Course #@ 2156-001 CRN# 23666 ONLINE CLASS AFRS 2156/ANTH 2153: AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS HIST 2210: PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA Spring 2014 ONLINE

Professor: Akin Ogundiran Office: Garinger 113A Tel.: 704-687-2355 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Online: use the moodle2 message features (not email). Face-to-Face: Mon 2:00-3:00; Tue 11:00-1:00; Wed 2:00-3:00

Course Description A survey of major cultural innovations in ancient Africa, with emphasis on the origins of ideas, beliefs, institutions, and practices; and the philosophical, religious, social, political and economic foundations of ancient African civilizations. The class will focus on historical and anthropological modes of inquiry about past human conditions, and the relevance to the contemporary world. Throughout, the instructor will emphasize the use of the concept of “intercommunication zone” for the study and understanding of Africa’s cultural history, and its global dimensions. This class is interdisciplinary. The readings will draw from a wide range of sources, especially archaeology, art history, historical texts, literary, oral traditions, and material culture.

African Civilizations is a core course for majors and minors in Africana Studies, and it fulfils many university- wide requirements.

Goals: At the end of the class, students are expected to (1) begin to develop an analytical understanding of Africa's historical legacies as a tool to identify and correct stereotypical and simplistic narratives about Africa’s history; (2) be able to answer the why and how questions on the place of Africa in the history of world civilizations; (3) master the concept of “intercommunication” for interpreting and explaining African history before 1885; (4) develop a critical understanding of the African history texts as a way of addressing questions on the broad human conditions, especially as these relate to ancient cultures/societies and their relevance to a better understanding of the contemporary world.

Required Texts (available for purchase at Barnes & Noble at UNC Charlotte Bookstore): D. T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old . Longman, 1965. Other Readings available in Moodle2 Articles, Essays (see weekly readings for electronic copies)

INSTRUCTION This is an online class. It requires students to be responsible for their learning experience through discovery and utilization of information that are geared towards developing in-depth historical perspectives about the long- term cultural history of Africa. Of course, we will do this with the guidance of the instructor. Grades will be based on activities completed online, and the submission of all assignments and writings must be done online. Students are required to complete all required readings before each weekly class.

This is a synchronous online class. It means the instructor will be online every Monday the class is scheduled to meet, and students are required to do the same. The discussions about the class, including quizzes, will take place mostly during the hours of 5:00 and 7:40pm on Mondays.

Take note of the deadline dates for assignments, quizzes, and tests. Plan accordingly and adjust your schedule in order to avoid falling behind. There will be no extension for the submission of assignments or rescheduling of

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quizzes without a prior notice and approval of the instructor. No make-up quizzes will be administered. A late paper will not be accepted.

The success of this course ultimately depends on both the students' and the instructor's efforts. Your understanding of the materials and your participation in class discussions are very important. You will receive constructive criticism of your work from the instructor. Take these criticisms as a way of improving your understanding of the course content, writing, and/or diligence. Always ask questions when you do not understand the readings and lectures. Make efforts to see the instructor during office hours.

Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. Plagiarism is the act of taking someone else's ideas or/and writings (including internet materials), and passing them off as your own. The penalty may include a failing grade for the affected paper or the whole course, or/and being subjected to other University disciplinary actions. If you are in doubt regarding what plagiarism is all about, consult the instructor immediately. The only mojo for plagiarism is to correctly cite the sources of all the materials that you use in your paper, including quotations and paraphrases. You should note that most cases of plagiarism occur because students are in a hurry to meet the deadline after neglecting the assignment until the last "minute". To avoid being haunted by the ghost of plagiarism, plan ahead, give yourself an ample time to complete your assignments, and consult with the instructor if you have questions.

Students are advised to read and be familiar with the UNC Charlotte Code of Student Academic Integrity and Code of Student Responsibility at http://legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-105.html and http://legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-104.html respectively.

REQUIREMENTS: ACTIVITIES, ASSIGNMENTS, AND POINTS (color-coded for easy reference:

1 Map Project: The goal is to develop hands-on, interactive understanding of Required: 10 points Africa’s historical geography through making and labeling of African map February 6 2 Minimum of Four Short Essays (minimum of 750 words per essay) Complete four out of six short essays. Each must be submitted when due: 20 points 3. Participation on Discussion Forum (at least 10 original postings and responses) Each must be submitted when due: 10 points 4. Minimum of Five Quizzes: 20 points Complete five out of seven quizzes. Each must be submitted when due: 20 points 5. Essay on Ibn Battuta’s Treatise on Mali - 4 pages Must be submitted when March 20 due: 10 points 6. Essay on Epic of Sundiata (Sundjata) – 5 pages Must be submitted when due: 20 points 7. Final Paper – 5 pages (April 29) Must be submitted when due: 10 points

