UNITED STATES AND AFRICA
His 317L7 (39135)
AFR 317C (35250)
Class: T&TH, 12.30-2PM Wel 2.312
Instructor: Toyin Falola
Email: Toyin.falola@mail.utexas.edu
TAs: Tosin Abiodun
Instructor: 2-3 p.m. T. & Th. Office: Gar 2.142 (In matters relating to grade, you must first of all see the TA before you talk to me)
Course Description
This class will look at the history of the political, economic and cultural relations between the United States and Africa from the early origins of the slave trade to the present. It explores the role of the US in historical global contexts. The class is intended to elucidate historical developments both in the US and on the African continent, and should satisfy students with a strong interest in US history as well as those interested in the place of the US in the African Diaspora. The semester is divided into four parts, each covering a major theme.
Course Objectives
- To develop a base of African and US history and increase the level of awareness of the African Diaspora in the US.
- To obtain a well-rounded approach to the political, economic, and cultural connections between the United States and Africa.
- To reevaluate perceptions of Africa, to recognize the vibrant nature of African culture, and to apply new knowledge to the different cultural agents active in US popular culture, such as music, dance, literature, business and science.
- To help students understand present-day politics in Africa at a deeper level and to obtain a better understanding of racial conditions in the US.
- To learn how to assess historical materials -- their relevance to a given interpretative problem, their reliability and their importance -- and to determine the biases present within particular scholarship. These include historical documents, literature and films.
Required Materials
**It is a course requirement to have all the books.
1. Joseph E. Holloway, ed., Africanisms in American Culture (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005 second edition).
2. Curtis A. Keim, Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind (Westview Press, 1999).
3. Alusine Jalloh, ed., The United States and West Africa (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2008).
4. Kevin Roberts, ed., The Atlantic World 1450-2000 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008).
Students can buy books from Coop and other sources.
2244 Guadalupe St., Austin, TX 78705
Phone: (512)476-7211 x8108
Internet Resources
http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
Evaluation and Points--100% (there is no extra credit, and the course is not graded on curve)
** The weight is distributed to ensure success for all students, balancing the various needs to participate, interact, engage, think critically, and write well. Not all students seek an A or B grade, but those who do should expect to do the maximum required.
September cumulative 30%
i. Public Lecture Review 10% September 23
ii. First Examination 25% October 7
(Two essay questions, at least three pages on each)
iii. Book Review, 20% October 26
iv. Book Review 20% November 16
v. Second Examination 25% December 2
(Two essay questions, at least three pages on each)
Alternative Option to the Second Examination
8 page research paper on a topic approved by the TA December 2
Class rules
i.) All assignments must be submitted on due dates. 5 points per day are deducted thereafter
ii.) Except on medical grounds or permission from the Dean’s office, there are no make-up examinations
iii.) There is no option for extra credit.
iv.) Failure to read the assigned materials will incur negative grading and treated as an evidence of cheating. Answers to questions will be used to reveal the failure to read
A part of writing history includes clearly communicating your ideas. As such, written assignments must conform to standard rules of written English including the organization of essays and grammar
SPECIAL EVENT, September 21, 7 pm
A public lecture is a mandatory part of the class.
PART A: CONNECTIONS, RELEVANCE, AND PREJUDICES
August 26: Introduction (by the TA, Tosin Abiodun)
*About the course
**Teaching Approach:
Lectures
Class discussions
Films (these are integral to the class, and materials can be drawn from them).
Reading: Always read before the class so that you can understand the lectures and ask questions.
Africa—the continent and its people.
August 31: Africa and the United States: Historical Overview
Reading: The United States and West Africa, chapter 1.
September 2: Africa and the United States: Why Is the Connection Important?
Reading: The United States and West Africa, chapter 1.
**Students to volunteer to lead the discussion next week
Reading: Mistaking Africa, chapters 1 2, 3, and 4.
September 7: Stereotyping Africa, 1
Class seminar on Mistaking Africa, chapters 1-4.
