REL 340 Culture, Life and Death in Islamic West Africa

The purpose of this course is to familiarize upper level undergraduate students with the cultural and historical specificities of Islamic communities in West Africa. With reference to the introduction of Islam into West Africa via the Qadiriyya brotherhood, and other schools of thought in the pre-colonial period, the focus of this course is from the colonial period to the present day (roughly the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first).  The subject is approached from a multi-disciplinary point of view. Historical, anthropological and geographic sources are used to introduce students to the political, economic, and cultural impacts that the religion and culture of Islam have had on the sub-region. The course informs students of historical links between West African Islamic cultures and the larger Islamic world, particularly North Africa, while examining the relationships between Islamic leadership and French and British colonialism. [GM2, V, W]

Cross Listed Courses

AFS 340

Instructor

Wilson-Fall