African Studies Center

University of Pennsylvania
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Spring 2013 Course List
Course Name Course # Section Cross– Listings Type Instructor Fulfills Meeting Time CU's Notes
World Music & CulturesDraws on repertories of various societies from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas to examine relations between aesthetic productions and social processes. We investigate 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 053 401 AFRC 053 MUSC 051 LEC LEC Muller C Cross Cultural Analysis TR 12-1:30 PM 1
African Hist before 1800Survey of major themes and issues in African history before 1800. Topics include: early civilizations, African kingdoms and empires, population movements, the spread of Islam, the slave trade era. Also, emphasis on how historians use archaeology, linguistics, and oral traditions to reconstruct Africa's early history. AFST 075 401 AFRC 075 HIST 075 LEC Babou C Hist & Trad Sector
Cross Cultural Analysis
MW 11-12 PM 0 Registration required for LEC, REC
  AFST 075 402 AFRC 075 HIST 075 REC Staff Hist & Trad Sector
Cross Cultural Analysis
F 10-11 AM 1 Registration required for LEC, REC
  AFST 075 403 AFRC 075 HIST 075 REC Staff Hist & Trad Sector
Cross Cultural Analysis
F 11-12 PM 1 Registration required for LEC, REC
  AFST 075 404 AFRC 075 HIST 075 REC Staff Hist & Trad Sector
Cross Cultural Analysis
F 1-2 PM 1 Registration required for LEC, REC
African ReligionsReligion permeates all aspects of African life and thought. There is no dichotomy between religion and society in Africa. Religion is therefore an essential tool for understanding and appreciating the behaviors and lifestyles of African peoples. In this course, we will survey some of the indigenous religions of Africa and examine their nature and their philosophical foundations. We will examine African systems of belief, myths, symbols, and rituals, as developed by African societies to express their distinctive worldviews. We will also raise a few general questions about the interrelationship of religion and culture as well as religion and social change in Africa, and the challenges of modern technologies to African beliefs. Focus will be on West African religions, including those of Akan of Ghana, Yoruba of Nigeria, and Mende of Sierra Leone. Questions are provided (a) to guide and direct reading (b) to form the basis for discussion (c) as exercises and (d) for examinations. AFST 210 601 AFRC 210 RELS 210 LEC Ofosu-Donkoh M 6-9 PM 1
Afr. Women's Lives Past/Pres.Restoring women to African history is a worthy goal, but easier said than done. The course examines scholarship over the past forty years that brings to light previously overlooked contributions African women have made to political struggle, religious change, culture preservation, and economic development from pre-colonial times to present. The course addresses basic questions about changing women's roles and human rights controversies associated with African women within the wider cultural and historical contexts in which their lives are lived. It also raises fundamental questions about sources, methodology, and representation, including the value of African women's oral and written narrative and cinema production as avenues to insider perspectives on African women's lives. (instructor requests course to be submitted for: cross cultural analysis fulfillment consideration) AFST 221 601 GSWS 222 LEC Blakely P T 4:30-7:30 PM 1
African Lang. & CultureThe aim of the course is to provide a general perspective on African languages and African linguistics. No background in linguistics is necessary. Students will be introduced to theoretical linguistics-its concepts, theories, ways of argumentation, data collection, data analysis, and data interpretation. The focus will be on the languages and linguistics of Africa to provide you with the knowledge and skills required to handle the language and language-related issues typical of African conditions. We will cover topics related to formal linguistics (phonology/phonetics, morphology, syntax, and semantics), aspects of pragmatics as well as the general socio-linguistic character of African countries. We will also cover language in context, language and culture, borrowing, multilingualism, and cross-cultural communication in Africa AFST 225 401 AFRC 225 LEC Mbeje A Cross Cultural Analysis TR 1:30-3 PM 1
