iconic photo of Sudanese women dubbed "Kandake" (Queen) led protest that culminated in fall of Omar el Bashir regime
BROOKLYN COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
SPRING 2012
POLITICAL
SCIENCE 3412 / AFRICANA STUDIES 3365/
WOMEN’S
STUDIES 3447: AFRICAN WOMEN
AND FEMINISM
Wednesday
12:50-03:30PM; 2611 JAMES HALL
Office Hours: Mondays
& Wednesdays, 4-5pm and by appointment
**When
sending email, please write “African Women and Feminism in the subject line so
that I can prioritize answering your email. Preferred Email address: mojubaolu@gmail.com
COURSE
DESCRIPTION
Feminists
assume that there are commonalities shared by all women in the world, which
arise from the exercise of patriarchy. As a critical movement, feminism brought
a great deal of necessary awareness to the injustices of a social system that
privileged some people based on their gender, and oppressed others based on
their being less than the norm - the male. However, the feminist movement, in
its universalization of the principles of gender analysis, itself developed a
hierarchical structure which privileged western bodies of thought and
experiences over all others. This course would present the various critiques of
feminism that have emerged from African women scholars, and the consequences of
this debate to gender relations on the continent. Our goal is to inquire
into the relationship between politics and power. In doing so, we will
consider the underlying assumptions and methods that shape ideas and thought in
economic, social, and political life.
This course will engage in the analysis of various schools
of feminism, resistance to Western feminist thought, proposal of alternative
conceptions of feminism and women’s power, particular focus on critiques and
alternative theories by African women scholars and activists.
A critical pedagogical method will be employed. This
involves meticulous examination of authors' statements to reveal the social and
cultural values of the society, the assumptions, presuppositions and implicit
arguments of the readings. The elements involved in this approach are
logic, analysis, debate, resourcefulness and initiative.
Conceptual Goals
The primary conceptual goal for this
course is to develop an awareness the various strands of feminist analysis
particularly African discourses on feminism and women’s power and contestations
between African women scholars who embrace feminism and those who reject
it. Students should also grasp the nature of structural inequality and
hegemonic control in scholarship on feminism, as well as in African societies.
It is also important to understand how these unequal relations have shaped the
form and content of analysis on African women. These unequal relations
have also affected how African women live their lives. Critical thinking
is crucial for us to succeed in improving our level of understanding. A
critical thinker* is someone who:
· Raises vital questions and problems;
· Gathers and assess relevant information to interpret them
effectively;
· Comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions;
· Thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought,
being cognizant of your own assumptions and their implications for thinking;
and
· Communicates effectively with others in figuring out
solutions to complex problems.
(Richard Paul and Linda Elder. 1999.
The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts & Tools.
The Foundation for Critical Thinking, 1.)
Measurable Objectives
Students should be able to conduct a socio-political
analysis on African women and their lives. They should be able to
demonstrate how scholarly discourse and broad social forces have shaped our
understanding of who African women are and how they fit into society over
time. Using material from the text, class discussion and lecture
material, students should also be able to show how the social locations of
African women produce different experiences of privilege and disadvantage in
society, while the positioning of people within families creates variations in
the empowerment and disempowerment of individuals in social, political and
economic life. Evidence of the ability to do a socio-political analysis
will be assessed through a series of low and high stakes assignments and two
examinations. Critical thinking will be developed in a number of
ways. Each week we will pose important questions relevant to
understanding diversity in family life. The assigned readings and
lectures will provide the background material necessary for students to develop
reasoned responses to these questions. Online discussion groups will
allow students to communicate with one another, questioning their thinking
about the material from the course. Exams and a term paper will provide
opportunities to demonstrate critical thinking in written form.
Required Textbooks
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Purple
Hibiscus Random House
Sefi Atta Everything Good Will
Come Interlink Books, 2001
Mariama Ba So Long a Letter.
Heinemann, 1989.
Tsitsi Dangarembga Nervous
Conditions
Online Course packet of selected
articles and essays available at the course’s Blackboard site.
