African Studies Center

University of Pennsylvania
Choose a semester: Fall 2014 | Spring 2014 | Fall 2013 |Spring 2013 | Fall 2012 | Summer 2012 | Spring 2012 | Fall 2011 | Spring 2011 | Fall 2010 | Spring 2010 | Fall 2009
Fall 2010 Course List
Course Name Course # Section Cross– Listings Type Instructor Fulfills Meeting Time CU's Notes
Narratives: Africa & Asia This course provides an introduction to the society, culture and history of ancient Egypt. The objective of the course is to provide an understanding of how ancient Egypt emerged as one of the most successful and long-lived Civilizations in world history. AFST-038 401 NELC-038 SEM STAFF Cross Cultural Analysis TR 3-4:30 PM
World Music & CulturesDraws on repertories of various societies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas to examine relations between aesthetic productions and social processes. Iinvestigate musical sounds, cultural logics informing those sounds, and social strategies of performance. Topics may include indigenous music theories, music and social organization, symbolic expressions and musical meaning, gender, religion, and social change. AFST-050 401 AFRC-050 FOLK-022 MUSC-050 LEC ROMMEN T. Cross Cultural Analysis
Cultural Diversity in the US
Arts & Letters Sector
TR 10:30-12PM
AFST-050 402 AFRC-050 FOLK-022 MUSC-051 LEC STAFF Cross Cultural Analysis
Cultural Diversity in the US
Arts & Letters Sector
MWF 10-11AM
AFST-050 403 AFRC-050 FOLK-022 MUSC-051 LEC STAFF Cross Cultural Analysis
Cultural Diversity in the US
Arts & Letters Sector
MWF 11-12PM
AFST-050 404 AFRC-050 FOLK-022 MUSC-051 LEC STAFF Cross Cultural Analysis
Cultural Diversity in the US
Arts & Letters Sector
MWF 1-2PM
AFST-050 404 AFRC-050 FOLK-022 MUSC-051 LEC STAFF Cross Cultural Analysis
Cultural Diversity in the US
Arts & Letters Sector
MWF 12-1PM
Music of AfricaAfrican Contemporary Music: North, South, East, and West. Come to know contemporary Africa through the sounds of its music: from South African kwela, jazz, marabi, and kwaito to Zimbabwean chimurenga; Central African soukous and pygmy pop; West African fuji, and North African rai and hiphop. Through reading and listening to live performance, audio and video recordings, we will examine the music of Africa and its intersections with politics, history, gender, and religion in the colonial and post-colonial era. AFST-053 401 401 AFRC-053 COML-053 MUSC-053 LEC MULLER C.   TR 1:30-3PM  
Colonial & Postcolonial FictionFocus on 20th century writers from Britain and its former colonies, and one novel from former French colonies Mali and Senegal. Class discussions on: "Englishness" (or "Frenchness") & otherness, civilization & barbarism, power & knowledge, the metropolis & the periphery, writing & orality. Appealing to students interested in race & gender, and literature & politics, as well as students who want to read interesting books. Concentration on Africa ( my area of specialization), but not exclusively. Writing requirements: a mid-term and final paper around 8-10 pp. Likely books: Conrad, Heart of Darkness or Coetzee, "The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee," Forster, Passage to India, Waugh, Black Mischief, Lessing, The Grass is Singing, Rhys, The Wide Sargasso, Sea Greene, The Quiet American, Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Ousmane, God's Bits of Wood, Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians, Ishiguru, The Remains of the Day, and Rushdie, Shame or East/West. Likely films: Aguirre, The Wrath of God, The Battle of Algiers, and Black and White in Color. AFST-065 401 401 COML-065 ENGL-065 LEC BARNARD R.   TR 3-4:30 PM  
Africa Since 1800Survey of major themes, events, and personalities in African history from the early nineteenth century through the 1960s. Topics include abolition of the slave trade, European imperialism, impact of colonial rule, African reistance, religious and cultural movements, rise of nationalism and pan-Africanism, issues of ethnicity and "tribalism" in modern Africa. AFST-076 401 AFRC-076 HIST-076 LEC CASSANELLI L. Cross Cultural Analysis
