Imperialism in Africa

Honor Code Level 2

Your job for the next few days is to conduct some research on an African country and look at how imperialism in that country has impacted its history since that occupation. The exact details that you will find will vary from country to country, but the basic knowledge that you want to gain is:

· What European country expressed imperial actions in this country?

o In what way? (colony, protectorate, etc.)

o When?

o Why? What did the imperialists hope to gain?

· What was life like in this country during imperial times? You may want to focus on the differences between life during imperialism vs. life before occupation.

· How did power transfer from the imperial power back to the natives of the country? How was independence gained?

o Who was involved?

o Bloody or peaceful?

o When did this take place?

· What ongoing effects of imperialism can be seen today? Please focus on both positive and negative outcomes in each of the three categories below. Use the bullet points to give you ideas about what to look for.

o Politically?

§ Type of current government

§ Stability

§ Leader’s characteristics and/or education

§ International organizations involved

o Socially?

§ Gender roles

§ Discrimination

§ Safety/Stability

§ Job Opportunities

§ War/Civil Strife

o Economically?

§ Trade relations

§ Use of resources

§ Access to resources

§ International trade organizations

o What is the relationship today between the country and its former imperial ruler?

What to do:

1. Once you have obtained this information you are going to create a poster that will share the main ideas of this information to the class in a “geographic gallery.” We will be posting these in the pod and circulating through looking for patterns and themes in both the history of African countries and in their present day situations. The directions for exactly what needs to be on the posters is intentionally vague so that you can decide what is most important about your particular country and what you think your classmates should know.

2. In addition to the poster you should also turn in a properly MLA formatted Bibliography page. This page should include all of the sources you reference in creating this poster. This page should be typed and should not be connected to your poster.

Schedule

Wednesday: Assign projects and pick topics.

Thursday: The first half of class will be spent researching your country.

Friday: You will have about a half an hour to finish your research.

Monday: You will have just under half of class to put together your poster.

Tuesday: Your poster and Works Cited page are due and you will be presenting to a group of your peers.

Suggested Resources:

For this project you may choose your sources. It is suggested that you use A MINIMUM OF TWO SOURCES. Remember to look for reputable sites and always evaluate WHERE your information is coming from BEFORE you trust it.

Here are some places to start:

· The CIA World Factbook

· BBC Country Profiles

· Encyclopedia Databases on the high school and Bud Werner library pages.

· allafrica.com (collection of African newspapers in English- great for current events)

If you have any questions please ask!