Reading, Mistaking Africa, chapters 7,8,9,& 10
**Students to volunteer to lead the discussion next week
September 9: Stereotyping Africa, 2
Chapters 7, 8, 9. & 10.
Read the remaining chapters in Mistaking Africa.
September 14: Documentary
Black Studies in the United States
Read the remaining chapters in Mistaking Africa.
***students to volunteer to lead discussions.
September 16: Class Seminar
Is there an Obama impact?
Review of knowledge update
Part B: The Origins of Contacts: The Atlantic Slave Trade
September 21: Africa, the USA and the Atlantic World
Tuesday, September 21 7PM
Reading: The Atlantic World, Introduction
**Mandatory Public Lecture in the evening.
2010 Africa Distinguished Lecture
Lecturer: Professor Barbara Harlow, Dept of English
First class assignment: Report on lecture to be submitted by September 23rd. (10% of grade).
September 23: The Atlantic Slave Trade
Reading: The Atlantic World, chapters 1 & 2.
***Submit report on public lecture
September 28: Commodities and Connections: Spices
USA and West Africa, chapter 16.
September 30: Documentary
Africa Buried Past
Part C: Slavery and Africanism in the United States
October 5: The Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Reading: The United States and West Africa, chapter 3.
Review Questions
Prepare for first exam: Materials to be drawn from books, lecture notes, and films. Students who show a wide range of reading and engagement will be rewarded.
Questions will be drawn from Mistaking Africa, public issues, and key the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery.
October 7: Mid-Term Exam in Class
Class Period: Bring Blue Books. Students will write two long inter-connected essays. Essays will be drawn from a pool submitted by an Examination Committee comprising 5 students, with TA as Chairperson
October 12: The Basis of Africanisms: Slavery in the United States
Holloway, Africanisms, chapter 1, “The Origins of African American Culture”
Holloway, Africanisms, chapter 4, “Gullah Attitudes”
October 14: Voodoo in New Orleans
Holloway, Africanisms, chapter 3, “The case of Voodoo.”
October 19: Documentary
Documentary
African and African-American religions. / Wynnewood, PA.# 1998
VIDCASS 7789
****students to volunteer for next week.
October 21: Seminar on Africanisms (to be coordinated by the TA)
Various issues and topics drawn from Holloway, Africanisms
Prepare to write the first book report on The Atlantic World (any section of your choice. The book is divided into four parts—review only one part).
Part D: ABOLITION AND MODERN RELATIONS
October 26: Abolition and Back to Africa Movements
The Atlantic World, chapter 10.
***Submit First Book Review.
October 28: Pan Africanism
The United States and West Africa, chapter 4.
November 2: Documentary
Marcus Garvey: Black-nationalist leader. Vidcass 6648
November 4: Africans and African Americans
Reading: The United States and West Africa, part 3
Volunteers to lead discussion
November 9 Class Seminar on Africans and African Americans
November 11: Comparative Food Cultures
United Tastes of America." VIDCASS 9980
Prepare the second book review on Part IV of The United States and West Africa
November 16: Contemporary Economy and Politics 1
The United States and West Africa, chapter 13.
***Submit second book review
November 18: Contemporary Economy and Politics, 2
The Atlantic World, chapters 13 & 15.
November 23: The China Factor
Nov. 25: Globalization, 1
The United States and West Africa, chapter 13.
Nov. 30: Globalization 2
The United States and West Africa, chapter 22.
December 2: Final Examination
Exam in class or the submission of the alternative papers to exam.
Bring Blue Books.
APPENDICES
Appendix 1
Instructions for writing Public Lecture Review
- Of course you must be there and listen carefully.
- Ask the speaker about issues that are not clear to you.
- Summarize the lecture in no more than 1 page—the idea here is that you must understand the major arguments and issues.
- Give your opinions of the lecture in no less than 1 page
Minimum page count: 2 typed pages, double-spaced. If you write more than this, focus on your opinions/reflections and not on the summary of the lecture.
