Approved List for African Studies Courses

ANTH 202 Principles of Sociocultural Anthropology (5) I&S
Comparison of lifeways of various non-Western and Western peoples. Introduction to basic theories and methods used in the field.

ANTH 423 - Traffic Across Cultural Boundaries (5) I&S
Focuses on the movement of cultural patterns and processes across boundaries, examining the "contact zones" in colonial encounters, moving to borrowing and blendings along ethnic and national borders. Examines border crossing of immigration and diasporas. Ethnographic examples from the Americas and Africa . Prerequisite: one 200-level ANTH course.

ANTH 313 - Peoples of Africa (5) I&S
Survey of the many cultures of pre- and post-colonial sub-Saharan Africa . Appreciation of the adaptability, strength, and creativity of African peoples. Recommended: ANTH 100.

ANTH 318 - Peoples and Cultures of the Islamic Middle East (3) I&S
Survey of cultures and peoples of Islamic Middle East and North Africa . First half of the course emphasizes the integration of peasant, urban, and nomadic societies in the traditional culture and economy; the second half concentrates on the transformation of the traditional life styles through the process of westernization and modernization.

ANTH 401 - West African Societies (3) I&S
Social and cultural features of coastal and interior West African societies, including the Western Sudan . Detailed study of selected societies. Prerequisite: one 200-level ANTH course or LING 203. 

ANTH 402 - Societies of Eastern and Southern Africa (5) I&S
Historical background and contemporary life of cultural groups in eastern and southern Africa with special study of selected cases of political and economic organization and cultural change. Prerequisite: one 200-level ANTH course or LING 203.

ANTH 471 - Colonialism and Culture (5) I&S
Explores the cultural, political, and historical implications of the power to colonize. Readings include ethnographic, historical, and literary works on colonialism, nationalist responses, and postcolonial positions.

ARCHY 212 - The Archaeology of Egypt (5) I&S
A survey of ancient Egyptian culture history between about 6000 BC and AD 400, based on a synthesis of archaeological and textual evidence. Focuses on the origins and evolution of the Egyptian state and the elements of pharaonic religion, society, economy, art, architecture, and science.

ARCH 251 World Architecture: Non-Western Cultures (3) I&S/VLPA Prakash
Introduction to historical and contemporary built environments of non-Judeo-Christian civilizations, primarily Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and Meso-American, as manifestations of cultural history and as responses to environmental determinants. Offered: Sp.

ARCH 442 Africa and Middle East Seminar (3) VLPA
Advanced introduction to colonial and postcolonial architecture in Africa and the Middle East , beginning with the initial European colonization in the mid-19th century. Provides a historical understanding of the formation of distinctive regional and/or national identities in the architecture of these regions. Offered: Sp.

ARCHY 303 - Old World Prehistory (5) I&S
Old World prehistory from beginnings of human culture to rise of civilizations. First tools made by humans, spread of humans out of Africa , origins of agriculture, rise of state society. Africa, Near East, Egypt , China , India , Europe.

ARCHY 401 - Archaeology of Human Origins (5) I&S
Early part of the prehistoric archaeological record in Africa and Eurasia, from >2,000,000 years ago until the spread of modern human beings; development of stone and bone technologies; ways of making a living; cultural adaptations; intellectual and social development. Prerequisite: ARCHY 205. Offered: Sp.

ART H 205  Survey of Tribal Art (5) I&S/VLPA
Arts of Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania from prehistoric times to the present and to the pre-Columbian arts of the Americas .

ART H 330  Tribal Art and Philosophy (5) I&S/VLPA
Philosophical inquiry and thought in African, Ameri-Indian, and Pacific island societies as expressed through the visual, musical, choreographic, and oral arts. Natural, moral, and ethical ideas as expressed in the arts.

ART H 337  African Art and Society (5) I&S/VLPA
Explores the ideas and notions expressed visually in sculpture, painting, ceramics, textiles, and architecture and describes their relationships to man and culture in Africa.

