Cultural, historical, and geographical issues of African Studies (AFST 250)
Instructor: Dr. Justice Gbolonyo
Term 1, Tuesdays/Thursdays, 11:00am – 12:30pm
Term 2, Tuesdays/Thursdays, 2:00pm – 3:30pm
This course offered in all three terms, provides an ethnographic and ethnological survey of Sub-Saharan African peoples and culture. It highlights the change and the resistance to change in the period since the age of exploration through the Berlin Conference of 1885, which redrew the map of Africa to serve the needs of European nations, but it also gives an in-depth look at Africa’s geography including its ecology as well as its ‘traditional’ cultures. The effect of the colonial period upon contemporary economic, political, and socio-cultural development within the context of globalization is examined through a variety of literature, film, music, and field notes. The general focus is on relations between humans and the environment, between cultures, and within societies.
The Languages of Africa (AFST 308)
Term 2, Mondays/Wednesdays, 3:30pm – 5:00pm
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.
Cross-listed with LING 308
Topics in African Studies (AFST 350)
Term 1, Tuesdays/Thursdays, 12:30pm – 2:00pm
Perspectives in African Studies: A Social Science Approach (AFST 352)
Term 2, Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Literatures and Cultures of Africa and/or the Middle East (AFST 370A)
Term 2, TBA
Cross-listed with ENGL 370
African Diasporic Culture in African Canadian Communities (AFST 450R)
Term 2, Tuesdays/Thursdays, 9:30am – 11:00am
Beginners Swahili I (SWAH 101)
Term 1, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 11:00am – 12:00pm
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.
Beginners Swahili II (SWAH 102)
Term 2, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 11:00am – 12:00pm
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.