香港六合彩

This module is about the geography of social change in Africa. It is designed to build on the second year course Development Geography, but there are no prerequisites. The module is assessed with a 3,000 word coursework essay, based on individual research using nation-state scale case study comparisons.

The aim of the module is to analyse the different factors that shape spatial differences in development indicators across Africa. The module will allow students to explore the diversity of forms that the geography of social change in Africa takes. As such the course will investigate the impacts of history, politics, sociology, and economics on spatial patterns of development. The module uses postcolonial theory as an analytical framework. This entails reflecting on the ongoing legacies of colonialism not only in terms of empirical institutions, practices and norms but also in relation to the production of knowledge and ideas. The module relies very heavily on wide independent reading, including reading from disciplines beyond geography.

Outcomes : At the end of the module students will be able to show an advanced level of knowledge about specific academic literatures (the required reading), specific places within Africa, and specific key concepts (especially those drawn from postcolonial theory). On completing the module students will have an appreciation of the diversity of changes in Africa and the limits of 鈥榙evelopment鈥� as a framework for analysing all of those changes and an introductory understanding of the inter-disciplinary field of African Studies. In relation to the Department skills log this module has a particular focus on critical analysis skills such as: the ability to assess new ideas and interpret unfamiliar texts, develop effective written communication and develop a sensitivity to different cultures and ways of thinking. The module also provides opportunities for developing verbal communication skills in class and seminars.

Course Content will include some (but not all) of the following topics: The character, history and value of postcolonial theory; hybridity and popular culture; the challenge of representing Africa; the legacies of colonialism; Francafrique and neocolonialism, indirect rule and traditional authorities; state-building and nation-building; governance; media landscapes in Africa; demography, family and the politics of personal obligations; youth, waithood, the urban hustle and everyday life; moral ethnicity and political tribalism; the modernity of Islam, Christianity and witchcraft; trade and commodities; China in Africa, oil and geopolitics; and resource allocations and management.

Indicative Reading

• Mkandawire, Thandika (2015). "Neopatrimonialism and the Political Economy of Economic Performance in Africa: Critical Reflections." World Politics, 67 (3): 563-612.
• Ndlovu Gatsheni, Sabelo J听 (2015).鈥淒ecoloniality as the Future of Africa鈥�. History Compass, 13 (10): 485- 496.
• Nyamnjoh Francis B. (2017) 鈥淚ncompleteness: Frontier Africa and the Currency of Conviviality鈥�. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 52(3):253-270.
• Sakue-Collins, Yimovie (2021) 鈥�(Un)doing development: a postcolonial enquiry of the agenda and agency of NGOs in Africa鈥�. Third World Quarterly, 42(5): 976-995.