African Studies Courses
AFR150Y1: Africa: A Critical Introduction (formerly AFR150Y1 – Introduction to African Studies)[48L/24T]
A multi-disciplinary study of Africa, emphasizing critical inquiry and analysis of Africa, the cradle of humanity and the most diverse and second largest continent in the world. Topics that will be explored include: pre-colonial, colonial and contemporary African history, cultures, economies, geographies, Africa’s place in the world, politics, religions, spirituality, art, literature, music, race, resistance, gender, sexuality, futurism, environment, Afrofuturism, anticolonial worldmaking, and Pan-Africanism. The course provides a unique opportunity to learn from the African Studies faculty representing diverse geographical and disciplinary backgrounds who will share their cutting-edge research and unique experiences, reading and writing practices. Exclusion: NEW150Y1, AFSA01H3 BR=3+1
AFR199H1: Africa in Toronto [24L]
Africa in Toronto offers students the unique opportunity to trace, map and document sites and encounters with “Africa” in Toronto across diverse social, political, economic, linguistic and cultural communities in the GTA.
What are the diasporic lives of diverse African communities in the GTA? How does Toronto become home for them? Students will get the chance to learn about, reflect on and reimagine global Africa in the GTA by exploring topics such as placemaking, community-building, the politics of belonging, organizing and activism, economic hubs, artistic creation and expressive cultures, foodways and the epic battle over jollof rice. Restricted to first-year students. Not eligible for CR/NCR option. BR=1
AFR250Y1: Africa in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities [48L]
A critical examination of Africa as a living space rather than merely a site of intellectual speculation and study. Uses scholarly and popular literature to explore the issues that engage the attention of ordinary Africans, ranging from the dramatic to the seemingly trivial, as they struggle to fashion meaningful lives in fast-changing societies. Topics include urban transition and city life; economic, political and cultural impacts of globalization; new religious movements and changing conceptions of selfhood; new African diasporas in the West; dynamics of gender relations, kinships and identities; and the politics of liberalization. Materials studied will include print and electronic news media and other mass media resources from Africa and across the world. Exclusion: NEW250Y1 BR=1+3
AFR251H1F: Language, Freedom and Linguistic Human Rights in Africa [24L] Examines the language situation in Africa and the extent to which freedom and linguistic human rights are enabled, granted, nurtured, achieved or protected by post-colonial African states. Using linguistic diversity in Africa as a backdrop, presents, discusses and assesses language policies that were adopted by post-colonial African states, particularly in education, and the implications that these policies have for the rights, freedom and empowerment of citizens of African states. Changes and evolving trends in language use and language planning are also discussed. Recommend Preparation: AFR150Y1/ AFR250Y1/ AFR290H1 BR=1
AFR270H1F: African Literature and the Politics of Storytelling [24L] Focuses on the art and politics of storytelling across the continent. Students will engage with various kinds of narrative genres from great African novels to short stories, folktales, popular African films from Nollywood and other industries, as well as more recent forms of storytelling from social media. Topics of discussion will include globalization, colonialism, post-coloniality, neo-imperialism, environmental justice, ecocriticism, artistic expression and African identities. This novel course offers a combination of a wide range of literary and non-literary narrative genres as well as a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to textual analysis from decolonial theories to ecocriticism, postcolonial environmentalisms, narrative theory, as well as more traditional methods of literary criticism and analysis. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1 BR=1
AFR280Y1: Introductory Swahili [24L, 72T]
Introduction to grammar and basic vocabulary of Swahili. Emphasis on comprehension and oral practice. Reading of selected texts. Relation of the language to its East African cultural context. (Offered in alternate years) Exclusion: AFR280Y1 BR=1
AFR290H1F: The Idea of Africa [24L/12T]
An historical examination of Africa as a conceptual category, exploring discourses and representations – both African and non-African – that have produced our understandings of the meanings of Africa and Africanness. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1 BR=3
AFR298H1S: Popular Uprising in Africa [24L] In recent years, popular uprisings have mobilized thousands in over 40 African countries, to demand a radical overhauling of existing economic and political systems. This course asks: What are the catalysts, underlying causes and demands of these protest movements? What can we learn from the grassroots organizing that allowed these movements to gain momentum? How might scholars and activists analyzing the popular uprisings in their countries, allow us to develop new vocabularies and frameworks for understanding popular protests and theories of revolution? Case Studies will include popular uprisings in Sudan, Burkina Faso, Algeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Djibouti, DRC, Eswatini and Nigeria and reflect on similar movements around the world. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1 BR=3
AFR299Y1: Research Opportunity Program Credit course for supervised participation in a faculty research project.
Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/experiential-learning/research-opportunities/research-opportunities-program. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.
AFR322H1S: The Contemporary African Novel (formerly NEW322Y1) [24S]
Novels written in the last forty years by English, French and Portuguese-speaking Africans. Ideological views concerning colonialism and neo-colonialism. Tradition, religious and secular; the use of African symbolism. A small number of historical and sociological texts are recommended as essential background reading. Works not written in English are read in translation. (Offered in alternate years) Exclusion: NEW322H1, NEW322Y1 BR=1
AFR340H1: The Literary Lives of African Women [24L]
This course will track the literary history of African women through their writings. Students will study a variety of texts including memoirs, novels, short stories, creative non-fiction, drama, and poetry produced by African women with an eye to the politics of representation and legibility in these texts. This course will ask, how have African women written about their relationships to colonization, domesticity, citizenship, and national politics? It will also engage questions about the varieties of their experiences with motherhood, knowledge-making, displacement, citizenship, and belonging. Prerequisite: Completion of 6.0 credits, Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1/ AFR270H1 BR=1
JAH350H1: AIDS, Outbreaks, Pandemics: Challenges and Successes in Africa (formerly JNH350H1 – AIDS: Challenges and Successes) [24L]
Explores a range of historical and current outbreaks, pandemics and epidemics such as AIDS, COVID-19 and Ebola in Africa through a social science lens. It introduces students to major concepts, events and debates that have and continue to shape understanding of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Ebola outbreak and COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges and responses to these distinct health crises. Through a critical lens, students will engage diverse and interdisciplinary scholarship from public health, medical anthropology, sociology, African studies, and related fields within the health and social sciences fields to explore the converging factors that influence responses to health crises and their broader implications. Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits, Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1/ AFR290H1 or HMB202H1/ HMB203H1or interested students with relevant background. BR=3
AFR351Y1: African Systems of Thought (formerly NEW252Y1) [48L]
The exploration of a range of African cosmologies, epistemologies, and theologies, as well as specific case studies on justice, the moral order, and gender relations. The influence of these richly diverse traditions is traced as well in the writings of African thinkers in the Diaspora. Recommended preparation: AFR150Y1 Exclusion: NEW351Y1, NEW252Y1, JAP256H1/ JAP356H1 BR=3+2
AFR352H1: International Organizations, NGOs, Development and Change in Africa [24L]
Critically explores the role of international organizations such as the World Bank Group, the UN and NGOs in the economic development of Africa. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1 or permission of the instructor. Exclusion: NEW352H1 BR=3
AFR353H1F: International Relations of Africa [24L]
Explores inter-state relations in Africa, African states’ relations with the West, China, India, Brazil, and international political, economic and financial institutions. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1 Exclusion: NEW353H1, POLC80H3 BR=3
AFR354H1F: African Cultures and Development [24L]
Critically examines scholarly debates on the relationships between African cultures and development in various regions of the continent. Draws on interdisciplinary scholarship and development discourses to enhance students’ understanding of African conditions and cultures in the context of development thinking. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1 Exclusion: NEW354H1, NEW358H1 (Special Topics in African Studies: Culture and Development in Postcolonial Africa), offered in Winter 2015, Winter 2016, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019. BR=3
AFR355H1S: African Youth Languages and Cultures [24L]
Examines the nature of youth languages and cultures in contemporary Africa with a focus on their characteristics and the conditions under which they develop. Also considers similarities and/or differences between youth languages and cultures in different regions of Africa and the general youth condition. Includes urban youth languages such as Sheng, Engsh, Tsotsital, etc. and music genres associated with youth such as hip hop, Bongo flava, etc. Discusses challenges and opportunities associated with African youth languages as they relate to questions of identity, national integration, regional integration, and development. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1, AFR280Y1
Exclusion: NEW355H1, NEW358H1 (Special Topics in African Studies: African Youth Languages and Cultures), offered in Winter 2018, Winter 2020. BR=2
AFR357H1: Special Topics in African Studies [24L] An upper level course. Topics of study vary from year to year. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1
AFR358H1: Special Topics in African Studies [24L] An upper level course. Topics of study vary from year to year. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1
AFR359H1: The Horn of Africa: Critical Perspectives [24L]
Examines the Horn of Africa, its diversity, geopolitics, cultural politics, present conditions and current debates through a critical and comparative lens. Considers social forces in contemporary politics within the region including competing claims, explanations of the underpinnings of the Horn’s conflict, and the promise of peace. Draws upon interdisciplinary scholarship, public discourse, texts and media to reflect on the future of the Horn of Africa at this historical moment. Prerequisite: Completion of at least 4.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1/, AFR250Y1 Exclusion: NEW359H1, NEW357H1 (Special Topics in African Studies: The Horn of Africa: Critical Perspectives) offered in Fall 2018, Fall 2019. BR=3
JQR360H1S: The Canadian Census: Populations, Migrations and Demographics [24L, 12T]
Examines the Canadian population census through the experience of diasporic groups in Canada. Approaches the census as a statistical tool, an historical source and an ideological project of citizenship and nationalism. Uses census data to explore mathematical and statistical concepts and to integrate numerical ways of thinking with qualitative analysis. (Jointly sponsored by African Studies, Diaspora and Transnational Studies, Caribbean Studies, Equity Studies and Latin American Studies). Prerequisite: AFR150Y1/ CAR120Y1/ CAR220H1/ CAR221H1/ CAR225H1/ CAR226H1/ CSE240H1/ DTS200Y1/ HIS230H1/ HIS231H1/ LAS200H1/ LAS201H1 BR=3
AFR365H1: Art, Media and Politics in Africa and the African Diaspora [24L]
Explores the critical intersections between art, media and politics by analyzing the making and circulation of various indigenous and modern art forms and their use as creative and radical strategies for creative expression, dissent, citizenship, and alternative forms of representation, reimaginings, transcendence and agency in African post-colonial contexts, and interconnected with the African Diaspora. Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1 Exclusion: NEW357H1 (Special Topics in African Studies: Art, Media and Politics in Africa and the African Diaspora), offered in Winter 2019 and Fall 2019. BR=1
AFR370H1S: Anticolonialism, Radicalism and Revolutions in Africa [24L]
An interdisciplinary exploration of the histories of nationalist and revolutionary movements, ideologies, and regimes in twentieth and twenty-first century Africa, examining the various ways that Africans imagined, actively shaped, and continue to demand freedom and political modernity. Emphasis will be placed on African history methodology (including oral history) and historiography to encourage students to apply a historical lens to approaching key themes and concepts in African Studies such as nationalism, decolonization, the state, politics, citizenship, labour movements, and pro-democracy movements. Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1, HIS295Y1, HIS297Y1 BR=3
JAA377H1: Black Radical Theory from the Global South: Anthropological Perspectives [24L]
This course will survey the works of Black theorists and anthropologists from the Global South, who are shaping current debates within and beyond the discipline of Anthropology, concerning colonialism and decolonization, Marxism, indigeneity, political economy, Black radical thought, queer theory and decolonial feminism. Students will look at how these works challenge the “Northern Academy’s monoliteracy” (Musila), politics of knowledge production and construction of the Global South as primarily a site of fieldwork and research extraction. Authors will include Sylvia Tamale, Wangui Kimari, Sabelo Ndlovu-Matsheni, Ochy Curiel, Keguro Macharia, Beatriz Nascimento, Michel-Rolph Trouillot and Abdelghaffar Ahmed. Prerequisite: ANT204H1/ ANT207H1/ ANT215H1/ AFR150Y1/ AFR290H1/ AFR298H1 BR=3
AFR380Y1: Intermediate Swahili [24L, 72T]
Grammar and syntax. Conversation and written composition. Reading of texts: literary, journalistic. Relation of the language to its East African context. (Offered in alternate years) Prerequisite: AFR280Y1 Exclusion: NEW380Y1 BR=1
AFR389H1F: The Geopolitics and Debates on Africa-China Economic Relations [24L]
Explores the geopolitics of Africa-Asia relations, in particular, the unabated and polarized debates and narratives on China’s engagement across sectors in Africa, ‘Africa-China’ multifaceted trade relations, strategies and interests, and economic diplomacy. Critically examines the changing landscape of economic cooperation and development financing in contemporary Africa, their underlying impulses and their broader implications. Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1, AFR353H1 Exclusion:NEW357H1, AFR357H1 (Special Topics in African Studies: The Geopolitics and Debates on Africa-China Economic Relations), offered in Fall 2020 and Fall 2021. BR=3