Recommended
texts
Mama,
Amina Fatou Sow & Ayesha Imam, eds. Engendering African Social Sciences
Dakar, Codesria, 1997
Mikell,
Gwendolyn, ed. African Feminism: The Politics of Survival in Sub-Saharan
Africa Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
Narayan,
Uma Dislocating Cultures: Identities, Traditions and 3rd World Feminism
N.Y: Routledge, 1997.
Oyewumi,
Oyeronke ed. African Women and Feminism: Reflecting on the Politics of
Sisterhood. NJ: Africa World Press, 2003
Oyewumi,
Oyeronke The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender
Discourses Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1997.
Amadiume,
Ifi Male Daughters, Female Husbands: Gender and Sex in An African Society.
London: Zed Books, 1987
Terborg-Penn,
Rosalyn, Sharon Harley & Andrea Benton Rushing, eds. Women in Africa and
the African Diaspora Washington, DC: Howard University Press, 1989
Grading
Policy
Grades
for this course will be determined as follows:
Participation in all classes is
required. One half point will be taken off for each case of
non-participation. Only medical reasons and other serious emergencies will be
accepted.
How is class participation measured?
Students are expected to complete all assigned readings and to participate in
all classroom discussions. (Note that this component, which is
mandatory, consists of attendance, up to date reading of all assigned
materials. and articulate, well-reasoned discussion. The appropriateness and
relevance of your participation is taken very seriously. (15%)
· Pay attention to each week’s Learning Objectives.
This will let you know what you should be able to do after finishing the work
for the week. It might be a good idea for you to read the learning
objectives before reading the assigned chapter. However, you
should do the assigned reading before continuing on to the lecture.
· Also, you are given some hints and tasks for your Term
Paper. As a “term” paper, you will be doing this over the entire term
(vs. the week before it is due).
In addition to these weekly
activities, there will be two exams and a term paper.
Each exam will count for 30% of your
course grade (or cumulatively 60%).
Exams will be made up of a series of essay questions.
MIDTERM: 30%
FINAL EXAM: 30%
TERM PAPER: A
ten-page paper is required. 25%
Due date: May 11th
NOTE: Students must submit
their topics/subjects for approval by the fourth week of classes – March 23rd
·
Term Paper Over the
course of the term, students will be exploring some aspect of feminism,
womanism, and women’s empowerment in Africa in some detail. You are asked
to think about women’s empowerment in terms of the political, economic and
social challenges and opportunities that African women confront. The
readings in the first week help to situate these concerns). For example,
disparities in social standing, economic and political power present several
challenges to African women that prevent them from rising to the top in
all these spheres. The fact that some women are able to surmount these
challenges and attain positions of power also means that there are some
opportunities. As a political scientist, you are asked to address these
issues in a paper that will have three parts. In addition, there will
four checkpoints in the term where I will ask you to submit material from your
paper. The project will unfold as follows:
Part One
What
is the problem? In this part of the paper you will address your problem
by defining what it is and why it’s a problem. For example,
you might choose political participation. You would need to do some
research to focus in on what is meant by political participation, how it is
measured, and how prevalent it is. You might begin with a search in
Academic Search Premier, J-Stor, Project Muse, and selected newspaper articles.
You might even check the index of your textbook and look ahead to how we have
written about the subject. The primary point, however, is to engage in
political analysis in how you conceptualize the problem. All paper
topics must be approved before the end of the fourth week of class.
Part Two
How
is this problem related to issues of gender, ethnicity, social class, social
status, and/or age. You will have read enough material in class by the
third week to understand the issues of ethnic diversity, and power disparity.
You can now focus more in your reference searches using our library's online
full-text databases. You are welcome, and encouraged, to extend beyond
Academic Search Premier. J-Stor, Project Muse, and selected newspaper
articles and other library databases should be explored as sources of
scholarly, peer reviewed articles for your paper. For books, search in
World Catalog. Do not depend on search engines like Google, and if you
are inclined to do so, email me first. Your paper must be based on scholarly,
peer-reviewed sources.
