CORE 195C: West Africa (Spring '23)

In contrast to Western journalists' focus on Africa's underdevelopment and widespread disease, West Africa stands out as an area of remarkably vibrant culture. West Africa has always been a space of much social interaction between its various peoples, with many shared cultural practices. In this course, students examine how the pre-colonial and colonial histories shaped social identities. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students analyze how people in West Africa express and reinvent their identities through art, music, dance, clothes, and food. The course draws further on film and literature to understand the specific experiences of West African peoples.