African Studies

This course examines African identities and experiences across diverse topographies and landscapes, drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives (from social and cultural anthropology to history and political geography). It explores the extension of Africanness, its intersections with Blackness, and diasporic experiences, with a focus on the concept of "thinking Africa from its edges." Through multiple scales of analysis—from individual lived experiences to global representations—the course unpacks African identities and territories. It examines spaces as both literal locations and vernacular metaphors for human experiences, analyzing forests, deserts, and oceans not just as physical landscapes but as symbolic tropes to imagine refuges, challenges, and connections. Combining theoretical texts with ethnographies and historical accounts, the course highlights diverse experiences and methodologies. It critically interrogates knowledge production, the categories used to make sense of different spaces, and how these are used to plan governance, ensure control, and organize resistance.