New Introductory Courses in History (200-0-26)

Topic

Drugs and Alcohol in Africa

Instructors

Akinwumi O Ogundiran

Meeting Info

University Hall 101: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

The course engages students about the fascinating stories of drugs and alcoholic beverages in African history over the past 5000 years. Students will be guided on how to develop a deep understanding of gender, class, and religious identities, rituals, state formation and power, protest and revolution, sociality and pleasure, taste and addiction, and ideas about illness and wellness in Africa through the study of alcohol and drug substances—palm wine, beer, tobacco, coffee, aguardiente, kolanut, ògógóró, narcotics, etc. Case studies will cut across different periods and places, including Ancient Egypt, Classic Yoruba Civilization, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Ghana. Students will learn to analyze secondary and primary texts, performative genres, visual arts, and archaeological artifacts associated with Africa's "drugoholic" history.

Learning Objectives

Students will develop a sound understanding of the major historiographic debates that have shaped the study of Black Atlantic Culture and where to look for primary sources for studying the long-term Black experience in the Atlantic world.

Evaluation Method

Exams, Papers

Class Notes

Concentration: Africa/Middle East

Class Attributes

Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area

Associated Classes

DIS - University Hall 418: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM

DIS - University Hall 412: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - University Hall 218: Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM