Trinity University

AFRICAN STUDIES (Professor Anene Ejikeme*)

The African Studies concentration focuses on the study of the historical experience of the peoples of Africa as well as the social, political, economic and religious institutions and practices of modern African states. The concentration invites exceptional students to combine courses at Trinity with study abroad to address in an integrative fashion the evolution of the African experience.

To complete the major, students must satisfy:

Required courses: HIST 3369: U.S. Diplomatic History, or PLSI 1331: Comparing Countries, or SOCI 1316: Places and Regions in Global Context. INTL 3100: International Studies Colloquium enrollment required during all semesters in the major. Completion of at least 33 semester hours.

Advanced language study: at least six upper division hours. This requirement may be modified in special circumstances upon recommendation of the advisor.

Study abroad: recommended, with the advice of the Study Abroad Advisor.

Senior portfolio: INTL 4104 must be completed in the senior year. The portfolio reflects upon work completed toward the major and explains its relevance to professional and scholarly goals.

Requirements: Eighteen hours, including at least one semester of study abroad in Africa. Students will satisfy the International Studies language requirement as noted below. Students may substitute courses abroad or other special course offerings for comparable courses in the Concentration list

Language (6-9 hours): Will be satisfied by either of the following options:
6 hours in an African language, which may include Arabic
OR
6 upper-division hours in French or Portuguese and at least 3 hours in the study of an African language, which may include Arabic

Concentration Courses (9-12 hours): Selected from the following lists:

Required Course List (3 hours)

 HIST 3300 Gender Matters in African History
Focuses on the history of women in Africa from 1800 to the present. Topics may include the family, marriage, childhood, education, sports and recreation, work and the workplace, politics and political life, labor movements, and women's movements.Prerequisite: HIST 1300 or consent of instructor.

HIST 3304 Religion in African HistoryFocuses on the role of religious identity in African history.
Topics may include the histories of specific religious movements, the ways in which gender and leadership have intersected in new religious movements, the spread of Islam, Sufi orders, European missionary activities, African responses to non-African Christian missionizing, African missionary activities, and the interactions of different religious traditions and communities. Focus is on the period since 1800. Prerequisite: HIST 1300 or consent of instructor.

HIST 3308 Imperialism in Africa 

History and Religion List (3 hours)

 HIST 1300 The African Experience 
This course introduces students to aspects of African history and their relation to contemporary issues. The approach is interdisciplinary and incorporates visual and literary documents. Topics may include the politics of antiquity, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the historical development of Islam, Christianization, colonization and decolonization, with particular attention to West Africa and the Ethiopian region.

HIST 1350 Medieval Islamic History, 570-1517 
Historical developments in the Middle East from the life of the Prophet Muhammad to the establishment of the Ottoman Empire: the initial expansion of Islam, the Umayyad and Abbasid empires, Islamic Spain, the Crusades, Fatimid and Mamluk Egypt, and the Turco-Mongolian migrations and conquests.

HIST 3384 Slavery and the Atlantic Economy 
Interdisciplinary analysis of the Atlantic market joining Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, with particular emphasis upon slavery, the slave trade, and the development of the "plantation complex." Makes explicit use of economic theory to explain historical change. (Also listed as ECON 3343.) Prerequisites: ECON 1311 and HIST 1334 or HIST 1340, or consent of instructor.

RELI 1340 Islam, Judaism, and Christianity 
A comparative study of the three interrelated Abrahamic religions. Attention to such topics as founders, scriptures, worship and ritual, mysticism, material culture, identity and gender roles.

RELI 3343 Classical Islam
An examination of Islam as a diverse, living tradition practiced by hundreds of millions of people around the world. Will include discussion of the foundations of Islamic religion and of issues such as women and Islam, the jihad, and Islamic fundamentalism. Prerequisite: RELI 2356.

RELI 3346 Islamic Literatures 
The course will examine a range of literary writings from the early and modern Islamic worlds with a view to gaining insights into the prevailing themes of these literary works and their relevance for understanding the historically changing interconnections between self, society, and religion. Students will read an array of literary genres from two broad successive epochs of Islamic history: the Age of Empires (9th to late 18th centuries, C.E.) and the Post-Colonial Age (19th to 21st centuries, C.E.). The course also lays stress upon exposure to the cultural and regional diversity of Islamic civilization, and hence students will be exposed to literary works in translation from the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu languages. Prerequisite: RELI 2356.

Anthropology and Political Science List (3 hours)

ANTH 3358 The Anthropology of International Relations 
An examination of the processes of culture contact among the peoples of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the New World, and its effect on the distribution of wealth, power, and status in the modern world system. Topics to be covered include colonialism, nationalism, and cultural revitalization with special emphasis on Africa and Latin America

PLSI 1332 Film, Literature, and Politics of the Third World 
An examination of political issues and challenges facing Third World societies as expressed through literature and film. Relying primarily on the works of Third World artists and writers, the course will explore issues such as the status of women, poverty, the plight of ethnic minorities, and the legacy of colonialism.

PLSI 1341 The Individual in World Politics 
An introduction to world politics. How the distribution of power and resources is used by governing elites, technical experts, business and financial agents, social activists, and citizens to shape and operate the several intersecting physical and social systems that constitute the modern world.

PLSI 3348 The Politics of Development
This course examines development as a historical process affecting politics, culture, economics, and society. It looks at early as well as middle and late developers, and explores reasons for different developmental trajectories. Prerequisites: PLSI 1341, 1332, or 1331.

Special Topics courses from departments may be included as concentration courses when topics pertain to Africa.

Study Abroad (6-9 hours): To be taken while studying abroad, selected in consultation with the concentration coordinator. Note: These hours do not include the hours devoted to the study of African languages including Arabic.