African History and Institutions
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
Students at the conclusion of the course/study, will understand the impact of the colonial "event" suffered by the different peoples of Africa, endowed with their own political, economic, social and cultural structures. They will refine some ability to recognize and articulate the diversity of human experience, including the meanings attached to categories such as "ethnicity" or "race", as well as the different sociopolitical and economic patterns compared, to produce historical analyses independently. They will understand the link between the historical legacy of competition for control and management of natural resources in sub-Saharan Africa, from the commodification of human resources to the globalized commodification of resources by the developmentalist state. Developing the ability to think critically and historically when discussing cultural conflicts and institutional stratifications in the past and their consequences in the present is a legitimate expectation in the third year of a political science course.
Expected learning outcomes
Students should achieve an understanding of the impact caused by the Colonial course, on different African peoples with their own social, cultural and political structures in past environments. They are expected to demonstrate a certain measure of ability to recognize and articulate the diversity of human experience, including ethnicity, race, language and/or gender, articulating them in the tensions between different socio-political and economic models, by producing their own historical analyses. They should be able to range from the colonial exploitation to the bureaucratic patrimonialism of the independent states, to the competition for control, management and redistribution of the natural resources along with the global trends in Africa, and in sub-Saharan Africa in particular, on behalf of the developmental state. Such a capacity to think critically and historically when discussing the cultural conflicts and institutional stratification in the past, and their consequences in the present, has to be expected in students in their third year in a political sciences course degree.
Lesson period: Third trimester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Third trimester
Course syllabus
I DU - Programmed looting of the African raw materials (starting from the human ones) in the phases of the colonial era
II DU - Continuity in looting the African resources also via the African institutional powers in the post-independence phase. The following three focuses are on alternatives (different-minded agreement with the professor).
Focus 1: Land and resources policy.
Focus 2: Memory in the post-conflict dimension.
Focus 3: Political-institutional evolution of the sub-Saharan State [recommended for non-attending students].
III DU - Focus on South Africa.
II DU - Continuity in looting the African resources also via the African institutional powers in the post-independence phase. The following three focuses are on alternatives (different-minded agreement with the professor).
Focus 1: Land and resources policy.
Focus 2: Memory in the post-conflict dimension.
Focus 3: Political-institutional evolution of the sub-Saharan State [recommended for non-attending students].
III DU - Focus on South Africa.
Prerequisites for admission
Contemporary history
Teaching methods
Teaching classes in interaction with students. The PowerPoint support that summarizes what was presented in class, added to the blog "Let's build the course" on the Ariel platform (https://cfiamingosia.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/) in addition to a parallel cinema forum, aims at giving insights on selected literature, documentaries, and movies. The aim is to stimulate debates and give the right depth about institutional building complex courses in sub-Saharan Africa.
Whenever possible, authors of books relevant to this program will be invited.
Whenever possible, authors of books relevant to this program will be invited.
Teaching Resources
Attending students will have the slides and materials assigned in class and uploaded on the https://cfiamingosia.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/ website. Some chapters of the manual, indicated in class, will be optional. Non-attending students will have an increased program, as shown below.
I/II UD - Arrigo Pallotti, Mario Zamponi, Anna Maria Medici, L'AFRICA CONTEMPORANEA, Le Monnier Università, 2017
Case studies: Students are expected to present 3 essays, or 3 book chapters (5 for non-attending students) chosen from the following or among those contained in the suggested volumes on a specific focus selected from the following or a bibliography selected with the teacher on topics chosen by the student,
II UD - Focus 1 / Resources management politics: the land:
· Zamponi M. Mario, Riforme agrarie e democrazia in Africa: cambiamenti o continuità? I casi di Zimbabwe e Sudafrica, NAD, 1. 2024
. Fiamingo C., "Izwe lethu". L'istanza d'esproprio senza indennizzo della terra tra aspettative di giustizia sociale e contenimento sindemico - Focus su CapeTown, in "NAD", 2(2) 2020
· Fiamingo C., "Expropriation without compensation": una lotta a lance spuntate*, in "afriche e orienti", 2. 2021
· Fiamingo, Van Aken e Ciabarri (eds.), Conflitti per la terra. accaparramento, consumo e accesso indisciplinato, Ed. Altravista, 2014
· Pallotti, Tornimbeni e Zamponi (eds.), Sviluppo rurale e povertà in africa australe. le sfide del millennio, Rubbettino Università 2016.