ART H 350  The City of Cairo (3) I&S/VLPA
Development of Fustat and Cairo , 600-1800, with special emphasis on art and architecture. Economic, social, and geographic influences on the creation of the distinctive Egyptian styles of Islamic art. Offered: jointly with NEAR E 350.

ART H 436  Arts of Sub-Saharan Africa I (3) I&S/VLPA
Traditional arts of the Western Sudan and the Western Guinea coast with their archaeological antecedents. Recommended: some background in African art, history, languages, or literature.

ART H 437 Arts of Sub-Saharan Africa II (3) I&S/VLPA
Traditional arts of the Central Guinea coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon, from precontact times to the present. Recommended: some background in African art, history, languages, or literature. 

ART H 438  Arts of Sub-Saharan Africa III (3) I&S/VLPA
Arts of Zaire, Angola , the Swahili coast, and southern Africa . Recommended: some background in African art, history, languages, or literature.

F M 402 Forest and Economic Development in the Developing World (4)
Examines the relationship between forests and economic development in tropical countries. Topics include the role of population growth, poverty, land tenure, and international trade on forest use as well as theories of economic development. Case examples of forest-based economic development in different countries and regions.

GEOG 230 Urbanization and Development: Geographies of Global Inequality (5)
I&S Examines global to local interactions of economic, political, and social forces shaping urbanization and development processes across the globe. Provides an introduction to critical development studies, focusing on Latin America, Africa, and Asia . Also examines debates over the causes and geographic patterns of social inequality worldwide.

GEOG 271 Geography of Food and Eating (5) I&S
Examines food production, distribution, and consumption issues across geographic scales. Focus ranges from the microcosm of the individual body to food and eating at the national and global scales. Explores the political, social, cultural, and economic dimensions of food and eating in particular spaces, places, environments, contexts, and regions.

GEOG/SIS 335  Geography of the Developing World (5) I&S
Characteristics and causes, external and internal, of Third World development and obstacles to that development. Special attention to demographic and agricultural patterns, resource development, industrialization and urbanization, drawing on specific case studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America . Recommended: GEOG 100 or GEOG 230. Offered: jointly with SIS 335.

GEOG 371  World Hunger and Resource Development (5) I&S 
Addresses issues of hunger and poverty in their relationship to resource development at the local, national, and global levels. Examines various approaches to the problem of world hunger rooted in critical development studies. Recommended: GEOG 230, GEOG 330, or GEOG 335.

GEOG 380 Geographical Patterns of Health and Disease (4) I&S
Geography of infectious and chronic diseases at local, national, and international scales; environmental, cultural, and social explanations of those variations; comparative aspects of health systems.

HIST 151  Introduction to African History, c. 1000-1880 (5) I&S Examines Africa's past from approximately 1000 to 1880. Through the theme of the politics of wealth, explores the history of precolonial states and societies, religious movements that combined local beliefs with Islam and Christianity, the Atlantic and Indian Ocean slave trades, and the origins of American and European colonialism.

HIST 152  Introduction to African History, c. 1880 - Present (5) I&S
Examines Africa 's pasts from approximately 1880 to the present. Through the theme of the politics of wealth, explores the history of European colonization, African social and cultural life under colonial rule, anti-colonial movements and decolonization, and the changes and challenges of the postcolonial present.

HIST 425 History of the British Empire and Commonwealth Since 1783 (5) I&S
Britain in the Caribbean, Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific; and the settlement, economic development, and political evolution of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

HIST 452  Southern Africa Since 1500 (5) I&S
Explores the history of Southern Africa from pre-colonial social institutions through European colonialism and industrialization to the post-apartheid present. Focuses on the interplay between race, class, ethnicity, and gender in the structuring of political relations. Emphasis on understanding how various historical actors and historians have interpreted these processes.

HSTEU 484, Colonial Encounters  (5) I&S
History of European colonialism, focusing on British, French, and Dutch colonial encounters from 1750s to 1950s. Units on colonial law, medicine, religion, sexuality, and commodity culture. Offered: jointly with CHID 484.

MUSIC 317 Music Cultures of the World (5) I&S/VLPA 
Music of Africa, Americas , and Oceania . Content varies.

