Scheda insegnamento

No previous skills are required, except for a suitable knowledge of modern history. Students without such a background can take advantage of the suggested readings listed in platform LOL (Suggested Reading for Students Enrolled a.y. 2023/24).

Language Requirement: A grasp of the English language (B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Students may avail themselves, where appropriate, of the Language Tutoring Service.

This Lab aims at introducing students to the history of Africa, understanding key historical processes of colonialism, decolonization, and the postcolonial condition.

By the end of the Lab, students will be able to:

• Critically assess and discuss key historical events or process, understanding the historical legacies of imperialism which continue to influence Africa today.
• Assess and use different kinds of evidence from a variety of historical sources to make a coherent argument about the African past.
• Engage with the theoretical debates, critically reviewing them in group discussions, thus strengthening critical thinking and communication skills.

Starting with reflections on the of empire as a category of historical analysis, this Lab will examining how wide-ranging processes – the rise of African kingdoms and empires, slavery, colonial rule, decolonization – transformed the social and political lives of African people. Although main process are viewed against the backdrop of challenges from abroad — including the Atlantic slave trade and European colonial imperialism — the focus will be on the initiatives and responses of Africans and the evolution of African realities. More broadly, the Lab will address a series of issues of the past that are particularly relevant in assessing the current dynamics of the African countries in comparative perspective, such as the character of the colonial state, ecological and economic transformations, the complex interplay between imperialism and modernity, the dynamics of imperial decline, decolonization, and the legacies of colonial imperialism. Lectures will address these issues through an examination of general trends and individual case studies. The literature will be reviewed, and major historiographical debates will be explored (notably the category of historical analyses of “globalized imperialism”, or “imperialism without colonies”).

Students enrolled in the Lab are asked to inform the lecturer no later than ten days after the beginning of the lessons if they are attending or non-attending students. Digital platforms such as LOL and Teams will be used; both platforms may be eventually used for remote teaching, should this be provided by the Degree course Council.

Full-Time Students: Lecture-based, with active participation in classroom discussions, along with Seminars carried out by visiting scholars and guest speakers. Class attendance is recommended as students will be encouraged to ask questions and to answer them, using the "think-pair-share" technique.

Non-Attending Students: Non-attending Students are required to attend two Seminars (schedule and preliminary readings will be available on the Course online platform LOL), and to study the text listed below.

Compensatory or dispensation measures will be provided to students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), as certified by the document filed with the Segreteria Didattica. For adapting the programme, students should set up a time to discuss with the lecturer. Please, get in touch well in advance also via Commissione per le differenze e l’inclusione (differenze-inclusione@unistrapg.it).

The assessment of the preparation of the student will be based on class participation and on an oral exam. Two questions will test the understanding of the topics discussed in class, and the ability of analysing them critically.

When it comes to students with certified Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), the assessment methods will be agreed in relation to specific needs, after hearing the Commissione per le differenze e l'inclusione.

Students are required to communicate to the lecturer, within 10 days from the beginning of the Lab, whether they will be attending or not.

Full-Time Students For students regularly attending the lectures (at least 75%) a reference bibliography, materials and handouts will be provided for each topic on a weekly basis on the digital platform LOL.

Non-Attending Students Students not attending classes are required to participate in two Seminars (schedule and preliminary readings will be available on the Course online platform LOL), and to study this textbook:

• John Iliffe, Africans: The History of a Continent, Cambridge University Press 2017 (3rd edition, pages: 131-273).

• A. G. Hopkins, Africa, Empire and World Disorder: Selected Essays, Routledge 2020
• R. J. Reid, A History of Modern Africa: 1800 to the Present, Wiley 2020 (pages 121-290).

Class attendance is required for Full-Time Students, who are invited to join the class in the first week of the Course. Active participation in class discussions is recommended. Students who attend at least 2/3 of the lessons qualify as "attending".

This is also a preparatory course for students willing to apply for the Inter-University Cooperation Double Degree Programme with the one-year Master Programme in African Studies (Dalarna University).

Non-attending students are kindly required to contact the lecturer regarding the Seminars’ schedule (federica.guazzini@unistrapg.it ).