Postcolonial Africa (L7040)

15 credits, Level 5

Spring teaching

This module explores key debates surrounding postcolonial political, economic, and socio-cultural dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa. You'll critically examine dominant Western representations of the subcontinent and engage with different, often conflicting, perspectives on postcolonial continuities and transformations.

Topics covered include:

  • the character of the postcolonial state and governance
  • nationalism and ethnicity
  • borders
  • the politics of land and natural resources
  • urbanization processes
  • mobility and new transnational connections between Africa, Europe, and China.

Teaching

100%: Practical (Workshop)

Assessment

100%: Coursework (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.