GLOA 599: Issues in Global Affairs

GLOA 599-002: Glob and Dev in Africa
(Fall 2016)

04:30 PM to 07:10 PM W

Innovation Hall 204

Section Information for Fall 2016

This seminar course provides an overview of North and Sub-Saharan Africa's main development challenges and accomplishments since independence from European colonial rule in the 1950s and 1960s to nowadays, while examining how the various waves of globalization have affected the continent and influenced its development. 

We will start by analyzing the reasons and the processes of European colonization of Africa within the context of the world system from the 15^th to the 20^thcenturies, while briefly examining pre-colonial modes of governance and economic systems. Following a review of development theories, we will examine the various attempts at building viable nation states and economies in post-independence Africa, and analyze the development models and strategies adopted to that effect and their impact. We will take account of the role of international organizations and the various development goals set by them in areas such as poverty reduction, human development, gender equality, health (including HIV-AIDS), food security and improved nutrition, climate change, and others.

We will then determine and evaluate the impacts of modern globalization since the early 1980s in terms of social and economic changes, gains, and adverse consequences, including African conflicts, and social unrest in the case of the Arab Spring in North Africa. Finally, as Africa’s population is expected to double in the next 35 years, we will examine the reasons for such a demographic explosion and its consequences. We will briefly introduce and discuss mainstream and alternative development strategies and policies to achieve inclusive development, in a sustainable manner, while managing the costs and benefits of globalization.

Course Information from the University Catalog