SCHEDULE OF WEEKLY TOPICS

Week 1 Students will use this week to review the course syllabus: objectives and requirement JAN. 7-11 1: Talking About ‘Tribe’: Moving from Stereotype to Analysis http://www.africaaction.org/talking-about-tribe.html 2: How Big is Africa? 2

http://www.bu.edu/africa/files/2010/10/AfricaPoster-Web-copy1.jpg Watch this video: VIDEO: Africa- Episode 1 (Different But Equal): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvjxzZop0VE&feature=autoplay&list=PLC84 B336EF40C9A38&lf=results_video&playnext=2 INTRODUCTION ASSIGNMENT: DUE JANUARY 12

Week 2 GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURAL ECOLOGY OF AFRICA JANUARY 13 READING: Khapoya, Africa – The Continent and its People START WORKING ON THE MAP PROJECT: Due January 23 There are two parts to this map project:

1. Prepare a map of Africa and identify the following locations and features on the map: Orange River; the Nile River; River Niger; Zambezi River; Senegal River; Congo (Zaire) River; Lake Victoria-Nyanza; Lake Chad; Sahara Desert; Indian Ocean; Atlantic Ocean; Red Sea; Tropic of Capricorn; Tropic of Cancer; The Equator; Futa Jallon Highland; Ethiopian Highlands; Mount Kilimanjaro; Cameroon Highlands; Great Rift Valley; Kalahari Desert; Ancient ; Ile-Ife; Aksum; Alexandria; Olduvai Gorge; Timbuktu; Elmina; Goree Island; Madagascar; Niger Delta; Lagos; Addis Ababa; Dakar; Accra; Cairo; Johannesburg; Jene-jeno, Benin-City; Koumbi-Saleh; Kilwa; Great Zimbabwe.

2. Identify one cultural or ethnic group for each of the four African Language families, and place their approximate location on the map.

Points will be assessed based on the accurate identification of each location and feature as well as on the aesthetics and readability of the map.

YOU MAY SUBMIT YOUR MAP AS PDF, JPEG, HTML, OR WORD FILE.

Discussion Forum: Open January 10-16

Week 3 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY -UNIVERSITY CLOSED: NO CLASS JANUARY 20 AFRICAN MAP PROJECT IS DUE ON JANUARY 23

Week 4 HUMAN ORIGINS JANUARY 27 Who are we? Where Do we come from? Is Africa the Cradle of Human Origins?

I. Traditions of Origins in Africa: Ancient Egypt, Yoruba, and Hebrew Yoruba Creation Myths http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuC58EuSD-U Ancient Egyptian Myth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcxgzMwcqN8&feature=related Biblical Creation Myths http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEgp2_Rcc80&feature=related, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEpQRv7f_xc&feature=related)

II. Archaeological Genetics & Bioanthropological Evidence of Human Origins READINGS: 1. C. George Boeree on Human Evolution and Race

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2. Paul Mellars, Why did modern human populations disperse from Africa, ca. 60,000 years ago? A new model Quiz open January 27 (7:00-8:00pm) SHORT ESSAY (DUE ON JANUARY 30) Identify one anatomical feature and one behavioral feature in modern humans. Discuss how these features transformed or evolved over the past 2 million years as adaptation to environmental changes. Discussion Forum: Open January 24-30

Week 5 AGRICULTURAL AND IRON TECHNOLOGIES FEBRUARY 3 I. Agricultural Inventions and Innovations in Ancient Africa II. Iron Technology in Ancient Africa READING (read one of these two essays): 1. “Food and the African Past” 2. Augustin F. C. Holl, Early West African Metallurgies: New Data and Old Orthodoxy,” Journal of World Prehistory (2009) 22:415–438. Quiz open February 3 (7:00-8:00pm) SHORT ESSAY – DUE FEBRUARY 6 Complete one of these two assignments: OPTION 1: On the basis of “Food and the African Past”: a. Develop a chart identifying when and where these primary plants and animals were domesticated and cultivated in ancient Africa: sorghum, rice, teff, yam, palm oil, ensete, black eye beans, millet, at least two cattle species, donkey. b. Discuss the impact of these agricultural revolutions on world history of food. Provide as much detailed information as needed.

OPTION 2: With emphasis on the nature of evidence presented in “Early West African Metallurgies”, discuss and summarize the arguments for and against the independent development of iron technology in Africa. What is your own assessment? Discussion Forum: Open January 31 - February 6

WEEK 6 INTERCOMMUNICATING ZONE 1: THE NILE VALLEY, ANCIENT EGYPT FEBRUARY 10 AND THE IDEA OF GREAT SOCIETY

READINGS: Falola, Chapter 4 VIDEO ON RESERVE IN ATKINS: Ancient Egypt (DT61A53 1999). Quiz open February 10 (7:00-8:00 EST) SHORT ESSAY - DUE FEBRUARY 13 1. What are the qualities of a Great Society? 2. With reference to their kingship institution, architectural monumentality, or the concept of social justice (maat), discuss how the ancient Egyptians articulated and practiced the idea of “great society”. 3. How are they similar and different from your own society? 750 words Discussion Forum: Open February 7-13

WEEK 7 INTERCOMMUNICATING ZONE 2: SAHARA DESERT FEBRUARY 17 Quiz will be based on this Documentary: Scenic Routes Across the World - Africa - The Sahara - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fVb7HM4lZM Take note of the names of towns, villages, countries in the Sahara, as well as the cultures, economic activities, ecologies of the Sahara; and some of the changes taking place in the world’s largest desert.

