| Course Title: Introduction to Modern African History |
| Start Date: 01/27/2026 End Date: 05/12/2026 |
| Term: Spring Semester 2026 |
| Description: This course provides an introduction to African history over the past three centuries. Venturing beyond the stereotypes, we will explore the complex histories that constitute a diverse continent. Special attention is given to spotlighting the voices of African people through a range of primary and secondary sources, including memoirs, film, music, cartoons, speeches and photography. Students will gain knowledge of African geographies and histories, develop the skill of primary source analysis, and be able to connect events in -- and narratives of -- present-day Africa to a deeper historical past. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities , MP - Multicultural Perspectives |
| Academic Level Of Course: Undergraduate | Credits:4.00 |
| Faculty | Phone | Email address |
| Ishmael Annang | iannang@mtholyoke.edu |
| Meeting Dates | Method | Meeting days | Meeting times | Building name | Room | Frequency |
| 01/27/2026 - 05/12/2026 | Lecture | Tuesday and Thursday | 09:00AM - 10:15AM | TBA | TBA | Weekly |
| Requisite Courses | ||
| None |
| Comments |
| Additional Comments |
| Course Tags | ||
| CRPE0001 | CRPE-1: CRPE - Major Pathway/Minor | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE major pathway and the CRPE minor. |
| CRPE0003 | CRPE-3: Critical Social Thought - Major Pathway | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE Critical Social Thought major pathway. |
| CRPE0002 | CRPE-2: Africana Studies - Major Pathway/Minor | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE Africana Studies major pathway and the CRPE Africana Studies minor. |
| CRPE0006 | CRPE-PE: People, Power, Place Courses | This course has been approved to count towards the CRPE People, Power, Place requirement. |
| Cross-listed Sections |
| None |
| Course Availability | ||||
| Section status: Open | Capacity: 28 | Enrollment: 25 | Available: 3 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| Title: Feeding the Ghosts Author: D'Aguiar, Fred Copyright: Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9781478631941 Publisher: Waveland Press Inc |
Optional | 17.95 |
| Title: So long a letter. Author: Ba, M. Copyright: 1981 Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9781577668060 Publisher: Waveland Press |
Optional | 12.00 |
| Title: Africa in Global History with Sources Author: Harms, Robert Copyright: Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9780393927573 Publisher: WW Norton |
Required | 30.00 |
| Title: The Shadow of Imana Author: Tadjo, Véronique Copyright: Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9781478627814 Publisher: Waveland Press, Inc. |
Optional | 15.50 |
| Title: Juletane Author: Warner-Vieyra, Myriam Copyright: Edition: Volume: ISBN: 9781478611783 Publisher: Waveland Press, Inc. |
Optional | 14.95 |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is the complete book list for this class. |
| Instructor's comments about the book list: Note on optional books: These are novels which will be used for our literary group project. We will have four groups; each group will be assigned one of the novels. You are responsible for acquiring a personal copy of the novel assigned to your group. As such, these books are optional only in the sense that you are not required to buy the other three not assigned to your group. Students are encouraged to confirm their groups via Moodle so they can buy the assigned novel for their group. Students are also welcome to buy all four novels for their reading pleasure if they so please. |