· Pellizzoli (ed.), La questione della terra in Mozambico fra diritti delle comunità e investimenti, «afriche e orienti» special nr. 2014
· Chinigò e Pallotti (eds.), Rural development and poverty reduction in Southern Africa: experiences from Zambia and Malawi, «afriche e orienti», special nr. 2016.
II UD - Focus 2: Memory politics:
· Fiamingo (a cura di), Culture della memoria e patrimonializzazione della memoria storica, Ed. Unicopli, Milano, 2014 (limitatamente ai saggi riguardanti l'Africa)
· Antonio Morone (a cura di), La fine del colonialismo italiano. Politica, società e memorie, Le Monnier, 2019 (one of the three sections into which the volume is divided)
· Valeria Deplano, Alessandro Pes, Storia del colonialismo italiano: Politica, cultura e memoria dall'età liberale ai nostri giorni, Carocci 2024 (one chapter)
II UD - Focus 3: Political evolution of the sub-Saharan State
in alternative:
· Mario Zamponi, I sistemi politici dell'Africa indipendente, Carocci Ed. 2020 (parti selezionate con la docente)
· Arrigo Pallotti, Alla ricerca della democrazia. L'Africa subsahariana tra autoritarismo e sviluppo, Rubbettino, 2013 (parti selezionate con la docente)
· Alessio Iocchi, Resistenti, ribelli e terroristi nel Sahel - dall'occupazione coloniale alle crisi contemporanee (1897-2022), Carocci, 2023
III UD - History of Southern Africa:
· Mario Zamponi, Breve storia del Sudafrica. dalla segregazione alla democrazia, Carocci Quality paperbacks, 2009
· Arrigo Pallotti, La decolonizzazione dell'Africa Australe. Il ruolo della Tanzania, Le Monnier, 2021 (pp.105-238)
I/II UD - Arrigo Pallotti, Mario Zamponi, Anna Maria Medici, L'AFRICA CONTEMPORANEA, Le Monnier Università, 2017
Case studies: Students are expected to present 3 essays, or 3 book chapters (5 for non-attending students) chosen from the following or among those contained in the suggested volumes on a specific focus selected from the following or a bibliography selected with the teacher on topics chosen by the student,
II UD - Focus 1 / Resources management politics: the land:
· Zamponi M. Mario, Riforme agrarie e democrazia in Africa: cambiamenti o continuità? I casi di Zimbabwe e Sudafrica, NAD, 1. 2024
. Fiamingo C., "Izwe lethu". L'istanza d'esproprio senza indennizzo della terra tra aspettative di giustizia sociale e contenimento sindemico - Focus su CapeTown, in "NAD", 2(2) 2020
· Fiamingo C., "Expropriation without compensation": una lotta a lance spuntate*, in "afriche e orienti", 2. 2021
· Fiamingo, Van Aken e Ciabarri (eds.), Conflitti per la terra. accaparramento, consumo e accesso indisciplinato, Ed. Altravista, 2014
· Pallotti, Tornimbeni e Zamponi (eds.), Sviluppo rurale e povertà in africa australe. le sfide del millennio, Rubbettino Università 2016.
· Pellizzoli (ed.), La questione della terra in Mozambico fra diritti delle comunità e investimenti, «afriche e orienti» special nr. 2014
· Chinigò e Pallotti (eds.), Rural development and poverty reduction in Southern Africa: experiences from Zambia and Malawi, «afriche e orienti», special nr. 2016.
