| Course Title: Topics in African History: 'Society and Environment in Africa' |
| Start Date: 01/27/2026 End Date: 05/12/2026 |
| Term: Spring Semester 2026 |
| Description: This course is an introduction to the environmental history of Africa. It examines how Africans adapted to diverse environmental changes in areas including climate variability, agriculture, landscape, and spiritual ecology from early times (ca. 6 million years ago) through the recent past (ca. 1900). We will practice being historians by thinking and writing with nonconventional sources/methods such as oral traditions, archeology, and historical climatology. Ultimately, students will be challenged to place contemporary conversations about climate change in Africa into the context of the continent's long environmental history in order to shape more informed perspectives. |
| Distribution(s): I - Humanities , MP - Multicultural Perspectives , SI - Speaking-Intensive , WI - Writing-Intensive , TP - Topics Course |
| 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 | Seminar | Monday and Wednesday | 08:30AM - 09:45AM | 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. |
| 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: 18 | Enrollment: 8 | Available: 10 | Waitlist: 0 |
BOOK INFORMATION
| Book List | Required | Publisher Full Price |
| Title: What is Environmental History? Author: Hughes, J. Donald Copyright: Edition: 2nd Volume: ISBN: 9780745688435 Publisher: Polity |
Recommended | 24.95 |
| Additional Book Comments |
| This is the complete book list for this class. |