Africa 2: 20th Century African History and Beyond

Offered: 
2014

Introduction: African studies is—much like the idea of Western or Asian studies—a generalization that obscures the multiplicity of cultures, societies, and historical experiences across a diverse continent at the crossroads of global interaction. In the United States, there is a tendency to view Africa as an extreme “Other.” Americans only hear about Africa when something suddenly comes to media attention: Somali pirates, the North African uprisings, the Lord’s Resistance Army, a coup in Mali, miners shot in South Africa, or a Kenyan mall taken hostage.

Extracurriculars

President, Unicorn Bowling League of Champions

Academic Goals Committee, History and Social Sciences

Advanced Placement Reader, World History

American Studies: 1

Offered: 
2013

Introduction: In this course we ask a number of questions. How and why did a relatively small group living on the edge of the Eurasian landmass gain control of the major sea-lanes of the world and establish political and economic hegemony on distant continents? How has our attitude towards European exploration changed over the past 500 years? Do we remember and commemorate European expansion into the Americas? How has the presentation of European exploration changed over the course of your education? What does it mean to “other” other human beings?

What’s so Funny in the Triangle and Beyond?

Offered: 
2013

Introduction: Humor (the expression of and ability to perceive that which is funny), comedy (the typically humorous reconciliation of difference), and laughter (the physical response to humor) have lacked neither qualitative commentators in the humanities from Plato and Aristotle to Immanuel Kant nor quantitative theorists in the social and natural sciences. Human opinions on things lighthearted are often complex and contradictory. The philosopher Henri Bergson argued that there is nothing fun about the funnies; indeed, he designated laughter a repressive function.

Africa I: Pre-Colonial Africa between Past and Present

Offered: 
2013

Introduction:
In this course, we will reflect on the realities and representations of Africa’s pre-colonial past before the advent of European political domination around 1880. We will consider how Africans, Europeans, and the African diaspora have attributed meaning to someplace called Africa. We will examine how power, trade, and production intersected with human lives on a global stage. We will discuss how humans have tried to make sense of their life situations in relation to Africa and how the diverse peoples of the continent have communicated their particular context.