**Can you bring other materials as you reflect? Yes, and remember to provide the source.
***Can you disagree? Yes, but remember to back it up with evidence.
Appendix 2
Instructions for writing book reviews
1. Reviews should be no less than 3 pp. and no more than 5 pp., typed and double spaced.
2. Book reviews should be analytical, and not just a retelling of the narrative. The best way to do this is by synthesizing the narrative in your own mind and then critically examining such things as the historical content, style and the overall impression the book made on you. You will probably want to assess how the book fits in with particular topics or themes we are developing in the course. Feel free to express your own opinion, but do so clearly. Organize and develop the main points you wish to make and re-emphasize them in a conclusion.
3. Proofread your review before submitting it.
4. Turn your review in on time (that means at the beginning of class on the assigned day), because late reviews will be penalized.
Appendix 3
Instead of the Final Examination, students have the option of writing a research paper. If the student chooses the research paper option, he or she is responsible for choosing a topic and getting it approved by the instructor. The student may choose essentially any topic for this paper with the only requirement being that it must be clearly related to one or more of the themes of the course (this relationship must be clear to both the student and the instructor). If a student wishes to write a paper and is having difficulty producing an acceptable topic, the TA will be more than happy to help shape the argument and relate it back to the course. By the end of the semester the student should be able to produce a comprehensive paper outlining the salient information concerning the, including its structure, effects, and implications. Any further requirements will be clarified as the class proceeds and any questions regarding either option will be answered as they emerge.
Appendix 4
Style to be used in writing footnotes and bibliography
Please, follow this style carefully for all the papers, reviews, reports, etc. Failure to do so will mean points deducted from your grade.
Footnotes
Historical style only; numbered sequentially, at bottom of the page.
First citation: full reference.
Book: author (first name first), title (place, date) pp.
Toyin Falola, Violence in Nigeria: The Crisis of Religious Politics and Secular Ideologies. (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 1998), pp. 9-23.
Article in Journal: author (first name first), “title”, journal. Vol. (date), pp.
Toyin Falola, "The Yoruba Toll System," Journal of African History, 30, 1, 1989,
pp. 41- 63.
Article in Book author (first name first), “title”, in name/names of editor(s), ed(s); title (place, date), pp.
Toyin Falola, "The Imperial Experience: Africa," in P. J. Marshall, ed., British Empire. Cambridge: C.U.P., 1996, pp. 347-356.
Subsequent Citations
Book: last name of author, short title, pp.
Article: last name of author, “short title”, pp.
If the same source is cited in the next following footnote, use Ibid., pp.
Bibliography-- Historical style, alphabetically, as follows:
Book: author (last name first), title. Place: publisher, date.
Article in Journal: author (last name first), “title”, journal. Vol. (Date).
Article in Book: author (last name first), “title”, in name/names of editors (first names first), ed(s), title. Place: published, date.
(Note: If there is more than one author of a book or article, list the first with last name first and the second with first name first.)
If you copy a map, table, graph, etc., for inclusion with your paper, you must give a full citation.
Appendix 5
SAMPLE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
- Why did slavery become such a prominent institution in the New World? What other systems of labor exploitation were attempted in the Americas? Why were Africans selected as slaves as opposed to other population groups? What conflicts did the growth of slavery raise, and how was slavery justified?
- What were the inter-relational precursors to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade? Go into detail about European-African relations before the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
- How did Africans resist their initial enslavement? Once enslaved in the New World, how did they continue this resistance? Use examples from voodoo, music and the Gullah.
- In what ways is voodoo an African institution? In what ways Western? Is it more one than the other?
- Compare the movement to abolish the slave trade with the movement to emancipate slaves in the US. How are they similar? How do they differ? Discuss in terms of ideology, influences, politics and economics.
6. Compare the movement to abolish the slave trade with the pan-African movement. How are they similar/different? Discuss in terms of ideology, influences, politics and economics.
7. Discuss arguments for and against the repatriation and Back-to-Africa movements. Examine the successes and failures of these movements.
