法学部Faculty of Law

This course is a general introduction to students who are interested in the studies of Africa's society, culture, and politics. The course will provide an overview of Africa's historical, political, cultural, and societal development. The main themes to explored in this course will include Africa's pre-colonial livelihoods, colonialism and imperialism, the post-colonial transformations, and Africa in the age of globalisation.

This course aims at exposing the students to how Africa has been subjected to profound stereotypes and misconceptions that largely inform the global perspectives of the continent. The course will seek to humanize our understanding of Africa by emphasizing forms and means of daily life experiences and understandings such as family life, love and joy, the life cycle, faith and belief, livelihood aspirations, hopes for the future, development aims and achievements, and sense of global belonging. The overall aim is that students will gain experience of researching, discussing, and presenting global issues using a good command of English language with both clarity and confidence.

ディプロマポリシーのうち、「DP1」、「DP2」、「DP3」、「DP4」に強く関連。

英語 / English

Important: This course may be conducted online. In this case,you will need access to a computer connected to the internet and Zoom connection.

The course will be based around classroom listening, discussion and writing tasks. Reading and writing tasks will mainly be carried out outside the class.The assignments will be given in specified days requiring students to show comprehension of class contents. All written assignments will be returned in time with written feedback. Students are requested to freely engage the instructor for clarifications and questions. The classroom language will be English, and students will be required to actively participate in classroom and homework tasks.

あり / Yes

あり / Yes

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1：Course orientation and introduction.

Information about the course, finding about the other class members, and the instructor.

2：Introduction.

Perspectives and representations of Africa.
Framings and images for interpreting Africa as imagined landscapes.

3：Pre-colonial political structures and the legacy of colonialism.

Indirect rule, the politics of decentralised despotism, and the customary law.
Independent movements and state-society relations.

4：Post-colonial state and development strategies.

Compulsory villagisation in Tanzania (Ujamaa), and the capital state in Kenya.

5：Social organisation

Definitions of kinship, tribes, and ethnicity.
Problematisation of ethnicity (Problem of power and identity in Sudan, and The 1994 Rwandan genocide).

6：Economic ideas of Africa versus cultural systems

Livelihoods, cultures, markets, and states.

7：Philosophies and religions in Africa.

Belief, divinity, social order, and religions in Africa.

8：Aesthetics and arts.

Cultural creativity, political creativity and protests in arts, drama and music in contemporary Africa.

9：Gender, sex, and sexuality.

Women and men in culture and life. Polygamy, sexuality, domination,and autonomy.

10：Nationhood, nationalism, and citizenship.

Identity and the symbolic underpinnings of the state. Resistance and culture.

11：Development, markets, and governance.

Why doesn't development seem to work in most of Africa?

12：Globalisation and Africa.

Africa in the neo-liberal global order; Migration, labour, industrialisation.

13：The youth and the ICT in Africa.

How Africa is tapping into the youthful population. How Africa is pacesetting in global technological development (Kenya's M-Pesa).

14：Revision and conclusion.

Winding up.
Final report due.

Students will be required to use the Internet to research topics in preparation for the classroom sessions. Writing tasks will also be set for homework.

There is no set text for this course, but students are required to bring an A4 folder to organise their notes.

Khapoya, V. (2013). The African experience. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

Grades will be calculated as follows:

20% class attendance and participation
10% pop quiz 1
10% pop quiz 2
10% pop quiz 3
30% final presentation
20% final quiz

None

A4 folder

Students are expected to attend all of the classes, and to come to class on time.

There may be some changes to the syllabus above in order to allow for some flexibility to cater for the needs of particular classes.