Contemp Issues African SocThis course will look at several key issues occuring in African countries such as health and mortality, religion and the rise of Pentecostal Christianity, migration and development including brain drain phenomenon, African migrant assimilation (including refugees) in the U.S., political governance, human traffiking, etc. Before delving into these issues, the class shall spend some time understanding the history of Africa before and after colonial rule and the fight for indpendence. The class shall integrate census and other survey data. Films and other media shall be incorporated into class lectures. AFST 230 402 AFRC 230 SOCI 230 SEM Imoagene O TR 10:30-12 PM 1
Migration and Refugees in African HistoryThis seminar will examine the experiences of recent African emigrants and refugees from a historical and comparative perspective. We will look at the relations of overseas Africans with both their home and host societies, drawing on some of the extensive comparative literature on immigration, ethnic diasporas, and transnationalism. Other topics include reasons for leaving Africa, patterns of economic and educational adaptation abroad, changes in gender and generational roles, issues of cultural, religious, and political identity, and the impact of international immigration policies. Students will have the opportunity to conduct focused research on specific African communities in Philadelphia or elsewhere in North America, Europe, or the Middle East. We will employ a variety of sources and methodologies from different disciplines--including newspapers, government and NGOs, literature and film, and diaspora internet sites--to explore the lives, aspirations, and perceptions of Africans abroad. AFST 232 402 HIST 232 AFRC 233 SEM Babou M 2-5 PM 1
Senior ThesisIndividual research under faculty supervision culminating in a thesis AFST 300 0 IND Cassanelli L TBA 1 Permission needed from department
African Political Economy: Contemporary Issues in DevelopmentThis course critically investigates the political economy of development on the African continent. In both academic literature and the popular consciousness, Africa is often dismissed as the world’s "basket case." In the context of a graduate-level introduction to political and economic development on the African continent, the course will consider why the region has come to be regarded in this manner. The objective of the course is to provide students interested in doing research on Africa relevant background with which to better explore diverse topics and projects. As a class, we will examine the politics of economic relations between Africa and the West and study how governments frame national policies in the face of critical political, economic, and social considerations. As such, we will explore the following topics: pre-colonial legacies, the slave trade, colonialism, diverse African economic policies, ideologies, and institutions, and aid and development interventions. We will investigate how African fiscal and monetary policies are influenced by history, politics, and culture and in doing so engage key debates within the larger field of development studies. In this way, we will question narratives that lead to declarations of Africa as the world's foremost example of a "basket case." AFST 515 401 PSCI 516 SEM Markovits M W 6-9 PM 1 Undergraduates need permission
Public Interest WorkshopPublic interest ethnography workshop that incorporates an interdisciplinary approach to exploring issues. 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 interest research and practice as a disciplinary theme. Rooted in the rubric of public interest social science, the course focuses on: 1) merging problem solving with theory and analysis in the interest of change motivated by commitment to social justice, harmony, equality and human rights; and 2) engaging in the public debate on human issues to make research results accessible to a broader audience. Students are encouraged to apply the framing model to a public interest research and action topic of their choice. AFST 516 401 ANTH 516 GSWS 516 URBS 516 SEM Suess G W 2-5 PM 1 Acad Based Community Serv Course