Part Three
How
can this problem be addressed? Now that you have a clear understanding of
what the problem is, and how it is experienced differently across groups, what
are some ways to address the problem? How can we institute social
change?
Checkpoints:
o
End of week two: start
thinking about paper topics.
o
End of week four: paper topic
must be approved. Begin working on the outline
of paper and references
o
End of week seven: updated outline
and references gathered “so far.”, and a thesis statement.
o
End of week nine: Annotated
bibliography. An annotated bibliography gives a brief summary of each
source that you would use for your paper in at least three paragraphs and also
what the source would contribute to your paper.
Papers will be evaluated using the
following criteria:
Ideas and content
The
writer brings to bear her or his own ideas and sees them in relation to
the question being raised on issues relevant to the class. This means you
should show good socio-political imagination.
Organization and
development
·
The essay has a thesis, and the writing goes on at sufficient length to
accommodate extended thought and the development of the idea (10 pages of 12
point roman text).
·
The writing reflects a coherent plan of development.
Use of source material
·
The writer uses quotations, details, and examples from texts appropriately in
support of his or her interpretations.
§ Sources can include our textbook, academic articles, and
minor use of media sources (the latter used only to establish that the topic is
noteworthy for because it has attracted media attention).
Revising and editing
·
The essay is relatively free from minor errors such as those in spelling,
sentence structure, and grammar, so as to allow for relatively unimpeded
reading.
IMPORTANT DATES: See Last
page.
LIBRARY TOUR AND EFFECTIVE USE OF
ELECTRONIC DATABASES Room 120, Library: DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED.
Grades will be assigned as
follows:
|
|
=
|
A
|
|
72-77%
|
=
|
C
|
90-91%
|
=
|
A-
|
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70-71%
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=
|
C-
|
88-89%
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=
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B+
|
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68-69%
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=
|
D+
|
82-87%
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=
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B
|
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62-67%
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=
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D
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80-81%
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=
|
B-
|
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60-61%
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=
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D-
|
78-79%
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=
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C+
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0-59%
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=
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F
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There
will be no extra credit allowed for this course.
Policy
on Student Conduct
Students
are expected to conduct themselves in the classroom (e.g., on discussion
boards) in compliance with the university's regulations regarding
civility. Students are expected to
comply with all regulations pertaining to academic honesty as well. For further information, visit Http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/pub/documents/academicintegritypolicy.pdf
Statement Regarding Disabilities
Students
with documented disabilities who may need accommodations, who have any
emergency medical information that I should know, or who need special
arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment with me as
early as possible, no later than the first Week of the term. Students seeking accommodations should be
registered with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities. Also
see: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/offices/disability.php
Outline of Course and Due Dates
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|
Reading Assignments
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Discussion Prompt for Color
Boards
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Term Paper-related tasks.
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WEEK 1 Introduction to the
Course: Week 1: Issue: Framing the issues Establishing
what is involved in this approach.
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GENDER, FEMINISM OR FEMINISMS:
RELEVANCE TO AFRICA?
- Mohanty, Chandra Talpade
“Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses” Feminist
Review NO : 30 Autumn, 1988 PP : 61-88
- King, Deborah K.Multiple
Jeopardy, “Multiple Consciousness: The Context of a Black Feminist Ideology”
Signs VO : 14 NO : 1 Autumn, 1988, PP : 42-72
- Dube, M. (1999). Searching
for the Lost Needle: Double Colonization & Poscolonial African
Feminisms. Studies in World Christianity, 5(2), 213.
- Badejo, D. (1998, Summer).
African feminism: Mythical and social power of women of African
descent. Research in African Literatures, 29(2), 94.
- Begin reading Tsitsi
Dangarembga Nervous Conditions
|
All students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes.
