African Studies
142 Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse, 432.3436
M.A.
Chair
Robert Harms (History)
Director of Graduate Studies
Ann Biersteker (Linguistics) (432.9902, ann.biersteker@yale.edu)
Director of Program in African Languages
Sandra Sanneh (432.1179, sandra.sanneh@yale.edu)
Professors
Lea Brilmayer (Law School), Hazel Carby (African American Studies), Owen Fiss (Law School), William Foltz (Political Science), Robert Harms (History), Andrew Hill (Anthropology), Christopher L. Miller (French; African American Studies), Curtis Patton (Epidemiology), Lamin Sanneh (History; Divinity School), Ian Shapiro (Political Science), Robert Thompson (History of Art), Christopher Udry (Economics), Robin Winks (History)
Associate Professors
Ann Biersteker (Adjunct; Linguistics), David Watts (Anthropology), Eric Worby (Anthropology)
Assistant Professors
Kamari Clarke (Anthropology), David Graeber (Anthropology), Lawrence King (Sociology), Michael Mahoney (History), Michael Veal (Music)
Senior Lector
Sandra Sanneh (African Languages)
Lector
Kiarie Wa'Njogu (African Languages)
Lecturers
Anne-Marie Foltz (Epidemiology & Public Health), Peter Marris (Sociology), Gerald Thomas (African American Studies; History)
Fields of Study
African Studies considers the arts, history, cultures, languages, literatures, politics, religions, and societies of Africa as well as issues concerning development, health, and the environment. Considerable flexibility and choice of areas of concentration are offered because students entering the program may have differing academic backgrounds and career plans. Enrollment in the M.A. program in African Studies provides students with the opportunity to register for the many African studies courses offered in the various departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. In addition, the Program in African Studies offers two interdisciplinary seminars to create dialogue and to integrate approaches across disciplines.
The African collections of the Yale libraries together represent one of the largest holdings on Africa found in North America. The University now possesses over 220,000 volumes including, but not limited to, government documents, art catalogues, photographs, manuscripts, correspondence, and theses, many published in Africa.
Special Admissions Requirements
The GRE General Test is required.
Special Requirements for the M.A. Degree
The Yale University Master of Arts degree program in African Studies was instituted in 1986. The two-year interdisciplinary, graduate-level curriculum is intended for students who will later continue in a Ph.D. program or a professional school, or for those who will enter business, government service, or another career in which a sound knowledge of Africa is essential or valuable. A student may choose one of the following areas of concentration: history; anthropology; political science; economics; sociology; arts and literatures; languages and linguistics; religion; environmental and developmental studies.
The program requires sixteen courses: two compulsory introductory interdisciplinary seminars, Research Methods in African Studies (AFST 501a) and Africa and the Disciplines (AFST 764a), four courses of instruction in an African language, four courses in one of the above areas of concentration, five other approved courses offered in the Graduate School or professional schools, and two terms of directed reading and research (AFST 900a or b) during which students will complete the required thesis. A student who is able to demonstrate advanced proficiency in an African language may have the language requirement waived and substitute four other approved courses. The choice of courses must be approved by the director of graduate studies, Ann Biersteker, and students should consult with her as soon as possible in the first term.
The Master's Thesis
The master's thesis is based upon research on a topic approved by the director of graduate studies and advised by a faculty member with expertise or specialized competence in the chosen topic.
Program materials are available upon request from the Director of Graduate Studies, Council on African Studies, Yale University, PO Box 208206, New Haven CT 06520-8206; african.studies@yale.edu.
Courses
AFST 501a, Research Methods in African Studies. Ann Biersteker.
This course considers disciplinary and interdisciplinary research methodologies in African studies. The focus of the course is on field methods and archival research in the social sciences and humanities. Topics include use of African studies and disciplinary sources (including bibliographical databases and African studies archives), research design, interviewing, survey methods, analysis of sources, and the development of databases and research collections.
