Admission requirements
No admission requirements.
Description
This introductory course of the Bachelor of African Studies focuses on African History and the primary sources, heritage and public history of Africa's past. History' refers to the description and analysis of events and processes that have taken place in the lives of individuals and their societies. We will treat history as a concept and consider what history means: to people, to their societies and as a discipline. How do events, processes, experiences and perceptions become narratives of official or scientific history, how do personal histories relate to the history of groups, institutions? And how is the African past made visible and known in the public sphere as well as in the educational sphere?
History is never self-evident or unambiguous. What is seen as history is always an interpretation of the past based on the interpretation of available sources. Without sources to verify stories of the past, no history can be traced and stories are fictitious. Sources anchor history in the past and they are the building blocks with which history can be constructed.
Central to this course is the study of different types of sources and heritage collections that form the basis of academically relevant historiography on Africa. To this end, students visit museums, archives and libraries where the following questions are posed to the material in each case:
1. WHO produced (wrote, drew, photographed, made etc.) the source?
2. WHAT is the source? Was it written, typed, spoken, drawn, photographed, sculpted, etc.?
3. WHEN was the source produced?
4. WHERE was the source produced?
5. WHY was the source produced?
Each of these five points can be further developed and expanded: the answer to these questions provides insight into what the source can tell us about that past. However, sources do not just come to us. The available historical sources, whether written, oral or digital, as well as the collections of tangible and intangible heritage have been deliberately preserved and conserved, and the decisions made in archiving partly determine which narratives about the past can be formed. Studying the processes of archive formation and heritage policy is therefore just as important as studying the sources and heritage collections themselves.
In addition, besides oral and written primary sources and heritage, digital sources will also be studied. As we are increasingly entering a paperless world and today's present will largely be preserved in digital format, digital literacy, i.e. the critical assessment and authentication of digital online sources, is crucial to master in order to become a well-trained professional historian. These twenty-first century skills are crucial for History and Africa Studies students because established archival collections are increasingly digitised, as well as because the primary sources of the very recent past are predominantly digital. The course will therefore also cover the selection, assessment, evaluation and eventual archiving of online primary sources.
During this course students also learn academic skills (e.g. reading strategies and scientific integrity).
Course objectives
**General Learning Objectives:
After this course, the student
Can read, organise and process relatively large amounts of information.
Is able to draw up and deepen arguments on issues and insights laid down in scientific literature on Africa, with a critical attitude and from different perspective.
Is able to participate actively in a discussion about the subject.
Is able to give and receive constructive feedback.
Has the ability to work both independently and in a group on an assignment (including peer-review), that is: to plan and work result-oriented.
**Learning objectives, specific to this course:
After this course, students will have a basic understanding and knowledge of
what sources are relevant to African History.
searching, finding, categorising and recording sources of interest to African History.
assessing and testing a variety of sources, be they written, visual, spoken or material for validity and usefulness in writing academic texts related to African History.
To present and evaluate, both orally and in writing, the results of the assessment of specific sources used for the writing of African History.
Timetable
The timetables are avalable through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Excursion
The course consists of 8 seminars and four "field" visits of +/- 2 hours each. The students are expected to have studied the prescribed course literature prior to the lecture or visit.
During the seminar there will also be time for asking questions about the course literature.
Attendance is compulsory for this course.
Due to visiting hours of museums, archives and libraries and possible guided tours, lecture hours and even lecture days may change. This is determined in consultation with the students during the lectures. Attendance at the lecture therefore also means that you have a say in these changes.
Field visits are compulsory.
Assessment method
Weighting
- Assessment takes place through a written blog post on the themes discussed during the field visits (40%), a film review and presentation (30%) and a final report on digital sources and archiving (20%) and a participation grade (10%).
- To be able to complete the course successfully, the student must have completed all assessments and obtained at least a 3 for all. If the weighted final grade is lower than a 5.5, the student may take one re-examination, the result of which will be 100% of the final grade. There is no re-examination possibility for the individual exams or the final report.
- Short presentations on the sources studied during the field visits and the themes raised during the visit are a preparation for the written blog: the processing of feedback is important for the grade for this assessment.
Resit
- In case of a resit the grade of the resit is the final grade. Only students that have put in an effort and have at least a 3 for their assignment are entitled to a resit.
- The re-examination can only take place if the final mark is insufficient; furthermore, only insufficient partial tests can be resit. The deadline for a re-examination of the assessment will be communicated in class.
Inspection and feedback
Assessment reviews will be communicated in class. Feedback follows only if student has put in an earn effort to complete the assignment.
Student results should be known: 15 working days after the exam was made
Reading list
Articles and/or book chapters have been selected for the lectures. These can be found on the Brightspace page of the course.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Contract teaching and Exchange
Information for those interested in taking this course in context of Contract teaching (with taking examinations), eg. about costs, registration and conditions.
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Reuvensplaats
Remarks
Attendance is compulsory for this course.