The New Global South: China in Africa & Latin AmerChinese economic and political engagements now stretch across the globe from Africa to Latin America. This state of affairs is hardly historically unique - complex interconnections have existed for centuries. Yet this course looks behind the numbers to consider whether the curent moment is qualitatively different from earlier iterations of globalization. How do we understand a road bulit by Chinese laborers in Nigeria, a ""Chinese"" airport in Sudan, a copper mine in Zambia, a gold mine in Peru, oil investments in Venezuela and Ecuador, or massively increasing trade with Brazil? Together we will explore Chinese state and firm-level interventions in Africa and Latin America as harbingers of an emergent gloabal economic structure, largely defined by intensified re-configured South-South linkages. Through the disciplinary mehtods of anthropology, political economy, management, and media studies we will consider both the historical context of intensified Chinese involvement in these regions and a wide range of more contemporary ethnographies and case studies. In the process, we will subject transnational economic studies, the statements of managers and officials, and popular culture texts alike to fine-grained readings. AFST 522 401 ANTH 522 LALS 522 EALC 548 SEM Bund A W 5-8 PM 1 Undergraduates need permission
Independent StudyMay be taken for research connected with the Ph.D. dissertation with the consent of the faculty adviser. AFST 999 0 IND Cassanelli L TBA 1 Permission needed from department
Languages
Course Name Course # Section Cross– Listings Type Instructor Fulfills Meeting Time CU's Notes
Afrikaans
Elementary Afrikaans II AFST 491 686 AFRC 491 Lec Holtzman G MW 5-7pm 1 Department permission needed
Intermediate Afrikaans II AFST 493 686 AFRC 493 Lec Holtzman G TBA 1 Department permission needed
Advanced Afrikaans II AFST 494 686 AFRC 495 Lec Holtzman G TBA 1 Department permission needed
Amharic
Elementary Amharic II AFST 241 680 AFRC 241 AFRC 541 AFST 541 NELC 482 Lec Hailu Y MW 5:30-7:30pm 1
Intermediate Amharic II AFST 243 680 AFRC 243 AFRC 544 AFST 544 NELC 484 Lec Hailu Y TR 6-8 PM 1
Advanced Amharic II AFST 247 680 AFST 547 Lec Zemichael E Cross Cultural Analysis W 8-10 PM
F 3-5 PM
1
Amharic Language & Culture II AFST 249 680 Lec Hailu Y Cross Cultural Analysis MW 7:30-9:30pm 1
Igbo
Elementary Igbo II AFST 491 681 AFRC 491 Lec Nwadiora C MW 7-9 PM 1 Department permission needed
Intermediate Igbo II AFST 493 681 AFRC 493 Lec Nwadiora C MW 5-7 PM 1 Department permission needed
Advanced Igbo II AFST 495 681 AFRC 495 Lec Nwadiora C TBA 1 Department permission needed
Igbo Lang & Culture II AFST 499 681 AFRC 497 Lec Nwadiora C MW 7-9 PM 1 Department permission needed
MANINKA
Elementary Maninka II AFST 491 687 AFST 596 LEC Traore I TBA 1 Department permission needed
Intermediate Maninka II AFST 493 687 AFST 597 LEC Traore I TBA 1 Department permission needed
Advanced Maninka II AFST 495 687 AFST 599 LEC Traore I TBA 1 Department permission needed
Sudanese Arabic
Sudanese Arabic II AFST 559 680 ARAB 549 Lec Ali-Dinar A TBA 1
SWAHILI
Elementary Swahili II AFST 181 680 AFRC 181 AFST 581 Lec Mshomba E TR 12-2pm 1
Intermediate Swahili II AFST 281 680 AFRC 282 AFST 583 Lec Mshomba E TR 10:30am-12pm, F 3-4pm 1
Advanced Swahili II AFST 285 680 AFRC 285 AFST 586 Lec Mshomba E Cross Cultural Analysis TR 9-10:30am, F 4-5 1
Swahili Language & Culture II AFST 485 680 AFST 591 Lec Mshomba E Cross Cultural Analysis TBA 1
TIGRINYA
Elementary Tigrinya II AFST 491 683 AFRC 491 Lec Mebrahtu F TR 6-8pm 1 Department permission needed
Intermediate Tigrinya II AFST 493 683 AFRC 493 Lec Mebrahtu F TR 2-4 PM 1 Department permission needed
Advanced Tigrinya II AFST 495 683 AFRC 495 Lec Mebrahtu F TR 4-6 PM 1 Department permission needed
TWI
Elementary Twi II AFST 161 680 AFRC 163 AFST 565 Lec Ofosu-Donkoh K TR 4:30-6:30pm 1
Intermediate Twi II AFST 263 680 AFRC 265 AFST 567 Lec Ofosu-Donkoh K TR 6:30-8:30pm 1
Advanced Twi II AFST 363 680 AFRC 364 AFST 569 Lec Ofosu-Donkoh K Cross Cultural Analysis TR 2:30-6:30pm 1
Wolof
Elementary Wolof II AFST 491 682 AFRC 491 Lec Thioune M MW 5-7pm 1 Permission needed from department
Intermediate Wolof II AFST 493 682 AFRC 493 Lec Thioune M TR 2-4 PM 1 Permission needed from department
Advanced Wolof II AFST 495 682 AFRC 495 Lec Thioune M TBA 1 Permission needed from department
Yoruba
Elementary Yoruba II AFST 171 680 AFRC 171 AFST 518 Lec Awoyale Y MW 5-7pm 1
Intermediate Yoruba II AFST 271 680 AFRC 271 AFST 532 Lec Awoyale Y TR 7-9pm 1
Advanced Yoruba II AFST 371 680 AFST 588 Lec Awoyale Y Cross Cultural Analysis TBA 1
Yoruba Language & Culture AFST 487 680 Lec Cross Cultural Analysis TR 3-5pm 1
Zulu
Elementary Zulu: Accl. AFST 149 680 AFRC 149 AFRC 549 Lec Mbeje A TR 6-9 PM 2
Elementary Zulu II AFST 151 680 AFRC 152 AFST 551 Lec Mbeje A MW 3-5 PM 1
Intermediate Zulu II AFST 251 680 AFRC 251 AFST 553 Lec Magaya L T 5-7 PM
R 12-2 PM
1
Advanced Zulu II AFST 351 680 AFRC 351 AFST 555 Lec Magaya L Cross Cultural Analysis T 7-9 PM
R 5-7 PM
1

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