AFST 541bu, Comparative Perspectives on African Literatures. Ann Biersteker. Th 1.30–3.20
Introduction to a wide range of topics in African literature through an examination of English translations of works composed both in African and in European languages. Readings include poetry, novels, plays, essays, nonliterary texts, and autobiographies. Consideration of the symbiotic relationship between printed text and oral performance, between composition and transmission.
AFST 598u, Introduction to an African Language. Sandra Sanneh and staff. 5 HTBA
Beginning instruction in an African language other than those regularly offered. Courses offered depend on availability of instructors. Methodology and materials vary with the language studied. Individualized or small-group instruction.
AFST 600u, Elementary Kiswahili. Kiarie Wa'Njogu. MTWThF 9.30–10.20
Beginning course with intensive training and practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Initial emphasis is on the spoken language and conversation. During the second term students read texts that provide an introduction to Kiswahili culture and literature.
AFST 601u, Intermediate Kiswahili. Kiarie Wa'Njogu. MTWThF 10.30–11.20
Refinement of the student's speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Prepares the student for further work in literary, language, and cultural studies as well as for a functional use of Kiswahili. Study of structure and vocabulary is based on a variety of cultural documents including literary and nonliterary texts. After AFST 600.
AFST 603u, Advanced Kiswahili. Kiarie Wa'Njogu. 3 HTBA
An advanced course intended to improve the student's aural and reading comprehension as well as speaking and writing skills. Emphasis on acquiring a command of idiomatic usage and stylistic nuance. Reading assignments include materials on cultural, political, and social topics. After AFST 601.
AFST 604au or bu, Topics in Kiswahili Literature. Ann Biersteker. 3 HTBA
Advanced readings and discussion with emphasis on literary and historical texts. Reading assignments include materials on Kiswahili poetry, Kiswahili dialects, and the history of Kiswahili.
AFST 610u, Elementary Yoruba. Staff. MTWThF 9.30–10.20
Intensive training and practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Initial emphasis is on spoken language and conversation. During the second term students read and listen to texts that provide an introduction to Yoruba culture.
AFST 611u, Intermediate Yoruba. Staff. MTWThF 11.30–12.20
Refinement of the student's speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Prepares the student for further work in literary, language, and cultural studies as well as for a functional use of Yoruba. Study of structure and vocabulary is based on a variety of cultural documents including literary and nonliterary texts. After AFST 610.
AFST 612u, Advanced Yoruba. Staff. 3 HTBA
An advanced course intended to improve the student's aural and reading comprehension as well as speaking and writing skills. Emphasis on acquiring a command of idiomatic usage and stylistic nuance. Reading assignments include materials on cultural, political, and social topics. After AFST 611.
AFST 614u, Elementary Zulu. Sandra Sanneh. MW 11.30–12.20, TTh 11.30–12.45
A beginner's course in conversational IsiZulu. The fall term emphasizes the sounds of the language, including clicks and tonal variation, and the words and structures needed for initial social interaction. The spring term develops communicative skills through dialogues and role-plays, and reading skills with texts drawn from traditional and popular literature and songs. Documentaries, movies, and local television programs add a diversity of images of contemporary Zulu culture.
AFST 615u, Intermediate Zulu. Sandra Sanneh. 5 HTBA
Development of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills with an emphasis on fluency. Readings, viewings, and role-play situations are drawn from folk and popular culture and from mass media. Grammar review as necessary. Prepares the student for research involving interviewing and discussion, and for study of oral and literary genres. After AFST 614.
AFST 616u, Advanced Zulu. Sandra Sanneh. 3 HTBA
Refinement of listening, speaking, and writing skills using excerpts from oral genres such as praise poetry of kings and of commoners, from short stories and novels, and from dramas made for television. Survey of language use in South Africa. After AFST 615.
AFST 620, Second Year in an African Language. By arrangement with faculty.
AFST 621, Third Year in an African Language. By arrangement with faculty.
AFST 623, Fourth Year in an African Language. By arrangement with faculty.
