West Africa in the Twentieth Century

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Lecture/Seminar) This course offers selected studies in the development of new states from the beginnings of colonial rule to the present. Emphasis will be placed upon Ghana and Nigeria as models of the decolonization and independence experience. HIST-3707 (3 or 6) Modern Africa through Print, Visual Media, and Song (3 hrs Lecture) This course examines African history from 1884 to the present through print, visual media, and song. The course traces the historical and contemporary representation of Africa and Africans as understood by the Western World as well as the self-definition by Africans through print and visual media. It also considers the role representation has played based on socioeconomic and political structures in the continent overtime. It closely examines how representation contributed to the complexities of structures of dominance, gender, disparities, and power distribution between Africa and the West. The course situates each medium and song within its historical context.