History & Tradition Sector
MW 12-1pm Registration required for LEC and REC
  AFST-076 402 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   F 11-12PM  
  AFST-076 403 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   F 12-1PM  
  AFST-076 404 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   F 12-1PM  
  AFST-076 405 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   F 1-2PM  
  AFST-076 406 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   F 2-3PM  
  AFST-076 407 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   F 1-2PM  
  AFST-076 408 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   R 4:30-5:30PM  
  AFST-076 409 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   R 4:30-5:30PM  
  AFST-076 410 AFRC-076 HIST-076 REC STAFF   R 12-1PM  
The Darfur ConflictDuring the past few years, issues that pertain to the conflict in Darfur - Sudan were brought to attention by diverse constituents from policy makers, human rights activists, national and international entities, each advocating its own interest. Unlike other African wars, the Darfur conflict has gotten unprecedented media and public attention in the US at a time when the US is involved in other global wars. This course will provide in-depth analysis of the Darfur conflict based upon the ideology of the Sudanese government since it ascended to power in 1989, and the role of regional and international politics that keep the conflict on-going. The course will also explore the role of local militia, the politics of aid in war-torn areas and the role of Sudan neighbors in the Darfur conflict and how this could be related to other on-going conflicts in Sudan upon its future. AFST-169 601   LEC DINAR A. Cross Cultural Analysis T 4:30-7:30PM Non-LPS Students need permission from Dept.
Intro to AfricaIn this course, we will learn about the history and cultural diversity of Africa. Beginning with classic ethnographic approaches, we learn about the kinship, social relations, and everyday life in African villages and urban centers. Shifting to historical perspectives, we study the structural transformations wrought by the slave trade, focusing on local impacts and cultural implications. As we move to the colonial period of the 19th century, we will see how African resistance to foreign domination surged into nationalist movements for independence. Examining the postcolonial situation, noting how African social and political systems become mixed with the politics of the postcolonial nation-state and the global economy. Finally, we will sample the newspapers, film, and music of Africa to discover the cultural distinctiveness of African media. AFST-190 401 AFRC 190 ANTH 190 HIST 190 LEC HASTY Society Sector TR 12-1:30pm 1 Required for African Studies major or minor
Arts of Africa South of the SaharaThis introductory course examines the significant artistic and architectural traditions of African cultures south of the Sahara in their religious, philosophical, political, and social aspects. Emphasis is placed on aesthetic canons, systems of thought, mythology, rituals, and masquerades. Organized thematically (aesthetics, spirituality, masking traditions, ancient art, status and gender in art, architecture, textiles, and body decoration), the course addresses several issues around the production, the meaning, and the use of art in African traditional and contemporary cultures. African sculpture's major influence over modern art and issues around the status of contemporary African art on global art markets will conclude the course. AFST-209 601 AFRC-209 ARTH-209 LEC TOURE-REMCH D.   TBA   Non-LPS Students need permission from Dept.
