Program in African Studies
Director
Daniel I. Rubenstein
Acting Director
Jeanne Altmann (fall)
Executive Committee
V. Kofi Agawu, Music
Jeanne Altmann, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Kwame Anthony Appiah, Philosophy, University Center for Human Values
André Benhaïm, French and Italian
Anne C. Case, Woodrow Wilson School, Economics
Andrew P. Dobson, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Simon E. Gikandi, English
Emmanuel H. Kreike, History
Evan S. Lieberman, Politics
Mahiri Mwita, Comparative Literature
Tullis C. Onstott, Geosciences
S. George H. Philander, Geosciences
Carolyn M. Rouse, Anthropology, African American Studies
Daniel I. Rubenstein, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Burton H. Singer, Woodrow Wilson School
Winston O. Soboyejo, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Helen Tilley, History
Jennifer A. Widner, Politics, Woodrow Wilson School
Sits with Committee
Nancy Pressman–Levy, Library
The Program in African Studies is a multidisciplinary forum that brings together students and faculty to learn about Africa—its peoples, environments, and resources—by exploring cultural, historical, political, scientific, and technological issues. These are brought together in an introductory course and reinforced in the senior colloquium where students share their works in progress. In between these “bookends” the program sponsors and endorses a variety of courses, seminars, and field study programs enabling students majoring in any department to design a course of study that satisfies their interests in Africa.
Program of Study
To obtain the certificate of proficiency, students must complete the normal requirements in their major department as well as the following requirements of the program.
1. Introduction to African Studies (AFS 200).
2. Four courses from an approved list (see below).
3. The Senior Colloquium where students discuss work-in-progress.
4. A senior thesis on Africa or an African-related topic.
The Program in African Studies strongly encourages concentrators to study in Africa. Princeton has its own “Semester in Kenya” where Princeton faculty and Kenyan scholars teach a sequence of four courses that each lasts a week. A summer program of intensive Swahili instruction in Tanzania at the University of Dar es Salaam taught by Princeton and African instructors was initiated in the summer of 2007. Princeton also has a linkage with the University of Cape Town to enable undergraduates to study in South Africa for a semester or a year. Students are also welcome to study at other African universities, such as Rhodes University in South Africa, which offers an approved summer course.
AFS 200 Introduction to African Studies — Spring SA
The course offers a unique opportunity to explore the past, present, and future of Africa in a truly multidisciplinary setting. A dozen of Princeton University’s distinguished Africanist faculty collaborate in an effort to shed light on both the huge potential of Africa and its peoples and the enormous challenges the continent faces. Topics vary from, for example, conservation, biodiversity, climate change, the environment, health and disease, written and oral literature, and music, to the impact of the world on Africa as well as Africa’s contributions to and place in worlds present and past. Two lectures, one preceptorial. E. Kreike
AFS 258 Music of Africa (see MUS 258)
AFS 372 African Cultural Forms in Political Spheres (also ANT 372) — Fall
In what ways can we understand the current circulation and influence of artistic scientific and technological forms between the West and Africa? Various literary and political movements such as Negritude and the Black Consciousness Movement shaped policies in Africa. Given the multidirectional flow of culture and technology, this seminar will examine: 1) The effect of the legacy of this literary and political movement on the African institutions; 2) The continent’s struggle today through cultural expression such as musical styles, poetry, novels, and visual art; 3) How immigrants contribute to these cultural expressions. One three-hour seminar. M. Sagna
AFS 374 African Development and Globalization — Spring SA
Africa today represents less than 2 percent of the world’s GDP. The legacy of colonial rule has undoubtedly contributed to a slowdown in the international competitiveness of Africa. However, there are internal factors as well. Today, many countries are progressively shifting from a US-EU-Africa paradigm, to one that includes a larger proportion of alternative investors from the Middle-East, India, and China. This seminar will focus on: the effect of the legacy of complex political intricacies and the ways in which Africa engages the world; and how African countries face and anticipate the challenges of globalization. One three-hour seminar. M. Sagna
AFS 400 Topics in African Studies