AFR391H1: African Studies Independent Study Course [24S]
The African Studies Independent Study course is designed both to complement regular offerings in African Studies and to provide an opportunity for African Studies students to enrich their studies. Aided and advised by a faculty supervisor, students will conduct extensive research, read relevant literature, and plan, execute, analyze and report on an original and independent investigation of an appropriate topic. Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1, AFR290H1 Exclusion: NEW391H1 (New College Independent Studies), offered between Winter 2020 to Winter 2023 BR=1
AFR450Y1: African Studies Honours Research Seminar [24S]
This honours research seminar required of all specialists and majors in African Studies offers critical explorations of the genealogy of African Studies, the transnational study of Africa, Africa’s place in a globalized world, the historical, intellectual and institutional contexts of Africanist knowledge production, its dissemination and consumption in Africa, Europe, the Americas and emerging academic sites in Asia. It engages with the paradigm shifts and vibrant scholarly and epistemic debates across disciplines and geographies as well as unfolding events, public discourses, geopolitics, African popular cultures and the reimagining of African futures through canonical, emergent scholarship and creative media. It emphasizes students’ original and creative research explorations, engaged praxis and search for alternative theorizing and decolonial epistemologies. It is also open to upper level students interested in African Studies and/or research in and on Africa. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1 or any 300-level Group A Course. Students who do not meet the prerequisites are encouraged to contact the department. Recommended Preparation: Any group A courses. Exclusion: NEW450Y1 BR=3+1
AFR451H1: Special Topics in African Studies [24L]
An upper level course. Topics of study vary from year to year. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1
AFR452H1: Kiswahili in a Globalized World [24L]
Examines the state and role of Kiswahili in the globalized world of the 21st century. Traces the changes in the roles of Kiswahili over time from its beginnings as a local East African coastal language to its current status as a regional and international lingua franca, and gives students an opportunity to interact with Kiswahili speakers in Toronto. Explores the challenges and opportunities arising from contact with other cultures and languages through globalization. Globalization as a potent force and its effects on Kiswahili are discussed in detail. Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits, Recommended Preparation: AFR280Y1/ AFR380Y1 BR=1
AFR454H1S: Migration, Mobility, and Displacement in Contemporary Africa [24S]
Why do people move voluntarily and involuntarily? What are the causes and consequences of migration and displacement in Africa? This course critically examines the multifaceted dimensions of migration, mobility, and displacement through (text, art, film and narratives) with a specific focus on communities and populations displaced by war, environmental destruction and disaster, economic failings, and the quest for economic opportunities or individual freedom. We will: 1) explore canonical and emergent interdisciplinary scholarships and their epistemic claims and debates, key theories and concepts on migration, mobility and displacement; 2) engage in current debates and public discourses on these intersecting themes, analytics, and phenomena; and 3) interrogate the morality of media representation and gaze, discursive practices on the ‘migrant’ and ‘refugee’ subject formation, the ‘catastrophic’ biopolitics and governmentality of migration, the instrumentality and contingencies of political (non) interventions/(in)action, humanitarianism, and the politics of rights, justice, ethics, and solidarity. You will have the opportunity to unpack your own positionality and trajectories to reflect on the differentiated categories and trajectories of migration and mobility, and normative assumptions on citizenship and the national subjects and formulate your own critique, alternative epistemology and relational ethos of knowledge making. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1 or permission of instructor. Recommended Preparation: JQR360H1, AFR351Y1 Exclusion: NEW454H1, NEW451H1 (Special Topics in African Studies: Migration, Mobility, and Displacement in Contemporary Africa), offered in Fall 2016. BR=3
AFR455H1S: Conflicts, Negotiations and Peacebuilding in Africa [24S]
