This course will focus on the historical situation of the Sahel region of North and West Africa and the current regional turmoil and change in the area. An analysis of the Colonial period will help understand the history of the modern national states, and the course also will examine the role of Orientalism and Ethnography on Arabs, Berbers and Negro-Sudanese studies. The course will provide students with a deeper knowledge of political regimes, political Islam, social and ethnic identities, old and modern antagonisms, and relationships with the environment.
Learning outcomes:
By the completion of this course, students will:
Explain the place of North and West Africa and their Sahel (Shores of the Sahara) in World history
Analyze the experiences of the colonized societies and the political changes in Africa
Describe the French Colonial system in Africa and its impact on post colonial systems
Contextualize the rising of modern national state building and independence and the Modern National States in its paradoxes and its political changes
Method of presentation:
Lectures, debates and discussions of selected themes, thematic presentations by students, study tour to Dakar, Senegal.
Field study:
During the summer term, students will take part in a five-day visit to Dakar, Senegal that will allow students to explore first-hand another part of the Francophone world. Students will be hosted by the Université Cheikh Anta Diop and will stay in university housing for the duration of their stay. Students will visit key organizations that focus on Francophone Studies, Women's Rights, Migration, and Development, and University faculty will offer special lectures on Islam in Senegal, and the Trajectory of West Africa problems of governance and instability. Students also will have the opportunity to debate with local university students. Lectures topics specifically relevant to this course will include:
Sufism, religious brotherhoods, Islamism and Politics in the Sahel
The impact of the North Malian crisis in the Sahel
Required work and form of assessment:
Class participation 25%
8-10 pages term paper 30%
Oral Presentation 5%
Mid-term exam 20%
Final exam 20%
All written work will be in French. Students should write a paper related to the guest lecture provided in Dakar and relate those to the courses.
Participation (25% of the final grade) includes homework and participation in class discussion. Homework includes the following assignments: summaries of the required reading and field studies, presentations of specific topics and drafts of the research paper. Students will be expected to fulfill the required work for each session and to participate actively in class discussions. This is an essential part of the final grade and will be assessed.
Term paper (30%). Students will write an 8-10 page paper on a topic related to the Francophone Africa. The instructor will provide students with a list of general topics to help them find the specific topics for their papers. Also, he will have two one-to-one meetings with each student to discuss the topic, the angle and the organization of his/her paper. Students will have to cite at least eight different sources (either books or articles) in their papers. They will have access to the extensive collection of books on Francophone Africa available in IES Abroad and online journal store. Throughout the process of researching and writing, students will be asked to evaluate the papers of their classmates and offer them advice.
Oral Presentation (5%). Students will give a short talk on the main points of their research papers. After the presentation they will have to answer the questions posed by the classmates. The presentations will take place during the last three sessions of the course
Midterm exam (20%). The exam covers the session 1 to 10. Both this exam and the final exam will include essay questions and short answer questions
Final exam (20%). The exam covers the session 11 to 22.