NEAR E/SISME 210  Introduction to Islamic Civilization (5) I&S/VLPA
Major developments in Islamic civilization from advent of Islam in seventh century to present. Islamic history, law, theology, and mysticism, as well as the politics, cultures, and literatures of the various Islamic societies. Offered: jointly with SISME 210.

NEAR E 221 Digital Egypt (3) I&S/VLPA
Uses technology to explore themes surrounding the study of Egypt , from ancient times through the early Islamic period. Intended as a broad interdisciplinary introduction to Egypt 's history and cultural legacy.

NEAR E 350 The City of Cairo (3) I&S/VLPA
Development of Fustat and Cairo , 600-1800, with special emphasis on art and architecture. Consideration of the economic, social, and geographical influences on the creation of the distinctive Egyptian styles of Islamic art. Offered: jointly with ART H 350.

NEAR E 451 Pharaonic Egypt in the Context of the Ancient Near East (3) I&S/VLPA
Surveys the history, literature, and archaeology of ancient Egypt from the first pharaohs to the conquest of Alexander the Great. Introduces the field of Egyptology, and focuses on the continuity of Egyptian history and culture in context. Slide presentations supplement the readings and in-class lectures.

POL S 331 Government and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa (5) I&S
Breakdown of traditional society and the problems of building modern political systems.

POL S 449  Politics of Developing Areas (5) I&S
Comparative study of problems of national integration and political development in the new states of Asia and Africa .

POL S 450 State-Society Relations in Third World Countries (5) I&S
Relationships among political, social, and economic changes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America . Problems of economic and political development, revolution and reform, state-society relations, imperialism and dependency. Offered: jointly with SIS 456.

RELIG 211 Islam (5) I&S/VLPA
Introduction to important cultural and historical aspects of Islam, focusing on basic concepts and developments such as prophethood, Quran and Hadith, canon and law, ritual, social theory, Sufism, theology, and sectarianism. Special attention to comparison of varied Muslim practices and beliefs, and their relation to textual and personal authority. Offered: jointly with NEAR E 211.

SIS 330 Political Economy of Development (5) I&S
Growth, income distribution, and economic development in less-developed countries today. Policies concerning trade, industrialization, the agricultural sector, human resources, and financing of development. Prerequisite: ECON 201 which may be taken concurrently.

SIS 335 Geography of the Developing World (5) I&S
Characteristics and causes, external and internal, of Third World development and obstacles to that development. Special attention to demographic and agricultural patterns, resource development, industrialization, and urbanization, drawing on specific case studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America . Offered: jointly with GEOG 335.

SIS 401 International Political Economy (5) I&S
Establishment, maintenance, and decay of the post-1945 international economic order. Political economy of international trade, monetary relations, inflation, and North-South relations. Prerequisite: SIS 201 which may be taken concurrently; ECON 201 which may be taken concurrently.

SIS 456/ POL S 450  State-Society Relations in Third World Countries (5) I&S
Relationships among political, social, and economic changes in Asia, Africa, and Latin America .  Problems of economic and political development, revolution and reform, state-society relations, imperialism and dependency. Offered: jointly with POL S 450.

SISAF 399 Study Abroad: African Studies (1-5, max. 15)
I&SFor participants in study abroad program. Specific content varies. Courses do not automatically apply to major/minor requirements.

SISAF 444 African Studies Seminar (5, max. 15)
I&SInterdisciplinary seminar focusing upon one particular aspect of the African continent. Emphasis may be humanistic, social scientific, or historical. African Studies faculty and visiting scholars lecture on areas of their own expertise. 

SISAF 490 Special Topics (1-5, max. 15) I&S

SISAF 499 Undergraduate Research (1-5, max. 15)

WOMEN 345 Women and International Economic Development (5) I&SQuestions how women are affected by economic development in Third World and celebrates redefinitions of what development means. Theoretical perspectives and methods to interrogate gender and development policies introduced. Current processes of globalization and potential for changing gender and economic inequalities assessed. Offered: jointly with SIS 345/ANTH 345.