AFS 101 Ideas of Africa

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the study of the African continent and its diversity of peoples, natural environments, and cultures.Students in this course are introduced to the geography of Africa and the importance of geography in the evolution of Africa's history. The course will cover ideas that have critical importance in African societies, such as construction and practice of kinship, age cohorts, clan and caste. Through scholarly works on selected regional histories as well as literary sources and contemporary narratives of identity written by African scholars and creative writers, students will be exposed to diverse interpretations of the lived 'African' experience, covering topics such as colonialism, nationality, ethnicity, "tribalism," gender, and class. The course situates the study of Africa in a global perspective of inter-regional and intra-regional movement of people, ideas and commodities, enabling students to see Africa in a world perspective, and provides a foundation for other more advanced studies of Africa and its diaspora communities that are offered in the AFS program. Students will work in groups to create a video on contemporary perceptions of Africa. [GM2]