Saturday 6 April 2013

African Theory Course 2013: Schedule of Study

Thinking Africa, Department of Politics & International Relations

African Theory Course 2013: Schedule of Study

This course is the part of the Thinking Africa Project in the Department of Politics & International Relations. The course has two primary objectives this year. The first is to give students an opportunity to seriously engage a set of texts central to the African canon. The second is to prepare students for the colloquium that will be held at Rhodes on the work of V.Y. Mudimbe in August this year.  Mudimbe, a scholar of major global stature, first visited Rhodes in 2011 for the Fanon colloquium hosted by Thinking Africa and will return for this year’s colloquium. Thinking Africa is also publishing Mudimbe’s new book which will be launched at the colloquium.

This course will be taught by Sally Mathews, Siphokazi Magadla, Richard Pithouse and Leonhard Praeg and will be organised around a series of intensive seminars. Students will be required to read in advance of these seminars and to take an active role in these discussions at the seminars

The schedule for the seminars is as follows:

Term 2

Seminar One (22 April)  – Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa facilitated by Sally Mathews

Seminar Two (29 April) – Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa facilitated by Sally Mathews

Seminar Three (13 May) - Ifi Amadiume’s  Male daughters, female husbands : gender and sex in an African society facilitated by Siphokazi Magadla

Seminar Four (20 May) - Ifi Amadiume’s  Male daughters, female husbands : gender and sex in an African society facilitated by Siphokazi Magadla

Term 3

Seminar Five (22 July) Chapters from V.Y Mudimbe’s  Invention of Africa, Parables and Fables, and the Idea of Africa facilitated by Leonhard Praeg

Seminar Six (29 July) Chapters from V.Y Mudimbe’s  Invention of Africa, Parables and Fables, and the Idea of Africa facilitated by Leonhard Praeg

Seminar Seven (5 August) – Achille Mbembe’s On the Postcolony facilitated by Richard Pithouse

Seminar Eight (12 August) - Achille Mbembe’s On the Postcolony facilitated by Richard Pithouse

Seminar Nine (19 August) – Mahmood Mamdani’s Citizen & Subject facilitated by George Barrett

Seminar Ten (26 August) - Mahmood Mamdani’s Citizen & Subject facilitated by George Barrett