African Modernities: Popular Cultures in Twentieth Century Africa
| Module title | African Modernities: Popular Cultures in Twentieth Century Africa |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIH2224A |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Professor Stacey Hynd (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 10 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 34 |
|---|
Module description
This module focuses on the history of social change and popular cultures in twentieth century sub-Saharan Africa, looking at both colonial and postcolonial eras. The development of popular cultures will be explored through looking at histories of changing ‘customs’ , urban life, ethnic identities, gender relations, leisure time, political protest, witchcraft and religious belief.
The impact that migration and diasporic communities have on expressions of popular culture will also be explored. The module will also investigate ideas of ‘modernity’, postcolonialism and globalization in an African context, and the impact of international relations and human rights discourse on the continent. Sources used for this course will include African literature, anthropology, government and NGO reports, public health data, film, music, art, fashion and mass media.
Module aims - intentions of the module
You will need effective communication and analytical skills, oral and written, to complete many of your modules and in a job after you graduate. This module aims to help you develop your skills in researching, interpreting, and analysing both primary and secondary material relating to twentieth-century Africa, and in reporting on your work. It provides you with an opportunity to explore this area of history in more depth using a wide range of sources and explore broad historical themes such as modernity, postcolonialism, globalization and human rights. In this way it helps you to develop the depth of understanding you will require to study more specialised areas of history. It will also give you an opportunity to work in a team on a group presentation.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Be aware of the various developments in the history of twentieth century Africa.
- 2. Make a close evaluation of the key developments and debates in African political, social and cultural histories.
- 3. Evaluate the main themes in the subject and to collate information upon, and evaluate in greater detail, those aspects of the
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Analyse the key developments in popular culture in twentieth-century Africa.
- 5. Collate data from a range of sources, both primary and secondary.
- 6. Interpret primary sources.
- 7. Trace long-term as well as short-term historical developments.
- 8. Recognise and deploy historical terminology correctly.
- 9. Assess different approaches to historical writing in areas of controversy.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 10. Work both independently and in a group, including participating in oral seminar discussions
- 11. Identify a topic, select, comprehend, and organise primary and secondary materials on that topic with little guidance
- 12. Produce to a coherent argument and analysis to a deadline
Syllabus plan
Week 1 Introduction to Twentieth-Century African Cultures
Week 2 Colonialism and Urbanization
Week 3 Fun in the City: Alcohol, Sport and Leisure
Week 4 Gender and Sexuality
Week 5 Religious Lives: Islam and Christianity
Week 6 Cultures of Politics: Ethnicity, Democracy and Corruption
Week 7 Images of Modernity: African Film {or alternative ‘Student Choice Lectures’}
Week 8 The Modernity of Witchcraft
Week 9 HIV/AIDS, Identity and Social protest
Week 10 Human Rights and Africa
Week 11 African Diasporas {or alternative ‘Student Choice Lectures’}
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | 260 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 20 | Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 20 | Seminars; these will be led by the tutor. |
| Guided independent study | 260 | Reading and preparation for seminars |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | 0 | 30 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group Presentation | 30 | 25 minutes in a group of 3-4 (approximately 6-8 minutes per student) | 1-12 | Written feedback |
| Written Assignment | 70 | 3000 words | 1-12 | Oral and written feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referral/deferral period | |||
| Group Presentation (25 mins in a group of 3-4 (approximately 6-8 minutes per student) | 750-word script for presentation | 1-12 | Referral/deferral period |
| Written assignment (2500 words) | Written assignment (3000 words) | 1-12 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Barber, Karin. Readings in African Popular Culture (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997).
Bayart, J. F. The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly, (Cambridge: Polity, 1994).
Deutsch, J.-G., Probst, P. & Schmidt, H. African Modernities (Oxford: James Currey, 1999).
Falola, Toyin. The Power of African Cultures (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2008)
Geschiere, Peter. The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Post-Colonial Africa (Charlottesville: University Press
of Virginia, 1997).
Geschiere, P., Meyer & Pels, P. Readings in Modernity in Africa (Oxford: James Currey, 2008)
Hodgson, D. and McCurdy, S. (eds.), ‘Wicked Women’ and the Reconfiguration of Gender in Africa (Oxford: James Currey,
2001).
Honwana, A. & de Boeck, F. (eds). Makers and Breakers: Children and Youth in Postcolonial Africa (London: African World
Press, 2005).
Iliffe, John. The African AIDS Epidemic: A History (Oxford: James Currey, 2006).
Iliffe, John. Honour in African History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005)
Martin, P. Leisure and Society in Colonial Brazzaville (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).
Nugent, P. Africa Since Independence (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004).
Willis, Justin. Potent Brews: A Social History of Alcohol in East Africa, 1850-1999 (London: James Currey, 2002).
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
CIA World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
BBC News – Africa. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/default.stm
Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/
Chatham House Africa Program http://www.chathamhouse.org/research/africa
Stanford – Africa South of the Sahara Resources [PORTAL] http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/guide.html
Africa Through A Lens: Photographs from the National Archives’ Colonial Office Collection
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/africa/
Northwestern – Humphrey Winterton Collection of East African Photographs 1860-1960
http://repository.library.northwestern.edu/winterton/
Digital Innovation South Africa Archive - http://www.disa.ukzn.ac.za/
AIDS in Africa http://www.avert.org/aidsinafrica.htm
Zapiro, South African Political Cartoons http://www.zapiro.com/Slideshows/
Africa Focus: Sights and Sounds of a Continent http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/AfricaFocus/
Afropop Worldwide http://www.afropop.org
African Diasporas Network Portal [links to useful sites] http://www.diaspora.uiuc.edu/bookmark3.html#4
Oxford Bibliographies of Africa http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/obo/page/african-studies
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
University of Exeter, Ghana Collection, Old Library
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 04/12/2012 |
| Last revision date | 08/11/2022 |