8. Compare the ideology and goals of the pan-African movement in the Caribbean with the pan-African movement in Africa.
10. Why are good relations with African countries important to the US? Discuss political, economic, and health/environmental issues. How do these factors shape US policy towards Africa.
Appendix 6
Plagiarism:
How do you avoid committing plagiarism? Here are some basic tips:
1. Historians use a variety of citation formats, including footnotes, endnotes, and indicating their source directly in their text within parentheses. Within those formats, they use a variety of styles. Ask your instructor for guidance on a uniform system of citations--and follow that advice.
2. Take notes carefully. Whenever you copy a direct quotation, protect yourself by putting quotation marks around it. Attach a full, accurate citation to any borrowed passage, whether quoted or paraphrased, and keep it attached as you write.
3. Although borrowed ideas must be fully acknowledged in a citation, you do not need to provide a citation for information that your reader can reasonably be expected to know. When in doubt, include a citation.
4. You can avoid plagiarism by learning how to paraphrase. It is much easier to avoid plagiarism that involves verbatim copying or handing in the same paper twice than it is to avoid plagiarism that involves paraphrase, probably the trickiest area of all. Certainly it is the area where most instances of plagiarism occur.
Appendix 7
HOW TO WRITE
This packet is a color-coded explanation and sample of how to outline and write an argument for a paper. This is by no means the only way to write a paper, but may be regarded as an efficient and basic way to organize the information needed to impart an opinion and to provide support. For the sake of clarity, each part of the argument on both the outline and the paper itself will be color-coded so you may see where they correspond and how they all fit together.
Thesis: Put into simple terms, your paper is your answer to a question. Your thesis is this answer put concisely. For example, if the question before you is “Why is hip-hop music flourishing in Nigeria?” Your answer might be, “Nigerian hip-hop is a vital method of social communication, transmitting public information, protest, and national pride.” Remember, this does not need to be a scientific fact- your thesis is what you think the answer is and the rest of the paper is information showing why you think that.
Points: These will be the broader pieces of your argument that support your Thesis. If you are arguing Nigerian hip-hop’s vital role in social communication, you will need broad points on where and how it is vital. So, as shown, the points will demonstrate how it is vital in terms of spreading public information, voicing protest, and instilling national pride.
Examples: These will be the specific examples of the Points you are making. The Thesis and the Points are your opinions and argument. These examples are facts- they must be verifiable and true. Examples given for each of the major Points lend them legitimacy in the argument and bolster the Thesis itself. So, for each of the categories you have chosen under Points, you should try and find several outside sources that you may quote and discuss.
Explanation: These are the sentences where you explain how the Examples relate to the Points. By elaborating and discussing the Examples, you show their common thread and how this commonality fits them together into the category that you are using as a Point.
To put it in short, the Explanation explores your Examples (facts) and tells us how and why they matter. Examples then are the facts that are put together to construct the Points. The Points, in turn, support the Thesis. The Thesis is therefore built on a foundation of facts and explanation, which is then structured effectively to build a coherent argument. The result is a solid answer to the question you set out to solve.
In the interest of integrity, it would also be best to mention that this essay and its sources are false and meant only as an example. This is to be regarded only as a teaching aid, not as a proper academic paper. No information in this paper is real.
Title: “Elevate Your Mind, Lower the Taxes: Nigerian Hip-Hop’s Social Messages”
- Opening:
- Nigerian music has a long radical tradition
- Traditional Nigerian Music
- Nigerian Jazz in the 50s
- Western Ideas and Music in the 70s
- Hip-Hop begins in the late 80s
- Thesis: Nigerian hip-hop is a vital method of social communication, transmitting public information, protest, and national pride.
- Publicly Needed Information
- Afigbo’s “Wrap it Up.”
