AAS 306/HIS 306 AFRICA TO 1800
Kenneth J. Orosz Office Hours: T 1:30-2:300
Fall 2019 W 10:00-12:00
Class Meetings: Bulger 422 Office: Classroom Bldg C213
TR 9:25-10:40 Telephone: 878-3203
E-mail: oroszkj@buffalostate.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course surveys the sweep of African history from onset of human evolution to the abolition of the slave trade. Topics covered include Nubian Egypt, Bantu migrations, the Trans-Saharan trade, Islam in Africa, the slave trade, and early European colonization of southern Africa.
REQUIREMENTS:
Academic misconduct (including cheating and plagiarism) will not be tolerated. Buffalo State College policies on academic misconduct, including the possible use of textual similarity detection software, are outlined on page 48 of the college catalog. Please note that the minimum penalty for cases of academic misconduct will be an F on the assignment.
Reading assignments are to be completed by the dates given. There will a midterm and a final examination. Students are required to provide their own blank examination booklets (available in the bookstore) for each exam. Please note that in order to earn more than a B on the essay portion of the exams you must make use of the relevant assigned readings and historical documents. In addition students will write two 5 page analysis papers of assigned texts (Waltari and Niane) and a 10-12 page paper on a topic of their choice. All topics for the research papers must be authorized by me and must conform to the geographic and temporal confines of this course. As part of this process students are required to submit their paper topics in the form of written proposals no later than October 3. Failure to submit a passing proposal means that your paper will not be accepted and you will earn an E for that portion of the course. All papers and reviews must conform to the History Style Sheet. Detailed instructions on the writing assignments, including the style sheet, can be found in Blackboard or by clicking the syllabi link at http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/oroszkj Help for Blackboard can be found at https://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Learn/Reference/Blackboard_Learn_Videos.
Please note that in order to pass this course you must make a good faith attempt to complete all components and requirements. LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT PRIOR ARRANGEMENT. Incompletes will be granted at the sole discretion of the instructor and require a written application outlining the rationale for granting an incomplete, a list of outstanding assignments and a timetable for their completion. This application must be signed and, if granted, will constitute a formal contract for the completion of the course.
Grades will be computed as follows:
Midterm Exam 25% Final Exam 25%
Waltari Analysis 15% Research Paper 20%
Niane Analysis 15%
BOOKS: The following books are required reading and are available in the Bookstore:
William Bovill, The Golden Trade of the Moors
ISBN
978-1-558-76091-2
Christopher Ehret, Civilizations of Africa to 1800, 2nd
ed
978-0-813-92880-7
David Northrup, Africa’s Discovery of Europe 3rd ed
978-0-199-94121-6
Donald Redford, From Slave to Pharaoh
978-0-801-88544-0
John Thornton, The Kongolese Saint Anthony
978-1-556-52441-7
Mika Waltari, The Egyptian
978-1-556-52441-7
D. T. Niane, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali
978-1405-84942-5
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS:
Supplemental readings (indicated in italics on the syllabus) can be accessed in one of 3 ways: 1) if it is a website, there will be a link to it from the electronic version of the syllabus available in Blackboard or on my web page at http://faculty.buffalostate.edu/oroszkj Please note that the “Broadcast” links are versions of a radio program, hence there is no video to watch. When the page opens make sure you click the “play” icon on the left side of the screen. 2) Journal articles listed below can be accessed via the library’s Academic Search Premier or JSTOR databases; 3) highlighted readings are available in Blackboard under the Content tab.
William Adams, “The First Colonial Empire: Egypt in Nubia 3200-1200 BC” Comparative Studies in Society and History 26 (1984): 36-71
Pearce Creasman, “Hatshepsut and the Politics of Punt,” African Archeological Review, 31, no. 3 (September 2014): 395-405.
Leonard Guelke, “Anatomy of a Colonial Settler Population: Cape Colony 1657-1750,” International Journal of African Historical Studies 21, no. 3 (1988) : 453-473.
Robin Law, “A West African Cavalry State: The Kingdom of Oyo,” Journal African History 16, no. 1 (1975): 1-15.
Shula Marks, “Kohisan Resistance to the Dutch in the 17th and 18th Centuries,” Journal of African History 13, no. 1 (1972) : 55-80.
Aran Mackinon, The British and the Expanding Cape,” in The Making of South Africa (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004), 46-70.
Marvin P. Miracle, “Introduction and the Spread of Maize in Africa,” Journal of African History 6, no. 1 (1965) : 39-55.
Malyn Newitt, “Portuguese Conquistadores in Eastern Africa,” History Today (30, no. 8 (August 1980) : 19-25.
John Ray, “Hatshepsut,” History Today, 44, no. 5 (May 1994): 23-29.
