Fall 2003 3
credit hours
Time:
Instructor:
Scott S. Reese
Office: BIO 208
Tel.: 523-9049
Email: scott.reese@nau.edu
Office Hours: MWF
This class will be run as a
combination of lecture and weekly discussions based on the assigned readings
and student generated questions. The objective is not only for you to read
African history but to use it as a platform for honing your own analytical
skills. Lectures on each topic will form an important part of the course.
However, a significant amount of class time will be dedicated to informed
discussion of the readings, debate and the constructive, respectful critique of
your ideas and the ideas of your colleagues.
Course
Objectives:
In addition to increasing your knowledge of our
past, this course will also provide the opportunity to develop and utilize
various skills -- especially regarding analytical thought and writing-- which
will be valuable throughout your university career and beyond.
As a Liberal
Studies course this class will follow certain themes and is intended to help you
develop particular intellectual skills in addition to studying the history of
ancient, medieval and early modern
·
Students will enhance their proficiency in critical thinking
and writing through exams, the completion of four (4) brief reaction papers as
well as formal class discussions.
·
Gain an appreciation of the worth and wealth of other
culture through extensive reading and discussion about various African
societies.
Christopher Ehret, The
Civilizations of
Graham Connah, African
Civilizations: An Archeological Perspective 2nd Edition (
Said Hamdun and
Noel King, Ibn Battuta in Black
Beverly Mack &
Boyd, One Woman’s Jihad (Indiana
U. Press, 2000)
All the
above texts can be purchased at the University Bookstore. Students are expected
to bring all required readings to class during the week assigned (you are
responsible for following the syllabus, I will not remind you). Additional
readings indicated below are on electronic reserve in the library and can be
accessed via the following link: http://www.nau.edu/library/courses/history/his220-reese/reserve/
We will use a
variety of instruments to assess your achievement of the course objectives
listed above:
1) Two (2) 50 minute exams
The objective of the course exams is to test your knowledge of the historical
material (e.g. basic chronology, events, persons and trends etc.) Each exam will consist of short response and
essay questions based on readings and class notes. Essays must demonstrate
a grasp of the historical material and be expressed in your own words.
Exams, if missed, may be made-up only for documented medical or grave personal
reasons. NO DOCUMENTATION=NO MAKE-UP!!
2) Reaction
Papers (4): During the course of the semester each
participant will be required to write four (4) brief papers (400-600 words)
responding to the readings for a given week. Two (2) of these must be completed
during the first half of the semester (i.e. weeks 1-7) and two (2) during the
second half of the term (i.e. weeks 8-15). In each paper participants will be
expected to identify the major themes, issues or questions raised by the
author. In addition, students will be expected to provide more than a general
synopsis of the readings. Successful papers will also need to include a
critique of the author’s work including whether or not his/her arguments are
convincing (and why you think they are or are not successful) as well as posing
questions of your own for further consideration. These writing assignments are
intended to help you hone your ability to analyze primary and secondary
historical sources (i.e. sharpen your critical reading and thinking skills) and
to help you develop more effective writing.
Essays are due at
the beginning of class on Friday. A
reaction paper turned in on a given Friday must address the readings for that
week. Late papers will not be accepted (e.g. you may not turn in a reaction
paper on the following Monday).
A brief guide
detailing format and what is expected in a good reaction paper will be
forthcoming. These writing assignments
are excellent candidates for inclusion in your electronic portfolios.
Note: Papers delivered as e-mail attachments
will not be accepted without prior approval of the instructor.
3) Take Home Final Exam
All students will be required to take the
final exam that will be in a take home format. The questions on the final will
differ from the 50 minute exams in that they will require you to synthesize
data from both lectures and readings from throughout the term in order to
demonstrate your understanding of the African past. As a result, the objective of the final is
not only to test your mastery of the chronology of African history but also a
final assessment of the development of your critical thinking abilities. Outside research will, of course, not be necessary.
4) Participation/Attendance and Weekly
Summaries
Class attendance is not a graded
portion of the course. However, as a discussion oriented course participation is
graded. You are required to show up to each class period having read the
material and ready to engage it in a meaningful manner.
In order to help
insure that you complete the readings but also to assist you in approaching
them critically, each student will be required to bring a five (5) point
summary of the main arguments of that week’s readings to class every
Friday. Each point need be no more than
1-2 sentences but needs to illustrate what you think are the principle foci of
the readings. The objective of these exercises
is to assist you in developing your critical thinking skills as well as your
ability to articulate them in class.
These will be
turned in to the instructor at the end of class. Failure to do so will result
in the deduction of ½ point from your participation grade for each summary not
turned in (e.g. if you miss one week your potential participation grade will
drop from 10 to 9.5 automatically. Keep in mind, however, this is not the only
determinant of your participation grade.) Summaries will only be accepted by
the instructor at the time of the class meeting (i.e. you may not turn in your
points before or after class.) Individuals are exempt from turning in
summaries during the weeks they turn in their reaction papers. A
separate sheet detailing what you need to look for in different readings will
be forthcoming.
