AFRICA TO 1800

Holly Hanson

314 Skinner

538-2094

Hhanson@mtholyoke.edu

Office Hours: Wednesday 2-4, and by appt.

History 140
Africa to 1800
Fall 1997

This course introduces African societies and civilizations of the relatively distant past. We begin with a careful exploration of one African society in about 1800; then move backward to examine developments over long stretches of time in agriculture, technology, economic and political organization, and religion. We conclude by considering the slave trade and its consequences.

Readings for the course are designed not only to answer questions about what happened in the past, but also to provide the means to recognize and appreciate new and possibly unfamiliar systems of logic.

Course Requirements

Attendance at all classes is mandatory.
Reading assignments must be completed before the class for which they are assigned. Written reading responses must be turned in to the professor's mailbox or emailed to her by noon on the day for which the reading is due.
Short (4-5 page) papers are due at the beginning of class on September 13 and October 28. Since class on those days will begin with a discussion of the paper topic, late papers cannot not be accepted. Should serious illness (documented by her doctor) prevent a student from completing a paper by the date that it is due, an alternative paper topic will be devised in consultation with the professor.

Grades will be determined by the following:

Class participation and reading responses 20%

Two papers 40%

In-class debate on causes of the slave trade 10%

Take home final 30%

Required Reading
The following books are available at the Odyssey Bookstore and most of them are also on reserve in the library.
- Kevin Shillington, A History of Africa
- Roy Richard Grinker and Christopher B. Steiner, eds., Perspectives on Africa: A Reader in Culture, History and Representation (called "Reader" below)
- Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
- D. T. Niane, Sundiata:An Epic of Old Mali
- Ibn Battuta in Black Africa
- David Northrup, The Atlantic Slave Trade
Schedule of Topics, Readings, and Paper Assignments
- Thursday Sept 4: Images of Africa
- Tuesday Sept 9: Making Generalizations about Africa
  Reader, xvii-xxix
  Reader, Hountondji, "African Philosophy, Myth and Reality," 379-391.
  Reader, Southall, "The Illusion of Tribe," 38-51.
- Thursday Sept 11: An African Society ca. 1800
  Umuofia Achebe, 1-70 (Chapters 1-8)
  Reader, Ottenberg, "Humorous Masks and Serious Politics among Afikpo Ibo," 433-449.
  Reader, Van Allen, "'Sitting on a Man': Colonialism and the Lost Political Institutions of Igbo Women," 536-549.
- Tuesday Sept 16: Connections among People in Igbo Lands
  Achebe 71-191 (Chapter 9-end)
  Reader, Kopytoff, "Ancestors as Elders in Africa," 412-421.
- Thursday Sept 18: Other West African Societies ca. 1800
  Shillington, 13, "West African states and societies," 181-196.
- Tuesday Sept 23: The Origins of Agriculture
  Shillington, 2, "Later prehistory: the development and spread of farming and pastoralism," 14-35
  Reader, Douglas, "Lele Economy Compared with the Bushong," 101-118.
  PAPER DUE: Who has power and authority in the Igbo society described by Achebe in Things Fall Apart?
- Thursday Sept 25: Civilizations of the Nile Valley
  Reader, Evans-Pritchard, "The Nuer: Time and Space," 24-37.
  Reserve Reading: skim books on Egyptian art on reserve.
- Tuesday Sept 30: Iron Smelting Technology
  Shillington, 3, "The impact of iron in northeast and west Africa," 36-48.
  Reserve Reading: TBA
- Thursday Oct 2: The Cross-Continent Migration of Bantu-Speaking Peoples
  Shillington, 4 "The Early Iron Age and Bantu migrations," 62-77.
  Reader, 2-8; Fortes, "The Structure of Unilineal Descent Groups," 11-23.
- Tuesday Oct 7: Wealth in People
  Reader, 88-95; Bohannan, "Some Principles of Exchange and Investment among the Tiv," 119-128.
- Thursday Oct 9: Hunter Gatherers in Myth and Reality
  Shillington, 1, "Early prehistory of Africa," 1-13 [skim].
  Reader, 212-217; Wilmsen, "Land Filled with Flies: The Evolution of Illusion," 246-268.
  Reader, Solway and Lee, "Foragers, Genuine or Spurious?: Situating the Kalahari San in History," 269-292.
- Tuesday Oct 14 NO CLASS
- Thursday Oct 16: Trans-saharan Trade
  Reader, Coquery-Vidrovitch, "Research on an African Mode of Production," 129-141.
- Tuesday Oct 21: Ghana, Kola, and Gold
  Shillington, 5, "North and northeastern Africa to 1000 AD," 62-77.
  Shillington, 6, "Trans-Saharan trade and the Kingdom of Ancient Ghana," 78-89.
- Thursday Oct 23: The Empires of Mali and Songhay
  Shillington, 7, "Islam and the Sudanic states of west Africa," 90-106.
  Reader, Griaule, "Conversations with Ogotemmeli," 366-378.
- Tuesday Oct 28: The Sundiata Epic
  Niane, An Epic of Old Mali, entire.
  PAPER DUE: Who was the intended audience when the Sundiata epic was recited, and what responses do you think it might have elicited? What can we learn about Malian society from listening in on this interaction?
- Thursday Oct 30: Film
  Reader, 294-298, Evans-Pritchard, 303-311.
- Tuesday Nov 4: Islam in Africa (film)
  Reserve Reading: TBA.
  Reader, Horton, "African Traditional Thought and Western Science, "327-229.
- Thursday Nov 6: Islam in West Africa
  Ibn Battuta in Black Africa, Introduction and "West Africa" sections.
- Tuesday Nov 11: Swahili Civilization and the Indian Ocean World
  Shillington, 8, "Eastern Africa to the sixteenth century," 107-121.
  Shillington, 9, "Trading states of the East African coast to the sixteenth century, "122-137.
  Ibn Battuta in Black Africa, "East Africa" section.
- Thursday Nov 13: Great Zimbabwe
  Shillington, 10, "Later iron Age states and societies of central and southern Africa to 1600 AD," 138-156.
  Reader, Winch, "Understanding a Primitive Society," 312-326.
  Reader, Diop, "The Meaning of Our Work," 724-727.
  Reader, Appiah, "Europe Upside Down: Fallacies of the New Afrocentrism," 728-731.
- Tuesday Nov 18: Origins of the Slave Trade
  Shillington, 12, "The Atlantic slave trade, sixteenth to eighteenth century," 171-180.
  Northrup, xiii-xvii; IV, "Modern Views of Slaving and Slavers", 97-132.
- Thursday Nov 20: The Experience of Enslavement
  Northrup, III, "Contemporary Views of Slaving and Slavers", 67-96.
- Tuesday Nov 25: Consequences of the Slave Trade
  Northrup, V, "Effects in Africa," 133-174.
  Northrup, II, "How Many Were Enslaved?," 37-66.
  Shillington, 14, "Central and eastern Africa to the eighteenth century," 197-211.
- Thursday Nov 27 HAPPY THANKSGIVING
- Tuesday Dec 2: African Origins of American Culture: Dance Class
  NB: Participation in this class is required.
- Thursday Dec 4: Debates: Williams vs. Jordan: Did slavery precede racism or did racism precede enslavement?
  Northrup, I, "Why Were Africans Enslaved?," 1-36.
- Tuesday Dec 9: Opportunities for Travel, Study, and Work in Africa
- Thursday Dec 11: Review and Conclusions
  
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Class participation and reading responses	20%
Two papers	40%
In-class debate on causes of the slave trade	10%
Take home final	30%