Module HIST30C3: Developing Africa

Department: History

HIST30C3: Developing Africa

Prerequisites

• A pass mark in at least TWO level two modules in History.

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To introduce students at Level 3 to the historical study of development in eastern Africa
• To develop a critical understanding of the agendas and effects of international development and to question its underpinning assumptions and narratives
• To enable students to use a range of source materials to explore alternative understandings of development and to analyse socio-economic change and continuity in eastern Africa since the mid-nineteenth century
• To contribute towards meeting the generic aims of Level 3 study in History.

Content

• What is development? How has the idea of development economic, cultural, social shaped the relationship of eastern Africa with a wider world? What has development meant to people in eastern Africa, and how have they dealt with it or pursued it? These are the core questions that this module will address through analysis of a wide variety of sources, from nineteenth-century explorers accounts to twenty-first century aid agency reports. The module takes a critical approach to the history of socio-economic development initiatives in eastern Africa since the mid-nineteenth century. We will explore the aims and effects of externally-driven interventions in African economies, from European efforts to combat the slave trade and to promote other forms of commerce in the nineteenth century, through colonial development projects to the international financial, relief and development initiatives of the postcolonial era. Students will be encouraged to read the primary sources critically for evidence of how these external conceptions of development were experienced, perceived and handled by their recipients, and to engage in the critical scholarly literature on the concepts, assumptions and approaches of international development. At the same time, we will seek to explore alternative ideas and initiatives of development among east Africans: how did they imagine, plan and invest in their own futures? How and why have people engaged in trade, exchange, warfare, waged labour, education, urban life and new technologies, and invested in livestock, people, land, crops, banks and businesses? Throughout the module, the focus will be on change and continuity in local societies and economies as we seek to understand what development has meant for ordinary people in eastern Africa.

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the module students should have a:
• Critically discuss theories about the nature and effects of international development.
• Understand the drivers and processes of social and economic change in eastern Africa.
• Critically read and analyse a variety of English-language primary sources to explore African initiatives and experiences of development.

• Challenging students’ assumptions about the past and reflecting on the nature of the discipline (and, where appropriate, interdisciplinarity) at an advanced level
• Appreciating how historical knowledge is produced, what forms it takes, and the purposes it serves
• Reflecting on students’ own historical consciousness and practice.

• The ability to employ sophisticated reading skills to gather, sift, process, synthesise and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources (print, digital, material, aural, visual, audio-visual etc.)
• The ability to communicate ideas and information orally and in writing, devise and sustain coherent and cogent arguments
• The ability to write and think under pressure, manage time and work to deadlines
• The ability to make effective use of information and communications technology.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• Seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals;
• Tutorials either individually or in groups to discuss topics arising from prepared work, allowing students the opportunity to reflect upon their personal learning with the tutor.
• Assessment:
• Unseen Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The unseen examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge;
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources;
• Assessment of Primary Source Handling Students are assessed on their understanding of original primary sources, usually in print, their character varying according to the nature of the subject, and the students' ability to bring that knowledge to bear on 'cutting edge' research-based monographs and articles. Students are given the opportunity to discuss and articulate an understanding of changing interpretations and approaches to historical problems, drawing evidence from a body of primary source materials. Students are required to demonstrate skills associated with the evaluation of a variety of primary source materials, using documentary analysis for a critical assessment of existing historical interpretations.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One formative essay of not more than 2500 words (not including footnotes and bibliography), submitted in Term 1. This will be returned with written comments and a standard departmental feedback sheet. Coursework essays are formative as well as summative. They are to be submitted in two copies, of which one will be returned with written comments and a standard departmental feedback sheet. Preparation to participate in seminars and tutorials. At least one oral presentation in each term, and at least two practice source/gobbets in each term.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University