AFST 638a, Discourse Analysis of Politics. David Apter. T 4–6
This seminar examines the "discursive" turn in political analysis. While discourse theory can be applied to the role of authority and state power, the emphasis here is on confrontational situations, protest, and violence. Particularly useful in analyzing some of the factors which lead people to try to change their political circumstances by interpreting and reinterpreting their experiences, part one examines the diverse theoretical strands and components making up contemporary political discourse theory as compared to other approaches, and an intellectual pedigree (much of it drawn from related fields) is mapped. Part two develops hypotheses derived from discourse theory as an analytical approach to show the kinds of questions with which it can be expected to deal. In part three a model framework for analysis is offered while students are expected to develop their own. In part four these frameworks are applied to relevant comparative and case materials. Also PLSC 570a, SOCY 538a.
AFST 647bu, Structure of Swahili. Ann Biersteker. TTh 4–5.15
Study of Swahili grammar. Phonology, morphology, and syntax of Swahili examined in detail. Topics also include Swahili dialects, history of Swahili, and comparison with other Bantu languages. Also LING 647bu.
[AFST 684b, The Ritualization of Power in Africa.]
AFST 746a, Postcolonial Theory and Its Literature. Christopher L. Miller. Th 10.30–12.20
A survey of theories relevant to colonial and postcolonial literature and culture. The course focuses on theoretical models (Orientalism, hybridity, métissage, créolité, "minor literature"), but also gives attention to the literary texts from which they are derived (francophone and anglophone). Readings from Said, Bhabha, Spivak, Mbembe, Amselle, Glissant, Deleuze, Guattari. Taught in English. Also AFAM 846a, CPLT 725a, FREN 946a.
AFST 748b, From One Congo to Another: Literature and Culture in Central Africa. Christopher L. Miller. Th 10.30–12.20
An interdisciplinary approach to two nations, with a primary focus on literature but with reference to history, anthropology, film, and other fields. How the two Congos evolved side by side, through a history of genocide, colonialism, dictatorship, and war; the emergence of a rich literary tradition. Readings of Conrad, Tintin, Gide, Bemba, Dongala, Lopes, Sony Labou Tansi, Tchicaya, Mudimbe, Ngal. Also FREN 948b.
AFST 764au, Africa and the Disciplines. William Foltz. T 1.30–3.20
The seminar is designed to introduce students to the study of Africa. The main emphasis is on how each discipline reconceptualizes the field and also on the ways in which each discipline draws from others in the process. The course combines basic information with some of the dominant and changing ideas embodied in each of the major disciplines represented. Also PLSC 784au.
AFST 830a, Music of Sub-Saharan Africa. Michael Veal. M 1.30–3.20
An introduction to the music of Sub-Saharan Africa, through a focus on several regional, national, and/or local cultures. The seminar provides an overview of the musicological and critical issues fundamental to the study of African music and surveys several scholarly approaches to this music both within and outside of Africa. Also AFAM 789a, MUSI 930a.
AFST 841b, The Culture of Colonialism in African History. Michael Mahoney. T 1.30–3.20
This course examines the intersection of political economy and culture during the colonial era in African history, from 1885 to 1960. The central question for the course is, how did the colonial state manage to stay in power? Through its use of symbolic power and representation? Through the cultivation of legitimacy or hegemony? Or simply by coercion and domination alone? Topics include education, medicine, religion, the civilizing mission, indirect rule, and the psychology of colonialism. We consider the work of such Africanists as Ranger, Cooper, Glassman, the Comaroffs, and Fanon, as well as such non-Africanists as Foucault, Stoler, Scott, Mitchell, and Said. Also HIST 841b.
[AFST 843b, Ethnicity and Tradition in African History.]
[AFST 849b, African Historiography: The Agrarian History of Africa.]
AFST 900a or b, Master's Thesis. Ann Biersteker and faculty.
Directed reading and research on a topic approved by the director of graduate studies and advised by a faculty member (by arrangement) with expertise or specialized competence in the chosen field. Readings and research are done in preparation for the required master's thesis. (Note: defense of thesis proposal required at end of program's third term.)
AFST 951a or b, Directed Reading and Research. Ann Biersteker and faculty.
By arrangement with faculty.
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