African Studies Center

University of Pennsylvania
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Fall 2012 Course List
Course Name Course # Section Cross– Listings Type Instructor Fulfills Meeting Time CU's Notes
Gospel MusicIn this seminar you will learn the history and culture of gospel music as an African American and contemporary African musical form. You will come to know gospel music as a written, recorded, and living musical tradition, thorugh close listening, reading and writing about, the music; and you will participate in a class research project with Philadelphia based gospel musicians. This is an academically based community service seminar. AFST 016 401 AFRC 016 MUSC 016 Sem Muller

T 2-5pm 1 Freshman Seminar
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 resistance, 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 Hist & Trad Sector MW 12-1pm 0 Registration required for Lec, Rec
  AFST 076 402 AFRC 076 HIST 076 Rec Staff Hist & Trad Sector F 11am-12pm 0 Registration required for Lec, Rec
  AFST 076 403 AFRC 076 HIST 076 Rec Staff Hist & Trad Sector F 12-1pm 0 Registration required for Lec, Rec
  AFST 076 404 AFRC 076 HIST 076 Rec Staff Hist & Trad Sector F 1-2pm 0 Registration required for Lec, Rec
  AFST 076 405 AFRC 076 HIST 076 Rec Staff Hist & Trad Sector F 1-2pm 0 Registration required for Lec, Rec
  AFST 076 406 AFRC 076 HIST 076 Rec Staff Hist & Trad Sector F 1-2pm 0 Registration required for Lec, Rec
  AFST 076 407 AFRC 076 HIST 076 Rec Staff Hist & Trad Sector R 4:30-5:30pm 0 Registration required for Lec, Rec
  AFST 076 408 AFRC 076 HIST 076 Rec Staff Hist & Trad Sector R 12-1pm 0 Registration required for Lec, Rec
Introduction to AfricaDuring the semester we will focus on people and communties of sub-Saharan Africa and on the ways people represent, reflect on, and react to various aspects and issues in their lives and the institutions which dominate their communities. We will focus particularly on the history, contemporary expression, and inter-relationships among politics, religion, and aesthetic practice. Members of Penn's African Studies community will share their expertise with the class and introduce the University's Africa resources. Texts consist of weekly readings, films, and recordings; and class members will be expected to attend several lectures outside of class. AFST 190 401 AFRC 190 ANTH 190 HIST 190 Lec Hasty Society Sector TR 12-1:30pm 1
African Art & the WestAfrican sculptures that are prized most highly by the international art market are those pieces that are indicated to have been used for ritual purposes. It is curious then that these same pieces are those that have also been relegated to glass cases in private collections and museums to be contemplated as “art for art’s sake.” The ideologies reflected by this transformation from ritual object to art object is one topic we examine as we look at African art and the West from the Renaissance to the present. Other topics include the importance of African art to the early modernist movement, the role of cultural tourism in preserving African indigenous art, and the trans-national commentary of contemporary African artists. This course also concerns the misappropriation of African cultural artifacts and ways in which standard museum practices de-contextualize these artifacts, distort their meaning, and perpetuate colonial hierarchies. For the term project, students will explore benefits and limitations of cybermuseology, working collaboratively to create a web exhibit to complement the Africa collection at the Penn Museum. AFST218 601 ARTH 209 Lec Blakely T 4:30-7:30pm 1
Religion & Colonial Rule 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 Afircan religious practices and movements. The course's purpose: 1) to develop awareness of the wide range of meanings of conversation 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, educaiton 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 AFRC 233 HIST 232 Sem Babou R 1:30-4:30pm 1
Contemporary African PoliticsA survey of politics in Africa focusing on the complex relationships between state, society, the economy, and external actors. It will cover colonial rule, the independence struggle, authoritarian and democratic statecraft, international debt, economic development, military rule, ethnicity, and class. AFST 257 001 PSCI 210 Lec Grossman Cross Cultural Analysis MW 10-11am 1
Islam & Society 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 Cross Cultural Analysis TR 12-1:30pm 1
Sustainable Dev in GhanaThis course is mandatory for students participating in the International Development Summer Institute (IDSI). IDSI is a service learning and training program for undergraduates that provides students with the opportunity to have an applied learning and cultural experience in Ghana. The program consists of 5 weeks of pre-program preparation at Penn and a 4-week long training program on the campus of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. AFST 296 401 Sem Cassanelli TBA 1 More Info: Click Here
Department permission needed.
