gender and sexuality, and changing health and environmental realities.