Syllabus

African History

Winter Term, Saint Mary’s College High School – Mrs. Walton

Course Syllabus and Outline

Why Study African History? The current global relationship between the Africa and the rest of the world, particularly the Western world, has brought into relief the need for a clearer understanding of Africa and the history that has shaped this diverse continent. There is no single African History; rather, Africa encompasses over a billion people. This course was developed to provide junior and senior students interested in history and current affairs with the opportunity to study African History in depth. This will include the political, economic, religious, social, and intellectual movements that have emerged in various African societies. As important, students will view history from an African perspective. In so doing, the course will enlighten students in understanding more fully an important "alternate" perspective on World History. Through the examination of the various topics and historical developments, the course aims to encourage students to challenge preconceived notions of race, ethnicity, tribe, gender, kinship, violence and religion often attributed to African societies.

Course Objectives: By the end of the course, students will have improved their ability to:

Develop an understanding of the diverse cultural milieu throughout Africa, past and present
Identify major themes in African History
Understand the impact of levels of interaction between African societies and societies from other parts of the world
Engage with primary and secondary sources and explore the relationship between text and context in the writing of history
Critically evaluate and interpreting a variety of primary sources and acquiring an awareness of the issues involved in interpreting primary sources
Develop expository and analytical writing skills appropriate to the discipline of History

Expectations

Class Participation: Class participation may look different for each of you. Some of you will be more comfortable speaking in class, some may be more comfortable participating through your writing and assignments. Regardless of which method you prefer, please come to class ready to listen and be fully engaged.

Cell Phones: Dr. Imperial has made the policy clear. Please keep them on silent and out of sight. Best is off your desk entirely.

Computers: Unless you are taking notes, laptops should remain closed unless instructed otherwise.

Ask. If there is something wrong that is interfering with your ability to meet your requirements in this course, please see me. I can’t help you if you don’t let me know.

Course Outline:

Contemporary Perceptions of Africa – Myths and Stereotypes: When was the first time you learned about Africa? How much time did you spend learning about African in grammar school? When you finally did learn about the continent, what did you learn? Was it positive? Why do we learn so many negative things about Africa and its beautiful land and people? We will spend time dispelling these myths and setting the record straight.

The Continent – A New Understanding: We will explore Africa through taking a look at the climate, vegetation, wildlife, and the overall layout of the Continent. We will also discuss the idea that human life began in Africa with examining the Out of Africa Theory. The class will view Henry Louis Gates’ PBS Special on Africa, “Great Civilizations” during this unit.

Farming, Pastoralism, and Iron Working: In this unit, we will explore the impact of farming, pastoralism and iron on early African society.

The Cross and the Crescent: In this unit, we will look at the rise and impact of Christianity and Islam on the continent of Africa.

Homegoing (Pre-Slave Trade, Slave Trade, Post Slave Trade): We will use Yaa Gyasi’s 2016 novel to explore the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The novel encompasses 300 years of Ghanaian and American History. The story is told through the lives of two half-sisters and descendants who never meet. The novel will bring us back to a college campus in the Bay Area in the year 2014.

The ending of the Slave Trade and Pre-Colonial Nationalism: The ramifications of the slave trade severely harmed Africa. We will look at the impact of the one of the worst events in history and what it did to the people of this continent. We will also look at the impact of Christian missionaries during this time.

Colonialism: We will explore wars of conquest and resistance, along with the impact of colonial rule in Africa.

Winning Independence: We will examine the winning of independence from colonial rule across the African Continent.

Africa Today: The class will end with an examination of present day Africa (politics, culture, concerns, and progress)

Texts:

Shillington, Kevin. History of Africa, Palgrave. 2012. (excerpts from this book provided by instructor)

Gyasi, Yaa. Homegoing, 2016

Grade Learning Categories: