2023/24 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

PIED1806 Contemporary Africas: Politics, Society and the Environment

20 creditsClass Size: 80

Module manager: Dr Jeremiah Arowosegbe
Email: J.O.Arowosegbe@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2023/24

Module replaces

PIED1805 History, Society and Culture

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

What issues concern Africans in relation to political and social development? What factors shape African identities? What impact did colonialism and the West have on Africa? Are women oppressed in Africa? This module will focus on postcolonial Africa’s environment, history, politics and society. It is intended to be an introductory course for students interested in, but not necessarily particularly knowledgeable about, issues in contemporary African societies. By the end of the module students will have an understanding of a range of key issues relevant to the creation of contemporary societies in Africa. The module will begin with an overview of the recent history of the continent, and will move on to consider key topics such as climatic and ecological change, development, health, politics, gender and theology. In order to help nurture understanding of the range of African societies there will be a certain number of classes focussing on case studies from particular countries such as Egypt and South Africa.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students:
- should be able to understand key issues in the creation of contemporary societies in Africa;
- will gain an understanding of the history of colonial and post-colonial Africa; and of key issues such as development, environmental change, gender, language, theology and politics;
- will learn about a range of different African societies and particular issues relevant to them.

Learning outcomes
This module will focus on the environment, history, politics and society of postcolonial Africa. It is intended to be an introductory course for students interested in, but not necessarily particularly knowledgeable about, issues in contemporary African societies.

By the end of the module students will have an understanding of a range of key issues relevant to the creation of contemporary societies in Africa. The module will begin with an overview of the recent history of the continent, and will move on to consider key topics such as climatic and ecological change, development, health, politics, gender and theology.

In order to help nurture understanding of the range of African societies there will be a certain number of classes focussing on case studies from particular countries such as Egypt, Tanzania and South Africa.

Syllabus

Provisional syllabus
-Thinking about contemporary Africa
-Colonialism, nationalism and Africa
-Anthropology and Africa: patterns of thought
-Natural Resources, governance and politics
-Climate change adaptation
-Biofuels and livelihoods
-Health and Healthcare in contemporary Africa
-Protest and the state in South Africa
-Religion as Politics in Contemporary Africas
-Neoliberal social engineering in Africa
-Mass Media in Sub-Saharan Africa

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	2	3.00	6.00
Lecture	11	1.00	11.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			173.00
Total Contact hours			27.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Reading 5 hours per week = 55 hours
Seminar preparation 4 hours per week = 40 hours
Essay preparation and writing = 76 hours

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

This will be achieved through monitoring attendance, ensuring all students participate in class discussion, through assessment of essay scripts, and in feedback sessions.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1 x 1000 word essay (Mid-term)	50.00
Essay	1 x 2000 word essay (end of term)	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 14/12/2023

Disclaimer

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