II UD - Focus 2: Memory politics:
· Fiamingo (a cura di), Culture della memoria e patrimonializzazione della memoria storica, Ed. Unicopli, Milano, 2014 (limitatamente ai saggi riguardanti l'Africa)
· Antonio Morone (a cura di), La fine del colonialismo italiano. Politica, società e memorie, Le Monnier, 2019 (one of the three sections into which the volume is divided)
· Valeria Deplano, Alessandro Pes, Storia del colonialismo italiano: Politica, cultura e memoria dall'età liberale ai nostri giorni, Carocci 2024 (one chapter)
II UD - Focus 3: Political evolution of the sub-Saharan State
in alternative:
· Mario Zamponi, I sistemi politici dell'Africa indipendente, Carocci Ed. 2020 (parti selezionate con la docente)
· Arrigo Pallotti, Alla ricerca della democrazia. L'Africa subsahariana tra autoritarismo e sviluppo, Rubbettino, 2013 (parti selezionate con la docente)
· Alessio Iocchi, Resistenti, ribelli e terroristi nel Sahel - dall'occupazione coloniale alle crisi contemporanee (1897-2022), Carocci, 2023
III UD - History of Southern Africa:
· Mario Zamponi, Breve storia del Sudafrica. dalla segregazione alla democrazia, Carocci Quality paperbacks, 2009
· Arrigo Pallotti, La decolonizzazione dell'Africa Australe. Il ruolo della Tanzania, Le Monnier, 2021 (pp.105-238)
Assessment methods and Criteria
Students are "attending" when they declare their attendance on the MsTeams platform for 70% of the lectures during the lessons.
Nonattending students have an increased bibliographic load to compensate for attending the course and lecture materials that have been provided to attending students during lectures.
The examination is oral. It consists of three (3) questions: The first is by choice. The examinee must demonstrate how to juggle the selected texts (both scheduled in the syllabus or agreed upon with the lecturer) with propriety of language, possibly anchoring the lecture topics to the textbook and the chosen case studies/essays and/or class lectures. The other two questions ascertain additional knowledge related to the program or the syllabus agreed upon with the lecturer for nonattending students.
Regardless of the textbook, attending and nonattending students can agree with the lecturer on a program that suits their interests.
In particular, the evaluation regards the ability of the attending student to participate in class discussions actively or the ability of the nonattending student to study independently with intellectual curiosity; these abilities, when combined with a coherent picture of the topics developed during the lectures, application of critical sense and adequate means of expression will be considered and evaluated with the highest classification (27/30-30 cum laude). Participation/autonomy, when combined with predominantly mnemonic acquisition of course content and discontinuous linguistic and logical skills, will be rated between a good (24-26/30) and satisfactory (21-23/30) classification. Participation/autonomy in the study combined with a minimum knowledge of the course contents and inadequate training gaps or language and logical skills will result in a minimum grade (18-20/30). A minimum level of knowledge of the course contents, inadequate language and illogical skills, or training gaps will result in exclusion from the assessment. With such deficient performance, even the assiduous attendance will not be sufficient for attending students.
Nonattending students have an increased bibliographic load to compensate for attending the course and lecture materials that have been provided to attending students during lectures.
The examination is oral. It consists of three (3) questions: The first is by choice. The examinee must demonstrate how to juggle the selected texts (both scheduled in the syllabus or agreed upon with the lecturer) with propriety of language, possibly anchoring the lecture topics to the textbook and the chosen case studies/essays and/or class lectures. The other two questions ascertain additional knowledge related to the program or the syllabus agreed upon with the lecturer for nonattending students.
Regardless of the textbook, attending and nonattending students can agree with the lecturer on a program that suits their interests.
In particular, the evaluation regards the ability of the attending student to participate in class discussions actively or the ability of the nonattending student to study independently with intellectual curiosity; these abilities, when combined with a coherent picture of the topics developed during the lectures, application of critical sense and adequate means of expression will be considered and evaluated with the highest classification (27/30-30 cum laude). Participation/autonomy, when combined with predominantly mnemonic acquisition of course content and discontinuous linguistic and logical skills, will be rated between a good (24-26/30) and satisfactory (21-23/30) classification. Participation/autonomy in the study combined with a minimum knowledge of the course contents and inadequate training gaps or language and logical skills will result in a minimum grade (18-20/30). A minimum level of knowledge of the course contents, inadequate language and illogical skills, or training gaps will result in exclusion from the assessment. With such deficient performance, even the assiduous attendance will not be sufficient for attending students.
Modulo
SPS/13 - AFRICAN HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Modulo
SPS/13 - AFRICAN HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Modulo
SPS/13 - AFRICAN HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONS - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)
Reception:
The professor receives students at the end of the lessons or by appointment e-mailing to [email protected] to organize a Ms-Teams call or an in-presence meeting, if necessary.
Ist floor, room 10, via Conservatorio 7