FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY College of Arts and Sciences Department of Government and History

DIANNE W. OYLER, Ph.D. TEACHING| Advising and Service | Research | Background | Links | Home

I. LOCATOR INFORMATION
 
 

II. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

 
 The study of women's roles and contributions in history has become a major discipline.  This course is designed to look at one segment of women in history--women in sub-Saharan Africa.  Using scholars who articulate the insights of the most recent scholarship, the course intends to present an overview of women's past and present contributions to African development as well as the many obstacles to their further economic and social progress.

The course will explore women's history in the region as it has changed over time under pre-colonial, colonial, and independence governments.  It will address the wide range of variations in women's social position in Africa as well as the effect of cultural influences imposed by outsiders.  Divided into three parts, it will address many current women's issues under the following topics:  Women in the Economy, Women in Society and Culture, and Women in Politics and Policy Making.  Specifically addressed are the current issues of women as heads of households, female circumcision (female genital mutilation), multiple wives, child care, control over women's labor and the proceeds from that labor, the feminist movement, women in the military, women's role in politics and the effect of local and international governmental policy on women.

III. TEXTS:
 

           Hafkin, Nancy J. and Edna G. Bay (Editors).  Women in Africa:  Studies in Social and Economic       Change.  Stanford University Press, 1996.

Nwapa, Flora, Efuru   Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann, 1978.

Emechita, Buchi, Joys of Motherhood.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann, 1994

Aidoo, Ama Ata.  Changes:  A Love Story.  New York:  The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1993.

RESERVE READING:  Callaway, Barbara and Lucy Creevey, Islam: Women, Religion, & Politics in West Africa.  Boulder, CO:  Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1994. [2 copies on reserve]

Hay, Margaret Jean & Sharon Stichter, African Women South of the Sahara, Longman Group, 1995  [3copies on reserve]

COURSE HANDOUTS (shorter articles)

IV. BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES (and COMPETENCIES):

 Upon completion of this course with a seventy percent proficiency, a student will be able to analyze change and continuity overtime, organize historical evidence, and ask and answer critical questions about the past.  The student will also be able to demonstrate knowledge of people and events across time, to be used as building blocks for critical interpretation and understanding of the past.  In addition, a student will be able to identify the enduring themes of the historical experience and discuss history as a discipline.  Moreover, the student will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the historical role of both common and diverse cultural traditions that constitute African civilizations.  Finally, the student will be able to illustrate the cultural products that past societies have regarded as aesthetically pleasing and the ways in which they were produced.

STUDENT OUTCOMES: Students who complete this course will
                 Demonstrate knowledge about the broad range of variations of women's social positions across sub-Saharan Africa;
                 Compare the roles played by African women in their societies with those played by women in the west;
                 Analyze the general changes in women's social, economic, and political condition over time from pre-colonial to the present;
                 Discuss problems of outside cultures being imposed upon indigneous groups;
                 Contrast the economic, social, and political challenges faced by rural women with those of women living in the urban areas;
                 Identify women who have distinguished themselves as African artists;
                 Explain the role of Women in the Islamic community;
                 Assess the role of feminism in sub-Saharan Africa;
                 Discuss the problems faced by women in the wake of the United Nations Decade for Women 1975-1985.
                 Assess the effect of World Bank policies of "structural adjustment" imposed on African economies in the 1980s.

V. EVALUATION CRITERIA/GRADING SCALE:
 

1. Grades will be based on three examinations, writing assignments, and class participation. Each exam will be based on the units of study immediately preceding it and will be written in a blue book which may be purchased in the book store. The class may determine the size of the blue book to be used.

NOTE: YOU SHOULD NEVER MISS A SCHEDULED EXAM. UNLESS THE ABSENCE IS EXCUSED WITH PROPER DOCUMENTATION, THE MAKE-UP EXAM GRADE WILL BE REDUCED BY ONE LETTER GRADE AS A PENALTY FOR ABSENCE. MAKE-UP EXAMS ARE AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE INSTRUCTOR.

SPECIAL NOTE ON ACADEMIC HONESTY: Students should be aware that a university is a community of scholars committed to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge and truth. Without the freedom to investigate all materials, scrupulous honesty in reporting findings, and proper acknowledgment of credit, such a community can not survive. Students are expected to adhere to the highest traditions of scholarship. Any infractions of these traditions, such as plagiarism, are not tolerated. Though we do not anticipate any such occurrence, for the record, misrepresenting someone else's words or ideas as one's own, constitutes plagiarism. In cases where plagiarism occurs, the instructor has the right to penalize the student(s) as he or she thinks appropriate. One guide line holds that the first offence = failure of the assignment; the second offence = failure of the course.

