History 255-3

2016

Winter
Background to African Civilizations and Cultures:
Sub-Saharan Africa in the Twentieth Century

Instructor: Jonathon Glassman

316 Harris Hall, T. 491-8963
j-glassman@northwestern.edu

T.A.: Will Fitzsimons

WilliamFitzsimons2013@u.northwestern.edu

Themes: Contemporary Africas social and political problems are often portrayed as holdovers
from a Atraditional@ past. The continent=s poverty is usually explained as the absence of
modernity@; ethnic tensions are assumed to be a continuation of ancient tribalism; famines are
said to be similar to those in the Bible. In contrast, this course will focus on the processes of
modern history that have shaped the continent, emphasizing those that first emerged during the
period of colonial rule (ca. 1890 to ca. 1960). Although we will not minimize the significance of
Africa=s older historical inheritances, particularly in the realms of religion, family institutions,
and political culture, we will see that the presence of such long-standing cultural traditions does
not imply the absence of change. On the contrary, one of our central themes will be how
traditions have been adapted, transformed, and innovated over the course of the century.
Throughout the course we will try to focus on how ordinary men and women have struggled to
shape their lives. To that end, the imaginative insights provided by three African novelists are
important complements to the broader historical trends outlined in the other texts and the
lectures.
Evaluation:
Discussion sections are mandatory. Participation, including performance in quizzes, will
constitute approximately 20% of the final grade.
Four papers: two short thought-pieces, due Jan. 15 and Feb. 3, and two essays, due
Feb. 12 and Feb. 29. See below for details. Together these four papers will count for
approximately 50% of the final grade.
Final exam, approx. 30% of the final grade. All students must take the exam at the
scheduled time: 9 a.m., Monday 14 March. No early exam will be given.
Readings: The assigned readings are listed below together with the lecture for which they are
most relevant. However, you should complete all of a given weeks readings (Monday through
Friday) in time for that weeks discussion section.
The following books are available for purchase at the Norris Center Bookstore; they are also
on reserve:
Richard Reid, A History of Modern Africa, 1800 to the Present. NOTE WHICH EDITION
YOU ARE READING. The first set of page numbers listed below refer to the second
edition (2012). The corresponding pages for the first (2009) ed. are also provided.
Frederick Cooper, Africa Since 1940: the Past of the Present
Buchi Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood (novel)
Ousmane Sembene, God=s Bits of Wood (novel)
Chinua Achebe, A Man of the People (novel)
All other readings will be posted on the Files section of the Canvas website, in a folder
labeled AAssigned Readings. Most are posted as PDF files. You are urged to download and
print all online texts and read them in hard copy. This will be particularly important for the

readings that will be the focus of discussion in sections, since laptops and other electronic
devices will not be permitted in the classroom. (See Distraction-free Learning, below.)
Canvas website: In addition to the readings described above, the Canvas site will contain
reading-guides, instructions and advice regarding the written assignments, copies of the lecture
outlines and other handouts, maps used in lectures, and other material. Announcements will
also be made via Canvas. You should consult it regularly. Be sure that your preferred email
address is linked to your Canvas account so that you will receive announcements. (Go to
Settings.) You can also link Canvas to some of your other social media accounts.
Distraction-free learning: Lectures and discussion sections are interactive endeavors; their
effectiveness depends on students sustained, focused engagement with the course material.
For that reason the use of internet-enabled devices, including laptops, tablets, and smart
phones, is not allowed in class. The temptation to multitask (i.e. surf the web and/or
message friends) is more than ordinary mortals can resist; none of us can multitask as well as
we think. Moreover, such activities distract the instructor as well as your fellow-students, who
are understandably curious about your small screen in the same way that patrons in a bar are
distracted by a big-screen TV. If you surf the web or text in class, you will be asked to leave.
However: students who need to take notes on a laptop and agree to abide by the nosurfing/texting policy may request an exception to this rule.

Week 1
Mon. Jan. 4. Keywords and the challenge of studying African history
Raymond Williams, Native, Tradition, Development, excerpts from Keywords: a Vocabulary
of Culture and Society (1985)
Glassman, Keywords and the challenge of studying the African past
P. Bohannan & P.D. Curtin, Africa & Africans, 4th ed., pp. 6-32
Wed. Jan. 6. Ideals of social organization in pre-colonial Africa (1)
Reid, History of Modern Africa, 1-16 (both editions)
P. Bohannan & P.D. Curtin, Africa & Africans, 4th ed., pp. 41-5, 78-86, 102-13
Recommended: Curtis Keim, Africans live in tribes, dont they? Mistaking Africa, ch. 8
Fri. Jan. 8. Ideals of social organization in pre-colonial Africa (2)
John McCall, Social organization in Africa, in Phyllis M. Martin & P. OMeara, Africa, 3rd ed.
Week 2
Mon. Jan. 11. Slave trade and legitimate commerce in the 19th century
Reid, History of Modern Africa, 17-59, 65-76, 113-37. (First ed.: 17-59, 64-75, 111-33)
Wed. Jan. 13. Social & political disruption in the era of legitimate commerce