Focus of class discussion:
identify three main issues raised by Mohanty, King, and Badejo. What is
their position on feminism?
|
Search Academic Search
Premier. J-Stor, Project Muse, and other databases in the Library’s
electronic database list. selected newspaper articles, and other
library databases should be explored as sources of scholarly, peer reviewed
articles for your paper. For books, search in World Catalog to get
ideas on course project
|
Week 2
Issue: Understanding the roots,
history, and strands of feminism.
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FEMINISM, WOMANISM, ACTIVISM:
POSTCOLONIAL, EMERGENT, AND INDIGENOUS FEMINISMS
1. Owomoyela, Oyekan “With
Friends like These... A Critique of Pervasive Anti-Africanisms in Current
African Studies Epistemology and Methodology” African Studies Review
VO: 37 NO: 3 Dec., 1994, PP : 77-101
2. Phillips, Layli;
McCaskill, Barbara “Who's Schooling Who? Black Women and the Bringing of
the Everyday into Academe, or Why We Started "The Womanist" SignsVO
: 20 NO : 4, Summer, 1995 PP : 1007-1018
3. Reed, P. (2001,
September). Africana Womanism and African Feminism: A Philosophical,
Literary, and Cosmological Dialectic on Family. Western Journal of Black
Studies, 25(3), 168.
4. Margaret Snyder
“African Contributions to the Global Women’s Movement” Lecture at
University of Wisconsin, April 9, 2003. (available
on Blackboard)
Epstein, Barbara “The Successes
And Failures Of Feminism” Journal of Women's History 7/31/2002 V.14;
N.2 118
6. Ginzberg, Lori D.
“Re-Viewing the First Wave” Feminist Studies, VO : 28 , NO : 2,
Summer, 2002, PP : 418-434 Second Wave Feminism in the United States
|
All students
contribute to framing the issues. One student
Focus of class discussion:
identify three main issues raised by Layli et al., Snyder, and
Steady. What is each scholar’s position on feminism? How are these
positions similar or different?
|
*Begin thinking about a topic
for your term paper. Topics must be approved
Choose the topic for research
paper and begin library research.
Writing assignment: hand in one
page with topic of research paper,
Assignment - answer the
question, what is feminism? Who is a feminist? Students will edit and
re-write the paper as a homework assignment, which will be kept in a
portfolio.
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Week 3
Issue: What are the
grounds of dispute between feminists?
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WOMEN’S
ACTIVISM, WOMEN’S POWER: CHALLENGING ESSENTIALISM
4. Azuonye, C. (2006,
April). Feminist or Simply Feminine?: Reflections on the Works of Nana
Asmā'u, a Nineteenth-Century West African Woman Poet, Intellectual, and
Social Activist. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, 6(2), 54-77.
Retrieved January 28, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.
5. Makan, Vainola “Women
in Africa: Women's Movements and the State” Agenda Celebrating 10 Years NO: 34,
1997, PP : 80-88
6. Tripp, Aili Mari
“Rethinking Difference: Comparative Perspectives from Africa” Signs
VO : 25 NO : 3, Spring, 2000 PP
: 649-675.
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All students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes. Focus of class discussion:
identify three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
|
Writing assignment: In at
least three paragraphs, identify what you consider to be the position taken
by these scholars. Re-write this paper as a homework
assignment. Keep it in your portfolio. The goal of your writing is to
make the case that there are different scholarly perspectives on the same
issue: Women’s empowerment and feminism in the African continent.
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Week 4
Issue: examining the hoary
problems of feminism
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FAMILY
ENTANGLEMENTS: GENDER IN AN AFRICAN FAMILY
1. Chimamanda Ngozi
Adichie Purple Hibiscus Random House
4. Judith Van Allen “ ‘Aba
Riots’ or Igbo ‘Women’s War’? Ideology, Stratification, and the
Invisibility of Women.” In Nancy J. Hafkin and Edna G. Bay, Women in
Africa: Studies in Social and Economic Change. Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press, 1976, pp. 59-85.
