THE GEOGRAPHIES OF AFRICA

Moving beyond the headlines

Geography 51 (12078)

Tu/Th: 11-12:15 (Lafayette 207)

Professor Glen Elder

Office: 201 Old Mill Building

Office Hours:  Tue 1-2:30; Thurs 9:30-11

 

Teaching Assistant: Colleen Sullivan

Office: 217

Office Hours: Tue 9:30-10:45; Thurs 12:45-:2:00

 

 

So geographers, in Afric maps,
With savage pictures fill their gaps,
And o’er unhabitable downs
Place elephants for want of towns.          

 Johnathan Swift (1667-1745) Poetry, a Rhapsody.

 

Placing Africa in time and space

 

Genocide, poverty, environmental disaster, warring savagery and starvation are just some of the images of Africa that inform its position in the global economy.  As the quote by Swift above suggests, the West has had a propensity to imagine the worst of the continent for more than 300 years.  Moving beyond these oftentimes racist stereotypes requires that we learn about the geography of Africa.  By informing our experiences and imaginings about the myriad of social and physical contexts that make up one of the world’s largest and most diverse continents, we come to ask is there really an “Africa” in any holistic sense?  The Geographies of Africa aims to provide you with a framework within which you can evaluate competing claims about African places and draw your own informed conclusions.  The course provides an introductory overview and then takes a regional approach to understanding the continent.

 

Required texts

• Global Studies : Africa (Global Studies Africa) by Wayne Edge.
• Race Against Time (CBC Massey Lectures Series) (Cbc Massey Lecture Series) by Stephen Lewis.

 

You are required to read FIVE of the following SIX books.

• We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
• The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience by Wangari Maathai
• Blood Diamonds by Greg Campbell
• Witness To Aids by Edwin Cameron
• King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild
• Parting the Desert : The Creation of the Suez Canal by Zachary Karabell

Additional readings are available on the class WebCT website

Expectations

• Ensure that you have read all assigned material before class. 
• If you miss a class it is your responsibility to make sure that you get the missed notes from other students in the class or the teaching assistant. 
• Do not miss any of quizzes or exams.  I do not give make up exams without a valid reason which does not include travel plans.  The schedule has been given to you, plan accordingly. 
• If you are on a UVM sports team, please make sure that I have your travel itinerary and a list of the classes you will miss by January 31^st.
• If you require extra accommodations in this class, please make sure that I have been notified by the ACCESS office by January 31^st.
• I strongly prefer that you come to my office hours in Old Mill 201 to conduct class business rather than use email.

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

Introduction

• Africa: A geographical fantasy or reality (January 17-19)

Stock, Chapter 1 & 2 – available online.

Edge, Africa.  Pp. 2-7

• The physical geography (January 24-26)

Stock, Chapter 4 & 5 – available online.

• The social geography (January 31-February 2)

Stock, Chapter 19,20, 21 – available online.

• The geography of HIV/AIDS (February 7-14)

Race Against Time (CBC Massey Lectures Series) (Cbc Massey Lecture Series) by Stephen Lewis.

• In class map quiz – February 16th

 

 

Regional Geographies

• North Africa (February 21-23)

Parting the Desert : The Creation of the Suez Canal by Zachary Karabell

Edge, Africa.  Pp. 103-147.

 

• West Africa (February 28- March 2)

Blood Diamonds by Greg Campbell

Edge, Africa 196-251.

 

• East Africa (March 6-14)

The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience by Wangari Maathai

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch

Edge, Africa.  Pp. 46-98

 

• In class Regional Mid term I – March 16^th

 

• Central Africa (March 28 – April 6)

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild

Edge, Africa.  Pp. 10-42

 

• Southern Africa (April 11-20)

Witness To Aids by Edwin Cameron

Edge, Africa.  Pp. 150-190.

 

• In class Regional Mid term II – April 25^th

 

Africa and the global imagination

• Revision and summary (April 27 – May 2)

 

Grade breakdown

In class map quiz          15% - an in class quiz to test you knowledge of the countries, capitals and main physical features of Africa.

Book reviews               25% - 5 book reports; see instructions below.

Regional Mid term I      20% - an in class regionally specific exam (multiple choice, short answer essay questions).

Regional Mid term II     20% - an in class regionally specific exam (multiple choice, short answer essay questions).

Final Exam                   10% - an essay based exam.

 

• You are required to hand in all five book reports.  If you do not, you will lose the book review grade altogether. 
• You are also required to take both mid term exams.
• Students who have attained an A average before the final exam will not be required to take the final exam.

 

 BOOK REVIEW RESPONSE SHEET

Your book review must be typed and handed in after class on the final day of the regional overview.  For example, if you choose to read and review Edwin Cameron’s Witness to AIDS, it will be due on April 20^th.  

Your review should include the following:

1. A short summary of the contents of the book.
2. An overview of the geographical context within which the account is located (where, when, at what scale, places, etc).
3. A short review of the text in which you draw on other material read in the course.  Your review must have the following elements:
1. Two direct quotes from the book.  You should use these quotes as examples of the central argument made by the author.
2. An assessment of the way in which evidence is gathered and marshaled by the author.
3. A sense of what the books tells us about life in some African context.
4. A clear connection to the assigned readings as follows:

                                                               i.      We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch (Stock Chapter 2)

                                                              ii.      The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach and the Experience by Wangari Maathai (Stock Chapter 19)

                                                            iii.      Blood Diamonds by Greg Campbell (Stock Chapter 4)

                                                            iv.      Witness To Aids by Edwin Cameron (Stock Chapter 21)

                                                              v.      King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild (Stock Chapter 2)

                                                            vi.      Parting the Desert : The Creation of the Suez Canal by Zachary Karabell (Stock Chapter 5)

4. All materials should be cited consistently.
5. Your review should be at least 700 words long.