Grades and their numerical equivalents are as follows:

2. INSTRUCTOR POLICIES
 
a. MAKE-UP WORK
1. EXAMS: Unless the absence is excused with proper documentation, the make-up exam grade with be reduced by one letter grade as a penalty for absence. Make-up exams are at the sole discretion of the instructor. Missed exams caused by an excused absence must be made up WITHIN ONE WEEK unless illness or emergency necessitates a longer absence from school.
2. Missed due date of the assignment. This applies to writing assignments--SUBTRACT ONE LETTER GRADE.
3. No make-up work will be accepted the last week of classes.
b. EXTRA CREDIT may be earned through cultural reaction papers turned in with the exam.       GUIDE

    HERSTORY ACTIVITY:     Guide

Links:     Women of Achievement and Herstory; Women's History Month Collection; 100 Most Important Women of World History; National Women's Hall of Fame.

c. As a rule, I do not give an incomplete. If you choose not to complete the class please formally withdraw from it.

VI. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Assignments: Assignments for this class will include reading, writing, and special projects to include:
1. Three Short Papers -- GUIDE
2. The Novels--GUIDE
3. Oral Presentation

Attendance and Punctuality: Students are responsible for material covered and assignments.

Class Participation: All students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned material, so it is important to complete all the assigned readings before coming to class. Any student may, at any time, be called upon to recite or to write a short essay on the assigned material. Short quizzes may be given on assigned materials at any time. Students are expected to understand the material, or at least have identified those items that they do not yet understand in order to ask question in class. The instructor will assume that students know the material and are prepared to discuss it. Students are responsible for all work assigned in this class, whether or not they are present. Assignments must be completed on time.

Students are expected to observe normal courtesy in class. They are expected to pay attention to the instructor, to take detailed notes, to refrain from personal conversations, and to avoid any other behavior which is disruptive and disturbing to others. A student who does not observe these courtesies may be asked to leave the room.

This course is designed to help improve your proficiency in note-taking, library skills, logical and analytical thinking and writing, and critical evaluation.

VII. TEACHING STRATEGIES
 

The mode of presentation for the course will be lecture/student discussion. There will be opportunities for cooperative learning. I encourage peer teaching and recommend students to work together through study groups. I want to emphasize the critical analysis of data--information you read and see on film/video and the communication of your ideas supported by facts. While these skills are important to the course work at hand, they are most important in your life's work where you read, listen, evaluate, articulate, communicate your understanding, ideas, and opinions on a daily basis. These activities will give you practice in these areas.

VIII. DISCUSSION/LECTURE TOPICS AND READING/WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES: MONTHLY CALENDARS TO FOLLOW
 
  

VIII. REFERENCES

 Barnes, Virginia Lee and Janice Boddy.  Aman: The Story of a Somali Girl Vintage Books,     1994.  ISBN0-679-76209-4   [CT2208.A43B37]

 Berhane-Selassie, Tsehai (ed.) Gender Issues in Ethiopia.  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, November 1991.

  Berrian, Brenda. Bibliography of African Women Writers and Journalists.  (Ancient Egypt -- 1984)  Washington, DC: Three Continents Press, 1985.  ISBN0-89410-227-3

 Bingham, Marjorie Wall  and Susan Hill Gross. Women in Africa. Vol 1: Ancient Times to the 20th Century.  St. Louis Park, MN: Glenhurst Publications, Inc., 1982.
 ISBN0-86596-006-2

 Bledsoe, Caroline H. Women and Marriage in Kpelle Society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1980.   ISBN0-8047-1019-8

Bozzoli, Belinda.  Women of Phokeng: Consciousness, Life Strategy and Migrancy in South   Africa, 1900-1983.  Heinemann, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1991.
 ISBN0-85255-603-9   [DT0581058.B34B69]

 Caucus of Women Councillors.  Increasing Women's Participation in Local Government.   Report of a Gender Consultation Workshop.  Kitwe, Zambia: Caucus of Women Councillors, 1995.

 Coles, Catherine and Beverly Mack. Hausa Women in the Twentieth Century. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin. Press, 1991.   ISBN0-299-13024-X

 Coquery-Vidrovitch, Catherine.  African Women: A Modern History. Westview Press, 1997.  ISBN0-8133-2361-4  [HQ1787.C6613]

  Detwyler, Katherine A.  Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa.  Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.  1994.    ISBN0-88133-748-X

  Grinker, Roy Richard  and Christopher B. Steiner. Perspectives on Africa: A Reader in Culture,  History, and Representation.  Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 1997. ISBN1557866864

 Hay, Margaret Jean and Sharon Stichter.  African Women South of the Sahara.  New York: Longman, 1984.      ISBN0-582-64373-2

 James, Adeika,   In Their Own Voices: African Women Writers Talk.  London: James Currey, Ltd., 1990.     ISBN0-85255-507-5

James, Steanlie M. (Guest Editor).  "After the Women's Decade: The Task Ahead for Africa"   Africa Today. Vol. 37, No.1. 1990    ISSN0001-9887

 Jones, Eldred Durosimi, Eustace Palmer, & Marjorie Jones. Women in African Literature Today.  #15.  Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1987.   ISBN0-86543-057-8