- Written late 80s
- About AIDS crisis
- Spread awareness of the disease before government dissemination
- Olosegun’s “Huffin’ to Death”
- Written mid-90s
- About the drug abuses in urban Lagos
- Spread information about the detrimental effects of inhalants
- Abiodun’s “Disappeared”
- Written late 90s
- About the kidnappings on the Delta
- Attempted to educate people on the dangers the kidnappings posed/protested against the governments actions (this transitions into the ideas of protests)
- Protests
- Oyebade’s “Tax Man”
- Written in the 80s
- A protest against the new agricultural taxes
- Caused widespread demonstrations and a reappraisal of the policy
- Keto’s “Bus Fare”
- Written in the mid 90s
- Protest against the rising costs of public transportation
- Caused demonstrations but little government action. Represented a decline in the protest song.
- Alagoa’s “Generallissimo”
- Written in the late 90s
- A protest against the coups and military rule
- Helped spearhead the public movements towards the republic again and instill national pride (this can help lead into the nationalism ideas)
- Nationalism
- Achebe’s “Lion Waking”
- Written in the late 80s
- A discussion of the importance of national pride in spite of critical cutbacks
- Credited with holding the nation together during the tumultuous years of the late 80s.
- Abiola’s “Phoenix in the Ashes”
- Written in the early 90s
- Discussion of hope after the near chaos in the nation
- Helped give identity to Nigeria after the late 80s- was appropriated by the Abacha government to legitimize their rule
- Fodio’s “Still Standing”
- Written in the late 90s.
- Discussion of defiance in the wake of military rule
- Has helped the country regain its confidence in the course of rebuilding
- Conclusion
- Nigeria has a vibrant arts tradition
- Hip-hop has taken up the mantle of a public voice, a protest, and a nation-builder
- The tradition carries on today.
Is all of that clear? Wonderful, now here is your sample essay! Remember, not all sentences may be colored. These sentences exist to help with the flow and transition of the paper or to give a richer background. This is completely fine.
“Elevate Your Mind, Lower the Taxes: Nigerian Hip-Hop’s Social Messages”
Since pre-colonial days, Nigerian music has held a central place in Nigerian culture. It had often functioned as a conscience of the people, a teacher, even a radical voice that might educate or inflame. The coming of European colonialism did not alter the purpose of the music, but it did alter its form. New instruments and philosophies behind musical types influenced the art, but the radical messages often remained. The jazz that emerged out of Lagos in the 1950s often held messages of self-sufficiency and independence for the populace. The concepts of Pan-Africanism and Funk infused the 1970s Ibadan music scene, attempting to forge a tie across the Atlantic Ocean. The heir to this tradition is hip-hop, which has taken a firm root in all areas of Nigeria. The explosion of this music form began in the mid 1980s and has continued unabated. With such Western influences as NWA, Ice-T, and even Tupac Shakur, Nigerian hip-hop spreads essential messages to the masses. The music has become central to the dialog within the nation. Today, Nigerian hip-hop is a vital method of social communication-transmitting public information, encouraging protest, and instilling national pride.
Perhaps the most utilitarian aspect of the hip-hop movement in Nigeria has been its use in spreading vital public information. Few media outlets have such reach as the music industry, leaving socially conscious performers to spread messages within their songs. Perhaps the earliest known public information song was Afigbo’s “Wrap it Up.” Written in early 1983, Afigbo was attempting to spread awareness of the spread of AIDS and how it might be halted. With so little accurate information being disseminated, Afigbo claimed “…I can only hope that this song can encourage safe sex and save lives.”[i] Taking his cue from this new development, Olosegun was encouraged to write his chart-topping “Huffin’ to Death” in 1991. The government had refused to deal with the explosion of inhalant abuse among urban Nigerian youths, leading Olosegun to “…force the nation to understand the permanent damage that huffing could do.”[ii] These two were perhaps the most influential of the deluge of public informing songs, until 1999’s “Disappeared” by Abiodun. The female singer captured a solid hook and used her imaginative lyrical styling to highlight the growing problems of the kidnappings on the Niger Delta. Having lost her own sister there, Abiodun combined an announcement of the dangers of the Delta with a formal protest about the government’s “complicity and duplicity”[iii] in terms of the kidnappings.
