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
