This is a master list of all courses offered by the African Studies program. Please keep in mind that not all of the courses listed here are offered every year. Please go to the individual pages on the left if you are looking for what courses are offered in a specific year.
Cultural, historical, and geographical issues of African Studies.
An introduction to selected themes and historical approaches in African history. These may include African geography and identities, sources and methodology, pre-modern state formation, gender relations, world religions, labour systems, colonialism, and post-colonialism. Credit will be granted for only one of AFST 256 or HIST 256.
Equivalency: HIST 256.
Linguistic survey of the languages of Africa, including typological and historical connections between languages, individual and comparative surveys of sound systems, word structures, sentence structures, semantics, and sociolinguistic properties of a representative selection of languages.
Comparative exploration of art practices and their relationship to colonial and postcolonial histories.
Equivalency: ARTH 309.
Pre-colonial, colonial, and contemporary, emphasizing South Africa. Credit will be granted for only one of AFST 312 or HIST 312.
Equivalency: HIST 312.
The history of Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries: the growth of Islam and Christianity, the impact of European colonialism, the development of nationalism, and the variety of different political and social outcomes after independence. Credit will be granted for only one of AFST 313 or HIST 313.
Equivalency: HIST 313.
Topics will vary from year to year.
Major issues and theoretical approaches.
Major issues and theoretical approaches.
Literary and cultural works from Africa; some sections include Africa and the Middle East. Multiple perspectives on local, national, and global issues including colonialism, migration, transnationalism, education, art and politics. May include fiction, poetry, drama, digital media, and other forms.
Selected African language with emphasis on major syntactic structures, vocabulary, conversation patterns, reading short texts, and the cultural and historical contexts of language use.
Key debates in the art of Africa and the African diaspora. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
Equivalency: ARTH 410.
African diasporic culture in Canadian society, fostering dialogue with members of African Canadian communities on cultural values, traditions, memory, adaptation and change.
Skills in listening to and speaking Swahili, a major language of Africa and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Emphasizes everyday vocabulary, core grammar, use in context, and connections between the language and African cultures.
Skills in using Swahili in a range of social contexts. Training in grammar and vocabulary that builds fluency, and in using the language appropriately for meaningful interactions with native speakers.
Prerequisite: SWAH 101 or equivalent.