Ideas of Africa: Africa Writes Back

Catalog description

The continent of Africa has variously been described as the birthplace of humanity, the “Motherland,” a country, a continent, Mother Africa, and a “heart of darkness.” All of these descriptions reflect representations of Africa, but how accurately do they reflect reality? The goal of this course will be to study the intellectual history of what we know—or think we know—about modern Africa. Why is it that some of the most prominent images of Africa today are either negative (e.g., Africa as a diseased, hungry, and war-ravaged continent) or romanticized (e.g., Africa as a mother figure, birthplace of civilization, or lush nature preserve)? A central theme of our discussions will be that ideas have a history that is as powerful as radioactive isotopes. In other words, ideas maintain a shelf life, even when their origins have long become obscured. Unfortunately, this has profound implications for Africa’s place in a modern, media-driven, globalized world where image can be as important as reality. Through the use of historical documents, political manifestos, philosophical treatises, travel narratives, autobiographies, and current news sources, we will study how the image of Africa has changed over time. We will trace the “heart of darkness” narrative and analyze why it has become such an enduring trope of modern Africa. Near the end of the course, we will direct a significant proportion of our class discussions toward analyzing a contemporary event occurring on the African continent, preferably as a group project. Ultimately, our purpose will be to interrogate various descriptions of Africa over time and analyze where they originated from, why they exist, whether they are accurate, and what they mean for the future of African peoples in a globalized, interconnected, and increasingly hot world. The Emergence of the Modern Middle East