Sequencing Tasks for a Substantial Paper in an Advanced History Course

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In 1957, Ghana became the first sovereign nation in Africa to declare independence from colonial rule, and dozens of other African nations would soon follow suit. While people across the continent and the world celebrated the end of empire, not everyone agreed about what Africa’s new nations would look like. In the years that followed decolonization, Africans from around the continent, and from various walks of life, grappled with the question: what did national sovereignty actually mean? For many, this was not only a political question, but a philosophical, cultural and moral conundrum as well. How would citizens of nations with boundaries that had been created by European colonizers develop a sense of shared identity and destiny? Should citizens, intellectuals and politicians communicate in European or African languages, and what were the stakes of such a decision? What would be the role of women in the new national governments? What would be the citizenship status of racial and ethnic minorities? Would political decolonization bring an end to the economic inequalities of the colonial era? Through weekly discussions of readings, and through the pursuit of in-depth individual research projects, members of this seminar will investigate how Africans in newly independent nations constructed their world and their future after the end of colonial rule.

COURSE GOALS:

The central goal of this course is to guide each student in the writing of a 25-page paper, based on original historical research. Each research project will explore some aspect of decolonization and African nationalism through primary sources. As preparation, we will work in consultation with the African Studies librarian at the UW Memorial Library in order to learn about the different kinds of primary sources held in the collection. Potential sources include African newspapers, archives, memoirs, speeches, artwork, philosophical writings, and oral history interviews. My hope is that you will identify a question or topic that you find personally compelling, and that through in-depth research you will find a unique and meaningful story to tell about it. While such a project requires that students hone a sense of intellectual autonomy and individual initiative, this course also invites you to join a wider community of people who have thought about the history and meaning of African nationalism, including both professional historians and your peers in the seminar. During the final two weeks of the semester, students will present their work to the seminar.

In order to help you to complete a successful research project, this course will offer you the chance to master several skills, including the following:

1. Defining a compelling historical research question
2. Locating, collecting and analyzing primary source evidence
3. Building a bibliography of secondary source materials
4. Engaging in scholarly conversation with both peers and professional historians
5. Presenting convincing historical arguments in oral and written form

REQUIREMENTS:

• Final paper: The final paper should be 20-25 pages.
• Research tasks: Each week, there will be an assignment designed to help you to make progress on your research project. Each research task will come with a handout, which can be found on the Learn@UW site.
• Map quiz: You will be asked to identify modern African nations on a blank map of Africa
• Reading Responses: On weeks for which there are assigned readings, you will be asked to write a brief response paper, no more than 3 paragraphs long. There will be seven of these due throughout the semester. Guidelines are included in the course packet.
• Participation: You are all expected to participate in class discussions and activities. This means that you must arrive in class prepared to discuss the readings and to engage with fellow seminar participants.
• Final presentation: During the final two class sessions, students will present their projects to the seminar.
• Survey: In weeks 1 and 14, students will receive an online survey from the history department. These surveys are intended to help the department assess how well our courses are serving our majors. They surveys are ungraded, but required. Thank you in advance for helping us with this.