Religion & Colonial Rule in AfricaFocus on experiences of Africans from era of the European “Scramble for Africa” in the 1880’s to the years of independence in the 1960’s, through the lens of African religious practices and movements. The course’s purpose: 1) to develop awareness of the wide range of meanings of conversion and peoples’ motives in creating and adhering to religious organizations; 2) to examine the political, cultural, and psychological dimensions in the development of religious social movements in colonial Africa; And 3) to investigate the function of religion as instrument of cultural and political resistance to European colonial domination. We will explore the role of African Tradition Religions (ATRs), Islam, European missionaries, African churches, millenarian and reform movements, education and leadership. Students will examine colonial documents, African oral traditions, spiritual songs and prayers, and contemporary religious writings to gain an understanding of the meaning of religion in African life during a period of great change on the continent. AFST-232 401 HIST 232 SEM BABOU C.   TBA  
Topics in the Literature of Africa and the African Diaspora: CityscapesThis seminar examines fiction and films set in cities including Dakar, Palmares, Kingston, Paris, Bulawayo, Algiers, London, and Johannesburg. In each text experiences of urban space are central. We will consider what is unique about cities in the African diaspora and in Africa, and what may or may not justify calling metropolitan cities like Philadelphia part of the African diaspora. In addition to analyzing texts in the classroom we will engage with Penn’s neighborhood, West Philadelphia, where emerging relationships between recent black immigrants and the historical African American culture(s) of this city reveal new aspects of “diaspora.” We will draw upon critical essays on geography and space by authors such as Henri Lefèbvre, David Harvey, Achille Mbembe, Arjun Appadurai, Édouard Glissant, Brent Hayes Edwards as we work out our own definition(s) of a "cityscape." Although all texts will be available in English, students with reading ability in other languages are encouraged to read in the original. ENGL-271 401 AFRC 276 COML 273 JAJI T. TR 3-4:30pm
Islam & Society in AfricaThis course is designed to provide the students with a broad understanding of the history of Islam in Africa. The focus will be mostly on West Africa, but we will also look at developments in other regions of the continent. We will examine the process of islamization in Africa and the interplay between Islam and the African traditional religions and customs. Topics include conversion, Islamic education and literacy, the status of women, Muslim responses to European colonial domination, Islamic mysticism, and the contemporary development of Sunni movements. AFST-274 401 AFRC-274 HIST-275 LEC BABOU C. Cross Cultural Analysis TR 10:30-12PM  
Sustainable Development in Ghana AFST-296 301 SEM CASSANELLI TBA 1 Prerequisite EAS 296
Senior Thesis AFST-300     IND CASSANELLI L.     Permission Needed from Dept.
Survey of Francophone LitThis class will explore the African city as a site of colonial and postcolonial exchanges by way of twentieth-century European and African representations. We will examine, on the one hand, the status of the urban ,located in Africa in European works from the colonial period (fiction and non-ficiton including Gide, Leiris, Londres). On the other hand, we will study Africans, focusing on the dreams and transformations involved in the passage from the village to the city to the metropole. Essays from history, sociology, urban studies and postcolonial theory will supplement the study of the primary texts. All readings, class discussions and written assignments in French. AFST-390   AFRC-391 FREN-390 SEM MOUDILENO L.   TR 10:30-12PM  
Public Interest WorkshopThis is an interdisciplinary workshop sponsored by Peggy Reeves Sanday (Dept of Anthropology) with guest speakers from Communication Studies and other fields. Open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students, the workshop is a response to Amy Gutmann's call for interdisciplinary cooperation across the University and to the Dept. of Anthropology's commitment to developing public nterest research and practice as a disciplinary theme. The workshop will be run as an open interdisciplinary forum on framing a public interest social science that ties theory and action. Students are encouraged to apply the framing model to a public interest research and action topic of their choice. Examples of public interest topics to be discussed in class and through outside speakers include the meaning of "public interest," the ways in which the public interest is/is not addressed in the academy, and the relationship of studying the public interest to social justice. This is an academically-based-community-service (ABCS) course. AFST-516 401 ANTH-516 SEM SANDAY P.   T 10-1PM An Academically Based Community Service course
Old EgyptianThis course is an introduction to the language of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. The grammar of the period will be introduced during the early part of the semester, using Ededl's ALTAGYPTISCHE GRAMMATIK as the basic reference. Other grammatical studies to be utilized will include works by Allen, Baier, Polotsky, Satzinger, Gilula, Doret, and Silverman. The majority of the time in the course will be devoted to reading varied textual material: the unpublished inscriptions in the tomb of the Old Kingdom official Kapure--on view in the collection of the University Museum; several autobiographical inscriptions as recorded by Sethe in URKUNDEN I; and a letter in hieratic (Baer, ZAS 03. 1077. 1-9). AFST-563 401   LEC ROBERSON J.   TBA  
Independent Study AFST-999     IND STAFF   TBA See Dept. for Section Numbers . Permission Needed from Dept.
