Through novels and other writings by Africans, we see how Africans confront the complex issues of contemporary life. We follow the impact of colonial conquest, urbanization, wage, work and Western education on the economic, political, family and philosophical systems worked out within historical African cultures. Each week, we discuss a book drawn from different parts of Africa and different time periods, which approaches and presents these issues in a different way. Each students is responsible for leading this discussion for one class period. These papers receive thorough comments on their arguments and writing quality.
Final evaluation is based on class participation and discussion leadership as well as the papers.
This course, in the most general terms, is a study of the history and culture of African Americans since the Civil War. We will be particularly concerned with internal community development, including class and gender dynamics within Black communities, exploring the various ideological developments in late nineteenth and twentieth century African American communities, and understanding the ways in which African American, by their own thoughts and actions, shaped their own lives and history in the United States and forged and nurtured their own culture - even though they had to do this against a background of racial, social, and economic exploitation. Africa in the Twentieth Century. See History 448. 465 is recommended but not required.