60th anniversary re-enactment of women's protest during Women's War of 1929, Aba, Nigeria. Courtesy National Museum of Uyo. Fair use image. To learn more, see BlackPast
Welcome! This course will examine the history of Africa from roughly 1880 to the present. These years encompass European colonization and African resistance to it, the emergence of independent African nations, and the ongoing challenges and achievements of the postcolonial period. This is an in-person, synchronous class. We'll be meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30-12:20, in Loew 216.
This course is called African History “in real time” because we’ll be placing current events in Africa – that you identify, select, and research – in historical perspective. The first four weeks of this course will provide you with an overview of the past 170 years of African history. The remaining six weeks will be devoted to identifying current events from on-line news sources and then diving in deep through collaborative projects to learn more about those events and the histories that produced them.
There’s only one required book for this course: Richard Reid, A History of Modern Africa (New York: Blackwell-Wiley, 2022). It’s available for purchase at the UW Bookstore and as an e-book through the library. All other readings for this course will be posted and freely available through Canvas.
Graded course assignments will include class participation, a few quizzes, two essays, a group presentation, and a few shorter writing assignments including a news pitch and source annotations. "W" credit will be optional.
For your final course grade, your point total will be converted to the 4.0 scale according to this chart:
|
200-190 = 4.0 |
177-176 = 3.3 |
163-162 = 2.6 |
149-148 = 1.9 |
135-134 = 1.2 |
|
189-188 = 3.9 |
175-174 = 3.2 |
161-160 = 2.5 |
147-146 = 1.8 |
133-132 = 1.1 |
|
187-186 = 3.8 |
173-172 = 3.1 |
159-158 = 2.4 |
145-144 = 1.7 |
131-130 = 1.0 |
|
185-184 = 3.7 |
171-170 = 3.0 |
157-156 = 2.3 |
143-142 = 1.6 |
129-128 = .9 |
|
183-182 = 3.6 |
169-168 = 2.9 |
155-154 = 2.2 |
141-140 = 1.5 |
127-126 = .8 |
|
181-180 = 3.5 |
167-166 = 2.8 |
153-152 = 2.1 |
139-138 = 1.4 |
125-124 = .7 |
|
179-178 = 3.4 |
165-164 = 2.7 |
151-150 = 2.0 |
137-136 = 1.3 |
<.7 = 0 |