NOTE: Term Paper Topic Due
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All
students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes. Focus of class discussion:
identify three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
|
Continue writing.
*Turn in outline and references accessed to date.
Questions: If the author of
Purple Hibiscus were available, what questions would you ask her?
What is Nzegwu’s argument?
What is Van Allen’s argument?
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Week 5
Issue: Enumerate the
gender issues identified in the text for analyses in class.
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COMMENTARIES AND ESSAYS ABOUT
FEMINISM, GENDER, ORGANIZING, SOCIAL CHANGE AND MEANING
2. Amory, Deborah P.
"Homosexuality" in Africa: Issues and Debates” Issue: A
Journal of Opinion VO : 25 NO : 1, 1997 PP : 5-10
3. O'Barr, Jean F.;
Tinker, Irene; Hultman, Tami; Gaidzanwa, Rudo; Guy-Sheftall, Beverly;
Callaway, Helen; Basu, Amrita; Bernstein, Alison “Reflections on Forum '85
in Nairobi, Kenya: Voices from the International Women's Studies Community”
Signs VO: 11 NO : 3 Spring, 1986 PP : 584-608
4. Hendessi, Mandana
“Fourteen Thousand Women Meet: Report from Nairobi, July 1985” Feminist
Review
Socialist-Feminism: Out of the
Blue, NO : 23, Socialist-Feminism: Out of the Blue Summer, 1986, PP : 147-156
5. Chow, Esther
Ngan-ling “Conference Reports; Reflections on the Fourth World Conference
on Women and NGO Forum '95: Making Waves, Moving Mountains: Reflections on
Beijing '95 and beyond” Signs VO: 22 NO: 1 Autumn, 1996 PP : 185-192
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All
students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes. Focus of class discussion:
identify three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
|
Continue research and
writing. Identify the arguments made by these scholars. On what
points do they agree? On what points do they disagree? This
assignment will be rewritten, and will evolve into the two- page opinion
paper on African feminism. Continue writing. Writing assignment: thesis
statement of research paper, and two annotated bibliographic sources
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Week 6
Issue: Enumerate the gender
issues identified in the text for analyses
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WOMEN’S
RIGHTS: CONCEPTS, STRUGGLES, DISCOURSE
1. Molara Ogundipe-Leslie
“Invite Tyrants to Commit Suicide: Gender Violence, Human Rights, and
African Women in Contemporary African Nation States.” In Gender
Violence and Women’s Human Rights in Africa. Center for Women’s Global
Leadership, Rutgers University, 1994, pp. 1-8.
2. Gawaya, R., &
Mukasa, R. (2005, November). The African women’s protocol: a new dimension
for women’s rights in Africa. Gender & Development, 13(3),
42-50.
3. Geisler, Gisela
'Parliament is Another Terrain of Struggle': Women, Men and Politics in
South Africa” The Journal of Modern African Studies VO: 38 NO
: 4 Dec., 2000 PP : 605-630
4. Doezema, Jo “Ouch!:
Western Feminists' 'Wounded Attachment' to the 'Third World Prostitute'” Feminist
Review NO : 67, Spring, 2001, PP : 16-38
5. Berkovitch, Nitza;
Bradley, Karen “The Globalization of Women's Status: Consensus/Dissensus in
the World Polity” Sociological Perspectives VO: 42 NO: 3 Autumn,
1999, PP : 481-498
6. McDowell, Linda “Doing
Gender: Feminism, Feminists and Research Methods in Human Geography” Transactions
of the Institute of British Geographers VO: 17 NO: 4 , 1992, PP:
399-416
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All students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes.
Focus of class discussion:
identify three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
|
.
*Expanded outline and references
due.
*Corrected thesis statement and research questions due..
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Week 7
Issue: Enumerate the
gender issues identified in the text for analyses in class.