content:
Week 1: The Post-Colonial State in North Africa: Case Studies
Day 1: Algeria: the first and last colony of the Maghreb
*Catherine Belvaude, l’Algérie, pp. 25-76
*André Nouschi, « Pouvoir et politique en Algérie », May - Jun., 1979, pp. 590-598
Day 2: Morocco: an historical monarchy
* Michel Abitbole, Histoire du Maroc, 553-599
*Tozy, Monarchie et islam politique au Maroc, 25-74
Day 3: The modern Tunisian republic
*Mestiri, La Tunisie, pp.24-42
Day 4: Mauritania: a country on the border
*Catherine Belvaude, La Mauritanie, pp. 12-40
Week 2: The Postcolonial States in former French West Africa
Day 5: The case of French Occidental Africa
*Laurent Monnier, Makita Kasongo-Ngoy, Philippe Ardant and Gérard Conac, « L'illusion Comparative: quelques réflexions sur la science politique et l'état en Afrique », Revue européenne des sciences sociales, (1986), pp. 129-139
Day 6: Independence and the Creation of State
* Modou Ndoye, “La fédération du Mali à l'épreuve de l'indépendance: chronique d'un echec”, 1995, pp. 151-176
Day 7: French Withdrawal – the Case of Senegal
*Devey, Le Sénégal, pp. 95-160
Day 8: Guinea Conakry and the other path
*Devey, La Guinée, pp. 111-160
*Georges FISCHER, « Quelques aspects de la doctrine politique guinéenne », Civilisations, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1959), pp. 457-478
Week 3: Politics and Political Systems in former French North and West Africa
Day 9: Mali – Guinea
*Philippe Decraene, L'Évolution des Partis Politiques en Afrique au Sud du Sahara, Civilisations, (1962), pp. 196-210
*Lavroff et Mabileau, L’Afrique noire contemporaine, pp. 321-387
Day 10: Algeria
*Catherine Belvaude, L’Algerie, pp 77-117
Day 11: Morocco
*Lozato-Giotart, Le Maroc, pp.111-131
Day 12 : Senegal
*El Hadj Ibrahima Ndao, Sénégal, histoire des Conquêtes Démocratiques, pp. 296-322
Week 4: Ethnicity in Politics in the Sahel
Day 13: Arab, Berber, Jewish, Moors, Blacks and Other Identities in North Africa
*Chegraoui, « Idéologie, Religion et ethnocentrisme au Maghreb », in Intellectuels et nationalisme et idéal panafricain ; perspective historique, sous la direction de Thierno Bah, CODESRIA, Dakar, 2005, chapitre 6, p.88-104
Day 14: « Ethnicism » in Sub-Saharan Africa
*Cécile Canut, Construction des discours identitaires au Mali Ethnicisation et instrumentalisation, « Cahiers d'Études Africaines », Vol. 46, Cahier 184, Parentés, plaisanteries et politique (2006), pp. 967-986
Day 15
* Paul Mercier, « Remarques sur la signification du «tribalisme» actuel en Afrique noire », Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie, nouvelle série, Vol. 31 (Juillet-Décembre1961), pp. 61-80
Day 16: Case Study: Senegal and Casamance
*Ousseynou Faye, « L'instrumentalisation de l'histoire et de l'ethnicité dans le discours séparatiste en Basse Casamance (Sénégal) », Africa Spectrum, Vol. 29, No. 1 (1994), pp. 65-77
Week 5: West or African Islam and Islamism challenges
Day 17: Political Islam in the Maghreb
*Tozy, Monarchie et islam politique au Maroc, pp. 103-184
*Malika Zghal, Les Islamistes; le défi à la Monarchie, 195-225
*Mohamed Chekroun, « Islamisme, messianisme et utopie au Maghreb », Archives de sciences sociales des religions, 36e Année, No. 75 (Jul. - Sep., 1991), pp.127-152
Day 18: Islamists in Power: Morocco and Tunisia
* Ahmed BENANI, « Maroc, légitimité religieuse du pouvoir et démocratie : un couplage impossible », civilisations, vol. 48, no. 1/2, la question de l'islam et de l'état à l'aube du xxie siècle (2001), pp. 99-109
Day 19: Islam brotherhood, Islamism and power in West Africa
*Constantin et Coulon, espace islamique et espace politique, pp.171-205
Week 6: Social movements, instability and political changes in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa
Day 20: The Arab Spring and North Africa
* Béligh Nabli, « Regard global sur le « réveil arabe », regard global sur le « réveil arabe » septembre 2012, 6p.
Day 21: Democratic Resistance in Senegal
*Luc Sindjoun, « Les pratiques sociales dans les régimes politiques africains en voie de démocratisation: hypothèses théoriques et empiriques sur la paraconstitution », Revue canadienne de science politique, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Jun., 2007), pp. 465-485
*Marc-Éric Gruénais and Jean Schmitz, « L'Afrique des pouvoirs et la démocratie », Cahiers d'Études Africaines, Vol. 35, Cahier 137, La démocratie déclinée (1995), pp. 7-17
Day 22: The Sahara: Chronic Instability
*Claude Rivière, « Violences politiques en Afrique noire », Anthropos, Bd. 99, H. 1. (2004), pp. 15-24
Required readings:
Abitbole, Michel. Histoire du Maroc. Paris : Perrin, 2009.
