What natural resources might Africa exploit more profitably?

Texts for readings:
Kevin Shillington, History of Africa, (revised third edition 2012)
Maria Grosz-Ngate, John H. Hanson, and Patrick OMeara, eds., Africa (4th ed. 2014)
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, 1994.
Paul Bohannan and Philip Curtin, Africa & Africans (4th ed. 1995)

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS (Choose ONLY ONE topic to write about):
(June 1) Introduction and Organization
I. Africa: Perceptions and Realities

(June 2) Western misinformation and African realities
Readings:
Bohannan, pp. 1-15, 152-156; Grosz-Ngate, pp. 32-47
Please be prepared to discuss the major myths about Africa and Africans in class.

(June 3) basic geography: climate, soil, health
Bohannan, 17-32, 41-45; Grosz-Ngate, 7-31
1. How do Africas landforms and climate affect economic development today?
2. What natural resources might Africa exploit more profitably?
3. What role has the Great Rift Valley played in African history?

(June 8) Social, legal, and other cultural norms
Readings:
Bohannan, 95-113; Grosz-Ngate, 56-82
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II. Africa Mostly on its own
(June 9) the Iron Age and the Bantu migration; language distribution
Readings:
Bohannan, 33-41, 144-149; Shillington, 36-61
(June 10) stateless societies and their traditional social and religious norms
Readings: Achebe, Things Fall Apart; Bohannan, 63-75, 87-95, 115-125
Be prepared to discuss the following questions:
1. Discuss the differences between state and stateless political systems.
2. What is the main argument of the novel?
3. How do you view the role of the main character in the novel?

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