ENG 175 CC: AFRICA: CULT/HISTORY/MEDIA

CC: AFRICA: CULTURE/HISTORY/MEDIA

This course introduces cultures and histories of distinct African nations as instances of mediation among competing and complementary native and imported traditions. The course dislodges common misconceptions of Africa as a part of the world that is somehow remote or left behind by the march of progress and will show instead its role in world history, a role sometimes effaced by colonial interests. Problems of democracy, ecology and extraction, labor, gender, sexuality, race, nation, capitalism, and empire are examined in cases particular to African nations. The historical parts of the course emphasize Africa’s millennia-long connections to Europe, Asia, and the Americas through trade, culture, and religion from ancient times to the modern era. The cultural parts of the class draw on texts in multiple media, including transcribed oral epics, print literature, films, and music. Authors may include Achebe, Adichie, Armah, Bâ, Fela, Head, Mahfouz, Ngugi, Okri, Sembène, and Soyinka.