Benani, Ahmed. « Maroc, légitimité religieuse du pouvoir et démocratie : un couplage impossible », civilisations, vol. 48, no. 1/2, la question de l'islam et de l'état à l'aube du xxie siècle (2001), pp. 99-109
Canut, Cécile. « Construction des discours identitaires au Mali Ethnicisation et instrumentalisation, » in « Cahiers d'Études Africaines », Vol. 46, Cahier 184, Parentés, plaisanteries et politique(2006), pp. 967-986.
Chegraoui, Khalid. « Idéologie, Religion et ethnocentrisme au Maghreb », in Intellectuels et nationalisme et idéal panafricain ; perspective historique, sous la direction de Thierno Bah, CODESRIA, Dakar, 2005, chapitre 6, p.88-104.
Chekroun, Mohamed. « Islamisme, messianisme et utopie au Maghreb », Archives de sciences sociales des religions, 36e Année, No. 75 (Jul. - Sep., 1991), pp.127-152.
Constantin et Coulon. « Espace islamique et espace politique », pp.171-205, in Le Maghreb et l’Afrique subsaharienne. Paris : CNRS, 1980.
Decraene, Philippe. « L'Évolution des Partis Politiques en Afrique au Sud du Sahara, » Civilisations, Vol. 12, No. 2 (1962), pp. 196-21.
Devey, Muriel. La Guinée, Paris, Karthala,1997.
---. Le Sénégal. Paris : Karthala, 2000.
Faye, Ousseynou. « L'instrumentalisation de l'histoire et de l'ethnicité dans le discours séparatiste en Basse Casamance (Sénégal) », Africa Spectrum, Vol. 29, No. 1 (1994), pp. 65-77.
Fischer, Georges. « Quelques aspects de la doctrine politique guinéenne », Civilisations, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1959), pp. 457-478.
Gruénais Marc-Éric and Jean Schmitz. « L'Afrique des pouvoirs et la démocratie », Cahiers d'Études Africaines, Vol. 35, Cahier 137, La démocratie déclinée (1995), pp. 7-17.
Lavroff et Mabileau. « L’Afrique noire contemporaine, » pp. 321-387, in l’Afrique noir contemporaine. Paris : Armand Colin 1968.
Lozato-Giotart, Jean-Pierre. Le Maroc. Paris : Karthala, 1991.
Mercier, Paul. « Remarques sur la signification du «tribalisme »actuel en Afrique noire », Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie, nouvelle série, Vol. 31 (Juillet-Décembre1961), pp. 61-80.
Mestiri, Ezzedine. La Tunisie. Paris: Karthala, 1995.
Nabli, Béligh. « Regard global sur le « réveil arabe », regard global sur le « réveil arabe » septembre 2012, 6p.
Ndao, El Hadj Ibrahima. Sénégal, histoire des Conquêtes Démocratiques. Dakar : NEAS, 2003.
Ndoye, Modou. “La fédération du Mali al'épreuve de l'indépendance: chronique d'un echec”, Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell’Istituto italiano per l’Africae l’Oriente, Anno 50, No. 2 (Giugno 1995), pp. 151-176.
Nouschi, André. « Pouvoir et politique en Algérie », Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 34e Année, No. 3 (May - Jun., 1979), pp. 590-598
Monnier, Laurent, Makita Kasongo-Ngoy, Philippe Ardant and Gérard Conac. « L'illusion Comparative: quelques réflexions sur la science politique et l'état en Afrique », Revue européenne des sciences sociales, T. 24, No. 72, La comparaison en sciences humaines et sociales (1986), pp. 129-139.
Rivière, Claude. « Violences politiques en Afrique noire », Anthropos, Bd. 99, H. 1. (2004), pp. 15-24
Sindjoun, Luc. « Les pratiques sociales dans les régimes politiques africains en voie de démocratisation: hypothèses théoriques et empiriques sur la paraconstitution », Revue canadienne de science politique, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Jun., 2007), pp. 465-485.