Examines conflicts and peace negotiations in African contexts such as Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and North Africa through public discourse, citizen actions, policy debates and mobilizations. Explores formal, informal, indigenous and institutional mediation and peace negotiation platforms, strategies, and impulses. Analyzes various conflict zones, case studies and intervention strategies for negotiating and sustaining peace in Africa in the broader context of the war on terror, increasing militarism, and securitization in peacebuilding. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1 Recommended Preparation: AFR353H1 Exclusion: NEW455H1, NEW451H1 (Special Topics in African Studies: Conflicts, Negotiations and Peacebuilding in Africa), offered in Winter 2019, Winter 2020; NEW452H1 BR=3
AFR459H1: Advanced Special Topics in African Studies [24L]
An upper-level course. Topics of study vary from year to year. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1/ AFR250Y1
AFR460H1: Climate Change, Food Security, and Sustainability in Africa [24L]
Food security is a critical challenge for many African countries and, in the past decades, has been exacerbated by climate change. To understand the complexities of food insecurity and to explore possible pathways for a food-secure Africa, we ask: what is the nexus between food security, climate change, and sustainability in Africa? How is food security intertwined with livelihood security, rights, justice, resource governance, conflicts, natural disasters, uncertainties, and risks and vulnerabilities? What are the challenges and opportunities for sustainable futures in Africa? Which theoretical frameworks illuminate these complexities? Students will learn through case study analyses, guest lectures, modeling and scenario-building exercises, and engagement with Indigenous knowledge systems, canonical and emergent interdisciplinary scholarship on the topic. Prerequisite: Completion of 6.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1 or AFR290H1 or interested students with relevant background. Exclusion: AFR459H1 (Topic: Climate Change, Food Security and Sustainability in Africa), offered in Winter 2022 and Winter 2024. BR=3
AFR465H1: African Cities and Urban Futures [24L]
From slums, bustling cultural scenes and cityscapes, to diaspora lanes, African cities show diverse trajectories, inequalities and uneven pace of urbanization. Challenging clichés of African cities as ‘dystopian’ and ‘off the map’, this course critically examines the processes and dynamics of urban transformation and rapid urbanization of African cities and their socio-cultural, ecological, political and economic implications. It interrogates key drivers of urbanization, sustainable urban development, livelihoods, inclusive and just urbanism challenges, urban policies and governance, and the reimagining of African urban futures. Students will learn from cutting edge scholarship and engage with speakers and Africa-based city-builders, policy makers, artists, activists, and social entrepreneurs. Prerequisite: Completion of 6.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1 or AFR290H1 or interested students with relevant background. BR=3
AFR490Y1: African Studies Independent Study Course [48S]
The African Studies Independent Study course is designed both to complement regular offerings in African Studies and to provide an opportunity for African Studies students to enrich their studies. Aided and advised by a faculty supervisor, students will conduct extensive research, read relevant literature, and plan, execute, analyze and report on an original and independent investigation of an appropriate topic. The exact Breadth Requirement category to be assigned to this course is based on the topic chosen by the student and approved by their faculty supervisor. Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1/ AFR250Y1/ AFR290H1 Exclusion: NEW490Y1 (if taken before 2025).
AFR491H1: African Studies Independent Study Course [48S]
The African Studies Independent Study course is designed both to complement regular offerings in African Studies and to provide an opportunity for African Studies students to enrich their studies. Students, aided and advised by a faculty supervisor, will conduct extensive research, read relevant literature, and plan, execute, analyze and report on an original and independent investigation of an appropriate topic. The exact Breadth Requirement category to be assigned to this course is based on the topic chosen by the student and approved by their faculty supervisor. Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits. Recommended Preparation: AFR150Y1/ AFR250Y1/ AFR290H1 Exclusion: NEW490H1 (if taken before 2025).
AFR499H1: Advanced Topics in African Studies [24S]
A joint graduate/undergraduate upper-level seminar. Topics vary from year to year, depending on the instructor. Consult the department for course enrolment procedures. Prerequisite: AFR150Y1, AFR250Y1, at least 1.0 credit from African Studies Group A at the 300+ level. Students who do not meet the prerequisites are encouraged to contact the department.
2024-2025 African Studies Timetable – Coming Soon