Elizabeth Wilson, The Queen who would be King,” Smithsonian Magazine, 37, no. 6 (September 2006): 80-87.
James Waterson, “The Mamluks,” History Today 56, no. 3 (March 2006): 21-27.
CLASS SCHEDULE
August 27 Introduction and Historical Geography of Africa
August 29 Paleolithic and Origins Agriculture
Read: Ehret Ch 1-3; Human Origins Part 1; Part 2; Part 3;
September 3 Ancient Egypt: Old Kingdom
Read: Ehret Ch 4; Origins Ancient Egypt Debate;
Africa & Nile Valley Broadcast
September 5 Ancient Egypt: Middle Kingdom
Read: Redford Ch 1-3; Adams, “First Colonial Empire;” Royal Feud?
Creasman, “Hatshepsut and Poltics of Punt;” Ray, “Hatshepsut;”
Wilson, “Queen who Would be King“
September 10 Ancient Egypt: New Kingdom
Read: Waltari novel;
September 12 Nubia
Read: Redford Ch 4-6; Nubia;
September 17 Kush and Meroe
Read: Redford Ch 7-Epilog; Selection of Aspalta as King of Kush
September 19 Greco-Roman North Africa
Read: Bovill Ch 1-3; The Periplus; African Geography
September 24 Greco-Roman North Africa
Read: Bovill Ch 4-5; Ancient Mauritania; Classical North Africa
Waltari analysis due
September 26 Axum and Christian Nubia
Read: Ezana of Axum; Procopius History of the Wars;
Coming of Christianity Broadcast
October 1 The Coming of Islam
Read: Rise of Islam Broadcast;
Islam in Africa Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4
October 3 The Coming of Islam
Read: Ehret Ch 7; Bovill Ch 6-7; Islam and Trade;
Paper topics due
October 8 Trans-Saharan Trade and Rise of Ancient Ghana
Read: Bovill Ch 8-22; Ancient Ghana Broadcast; Ancient Ghana;
On the Zanj; Ghana in 11th Century;
October 10 Mali and Songhai
Read: Niane book; Empires of Mali and Songhay Broadcast;
Empire of Mali; Mansa Musa in Cairo; Timbuktu; Songhai;
October 15 No Class
October 17 Midterm
October 22 Kanem-Bornu and the Hausa States
Read: Bovill Ch 23-25; Hausa States Broadcast; Hausa States; Kanem;
October 25 West African Forest States
Read: Law, “West African Cavalry State”; The Oyo Empire;
Ife and Benin; Decades of the New World
October 29 West African Forest States
Read: Asante; Kingdoms of Dahomey and Ashanti
African Religions Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6;
October 31 Mamluk Egypt and Ottoman North Africa
Read: Mamluks Broadcast; Waterson, “Mamluks”;
Niane analysis due
November 5 Christian Ethiopia
Read: Christianity in Africa Part 1; Part 2; Part 3;
November 7 Bantu Migrations and Iron Age Africa
Read: Ehret Ch 5; Bantu Migrations Broadcast;
November 15 Swahili City States
Read: Ehret Ch 6; Great Zimbabwe; Mystery of Great Zimbabwe
Islam in East Africa; Swahili Coast Broadcast;
November 14 Central Africa Before the Portuguese
Read: Ehret Ch 8; Northrup Ch 1-2; Kongo & Great Zimbabwe Broadcast;
Luba and Lunda Kingdoms; Kongo’s African Trade
November 19 Portuguese Africa
Read: Thornton Ch 1-9; Newitt, “Portuguese Conquistadores;”
Portuguese in the West; Portuguese Missionaries; Ana Nzinga;
Dona Beatriz; Portuguese in East Africa; Swahili Alliances
November 21 Disease and Crops from the Americas
Read: Ehret Ch 9; Northrup Ch 3-4;
Miracle, “Introduction and Spread of Maize”
November 26 African Slave Trades
Read: Northrup 5-6; Roots African Slavery Broadcast;
November 28 No Class
December 3 African Slave Trades
Read: Slave Trade Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6
December 5 Europeans in South Africa
Read: Khoi Servant Speaks; Marks, “Khoisan Resistance;”
Guelke, “Anatomy of Settler Population;” British & Expanding Cape
Research Papers Due
December 12 Final Exam 7:40-9:30
Guidelines for Writing Assignments
While your papers will be graded primarily on content, grammatical accuracy, style, presentation and organization will also be taken into account. All papers are required to adhere to the History Style Sheet which is available in Blackboard and on my web site under Course Materials. Failure to follow the style sheet will result in significant penalties; these consist of at least the loss of a full letter grade for each category of violation (i.e. use of contractions will cost you a letter grade, reducing an A paper to a B). This includes paper length, non-standard fonts, margins and line spacing. Please note that a short paper is not necessarily a bad paper; I am primarily interested in what you have to say, how well you say it and if you have developed your thesis and argument sufficiently.As you write your papers feel free to paraphrase or quote suitable passages that illustrate your points. However, if you quote or paraphrase, you must cite the relevant passage. You must also cite detailed information (i.e. statistics or items that are not common knowledge). The only exception to this rule is material gleaned from my lectures; you may assume that this is public knowledge and requires no citation. Proper citation formats can be found in the History Style Sheet. Please note that in addition to enforcing Buffalo State College’s policies on academic misconduct, including the possible use of textual similarity detection software, the minimum penalty for plagiarism is an F on the assignment. For more information on plagiarism, how to footnote, or how to write a research paper consult the relevant sections of Benjamin’s A Student’s Guide to History. If you are still unclear about when or how to cite please come see me during my office hours. That is why I am there.
