Undergraduate - UnitAZA3643 - Africa in the modern world

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	School of Social Science, South Africa
Offered	Not offered in 2013
Coordinator(s)	Ms Shibu Sangale

Synopsis

In March 2004 the African Parliament was formally constituted - the first such pan continental parliament to be so formed. The path from colonies to independent states seeking to control their own destinies within the modern post-World War 2 international context has been a long and challenging one. Tracing developments from colonial regimes through the first independent states to the modern African states, we will see how men and women, political and economic elites, peasants and workers, religious and cultural leaders endeavoured to create new forms of meaning and power. Central themes concern the characteristics of African states, relationships between states, political parties and a growing civil society, developmental paths and the relationships between African states, their subjects and citizens and the complex cross-currents of wider international worlds from 1945 into the current period of globalization.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the unit students will be able to demonstrate:

A knowledge of the main events, processes, issues, personalities, ideas and politics in the modern history of Africa
An understanding of the relationships between African states and societies and wider global politics and international relations
Intellectual familiarity with the main theoretical and conceptual issues relevant to the Unit: colonization, decolonization, ethnicity, tribalism, nationalism, liberation movements, one party states, typologies of different forms of states (egs crisis, client, failed, gatekeeper and rogue), development and under development, civil society, the Third World and key terms in international affairs: ie. globalization, unilateralism, bilateralism and multilateralism
An understanding of the main currents in wider political discourses, within Africa and internationally, concerning Africa in the modern world
An understanding of the main currents within academic debate, within Africa and internationally, concerning Africa in the modern world
Experience in working with and understanding the difference characteristics of various forms of evidence, both primary and secondary, documentary, oral and visual
Experience in conducting research using both primary and secondary sources
Improving oral, writing, presentation and debating styles
Students undertaking this unit at a third-year level will be expected to meet all these objective criteria at a higher level of demonstrable and proven competency than those completing the unit at a second-year level

Assessment

Two tutorial oral presentations (500 words each): 20%
One primary source analysis essay (1000 words): 15%
Research essay (2000 words): 35%
Exam (2 hours): 30%

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Victor Ojakorotu

Contact hours

Two 1-hour lectures and one 1-hour tutorial per week for twelve weeks

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

International studies
African studies

Prohibitions

ATS2643, ATS3643, AZA2643