Tozy, Mohammed. Monarchie et islam politique au Maroc. Paris : Press sciences Po, 1999.
Zghal, Malika. Les Islamistes; le défi à la Monarchie. Casablanca : Le Fennec, 2005.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Mustapha El Qadery is currently a Professor of History (West Mediterranean, Arab World, Maghreb, and West Africa) in the Department of History and Civilizations at the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences. He is teaching Religious Anthropology and Colonial Knowledge on Morocco in the Department of Political Sciences at the Faculty of Law and Social and Economic Sciences, Mohammed V-Agdal University in Rabat –Morocco. He was a Scholar in Residence at Virginia State University in US, Fulbright Program (2011). As an Historian and Anthropologist, he has more than 30 papers published in various academic reviews and edited books. He published a book, in Arabic and in French, titled: Nationalism of Self Contempt, 2011, and he wrote a documentary film about colonial war in Morocco, titled: “The Tattooed Memory.” Bougafer 33.
This course will focus on the historical situation of the Sahel region of North and West Africa and the current regional turmoil and change in the area. An analysis of the Colonial period will help understand the history of the modern national states, and the course also will examine the role of Orientalism and Ethnography on Arabs, Berbers and Negro-Sudanese studies. The course will provide students with a deeper knowledge of political regimes, political Islam, social and ethnic identities, old and modern antagonisms, and relationships with the environment.
By the completion of this course, students will:
Lectures, debates and discussions of selected themes, thematic presentations by students, study tour to Dakar, Senegal.
During the summer term, students will take part in a five-day visit to Dakar, Senegal that will allow students to explore first-hand another part of the Francophone world. Students will be hosted by the Université Cheikh Anta Diop and will stay in university housing for the duration of their stay. Students will visit key organizations that focus on Francophone Studies, Women's Rights, Migration, and Development, and University faculty will offer special lectures on Islam in Senegal, and the Trajectory of West Africa problems of governance and instability. Students also will have the opportunity to debate with local university students. Lectures topics specifically relevant to this course will include:
All written work will be in French. Students should write a paper related to the guest lecture provided in Dakar and relate those to the courses.
Week 1: The Post-Colonial State in North Africa: Case Studies
Day 1: Algeria: the first and last colony of the Maghreb
*Catherine Belvaude, l’Algérie, pp. 25-76
*André Nouschi, « Pouvoir et politique en Algérie », May - Jun., 1979, pp. 590-598
Day 2: Morocco: an historical monarchy
* Michel Abitbole, Histoire du Maroc, 553-599
*Tozy, Monarchie et islam politique au Maroc, 25-74
Day 3: The modern Tunisian republic
*Mestiri, La Tunisie, pp.24-42
Day 4: Mauritania: a country on the border
*Catherine Belvaude, La Mauritanie, pp. 12-40
Week 2: The Postcolonial States in former French West Africa
Day 5: The case of French Occidental Africa
*Laurent Monnier, Makita Kasongo-Ngoy, Philippe Ardant and Gérard Conac, « L'illusion Comparative: quelques réflexions sur la science politique et l'état en Afrique », Revue européenne des sciences sociales, (1986), pp. 129-139
Day 6: Independence and the Creation of State
* Modou Ndoye, “La fédération du Mali à l'épreuve de l'indépendance: chronique d'un echec”, 1995, pp. 151-176
Day 7: French Withdrawal – the Case of Senegal
*Devey, Le Sénégal, pp. 95-160
Day 8: Guinea Conakry and the other path
*Devey, La Guinée, pp. 111-160
*Georges FISCHER, « Quelques aspects de la doctrine politique guinéenne », Civilisations, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1959), pp. 457-478
