Course on Africa Still Available

AFRI L-400 Development and Globalization in Africa

Fall 2012

M W 9:30-10:45am, Ballantine Hall 221

Course Description and Objectives

Africa is widely seen to be in need of development and greater integration into the global economic order.  What does this mean? Why, after decades of intervention, does development remain a top concern for policy makers on and off the continent as well as for communities and individuals in Africa?

Taking an anthropological approach, we seek to gain an understanding of development and globalization by exploring Africa’s place in the contemporary world order, the politico-economic challenges African women and men face, and the ways in which they engage with the worlds in which they live in order to make better lives. The introductory video provides a brief overview of the politico-economic structures put in place by the colonial powers while the articles by Kwesi Kwaa Prah and by Frederick Cooper and Randall Packard challenge us to think critically about development as discourse and practice.  Against this background, we will delve into the complexities of development and globalization through book-length studies, video documentaries, and articles. The specific cases we examine illuminate rural and urban development issues and the ways in which they intersect with globalization.  They focus on changes in development paradigms and the gender politics of development projects; the strategies employed by marginalized groups to gain political recognition and determine their own development; the social and material dimensions of urban life and the reconfiguration of relationships in the context of transnational migration; and on the effects of global capital investment and resource extraction.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

·         Discuss approaches to development in Africa and their intersections with globalization.

·         Demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the socio-cultural dimensions of development interventions in particular contexts, the ways in which Africans negotiate contemporary political-economic conditions, and the ways in which they engage forces of globalization.

·         Synthesize information and make connections between issues and case studies.

·         Analyze a case study, assess the research methodologies used, and formulate further questions for research the way an anthropologist would.