Finally, it should
be noted that missing more than 3 class periods will have a serious impact on
your participation grade.
If you must miss
class for whatever reason, it is your
responsibility to obtain that day’s notes and any other pertinent
information from one of your classmates.
If circumstances dictate (e.g. family or medical emergency) that you
must miss more than 3 classes, it is also your responsibility to discuss this
situation with the instructor.
Extensions,
incompletes and make-up exams will be granted only in accordance with
University policy.
Course Evaluation
Your course
grades will be based on the following distribution:
Final
Grade
Reaction
Papers 40% (10% ea.)
Exams 30% (15%
ea.)
Final
Exam 20%
Participation 10%
A standard grading
scale will be in use
90%+= A; 80-89% =B;
70-79%=C; 60-69%=D; below 60%=F
Failing to complete any major component of the
course will seriously jeopardize one’s ability to pass the course.
Note: University standards against plagiarism and
cheating will be strictly upheld. Cheating includes, but is not limited to,
copying, paraphrasing, or summarizing the work of another (including a fellow
student) without proper acknowledgment. ANY course work found to have
been dishonestly completed will result in a failing grade for the course.
Weekly Schedule And Assignments
Make certain you have the readings done in
advance of each class session. Also, remember, the following is merely a
guideline and adjustments may be made to the schedule as necessary.
Introduction
Wk. 2 Sept.
01-05 (No Class Monday – Veterans Day)
African
“pre-history”
Issues: Agriculture: The only basis for settled society?
Wk. 3 Sept.
08-12
Ancient
Burstein Ancient
African Civilizations: Kush and Axum, pp. 25-52 (on e-reserve)
Connah chs. 1&2
Issues:
Wk. 4 Sept.
15-19
Ancient
Burstein, pp.
89-100 (on e-reserve)
Connah ch. 3
Issues: How is
Wk. 5 Sept.
22-26
Ancient
The Berbers
Brett and Fentress,
chs. Intro., 1-2 (on reserve)
Issues: Roman and Berber? Could you be both? What does this say about the notion of
identity in ancient
Wk. 6 Sept.
30-Oct. 03
Medieval
Merchants of the
Sea – the Swahili
Nurse and
Spear The Swahili chs. 4, 5
(electronic reserve)
Connah
Hamdun & King Ibn
Battuta in Black
Issues: Who are the Swahili?
How did the economic basis of their society effect the development of their
identity?
Wk. 7 Oct. 06-10
Medieval
Solomonic
Harold Marcus, A
History of Ethiopia pp. 1-60 (on e-reserve)
Mahoney, “Between Islam and
Christendom: The Ethiopian Community in
Issues: Muslim vs. Christians—what was a greater determinate of their
relaltions: religion, economics or, politics?
Wk. 8 Oct. 13-17
Medieval
Sudanic Empires
Connah, ch. 4
Hamdun & King, Ibn
Battuta in Black
Issues: How Muslim were the
kingdoms of the
Wk. 9 Oct. 20-24
Sudanic Empires
cont.
Wk. 10 Oct.
27-31
Slavery in
Ehret, Ch 8
Wk. 11. Nov.
03-07
Resistance in the
Kongo
Davidson,
“Mani-Congo” ch. 4 in Basil Davidson, The African Slave Trade (on
e-reserve)
Issues: What was the impact of the Portuguese arrival on traditional
African political and social systems?
Wk. 12 Nov.
10-14
“The Mass
Migrations of the mfecane & the Great Trek” (Chapter 4) in History of
Southern Africa (on e-reserve)
Issues: What were the underlying causes of the social disruptions of
the 18th and 19th centuries in southern
Wk. 13 Nov. 17-21
Mfecane
Reconsidered
Hamilton, The
Mfecane Aftermath: Reconstructive Debates in Southern African History Intro.,
1, 5,10 (on e-reserve)
Issues: The Zulu—State builders or barbarians?
Wk. 14 Nov.
24-28 (Thanksgiving, No Class Friday)
Uthman Dan Fodio’s
Jihad
Nehmiah Levtzion
“TheEighteenth Century Background to the Islamic Revolutions in
Louis Brenner,
“Muslim Thought in Eighteenth-Century West Africa: The case of Shaykh Uthman b.
Fudi” (pp. 39-67) Eighteenth-Century Renewal and Reform in Islam Nehmiah
Levtzion and John O. Voll eds.
(both on e-reserve)
Mack & Boyd--
Begin
Issues: Causes of Jihad.
Wk. 15 Dec.
01-05
The social world of
reform
Mack & Boyd--
Finish
Issues: Nana Asmau’
– seminal figure or an early example of political “tokenism”?
Wk. 16 Dec. 08-12
Issue: How large a role did