Week 3: Politics and Political Systems in former French North and West Africa
Day 9: Mali – Guinea
*Philippe Decraene, L'Évolution des Partis Politiques en Afrique au Sud du Sahara, Civilisations, (1962), pp. 196-210
*Lavroff et Mabileau, L’Afrique noire contemporaine, pp. 321-387
Day 10: Algeria
*Catherine Belvaude, L’Algerie, pp 77-117
Day 11: Morocco
*Lozato-Giotart, Le Maroc, pp.111-131
Day 12 : Senegal
*El Hadj Ibrahima Ndao, Sénégal, histoire des Conquêtes Démocratiques, pp. 296-322
Week 4: Ethnicity in Politics in the Sahel
Day 13: Arab, Berber, Jewish, Moors, Blacks and Other Identities in North Africa
*Chegraoui, « Idéologie, Religion et ethnocentrisme au Maghreb », in Intellectuels et nationalisme et idéal panafricain ; perspective historique, sous la direction de Thierno Bah, CODESRIA, Dakar, 2005, chapitre 6, p.88-104
Day 14: « Ethnicism » in Sub-Saharan Africa
*Cécile Canut, Construction des discours identitaires au Mali Ethnicisation et instrumentalisation, « Cahiers d'Études Africaines », Vol. 46, Cahier 184, Parentés, plaisanteries et politique (2006), pp. 967-986
Day 15
* Paul Mercier, « Remarques sur la signification du «tribalisme» actuel en Afrique noire », Cahiers Internationaux de Sociologie, nouvelle série, Vol. 31 (Juillet-Décembre1961), pp. 61-80
Day 16: Case Study: Senegal and Casamance
*Ousseynou Faye, « L'instrumentalisation de l'histoire et de l'ethnicité dans le discours séparatiste en Basse Casamance (Sénégal) », Africa Spectrum, Vol. 29, No. 1 (1994), pp. 65-77
Week 5: West or African Islam and Islamism challenges
Day 17: Political Islam in the Maghreb
*Tozy, Monarchie et islam politique au Maroc, pp. 103-184
*Malika Zghal, Les Islamistes; le défi à la Monarchie, 195-225
*Mohamed Chekroun, « Islamisme, messianisme et utopie au Maghreb », Archives de sciences sociales des religions, 36e Année, No. 75 (Jul. - Sep., 1991), pp.127-152
Day 18: Islamists in Power: Morocco and Tunisia
* Ahmed BENANI, « Maroc, légitimité religieuse du pouvoir et démocratie : un couplage impossible », civilisations, vol. 48, no. 1/2, la question de l'islam et de l'état à l'aube du xxie siècle (2001), pp. 99-109
Day 19: Islam brotherhood, Islamism and power in West Africa
*Constantin et Coulon, espace islamique et espace politique, pp.171-205
Week 6: Social movements, instability and political changes in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa
Day 20: The Arab Spring and North Africa
* Béligh Nabli, « Regard global sur le « réveil arabe », regard global sur le « réveil arabe » septembre 2012, 6p.
Day 21: Democratic Resistance in Senegal
*Luc Sindjoun, « Les pratiques sociales dans les régimes politiques africains en voie de démocratisation: hypothèses théoriques et empiriques sur la paraconstitution », Revue canadienne de science politique, Vol. 40, No. 2 (Jun., 2007), pp. 465-485
*Marc-Éric Gruénais and Jean Schmitz, « L'Afrique des pouvoirs et la démocratie », Cahiers d'Études Africaines, Vol. 35, Cahier 137, La démocratie déclinée (1995), pp. 7-17
Day 22: The Sahara: Chronic Instability
*Claude Rivière, « Violences politiques en Afrique noire », Anthropos, Bd. 99, H. 1. (2004), pp. 15-24
Mustapha El Qadery is currently a Professor of History (West Mediterranean, Arab World, Maghreb, and West Africa) in the Department of History and Civilizations at the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences. He is teaching Religious Anthropology and Colonial Knowledge on Morocco in the Department of Political Sciences at the Faculty of Law and Social and Economic Sciences, Mohammed V-Agdal University in Rabat –Morocco. He was a Scholar in Residence at Virginia State University in US, Fulbright Program (2011). As an Historian and Anthropologist, he has more than 30 papers published in various academic reviews and edited books. He published a book, in Arabic and in French, titled: Nationalism of Self Contempt, 2011, and he wrote a documentary film about colonial war in Morocco, titled: “The Tattooed Memory.” Bougafer 33.