Since much of what is out on the internet is of dubious quality, the use of web pages as source material is strictly forbidden unless authorized by me in writing. The only exceptions to this rule are the individual web sites that I have assigned as required reading material. On a similar note, the use of encyclopedias is also forbidden. While they may be useful reference tools or for providing an overview of a particular topic, encyclopedias have no place in college level work. Articles in historical encyclopedias (i.e. The Encyclopedia of European Social History) may be acceptable, but must first be cleared by me in writing.
I am obviously a firm believer in written assignments since they help develop your organizational, analytical and communication skills, all of which are things you will need in the workplace. Consequently, I expect you to treat all graded assignments (in this or any other class) as preparations for your future career. Turning in business reports that are filled with grammatical errors, failures in logic, poor argumentation and lack of evidence portrays a degree of incompetence, even if it is undeserved, and will probably get you fired. Get in the habit now of proofreading your work to catch typos, misspellings and nonsensical statements. Read your papers aloud to see how they sound. Better still, have a friend or roommate read your work since they are more likely to notice any problems. Most of you will be writing your papers on wordprocessors. No matter what program you use, they all have spell checkers. It is silly and self-defeating not to make use of them.
While I do not allow rewrites once papers have been graded, I will read and comment on rough drafts if I am given enough time. Alternatively, you may want to consult either the campus writing center or some of the history tutors for help or advice. Keep your notes and copies of your paper to facilitate rewrites and to safeguard against loss, computer errors, random destruction by pets and similar catastrophes. Finally, and most importantly, if you are having any problems in this course come see me.
Book Reviews
All students will write two 5 page (1500 words) analyses of assigned texts (Waltari’s The Egyptian and Niane’s Sudniata). Since these are analyses and not “book reports” I am not interested in plot summaries. Similarly, I am not interested in whether you liked the book or found it interesting. Your review should analyze and critique the author’s portrayal of some of the historical events or themes covered in this course. As you critique the books use the following questions as a rough guide: How do the authors portray historical events or issues covered elsewhere in the course? How accurate are these depictions? Have they added to your understanding of the period in question?
As you will discover, 5 pages provides barely enough room to introduce a topic, let alone go into much detail. Hence, your papers should have a narrowly defined thesis and must be very selective in both their use and presentation of supporting evidence or examples. Since these papers are so short keep quotations to a minimum so that you will have more room to
develop your own thoughts and arguments. To strengthen your argument(s), however, your reviews should draw upon and cite specific examples from the novel as well as corroborating evidence. There is ample material on which to base your papers in my lectures and your textbooks; outside materials, although always welcome, are not required.
Research Paper
In addition to the book reviews, all students will write a 10-12 page (3000-3600 word) paper on a topic of their own choice. While the actual topics for your papers are up to you, they must remain within the geographical and temporal confines of this course. The paper should analyze some facet of African history in detail. To that end, and to help you identify sources, all paper topics must be cleared with me first in the form of a written paper proposal due no later than October 3. Complete proposals will outline your topic, the specific issues you intend to address, and must include a bibliography. If, after you have begun researching and writing your paper, you choose to use additional sources, you must submit an amended bibliography to me in writing. Papers that use unauthorized materials will not be accepted. Similarly, papers that deviate significantly from your research proposal will also not be accepted. This does not mean, however, that you are permanently locked in to a particular paper topic; if you change your mind and opt to pursue some other topic you must submit a new paper proposal which may or may not be accepted at my discretion. Completed papers are due in class on December 5.
Possible paper topics include
The Bantu Migrations Euware the Great
Portuguese Prazeros The Trans-Saharan Trade
Mansa Musa Nubian Egypt
The Fall of Songhai Christianity in Ethiopia