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FEMINISM,
RACE, ETHNICITY, DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER
1. Nettles, Kimberly D.;
Patton, Venetria K. “Seen but Not Heard: The Racial Gap between Feminist
Discourse and Practice” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies VO :
21
NO : 3, Identity and the Academy
2000, PP : 64-81
2. Achola Pala Okeyo
“Women and Africa: Reflections on Development Myths” Africa Report,
March-April 1981, pp. 7-10.
3. Ransby, Barbara “Black
Feminism at Twenty-One: Reflections on the Evolution of a National
Community” Signs VO : 25 NO : 4, Summer, 2000 PP : 1215-1221
4. duCille, Ann The Occult
of True Black Womanhood: Critical Demeanor and Black Feminist Studies
Signs VO : 19 NO : 3 Spring, 1994, PP : 591-629
5. Booth, Karen M.
“Internationalism and Women's Welfare - National Mother, Global Whore, and
Transnational Femocrats: The Politics of AIDS and the Construction of Women
at the World Health Organization” Feminist Studies VO : 24 NO : 1,
Spring, 1998
PP : 115-139
Midterm exam
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MIDTERM EXAMINATION
|
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Week 8
Issue: Enumerate the
gender issues identified in the text for analyses in class.
|
CONSTRUCTING MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE
ON DIFFERENCE: FEMINISM WOMEN’S POWER, AND POSTMODERNISM IN WOMEN’S STUDIES
AND THE ACADEMY
1. Radford-Hill, Sheila
Keepin' It Real: A Generational Commentary on Kimberly Springer's
"Third Wave Black Feminism?" Signs VO : 27 NO : 4 Summer, 2002 PP
: 1083-1089
2. Brouwer, Ruth Compton
“Books for Africans: Margaret Wrong and the Gendering of African Writing,
1929-1963” The International Journal of African Historical Studies
VO : 31
NO : 1, 1998, PP : 53-71
3. Friedman, Susan Stanford
“Beyond White and Other: Relationality and Narratives of Race in Feminist
Discourse” Signs VO : 21 NO : 1 Autumn, 1995, PP : 1-49
4. Monga, Yvette Djachechi
“Dollars and Lipstick: The United States through the Eyes of African Women”
Africa: Journal of the International African Institute VO : 70, NO :
2, 2000 PP
: 192-208
|
All students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes. Focus of class discussion: identify
three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
|
Continue writing and research.
Writing assignment: four more
annotated bibliographic sources.
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Week 9
Issue: Enumerate the gender
issues identified in the text for analyses in class.
|
POSITIONALITY,
PERSPECTIVE, RACE AND GENDER
1. Maher, Frances
A.; Tetreault, Mary Kay, “Frames of Positionality: Constructing Meaningful
Dialogues about Gender and Race” Anthropological Quarterly VO : 66
NO : 3, Jul., 1993, PP : 118-126
2. Ware, Vron “Moments of
Danger: Race, Gender, and Memories of Empire” History and Theory VO
: 31 NO : 4, Dec., 1992, PP : 116-137
4. Steegstra, Marijke,'A Mighty Obstacle To
The Gospel': Basel Missionaries, Krobo Women, And Conflicting Ideas Of Gender
And Sexuality. Journal of Religion in Africa, 2002, Vol. 32, Issue 2
|
All students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes. Focus of class discussion: identify
three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
|
Draft research paper due.
|
Week 10
Issue: Understanding the
issues in the construction of African women’s history.
|
ECONOMIC INFLUENCES ON THE
POLITICAL
1. Mbilinyi, Marjorie, “Women Studies and the Crisis in Africa” Social
Scientist VO : 13 NO
: 10/11, Oct. - Nov., 1985, PP : 72-85
2. McFadden, P. (2005).
“Becoming Postcolonial: African Women Changing the Meaning of Citizenship”.
(pp. 1-18). Indiana University Press.
3. Readings: Mikell,
G. (1995, Summer). African feminism: Toward a new politics of
representation. Feminist Studies, 21(2), 405.
