Decolonization and Independence in Africa

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course focuses on decolonization and independence in twentieth-century Africa. It examines diverse conceptualizations of political liberation that Africans in different political and economic locations articulated both in struggles against colonial regimes and in the early years of independence. We will trace the interplay between ideas and the political, social, and economic processes through which different actors worked to realize their visions of decolonization. The course will consider colonial legacies in different parts of the continent, and the internal and external forces that shaped the trajectories of early independent states. Texts for the course will include historical and other scholarly monographs, primary documents, music, film, and art.