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SHORT ESSAY - DUE FEBRUARY 20 Identify the political, economic, cultural, or demographic importance of the Sahara Desert in African history. Discussion Forum: Open February 14-20

Week 8 INTERCOMMUNICATING ZONE 3: AFRICA AS A CROSSROADS OF WORLD FEBRUARY 24 : AND ISLAM READINGS: 1. Africa and the Early Christian World 2. “North and West Africa and the Spread of Islam”

WATCH THIS BBC STORY OF : http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/8chapter2.shtml QUIZ: OPEN FEBRUARY 24 (7:00-8:00PM) SHORT ESSAY – DUE FEBRUARY 27 “Africa is the Birthplace of Christianity and Gateway to early Islamic expansion as a World .” Comment on the validity of this statement. 750 words Discussion Forum: Open February 21-27

WEEK 9 SPRING RECESS – NO CLASS MARCH 3

WEEK 10 RELIGION, ETHNOGRAPHY, AND CULTURE MARCH 10 Primary Text Analysis I: Ibn Battuta’s Memoir in Mali

Required READING: Ibn Battuta in Mali

Optional Background Readings: Islam in West Africa ESSAY ON IBN BATTUTA’S TEXT: DUE MARCH 13 (10 POINTS) 1. Discuss the hybridity and cosmopolitanism of religion in Mali Empire 2. What is the position of ? 3. Identity the likely biases and ethnocentrism of an outsider in Ibn Batutta’s comments on Malian culture 4. Why do you think he held these biases? 700-1000 words Discussion Forum: Open March 7-13

WEEK 11 INDIVIDUAL GENIUS, TRADITION, AND POLITICS IN MALI EMPIRE MARCH 17 PRIMARY TEXT ANALYSIS II: Sunjata and the Rise of Mali Empire READING: Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali

ACTIVITY: DUE March 27

QUIZ OPEN MARCH 17 (7:00-8:00pm) Discussion Forum: Open March 14-20 You will receive the Take-Home Exam on Epic of Sundiata (Sundiata) – 5 pages: 20 points. Due

WEEK 12 INDIVIDUAL GENIUS, TRADITION, AND POLITICS IN MALI EMPIRE 5

MARCH 24 PRIMARY TEXT ANALYSIS II: Sunjata and the Rise of Mali Empire READING: Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali Discussion Forum: Open March 21-27 Essay on Sundiata is Due: March 27.

WEEK 13 INTERCOMMUNICATING ZONE 4: BANTU EXPANSIONS & MARCH 31 CONSEQUENCES READINGS: Adria LaViolette, The Swahili World. In The Oxford Handbook of African Archaeology, edited by P. Mitchell and P. Lane (Oxford, 2013). SHORT ESSAY: APRIL 3 Discuss the motivations for Bantu Expansion/Migrations from ca. 1000 BC to 1000 AD, and discuss the impacts of the migrations on African cultural and historical demography. Discussion Forum: Open March 28 – April 3

WEEK 14 INTERCOMMUNICATING ZONE 5: SWAHILI COAST AND THE INDIAN APRIL 7 OCEAN Quiz open April 7 (7:00-8:00 EST) Discussion Forum: Open April 4-10 Start working on your final paper – Due April 29 FINAL PAPER: Write a reflective essay on what you have learnt in this class sand how you might use this knowledge in the future. In your essay, pay attention to the methodology and the topics covered, and relate these to your future goals (job, travel, personal development, current affairs, solving global problems). 1,500 WORDS.

WEEK 15 YORUBA CIVILIZATION: ART, PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION APRIL 14 READINGS: 1. A. Ogundiran, Yoruba Civilization: Past and Present 2. H. Drewal et al., Yoruba - Nine Centuries of and Thought Quiz open April 14 (7:00-8:00 EST) Discussion Forum: Open April 11-17

WEEK 16 AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS: ROOTS AND ROUTES OF CULTURAL APRIL 21 CONNECTIONS READINGS: 1. J. E. Holloway, What Africa Has Given America”: African Continuities in the North American Diaspora 2. Transatlantic Slavery (online resource): http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=arti cle&id=369&Itemid=145 Quiz open April 7 (7:00-8:00 EST) Discussion Forum: Open April 18-24

WEEK 17 CLASS SUMMARY AND REVIEW APRIL 28 FINAL PAPER:

1,500 WORDS. DUE – APRIL 29

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Additional Resources

Traditions of Origins in Africa: Ancient Egypt, Yoruba, and Hebrew Yoruba Creation Myths http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuC58EuSD-U Ancient Egyptian Myth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcxgzMwcqN8&feature=related Biblical Creation Myths http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEgp2_Rcc80&feature=related, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEpQRv7f_xc&feature=related)

Short Essay DUE JANUARY 30 Identity and discuss the common characteristics in the Creation Myths of the Yoruba, Ancient Egyptians, and the Hebrew. What do these myths tell us about the social organization and the idea of leadership in the respective societies? 500-700 words

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