 Messaoudi, Khalida. Unbowed: An Algerian Woman Confronts Islamic Fundamentalism.  University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1995  ISBN0-8122-1657-1 [DT295.5M4713]

 Mirza, Sarah and Margaret Strobel. Three Swahilli Women: Life Histories from Mombasa, Kenya.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1989.  ISBN0-253-28854-1
 

 Mokeddem, Malika.  The Forbidden Woman University of Nebraska Press, 1998.
 ISBN0-8032-8240-0

 Ogundipe-Leslie, Molara.  Recreating Ourselves: African Women & Critical Transformations Africa World Press, Inc., 1994, ISBN0-86543-412-3 [HQ1787.038)

 Personal Narratives Group. (Eds)  Interpreting Peoples Lives: Feminist Theory and Personal   Narratives.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1989.
 ISBN0-253-20501-8

 Romero, Patricia W. (Ed.) Womens Voices on Africa: A Century of Travel Writings.  Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishing, 1992.   ISBN1-55876-048-2

  Ruete, Emily. The Memoires of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar.  Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996.     ISBN1-55876-007-5

Schmidt, Elizabeth.  Peasants, Traders, and Wives: Shona Women in the History of Zimbabwe,   1870-1939.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1992.   ISBN0-435-08066-0

  Smith, Mary F. Baba of Karo: A Woman of the Muslim Hausa.  New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1981.     ISBN0-300-02741-9

Sweetman, David.  Women Leaders in African History.  London: Heinemann, 1984
 ISBN-0-435-94480-0

 Urdang, Stephanie. Fighting Two Colonialisms Women in Guinea- Bissau.  New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979.

 Walther, Wiebke. Women in Islam: From Medieval to Modern Times.  Princeton, NJ: Marcus Wiener Publishing, 1993.     ISBN1-55876-053-9

 Wilentz, Gay.  Binding Cultures: Black Women Writers in Africa and the Diaspora.  Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1992.  ISBN0-253-20714-2.

 Zambia Today a Gender Perspective: Analysis of the Public's Views Lusaka, Zambia: Zambia Association for Research and Development, 1996       ISBN9982-818-24-4
 
 

IX. REFERENCES
 

• W.F. Abboushi. The Unmaking of Palestine, 1990
• Ammiel Alcaly, After Jews and ArabS,Remaking Levantine Culture, 1993
• Donna E. Arzt, Refugees into Citizens, Palestinians and the End of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1997
• Mordechai Bar-On, In Pursuit of Peace: A History of the Israeli Peace Movement, 1996
• Gad Barzilai, Wars, Internal Conflicts, and Political Order A Jewish Democarcy in the Middle East, 1996
• Meron Benvenisti, Conflicts and Contradictions, 1986
• Ian J. Bickerton, The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A History, 1991
• Ian Black, Israel's Secret Wars.- A History of Israel's Intelligence Services, 1991
• Moshe Dayan, Story of My Life, 1992(autobiography by a famous Israeli army officer and politician)
• Abba Eban, Abba Eban, An Autobiography, 1977 (by a well known Israeli diplomat)
• John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, 1991
• Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation.~ The Abduction of Lebanon, 1990
• Thomas Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem, 1989
• Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr. A Concise History of the Middle East, 1996
• Andrew Gowers, Behind the Myth., Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Revolution, 1990
• Sami Hadawi, Bitter Harvest: Palestine 1914-1988, 1990
• Alan Hart, Arafat: A Political Biography, 1989
• Israel, A Country Study, 1990 (published by the U.S. government, a comprehensive survey)
• Jordan, A Country Study, 1991 (published by the U.S. government, a comprehensive, survey)
• Fred J. Khouri, The Arab-Israeli Dilemma, 1985
• Marcia Kunstel, Their Promised Land: Arab versus Jews in History's Cauldron, 1990
•  Dan Kurzman, Ben-Gurion: Prophet of Fire, 1983 (about the head of the first independent Israeli government)
• David Lamb, The Arabs: A Journey Beyond the Mirage, 1987
• Bernard Lewis, The Arabs in History, 1993
• Anthony McDermott, Egypt from Nasser to Mubarak: A Flawed Revolution, 1988
• Benny Morris, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949, 1987
• Margaret K. Nydell, Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Westerners, 1987
• Ritchie Ovendale, The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Wars, 2nd ed., 1992
• Amos Oz, Israel, Palestine and Peace. Essays, 1995
• Don Peretz, Palestinians, Refugees, and the Middle East Peace Process, 1993
• Itamar Rabinovich, The War for Lebanon, 1970-1983, 1984
• Danny Rubinstein, The Mystery of Arafat, 1995
• Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 1979(ways Westerners look at Arabs),
• Kamal Salibi, Modem History of Jordan, 1993
• Robert Satloff, From Abdullah to Hussein: Jordan in Transition, 1994
• David Shipler, Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land, 1986
• Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 3rd edition, 1996
• John Waterbury, The Egypt of Nasser and Sadat, 1983.