Designed to allow juniors and seniors enrolled in the program to examine significant problems in Africa in an interdisciplinary manner. Topics vary from year to year, reflecting faculty research interests. Prerequisite: one core course and one cognate course, or instructor’s permission. Required of all program concentrators; open to others by permission of program director and course instructor. Staff
AFS 427 Conflict in Africa — Fall
Examines selected aspects on conflict in Africa. We use the concept of conflict to mean organized and/or collective political violence that causes the death of about 1,000 people per year. It will focus on the following issues: Analytical debates about conflicts in Africa; actors/participants such as guerrillas, warlords, and child soldiers; continental politics about conflict; the politics of humanitarian intervention; wars in the Great Lakes Region; the war and warlords of West Africa; the genocide in Rwanda and the aftermath of wars, especially those of Southern Africa. One three-hour seminar. One three-hour seminar. A. Seegers
Program in Swahili
The Program in African Studies offers a four-term sequence of language instruction in Swahili. Completion of all four terms of the sequence will satisfy the University language requirement. Occasionally, more advanced courses also will be offered. The program emphasizes the skills of speaking, reading, and writing Swahili as well as the cultural context of the East African nations where Swahili is spoken. The program encourages students to consider study abroad during the school year or the summer to complement their language study. Princeton now offers intensive intermediate Swahili instruction during the summer at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. For more information, contact the Program in African Studies.
Courses
SWA 101* Elementary Swahili I — Fall
An introduction to the skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Swahili. Classroom activities include comprehension, grammar exercises, and conversation. Some attention to the cultural context of the East African nations where Swahili is spoken. Four classes. M. Mwita
SWA 102* Elementary Swahili II — Spring
Continuation of 101. An introduction to the skills of understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Swahili. Classroom activities include comprehension, grammar exercises, and conversation. Some attention to the cultural context of the East African nations where Swahili is spoken. Prerequisite: 101. Four classes. M. Mwita
SWA 105 Intermediate Swahili — Fall
This course concentrates on developing communicative skills to enable the learners to engage in meaningful verbal interactions with other Swahili speakers. In order to achieve this goal, most lessons are task-based, both pedagogic and real-life tasks. Activities such as role-play, creating sample materials, discussion, story telling, describing scenes, and studying authentic cultural objects are practiced alongside reading and writing passages that provide a picture on how the task in question is carried out in a Swahili-speaking community. Prerequisites: 101 and 102, or instructor’s permission. Four classes. M. Mwita
SWA 105T Intermediate Swahili I in Tanzania
This intensive four-week course offered at the University of Dar es Salaam covers similar content as the regular SWA 105 course offered at Princeton in the fall semester. Content continues from SWA 101 and 102, focusing on enhancing the communicative skills acquired in the previous semesters, through reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities on cultural content that review and consolidate already acquired language skills. Special emphasis will be placed on East African content and classroom/out-of-class activities/exercises will require frequent day-to-day interaction with native speakers of Kiswahili. M. Mwita, A. Mutembei
SWA 107 Intermediate Swahili II — Spring
With a continuing emphasis on conversational fluency and increased facility in reading and writing skills, this course introduces students to Swahili literature through which a survey on cultural aspects and more advanced grammar is undertaken. Students will be able to understand and analyze the main ideas and significant details of materials in Swahili such as media articles, short stories, poetry, short novels, films, and plays illustrative of East African cultural issues and advanced-level Swahili grammar, as well as development of expository writing skills. Prerequisite: 105 or instructor’s permission. Four classes. M. Mwita
SWA 107T Intermediate Swahili II in Tanzania
This is a continuation of the SWA 105 T (Intermediate Swahili I) intensive summer course offered at the University of Dar es Salaam. It covers similar content as the regular SWA 107 offered at Princeton in the spring semester. Communicative skills acquired in the previous semesters will be enhanced through reading, writing, speaking, and listening activities on cultural content that review and consolidate already acquired language skills. Special emphasis will be placed on East African content and classroom/out-of-class activities/exercises will require frequent day-to-day interaction with native speakers of Kiswahili. M. Mwita, A. Mutembei
