Global Arc

South Africa has one of the most extreme levels of inequality in the distribution of market income in the world, although this inequality is substantially reduced through a highly redistributive welfare state. In the first decades of apartheid, in the 1950s and 1960s, society was organized along strictly racial lines such that there was a close relationship between race and class. In the 1970s and 1980s, the relationship between race and class began to erode, and since the transition from apartheid to democracy, it has eroded further. The legacy of apartheid persists in many ways.

Africa today represents less than 2 percent of the world's GDP. The legacy of colonial rule has undoubtedly contributed to a slowdown in the international competitiveness of Africa. However, there are internal factors as well. Today, many countries are progressively shifting from a US-EU-Africa paradigm, to one that includes a larger proportion of alternative investors from the Middle-East, India, and China. This seminar will focus on the effect of the legacy of complex political intricacies and the ways in which Africa engages the world; and how African countries face and anticipate the challenges of globalization. One three-hour seminar.

This course will present an integrated perspective of science and technology in the developing work with a strong focus on Africa. It will examine the implications of science and technology for rural development, along with the potential technological solutions to problems of energy, water, transportation and affordable housing. In each of these areas, a holistic framework will be presented for the development of sustainable solutions. The cultural issues associated with technology diffusion will also be considered along with case studies that highlight the successful applications of technologies.

Designed to allow juniors and seniors enrolled in the program to examine significant problems in Africa in an interdisciplinary manner. Topics vary from year to year, reflecting faculty research interests. Prerequisite: one core course and one cognate course, or instructor's permission. Required of all program concentrators; open to others by permission of program director and course instructor.

Examines selected aspects on conflict in Africa. The concept "conflict" is used to mean organized and/or collective political violence that causes the death of about 1,000 people per year. The course will focus on the following issues: analytical debates about conflicts in Africa; actors/participants such as guerrillas, warlords, and child soldiers; continental politics about conflict; the politics of humanitarian intervention; wars in the Great Lakes Region; the war and warlords of West Africa; the genocide in Rwanda, and the aftermath of wars, especially those of Southern Africa. One three-hour seminar.

Critical African Studies is a colloquium designed as a capstone course for African Studies Certificate students. The course is designed to introduce students to cutting-edge scholarship in African Studies. Students engage with African Studies scholars from Princeton University and beyond. In addition to attending the African Studies Lecture Series and Works-in-Progress series, students in Critical African Studies will workshop their junior or senior independent research. This capstone course is open to junior and senior certificate students and must be taken to fulfill the African Studies Certificate requirements.

This course looks at the ways in which digital technology shapes interactions and imaginations of Africa globally. Key themes that will be covered include societal transformations stemming out of the introduction and increasing use of the internet, mobile phones, and new media as well as gendered and racialized digital divides in relation to access to social services, such as health, education, housing, water, and sanitation. A particular attention will be given to the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the ways the digital space has been an arena on how Africans and their countries have responded to the pandemic.

Yorùbá is a West African language spoken by about 50 million native speakers. Most of its speakers live in Nigeria. There are also Yorùbá speakers in Togo, Benin Republic, and the Caribbean. This course offers students an intensive training and practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Yorùbá. Initial emphasis is on spoken language and conversation all rooted in the culture of the people. During the second term students read and listen to texts that provide an introduction to independent search in the Yorùbá culture.

This course is a continuation of Beginning Yoruba I. It continues to offer students intensive training and practice in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Yorùbá. In Beginning Yoruba II, students read and listen to texts that provide an introduction to independent research in the Yorùbá culture.

This course will further your awareness and understanding of the Wolof language and culture, as well as improve your mastery of grammar, writing skills, and oral skills. Course materials will incorporate various types of text including tales, cartoons, as well as multimedia such as films, videos, and audio recordings.