HIST 3717A: Gender and Sexuality in Africa
Fall 2020
Instructor: Professor Susanne M. Klausen
DESCRIPTION
From the Scramble for Africa in the late 19th century until decolonization in the second half of the 20th century, European colonizers deployed racist assumptions about African sexualities in efforts to conquer, regulate and exploit African peoples. These assumptions were evident in imaginings that oscillated between notions of the exotic, the noble and the depraved savage. Underlying all such discursive inventions was one consistent idea: that African sexualities and peoples were something “other,” meaning essentially different from (and inferior to) European sexualities and ideas of self. Though a past handmaiden to the processes of imposing and maintaining colonial rule, colonial-era fantasies about African sexualities persist in Western culture, though decades have passed since African colonies won their independence. Today, scholars and activists in Africa and beyond are engaged in countless exciting projects aimed at debunking such fantasies and reconceptualizing African sexualities. This course aims to contribute to this vital political and cultural shift by cultivating a historical understanding of the construction of colonial conceptualizations of African sexualities and some of the ways such notions have impacted African societies and self-understandings. Given the extraordinary diversity and complexity of societies on the Continent, this course is designed to offer students an introductory background to some of the key questions that scholars are researching regarding ways the categories of race, gender and sexuality interacted during colonial encounters. No prior knowledge of or courses about Africa are required to be successful in this course.
COURSE FORMAT
This course offers a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences. The class is comprised of weekly themes that are organized in roughly chronological order, and for each theme there are three required readings and/or viewings. Students are required to upload a reflection on one (your choice) of the assigned works each Monday night at 23:55. I will assess the reflections and use them to kick-start our class discussions when we “meet” on Wednesdays via Zoom.
EVALUATION
Participation 25%
Reading Reflections 30%
Group Presentation 20%
Research Essay 25%
TEXTBOOK
There is no textbook for this course, all readings will be available on Ares and online via the library.