Africa

This course provides students with an introduction to the modern Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We use the conventional definition of the MENA which includes most of the Arab speaking world, Turkey, and Iran. It offers students a thematic exploration of the modern history, cultures, languages, religions, ethnic groups, and politics of the MENA. The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with a region that, despite its significance in current events, continues to be misunderstood and stigmatized. The course aims to break commonly held stereotypes about the region, including the status of women, modernity, and religion.

This course offers an introduction to how political, economic, cultural, religious, and social phenomena in Africa are approached from the origins of the “African Studies” subfield to the present day. The course will place an emphasis on the inter-disciplinary nature of African Studies by exposing students to the various theoretical schools and conceptual approaches used by Africanist scholars to understand this diverse continent. We will examine African Studies within a broader context of global events that are shaping Africa and its role in a twenty-first century international system dominated by new ‘great power’ competitions. What role will Africa play in the twenty-first century? To answer this and other questions, we will make use of the lectures, empirical data, documentary film, discussion, and the course readings.