This would not be the first time formal protest was involved in Nigerian hip-hop. Beginning with the historical roots of the music in Africa, protest music had often taken center stage. In 1983, the same year as “Wrap It Up,” Oyebade’s “Tax Man” created extreme controversy. The inflammatory lyrics about the new agricultural taxes the government had put into effect caused massive demonstrations. At the time, an unnamed government minister credited the song as having caused the downfall of the tax policy.[iv] However, such power would not always follow a song. Perhaps the nadir of the protest song over the next decade would be Keto’s “Bus Fare,” which was a scathing indictment of the mishandling of the public transportation system in Lagos. When it was released in 1991 it gathered a great deal of attention, but the demonstrations by urban youth were simply ignored by the government and quickly dispersed.[v] The protest song then became dormant until the almost terrifying bombast of Alagoa’s 1998 “Generalissimo.” The song gained critical acclaim and unprecedented press, as until then Alagoa was not regarded by the public as a political artist. However, with a booming back beat and a thrilling call to action, “Generalissimo” galvanized the country against the military coups which had wracked the nation and caused a massive backlash against the authorities. Later it was credited as helping “…the country remember its roots, its fire, and its republican traditions.”[vi] By combining a fiery protest with ardent nationalism, Alagoa fused two powerful themes of Nigerian hip-hop.
Alagoa was certainly not the first to bring national pride into his hip-hop stylings. With the major budgetary cutbacks of the 1980s, Achebe’s “Lion Waking” (1985) attempted to instill a feeling of out-at-the-elbows pride in the nation. His lyrics implored the nation to take pride in their accomplishments and look toward better days. With several provinces looking decidedly shaky during the government cutbacks, it has been argued the song might have been the only thing that stopped a popular secession movement.[vii] The depression of the 80s was followed by relative stability in the nineties, embodied in Abiola’s “Phoenix in the Ashes.” In 1993, the song spoke about the shared uncertainty that was giving rise to a strong national identity and drive. It was such a hit that the Abacha government would co-opt the tune when they seized power in late 1993, hoping to associate themselves with the triumph spoken of in the song.[viii] The military government could not last though, and in 1999 elections were held, glorified in the song “Still Standing” by political radical Fodio. His chart-topper celebrated the strength of the nation that had made it through the crushing burden of an oppressive military rule. When asked about the defiant, almost jaunty tone of the piece, Fodio responded, “What we need now is that confidence… that swagger that we have lost as a nation. We are strong and we need to remember that strength. We will need it to rebuild after this time of tears.”[ix]
All of the arts of Nigeria have carried the traditions of the nation through the years. Throughout its tenure in Nigeria, hip-hop has acted as a voice for the people, taking up the mantle of a newspaper, people’s voice, and even pride. It is undeniable that hip-hop has played a vital part in the shaping of Nigeria’s history and society. From reforming taxes to building national feeling, from warning of kidnappings to toppling regimes, hip-hop has left an indelible footprint on the largest African nation.
[i] William S. Korn, “Hip-Hop’s African Messages,” Rolling Stone, June 20, 1983, 84.
[ii] William Bradford, “Hip-Hop and Head Trauma in Tropical Africa,” National Geographic, July, 1992, 112.
[iii] Jessica Achberger, “An Interview with Abiodun,” Lagos Times, February 24, 1999, C1.
[iv] Robert Whitaker, “The Song that Overturned a Nation,” US News and World Report, September 1984, 56.
[v] Charles Thomas, “Schrodinger’s Protests,” Time Magazine, November 1991, 10.
[vi] Bill Smith, “Protest Songs and the Nigerian Military Government,” Nigerian Review38 (1998): 639–40.
[vii] Sarah Jones,. “Nation Bought for a Song,” Nigerian Studies 24 (1987): 276-285.
[viii] Peter Thomas, “Coup Troops Blare Hip-Hop to Confuse and Inspire,” Cameroon Today, December 22, 1993, F2.
[ix] Paul Toole, “An Interview with the Radical: Fodio on Fodio,” Rolling Stone, November 11, 1999, 121.