Languages
Course Name Course # Section Cross– Listings Type Instructor Fulfills Meeting Time CU's Notes
Amharic
Elementary Amharic I AFST-240 680 AFRC-240 AFRC-540 AFST-540 NELC-481 LEC HAILU Y.   MW 5-7PM 1  
Intermediate Amharic I AFST-242 680 AFRC-242 AFRC-453 AFST-543 NELC-483 LEC HAILU Y.   TR 5:30-7:30PM 1 Prior Language Experience Required
Advanced Amharic I AFST-247 680 AFRC-247 AFRC-548 AFST-547 LEC HAILU Y. Cross Cultural Analysis TR 7:30-9:30PM 1  
Igbo
Elementary Igbo IAFST-490681 LECNWADIORA C. MW 5-7PM1 
Intermediate Igbo IAFST-492681 LECNWADIORA C. TR 5-7PM1Penn Language Center Permission Needed
Advanced Igbo IAFST-494681 LECNWADIORA C. MW 7:15-9:15PM1Penn Language Center Permission Needed
Swahili
Elementary Swahili IAFST-180680AFRC-180 AFST-580LECMSHOMBA E. TR 12-2PM1 
Intermediate Swahili IAFST-280680AFRC-280 AFST-582LECMSHOMBA E. TR 10:30-12PM, F 3-4PM1Prior Language Experience Required
Advanced Swahili IAFST-284680AFRC-284 AFST 584LECMSHOMBA E.Cross Cultural AnalysisMW 9-11AM1 
Swahili Language and Culture I (4th Yr)AFST-484680AFST-590LECMSHOMBA E.Cross Cultural AnalysisTBA1 
Tigrinya
Elementary Tigrinya IAFST-490683 LECMEBRAHTU F. TR 6-8PM1 
Intermediate Tigrinya IAFST-492683 LECMEBRAHTU F. TBA1Penn Language Center Permission Needed
Advanced Tigrinya IAFST-494683 LECMEBRAHTU F. TBA1Penn Language Center Permission Needed
Twi
Elementary Twi IAFST-160 680 AFRC-162 AFST-562 LEC K. OFOSU-DONKOH   TR 4:30-6:30PM 1  
Intermediate Twi IAFST-262 680 AFST-566 LEC K. OFOSU-DONKOH   TR 6:30-8:30PM 1 Prior Language Experience Required
Advanced Twi IAFST-362 680 AFST-568 LEC K. OFOSU-DONKOH Cross Cultural AnalysisTR 2:30-4:30PM1
Wolof
Elementary Wolof IAFST-490682 LECTHIOUNE M. MW 6-8PM1 
Intermediate Wolof IAFST-492682 LECTHIOUNE M. TR 6-8PM1Penn Language Center Permission Needed
Advanced Wolof IAFST-494682 LECTHIOUNE M. TBA  
Yoruba
Elementary Yoruba IAFST-170680AFRC-170 AFST-517LECAWOYALE Y. MW 5-7PM1 
Intermediate Yoruba IAFST-270680AFRC-270LECAWOYALE Y. TR 7-9PM1Prior Language Experience Required
Advanced Yoruba IAFST-370680AFST-587LECAWOYALE Y.Cross Cultural AnalysisF 5-9PM1 
Zulu
Elementary Zulu IAFST-150680AFRC-151 AFST-550LECMBEJE A. MW 3-5PM1 
Intermediate Zulu IAFST-250680AFST-552LECMBEJE A. TR 3-5PM1Prior Language Experience Required
Advanced Zulu IAFST-350680AFST-554LECMBEJE A.Cross Cultural AnalysisTR 6-8PM1 
IND Study
Independent Study: LangAFST-9900 INDSTAFF TBA1See Dept. for Section Numbers, Permission Needed from Dept.

© 2010 African Studies Center | 647 Williams Hall | 255 S 36th Street

Philadelphia, PA | 19104-6305, USA | Ph: 215.898.6971 | Fax: 215.573.7379