African Studies

142 Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse, 432.3436
M.A.

Chair
Christopher Udry (Economics)

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), 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)

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)

Lector
Ore Yusuf (African Languages)

Lecturers
Kana Dower (African Studies), 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 HavenCT06520-8206; african.studies@yale.edu.

Courses
AFST 501a, Research Methods in African Studies.  Ann Biersteker. HTBA
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 511b, Globalization, Religious Nationalism, and Rethinking Human Rights. Kamari Clarke. M 1.30–3.20
Anthropology has neither traditionally addressed issues related to state formation nor has it paid attention to the growing significance of the post-WWII proliferation of nongovernmental organizations, especially in the third world. However, given that increasing numbers of transnational studies have critiqued the absence of the complex analysis of interrelationships between the local and the global in anthropology, this course is an attempt to critically engage the turn in anthropology. In an overview of anthropological approaches to globalization, we explore the politics of religious nationalism and the role of state and nonstate actors in shaping and changing networks of transnational interaction, in order to provide a theoretical and practical approach to socially significant transformations. Also AFAM 657b, ANTH 511b.

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. After AFST 603.

AFST 610u, Elementary Yoruba.  Ore Yusuf. 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.  Ore Yusuf. 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.  Ore Yusuf. 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 634au, Anthropology of the Postcolonial State.  Eric Worby. Th 1.30–3.20
Ethnographic and interpretive approaches to the postcolonial state and the forms of public culture to which it gives rise. Topics include: the formation of state structures and citizen subjects; nationalism in relation to discourses of gender, race, marginality, and modernity; corruption and moral discourse in the public sphere; ritual and aesthetic dimensions of rule and resistance; tensions between popular, civic, and global culture. Also ANTH 634a.

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 670bu, Yoruba Communities in National and Transnational Perspectives. Kamari Clarke. M 3.30–5.20
This is a survey on the literature on the history and development of Yoruba communities in West Africa and throughout its diaspora. Attention is paid to communities in Nigeria, Benin, Cuba, the United States, Brazil, and Trinidad. Also AFAM 639bu, ANTH 670bu.

AFST 702au, South African Democracy in Comparative Perspective.  Courtney Jung. T 3.30–5.20
This seminar is an intensive examination of South African politics, ranging over the rise and fall of Apartheid, the negotiated transition to democracy, and the period of democratic consolidation that has been under way since 1994. The South African political experience is located in two theoretical debates. The first concerns the dynamics of transition negotiations: why they begin and what makes them succeed or fail. Here the comparative points of reference are other successful transitions in Latin America and the post-communist world, as well as failed transition negotiations in the Middle East and the sputtering one in Northern Ireland. Our question is: What light, if, any, does South Africa’s success to date shed on these and other cases? The second debate concerns the distributive politics in new democracies, with particular attention to the structure and social composition of inequality following transitions to democracy. Here the questions revolve around the failure of previously excluded groups to use their new access to the political system to achieve significant redistribution, land reform, or in many cases even minimal economic security. Again our concern is to understand the degree to which the South African experience mirrors, or departs from, patterns in Latin America and the post-communist world, and to account for the similarities and differences that we find. Also PLSC 702au.

AFST 717bu, The Political Evolution of French-Speaking Africa.  William Foltz. T 1.30–3.20
The political history of French-speaking Africa from colonization to the present. French colonial theory and practice; African elites under the Third and Fourth Republics; decolonization; distinctive properties of francophone states; French postcolonial influence. Reading knowledge of French required. Also PLSC 717bu.

AFST 759a, Issues in the Analysis of African Politics.  William Foltz. M 1.30–3.20
Subjects to be discussed include the influence of pre-colonial systems and colonial rule on contemporary politics; states and statelessness; the politics of economic performance; communal conflict; attempts at regional and sub-regional unity. Also PLSC 759a.

AFST 764bu, Africa and the Disciplines.  William Foltz. W 1.30–3.20
An exploration of how the different academic disciplines reconceptualize the study of Africa and the ways in which the disciplines draw on each others’ techniques and results in the process. Also PLSC 784bu.

AFST 778bu, From West Africa to the Black Americas.  Robert Thompson. TTh 11.30–12.45
Art, music, and dance in the history of key classical civilizations south of the Sahara—Mali, Asante, Dahomey, Yoruba, Ejagham, Kongon—and their impact on the rise of New World art and music. Also AFAM 728bu, HSAR 778bu.

AFST 781a, Problem and Theory in Afro-Atlantic Architecture I: Africa.   Robert Thompson. Th 3.30–5.20
The seminar addresses a new frontier—rebuilding the inner cities. This refers to Latino and mainland black cities within the cities of America. Accordingly, the course focuses on major roots of Latino and black traditional architecture—Ituri Forest and Namibian spatial solutions, Berber casbah architecture and its interactions with the Jews on Djerba isle and in Morocco, the concept of the Muslim assatayah creolized into the Iberia azotea and the spread of this terrace-roof style throughout Latin America. Topics include the architecture of Djenne, Berber art and architecture, Mauritanian sites, the monumental stone architecture of Zimbabwe, the sacred architecture of Ethiopia, and Muslim-influenced architecture from Rabat to Zanzibar. Then comes a case-by-case examination of some of the sites of African influence on the architecture of the Americas—the Puerto Rican casita; the southern verandah; the round-houses of New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Mexico, Panama, and Colombia; Ganvie, the Venice of West Africa, and its mirror image among the tidal stilt architectures of blacks of the Choco area in Pacific Colombia. The seminar ends with the shrine architecture of New World adherents of the classical religions of Dahomey. Also AFAM 739a, HSAR 781a.

AFST 781b, Problem and Theory in Afro-Atlantic Architecture II: The Black Americas.  Robert Thompson. Th 3.30–5.20
A continuation of AFST 781a. Also AFAM 739b, HSAR 781b.

AFST 820bu, Cultural Approaches to Education in Africa.  Kana Dower. W 2.30–4.20
Examination of schooling in Africa, using case studies of evangelical education, African education during the colonial era, and contemporary schools. Principal focus is historical and cultural, viewing schooling as a window on social change. Reading materials include ethnography, historical documents, fiction, and autobiography.

AFST 839b, Environmental History of Africa.  Robert Harms. Th 1.30–3.20
An examination of the interaction between people and their environments in Africa, and the ways in which this interaction has affected or shaped the course of African history. Also HIST 839b.

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.

AFST 951a or b, Directed Reading and Research.  Ann Biersteker and faculty.
By arrangement with faculty.

Next: American Studies