SWA 200 Introduction to Literature in Kiswahili (also COM
200) — Fall LA
An introduction to the basics of literature and their application to literature in Kiswahili. Content focuses on understanding the basic vocabulary and concepts used in describing literary theory and criticism in Kiswahili language. Students will read selected materials on literary theory and criticism written in Kiswahili as well as sample Swahili texts from the various genres (novel, drama, and poetry) to gain understanding of the nature of literature written in Kiswahili. One three-hour class. A. Mutembei
SWA 300 East African Drama in Kiswahili (also COM 366) — Spring LA
This course examines the genre of drama and performance in the literary tradition of the Swahili-speaking communities of East Africa. It focuses on the origins of African drama in the epic and ritual traditions, to contemporary playwrights, as well as the sociopolitical and theoretical realities that have informed the current face of dramatic texts in Kiswahili. Readings will include writings on the pre-colonial performance traditions of the East African peoples, the role of the colonial experience and the politics of the post-colony in contemporary plays, and the effect of general theoretical trends on writing and performing drama in Kiswahili. Two 90-minute classes. Staff
SWA 305 Kiswahili Novel (also COM 367) — Spring LA
Although the novel is the youngest genre in the Swahili critical tradition, it has experienced some of the most revolutionary and innovative experimentations since it gained mainstream prominence in Swahili literature, mainly during the post-colonial/independence literary revolution. This course is a reading of the Kiswahili novel with a critical analysis of the socio-political and critical trends in the literary world that have influenced the writings of contemporary Swahili novelists. The colonial/independence and post-independence experience in East Africa are some of the motifs that inform the course readings and class discourse. Two 90-minute classes. Staff
SWA 310 A Survey of Classical and Contemporary Swahili Poetry (also COM 379) — Fall
Examines the rich tradition of poetry in Swahili ranging from pre-20th-century classical poetry to contemporary trends. A critical exploration of the classical verse forms such as tenzi will inform subsequent analysis of contemporary materials, representing among them innovative re-appropriations of time-honored techniques as well as pioneering experiments in free verse and the critical debates associated with this poetic experience. Readings will include works by classical, colonial, and post-colonial poets. Two 90-minute seminars. A. Mutembei
Courses in African Studies
African Studies
400 Topics in African Studies
Anthropology
**314 The Anthropology of Development
Art and Archaeology
**472 Igbo and Yoruba Art
Comparative Literature
**370 Topics in Comparative Literature: African Texts through Orality
Economics
339 Introduction to Population Problems
351 Economics of Development
English
**383 Topics in Literature and Nationality: Writing Race and Nation: The South African Example
French
371 World Literature in French
**377 Women’s Speech: Literature, Gender, and the Francophone African Women’s Experience
History
314 Precolonial Africa
315 Colonial and Postcolonial Africa
316 South African History, 1497 to the Present
**496 Africa, Medical Pluralism, and the History of Health and Disease
Music
258 Music of Africa
Politics
351 Politics in the Developing Countries
366 Politics in Africa
Sociology
245 Social Change: Modernization and Revolution
If other courses on Africa are offered, these may be added with the permission of the director.
The Program in African Studies sponsors seminars throughout the year that bring to the University distinguished scholars, government officials, and other experts with diverse points of view and interests in Africa. The program also sponsors an “Indaba” where members of the University gather for informal discussion of African issues over breakfast once a week during term. Students in the program are invited to participate in both these meetings.
Certificate of Proficiency
Students who have met the requirements of the program and their department will receive a certificate of proficiency in African studies upon graduation.
Princeton in Africa
Students interested in working in Africa either for a year after graduation or during a summer can apply to the Princeton in Africa program for internships. Princeton in Africa seeks to encourage American/African collaboration, to provide effective assistance to the world’s most underserved continent, and to create a constituency committed to the emergence of Africa as a full partner in the developed world.
*Normally students electing a beginner’s course in any language
will receive credit only if two terms are completed.
**One-time-only course