Landeg White, Magomero: Portrait of an African Village, Preface & Ch. 1

Fri. Jan. 15. The Scramble for Africa
Thought-piece due: a short statement (approx. 2 pp, double-spaced) on the following
question: Missionaries arrived in the Shire Highlands determined to advance legitimate
commerce and demonstrate how it could create conditions of peace and prosperity; to wage
battle against what they deemed the immoral trade in slaves; and to spread the light of
Christian civilization and banish witchcraft and superstition. Is that how they were perceived
by the regions inhabitants? (See Canvas for more instructions on this assignment.)
Week 3
Mon. Jan. 18. MLK Day No class
Wed. Jan 20. Resistance to colonial conquest
Reid, History, 139-65 (First ed.: 134-64)
Glassman, Feasts and Riot, 1-11, 177-79, 249-70
Fri. Jan. 22. The origins of native policy
Reid, History, 165-207 (First ed.: 164-207)
Frederick Lugard envisions empire in East Africa, extract from The Rise of Our East
African Empire (1893)
Week 4
Mon. Jan. 25. Red Rubber: private company rule in Belgian Congo
Adam Hochschild, King Leopolds Ghost, 115-39, 152-66
Wed. Jan. 27. Indirect rule
Reid, History, 165-75 (review), 183-88 (review), 218-21. (First ed.: 164-74, 199-203; 217-20)
Frederick Lugard instructs his officials on how to implement indirect rule, extracts from
Political Memoranda, 1913-1918
Karen Fields, Revival & Rebellion in Colonial Central Africa, pp. 25-60
Fri. Jan. 29. Native courts and customary law in British Africa
Sara Berry, Hegemony on a shoestring: indirect rule and access to agricultural land, Africa,
v. 62, no. 3 (1992): 327-355
Week 5
Mon. Feb. 1. Consolidating colonialism between the wars
Thought-piece due: Write a short statement (approximately 2 pp) on one of the following
two themes (see Canvas for more instructions):
(1) The British liked to think of their rule in Africa as modern and enlightened, in
contrast to the outmoded tribal customs to which their African subjects clung, in

defiance of change. The analyses by Karen Fields and Sara Berry tell a different
story. Explain.
(2) Historians of Africa often observe that tensions over ethnic identities their precise
meaning and who has the right to claim them gained significance during the
colonial era. How does Berrys argument help explain this?
Wed. Feb. 3. Peasant and settler in east and southern Africa
Curtin, Feierman, et al., African History, 2nd ed., 446-58, 464-7
Fri. Feb. 5. Some causes of famine in twentieth-century Africa
Reid, History, 210-216 (both editions)
John Tosh, The cash-crop revolution in tropical Africa, African Affairs, 79 (1980): 79-94
Buchi Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood, chapters 1-10
Week 6
Mon. Feb. 8. The emergence of new African elites
Reid, History, 207-210 (1st ed.: 208-10)
Wed. Feb. 10. Popular resistance to colonial rule before World War Two
Reid, History, 223-34 (1st ed: 221-33)
Fri. Feb. 12. Women and urbanization
Finish Joys of Motherhood
Short essay due (approx. 3 pp): Discuss how The Joys of Motherhood illuminates some
major themes in modern African history. (See Canvas for more instructions.)
Week 7
Mon. Feb. 15. Two generations of nationalists before World War Two
Cooper, Africa Since 1940, 1-37
Wed. Feb. 17. World War Two as a turning-point in African politics
Cooper, Africa Since 1940, 38-53, 58-71
Waruhiu Itote, Mau Mau General, pp 9-15, 23-9
Fri. Feb. 19. Nationalism in French West Africa
Cooper, Africa Since 1940, 76-84
Ousmane Sembene, Gods Bits of Wood, pp 1-108
Week 8
Mon. Feb. 22. Armed insurgencies in settler colonies

Cooper, Africa Since 1940, 71-6, 133-44

Wed. Feb. 24. Segregation and apartheid in twentieth-century South Africa
Cooper, Africa Since 1940, 53-58
Fri. Feb. 26. The overthrow of colonial racism
Sembene, Gods Bits of Wood, finish

Week 9
Mon. Feb. 29. Building democracy in South Africa. .
Cooper, Africa Since 1940, 144-54
Short essay due (approx. 3 pp): Discuss how Gods Bits of Wood illuminates some
major themes in modern African history
Wed. March 2. The hopes and misgivings of independence
Cooper, Africa Since 1940, 85-131, 156-204
Fri. March 4. Frustrations of the post-colonial nation-state to 1989
Assigned video viewing: Ali Mazrui, The Africans: a Triple Heritage, episode no. 6, In search
of stability. Can be streamed from Canvas.
Chinua Achebe, A Man of the People, chapters 1-7
Week 10
Mon. March 7. Ethnic politics and genocide in modern Africa
Assigned video viewing: Forsaken Cries (stream from Bb)
Achebe, A Man of the People, finish
Wed. March 9 (reading week). Wrap-up and review. Please note that class will be held.

Final exam: 9 a.m., Monday 14 March