History of Africa – HIWD 320

CG • Section 8WK • 11/08/2019 to 04/16/2020 • Modified 09/05/2023

Course Description

A comprehensive study of African history.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

The purpose of this course is to provide an accurate, comprehensive overview of the history of Africa. It will explore the use of non-traditional sources in the study of pre-literate cultures, the importance of physical geography in the development of nations, and the role of religion in the history of the continent.

Course Assignment

Textbook Readings and Lecture Presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Quiz: African Political Geography

The student will complete a quiz on African Political Geography. This quiz will cover the official and disputed nations of Africa. It will be open-book/open-notes, contain a short answer format on which the student will identify each of the nations of Africa, and have a 30-minute time limit. The student may retake this quiz multiple times in order to improve his or her score. 

Quiz: African Physical Geography

The student will also complete a quiz on African Physical Geography. This quiz will cover major physical features of Africa. It will be open-book/open-notes, contain a short answer format on which the student will identify major physical features of Africa, and have a 20-minute time limit. The student may retake this quiz multiple times in order to improve his or her score. 

Missions Factbook Assignment

The student will create a Factbook about missions in an African nation of their choice. Each student will choose four missions groups—at least one each of the following: a Christian mission group, a non-Christian religious mission group, and a secular mission group. The student will provide important background and historical information about each mission group and then write a brief analytical essay of at least 400 words discussing what these missions groups reveal about the nation.  The student should also provide a bibliography with at least 6 sources, 2 of which must be scholarly.

Movie Review Assignment

The student will watch a movie from the provided Movie Review Assignment Movie Options List and write a Movie Review of approximately 600 words discussing the movie and what we can learn about the history of Africa from a non-traditional source.

Article Assessment Assignments (5)

The student will choose one scholarly article related to the history of a nation in the assigned region of Africa.  The student will submit an article assessment in which they provide a citation for the article in Turabian format, a 1-2 sentence statement of the author’s thesis, a 3-5 sentence discussion of how the author supports his thesis, and a 3-5 sentence discussion of how it fits into the overall history of Africa as we are studying it.

Quizzes: Textbook Chapters (8)

Each Reading Quiz will cover the textbook readings for the module in which it is assigned. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 20 multiple-choice and/or true/false questions, and have a 40 minute time limit.

Quizzes: Module Materials (8)

Each Presentation Quiz will cover the videos, presentations, and non-textbook readings for the module in which it is assigned, unless specifically excepted. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 10 multiple-choice, true/false, and/or matching questions, and have a 20-minute time limit.