HIST2541: Elders, Despots, Modernisers: Reimagining the State in Northeast Africa

• A pass mark in at least ONE level one module in History

• None

• None

• To explore the regional and historical diversity of polities across the Horn of Africa and its environs over the past two centuries.
• To examine the making and nature of statehood in Northeast Africa and its relations to other social institutions.
• To enable students to engage critically with a theoretical literature on the state, and with the historiography of north-east Africa.
• To contribute towards the achievement of the Department's generic aims for study at Level 2.

• This module will explore the idea of statehood in modern Africa, through a focus on Northeast Africa a region broadly conceptualised to embrace the Horn and its borderlands in the Sudans and the northern Great Lakes region. The module will introduce students to radically different perspectives on African statehood. Through an examination of the ways in which states have been constructed and often imposed across Northeast Africas diverse societies and landscapes, students will be encouraged to consider how those who have held or aspired to authority have been forced to reimagine the nature of that authority in the context of new sources, instruments and ideologies of power. The module will allow students to see the resultant patterns of innovation and continuity as a rich tapestry that offers important correctives to normative models of the state.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of the module, students will be able to:
• Explain and assess patterns in the socio-political relations of power, patronage and protection across north-east Africa since the early 19th century.
• Evaluate and discuss central problems in the history of pre-colonial authority in north-east Africa, of the nature and effects of European imperialism in the region and of the divergent trajectories of independent nationalism and statehood that have developed in the 20th century.
• Expound key perspectives from the theoretical literature on statehood and political authority and apply these to the history and politics of north-east Africa.
• Participate in academic inquiry into the history of north-east African states, critically examining historiographic approaches in light of primary sources and relevant regional contexts.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Building on and developing skills gained at Level 1.
• Deepening and extending historical understanding through focused, concentrated modules.
• Developing precision, depth of understanding, and conceptual awareness.

Key Skills:

• The ability to employ sophisticated reading skills to gather, sift, process, synthesise and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources (print, digital, material, aural, visual, audio-visual etc.).
• The ability to communicate ideas and information orally and in writing, devise and sustain coherent and cogent arguments.
• The ability to write and think under pressure, manage time and work to deadlines.
• The ability to make effective use of information and communications technology.

• Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods:
• Lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection.
• Seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students' ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment: Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources. The additional summative assignments will test knowledge and skills specific to the module, such as analysis of relevant primary sources, or critical engagement with the historiography as demonstrated through book reviews and article abstracts.

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