Courses of Study 2021-2022 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
Courses of Study 2021-2022 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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HIST 2542 - [The Making of Contemporary Africa]

(crosslisted) ASRC 2542 , SHUM 2542  
(GB) (HA-AS, GLC-AS, HST-AS)      
Fall. Not offered: 2021-2022. Next offered: 2022-2023. 4 credits. Student option grading.

J. Byfield.

Most people learn about Africa through the media.  However, media critics note that coverage is disproportionately skewed toward negative stories - poverty, war and corruption. While these factors are a reality for too many people on the continent, media observers note that too often the coverage lacks context and breadth.  Furthermore, media outlets do not report positive developments even where they exist.  This course will provide some of the depth and context necessary to understand events in contemporary Africa.  The first two-thirds of the course will examine African social and economic history since the nineteenth century - Africa’s integration in the international economy, the rise of new social classes, the creation of the colonial state and the post-colonial state.  Our primary examples will be drawn from  East, West and Southern Africa to highlight both the similarities and differences of their historical development.  The final third of the course will examine several contemporary issues in which scholars and journalists have attempted to address the weaknesses in general press coverage.  (HGS)



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