African Studies Courses

AFST 200. Independent Study. 3 crs.

AFST 210. Africa in World Culture. 3 crs. A study of Africa's role in and contribution to international intellectual, artistic and cultural movements.

AFST 211. Scope and Methods of African Studies. 3 crs. A general introduction to the interdisciplinary study of Africa, with emphasis on the major paradigms, problem areas, approaches in African Studies, interdisciplinary research methods and techniques, and basic research design and proposal writing.

AFST 212. Theory in African Studies. 3 crs. The theoretical framework of African Studies as an interdisciplinary field of study will be examined with special attention to structuralism, systems theory, organization theory, information theory, political economy and other approaches to African Studies.

AFST 215. Africa in World Politics. 3 crs. A study of Africa's role in the international political system and its relations to the major powers and the less developed nations.

AFST 224. Seminar: Africa in the World Economy. 3 crs. Study of Africa in the changing international economic order, old and new; problems of dependence and interdependence; commodity power and resource bargaining; trade, aid, foreign investment, and debt; and collective self-reliance concerning East/West economic relations.

AFST 225. Public Policy and Development in Africa. 3 crs. This course introduces the student to the basic concepts and processes, and to the political, social, institutional, regional and international context of public policy and decision making in Africa.

AFST 226. Multinational Corporations and African Development. 3 crs. An examination of the nature of multinational corporations and their impact on the political, economic, and social systems of developing nations, with special reference to Africa.

AFST 228 Revolution Change in Africa. 3 crs. An examination of political conflict and change in colonial and precolonial Africa, with emphasis on the national liberation movements - their philosophies, strategies, and tactics - together with the sociopolitical movements from which they sprang.

AFST 229. Planning for Development in Africa I. 3 crs. General principles of development planning, including models, theories, and approaches, with African case studies.

AFST 230. Planning for Development in Africa II. 3 crs. In-depth analysis of the planning experience in select African countries, with an emphasis on policy issues and management problems in the formulation and implementation of development plans.

AFST 231. Women and Development in Africa. 3 crs. The role of women in the economic, social and political development of Africa; questions of gender, inequality and movements for change.

AFST 237. Africa and International Law and Organizations. 3 crs. A study of the strategies advanced by African states to change the world system by using international organizations or influencing their decisions to address issues of concern to Africa.

AFST 238. Development and Underdevelopment. 3 crs. A general introduction to the study of development and underdevelopment. Discussion of the meaning of development; development and underdevelopment in a historical perspective; the sociology of development (for whom and how); the politics of development (development policy and administration); and the economics of development (development planning).

AFST 240. Rural Development. 3 crs. Systemic approach to the study of African rural development and underdevelopment, problems of modernizing peasant societies, the rural response to industrialization, peasant wars in the twentieth century, and comprehensive planning for rural development.

AFST 242. Development Policy and Administration. 3 crs. Determinants of development policymaking process, the organizational framework of policy implementation, and administrative performance. Case studies of selected African countries.

AFST 244. Urban Development in Africa. 3 crs. An examination of the political economy of urbanization in Africa, including the economic structure, spatial organization, and politico-administrative framework of African urban life.

AFST 245. Foreign Policy-Making in African States. 3 crs. Study of the determinants, organizational framework, and processes involved in developing foreign policy in African states.

AFST 291. Language, Thought and Reality. 3 crs. Examination of the relationship between verbal expression and other forms of communication as well as the relationship between verbal forms and logic, conceptual systems, and the perception of reality.

AFST 301. Thesis Research (M.A.). 1-3 crs.

AFST 304. Africa in World Affairs. 3 crs. Examination of Africa's position and role in the world economy, world politics, and world culture.

AFST 305. Advanced Seminar on Africa World Affairs. 3 crs.

AFST 306. Advanced Seminar in Research Methodology. 3 crs.

AFST 307. Advanced Seminar on Public Policy and Development. 3 crs.

AFST 309. Advanced Seminar in Language, Literature, and the Arts. 3 crs.

AFST 310. Dissertation Research (Ph.D.) 1-3 crs.

AFST 321. The Political Economy of Southern Africa. 3 crs. Survey of the interrelationship of economic and political factors affecting the lives of the oppressed peoples of Southern Africa and their struggle for liberation, from a historical and comparative perspective.

AFST 322. Language, Literature, and the Arts in Contemporary Africa. 3 crs. A general introduction to the interdisciplinary study of African languages, literature, and artistic expression through film, music, dance, drama and art.

AFST 323. Literature of South Africa. 3 crs. In-depth look at the poetry and prose of three South African authors from both a thematic and formal perspective. Examines the strengths and limitations of art as an instrument of struggle.

AFST 324. Oral and Written Literature and Film in Africa. 3 crs. An examination of the relationship between these two modes of artistic and political expression in Africa: their style, content and effectiveness in raising social consciousness regarding development.

AFST 325. Oral Traditions and Written Literature. 3 crs. Survey of oral narrative genres from selected African societies; their form, content and function in society, and how these genre have influenced African writers.

AFST 327. Women in African Literature. 3 crs. A thematic and formal examination of the image and role of women in society as developed in the African novel and short story.

AFST 328. Literature and Development. 3 crs. Exploration in general the role of literature in the process of social, political and cultural development. Examines literary perceptions of development priorities and the challenges, material and human, confronting African societies.

AFST 356. Educational Systems in Africa. 3 crs. Analytical case studies of individual educational systems in Africa in terms of historical background, philosophy and aims of education, curriculum, teachers, scope of education, administration, and finance.

AFST 371. Public Finance in Africa. 3 crs. An examination of public finance in Africa from colonial times to the present, with emphasis on the evolution of fiscal policies and practices during the colonial era and the impact on contemporary policy- making.

AFST 272. African Political Thought. 3 crs. A study of the political ideas and theories of major twentieth-century African political thinkers.

AFST 500. Field Research in African Studies. 3 crs. The methodology as well as the techniques of field research and their proper utilization in African Studies.

AFST 740. Communication and the Arts in Contemporary Africa. 3 crs. A general introduction to communication and the arts (verbal, graphic, performing) in Africa today. The relationship of art forms to social change and development will be explored. Attention is given to basic concepts of art as a form of communication.