Senior ThesisIndividual research under faculty supervision culminating in a thesis. AFST 300 0 Ind Staff TBA 1 Department permission needed.
International Social Work: Practicing in the Global SouthThis course will introduce students to societal problems in the developing world; familiarize them wth global professions in social work, education, public health, etc.; and prepare them for overseas/cross-cultural practice. Through the course students will identify numerous strategies and skills social workers and other professionals have used to to collaboratively build interventions within the social welfare, education, health care and sustainable community development arenas. This interdisciplinary course will expose students to alternative views of development as they relate to individual, interpersonal, family, community, societal and international change.Students will learn about the history of specific global problems and iniatives aimed at resolution. Students will explore a specific development issue within a country and community, i.e. human trafficking, disaster relief, water & sanitation, women's empowerment, microfinance, etc... AFST 798 402 SWRK 798 Lec Shown W 4-6:30 1
Ind. Study: LanguageIndividual research under faculty supervision culminating in a thesis. AFST 990 0 Ind Staff TBA 1 Department permission needed.
Independent StudyIndividual research under faculty supervision culminating in a thesis. AFST 999 0 Ind Staff TBA 1 Department permission needed.
Languages
Course Name Course # Section Cross– Listings Type Instructor Fulfills Meeting Time CU's Notes
Afrikaans
Elementary Afrikaans AFST 490 686 Lec Staff MW 5-7pm 1 Department permission needed
Intermediate Afrikaans AFST 492 686 Lec Staff TBA 1 Department permission needed
Advanced Afrikaans AFST 494 686 Lec Staff TBA 1 Department permission needed
Amharic
Elementary Amharic I AFST 240 680 AFRC 240 AFRC 540 AFST 540 NELC 481 Lec Hailu MW 5:30-7:30pm 1
Intermediate Amharic I AFST 242 680 AFRC 242 AFRC 543 AFST 543 NELC 483 Lec Hailu TR 5:30-7:30pm Prior language experience required
Advanced Amharic I AFST 247 680 AFRC 247 AFRC 548 AFST 547 Lec Zemichael Cross Cultural Analysis TR 8-10pm 1 Prior language experience required
Amharic Language & Culture I AFST 249 680 Lec Hailu Cross Cultural Analysis MW 7:30-9:30pm 1 4th year language instruction
Hausa
Elementary Hausa I AFST 490 684 Lec Staff TBA 1 Department permission needed
Intermediate Hausa I AFST 492 684 Lec Staff TBA 1 Department permission needed
Advanced Hausa I AFST 494 684 Lec Staff Cross Cultural Analysis TBA 1 Department permission needed
Igbo
Elementary Igbo I AFST 490 681 Lec Nwadiora MW 7-9pm 1 Department permission needed
Intermediate Igbo I AFST 492 681 Lec Nwadiora MW 5-7pm 1 Department permission needed
Advanced Igbo I AFST 494 681 Lec Nwadiora Cross Cultural Analysis TBA 1 Department permission needed
Sudanese Arabic
Sudanese Arabic AFST 548 680 ARAB 548 Lec Dinar TR 12-2pm 1
SWAHILI
Elementary Swahili I AFST 180 680 AFST 180 AFRC 180 Lec Mshomba TR 12-2pm 1
Intermediate Swahili I AFST 280 680 AFST 580 AFRC 280 Lec Mshomba TR 10:30am-12pm, F 3-4pm 1 Prior language experience required
Advanced Swahili I AFST 284 680 AFST 584 AFRC 284 Lec Mshomba Cross Cultural Analysis TR 9-10:30am, F 4-5 1 Prior language experience required
Swahili Language & Culture I AFST 484 680 Lec Mshomba Cross Cultural Analysis TBA 1 4th Year Language Instruction
TIGRINYA
Elementary Tigrinya I AFST 490 683 Lec Zemichael TR 6-8pm 1 Department permission needed
Intermediate Tigrinya I AFST 492 683 Lec Zemichael TR 4-6pm 1 Department permission needed
Advanced Tigrinya I AFST 494 683 Lec Zemichael Cross Cultural Analysis TR 2-4pm 1 Department permission needed
TWI
Elementary Twi I AFST 160 680 AFST 562 AFRC 162 Lec Donkoh TR 4:30-6:30pm 1
Intermediate Twi I AFST 262 680 AFST 566 Lec Donkoh TR 6:30-8:30pm 1 Prior language experience required
Advanced Twi I AFST 362 680 AFST 568 Lec Donkoh Cross Cultural Analysis TR 2:30-4:30 1 Prior language experience required
Wolof
Elementary Wolof I AFST 490 682 Lec Mbacke MW 5-7pm 1 Permission needed from department
Intermediate Wolof I AFST 492 682 Lec Mbacke TR 4-6pm 1 Permission needed from department
Advanced Wolof I AFST 494 682 Lec Mbacke Cross Cultural Analysis TBA 1 Permission needed from department
Yoruba
Elementary Yoruba I AFST 170 680 AFRC 170 AFST 517 Lec Awoyale MW 5-7pm 1
Intermediate Yoruba I AFST 270 680 AFRC 270 Lec Awoyale TR 7-9pm 1 Prior language experience required
Advanced Yoruba I AFST 370 680 AFST 587 Lec Awoyale Cross Cultural Analysis T 12-2pm; F 4-6pm 1 Prior language experience required
Yoruba Language & Culture AFST 486 680 Lec Awoyale Cross Cultural Analysis TR 3-5pm 1 4th Year Language Instruction
Zulu
Elementary Zulu I AFST 150 680 AFRC 151 AFST 552 Lec Mbeje MW 3-5pm 1
Intermediate Zulu I AFST 250 680 AFST 552 Lec Mbeje TR 3-5pm 1 Prior language experience required
Advanced Zulu I AFST 350 680 AFST 554 Lec Mbeje Cross Cultural Analysis MW 12-2pm 1 Prior language experience required

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