Course syllabus

At the crossroads of Av. Julius Nyerere and Av. Mao Tsé Tung, Maputo, Mozambique. Street names are remnants of the postcolonial trajectories. The same goes for cities and countries. For instance, the Mozambican capital Maputo was called Lourenço Marques during Portuguese colonialism. Marques was a 16th-century Portuguese trader and explorer. At Independence in 1975, the city became Maputo. Photo: Sten Hagberg.

Welcome to the course in African History, Society, and Culture 7,5hp

Link: Schedule in Time Edit here

During this course you will have a unique opportunity to get more knowledge of and deeper insights into Africa's historical developments from a perspective of present-day society and culture. Read course plan here

You can find the detailed schedule for the first module (7.5hp) here; and a course outline for the whole semester here. Note that minor changes, for example in the reading list of later lectures, can still occur.

The teachers are researchers and other professionals with long first-hand experience of researching and working in African countries and/or with African issues. This course is being offered by researchers affiliated with different departments at Uppsala University, with the Forum for Africa Studies (an inter-disciplinary centre whose purpose is to support research on, in, and with African at Uppsala University - see also the events organized by the Forum and follow its Facebook page to get updated information); and with the Nordic Africa Institute (a Swedish public agency, funded by several Nordic governments, whose mission is to function as a knowledge hub for collaborative research, library services and communication, and to support a deeper understanding of contemporary African perspectives, challenges and opportunities).

The teaching is composed of lectures, seminars, group discussions, study visits and possibly round-tables and/or other public events. 

We expect you to be actively engaged and always present at all our course events. This is key for the learning process, and it makes the course more lively and interactive.

Presentations (power-point, etc.) can be used for learning purposes, but should not be spread beyond the class-room, be it virtual or physical.

The course is examined through home exams, that is, you should write essay answers to a number of questions by drawing on the literature and the lectures and seminars.

The course starts on Monday 15 January at 8:15-10:00 with a course introduction. It is very important that you attend the course introduction. But prior to that, please take some time to explore this virtual study site. We will update more and more the coming weeks.

Welcome and good luck!

Oulia Makkonen, Niklas Edenmyr, Prof. Sten Hagberg, and Prof. Anneli Ekblom