4. Felicia I. Ekejiuba
“Down to Fundamentals: Women-centered Hearth-holds in Rural West
Africa.” In In Nancy J. Hafkin and Edna G. Bay, Women in
Africa: Studies in Social and Economic Change. Stanford,
CA: Stanford University Press, 1976, pp. 47-61
5. Hoppe, Kirk “Whose Life
Is It, Anyway?: Issues of Representation in Life Narrative Texts of African
Women” The International Journal of African Historical Studies” VO :
26 NO : 3 1993 PP : 623-636
|
All students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes. Focus of class discussion: identify
three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
|
Individual conference with each
student on necessary corrections to research paper.
|
Week
11
Issue:
Making Commitments: Cohabitation and Singlehood
Identify
the key issues and arguments.
|
NUPTIALITY, DOMESTICITY AND FAMILY
1.
Nakanyike B. Musisi, “Colonial and Missionary Education: Women and
Domesticity in Uganda, 1900-1945, in Karen Tranberg Hansen, ed. African
Encounters With Domesticity. New Brunswick: NJ:
Rutgers University Press, pp. 172-194.
2.
Thérèse Locoh “Social Change and Marriage Arrangements: New Types of
Union in Lomé, Togo, in Catherine Bledsoe and Gilles Pison, eds. Nuptiality
in Sub-Saharan Africa: Contemporary Anthropological and Demographic
Perspectives. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994, pp. 215-230.s
3.
Mariama Ba So Long a Letter. Heinemann, 1989.
|
All
students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes. Focus of class discussion: identify
three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
|
WORK
ON TERM PAPER. MAKE CORRECTIONS. DO MORE RESEARCH IF
NEEDED.
What
are the three most important points made by Musisi and Locoh?
If
the author of were available, So Long a Letter what questions would
you ask her?
|
Week
12
Issue:
Outline the argument and the basis of critique.
|
GENDER, COLONIALITY AND
POST-COLONIALITY
2.
Ogunyemi, Chikwenye Okonjo Womanism: “The Dynamics of the Contemporary
Black Female Novel in English” Signs VO : 11 NO : 1, Autumn, 1985,
PP : 63-80
3.
Parmar, Pratibha; Minh-ha, Trinh T., “Woman, Native, Other”, Feminist
Review NO : 36 Autumn, 1990, PP : 65-74
NOTE: NOV
26-29: COLLEGE CLOSED-THANKSGIVING
RECESS
|
All
students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes. Focus of class discussion: identify
three main issues raised by each author. How are the perspectives similar? How are they different?
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In-class
writing assignment: What is Dangarembga argument? What is
Okonjo-Ogunyemi’s argument? What do Parmar and Minh-ha argue? What are
their critiques of Western Feminism?
TERM
PAPER DUE
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Week
13
Issue:
Outline the argument and critiques of feminism.
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FEMALE CIRCUMCISION
2.
Okome, Mojubaolu "What Women, Whose Development? A Critical Analysis
of Reformist Feminist Evangelism on African Women in Oyeronke Oyewumi, ed. African
Women and Feminism: Responses to the Politics of Sisterhood Trenton:
Africa World Press, 2003.
2.
Leslye A. Obiora "The Little Foxes that Spoil the Vine: Re-visiting
the Feminist Critique of Female Circumcision," Canadian Journal of
Women & Law, 9, 46 (1996). Reprinted in African Women and Feminism:
Responses to the Politics of Sisterhood, ed., Oyeronke Oyewumi
(Trenton, NJ.: Africa World Press, 2003).
3.
Fuambai Ahmadu
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All
students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes
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Compare
and Contrast Okome Obiora & Ahmadu’s arguments.
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Week
14 CONCLUSION
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COMING OF AGE IN URBAN AFRICA:
A FICTIONAL ACCOUNT
Sefi
Atta Everything Good Will Come Interlink Books, 2001
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All
students
contribute to framing the issues. One student summarizes board
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What
is the perspective presented by Atta in this book?
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FINAL Exams
You
will choose two out of five essay questions. You are expected to draw
on the readings, lectures and class discussions.
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FINAL EXAMINATION
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