Activity
SEM
Title (text only)
CONFLCT GEOGRAPHIES IN AFRICA (& PHILA):SPACES OF WAR, MEMORY & RESISTANCE
Term session
0
Term
2018A
Subject area
AFRC
Section number only
401
Section ID
AFRC328401
Meeting times
M 0200PM-0500PM
Meeting location
JAFFE BUILDING B17
Instructors
WENDEL, DELIA
Description
This course will primarily consider case studies in Africa with a view to drawing comparisons with conflict geographies here at home (in Philadelphia or where you consider home to be). Conflicts on the African continent are some of the least well understood by lay publics; often characterized as the result of pre-modern tribalism and a naturalized consequence of state dysfunction or resource scarcity. In this course, we will demystify the notion that war is inevitable or that some cultures are naturally prone to conflict. We will do so by examining some of the underlying challenges to consensus and peace in cities and countries in Africa, drawing connection to conditions, both historic and contemporary, that exist closer to home. After all-and as recent conflict conflict geographies such as the Dakota Access Pipeline, Charlottesville Rally, and Women's March remind us-spaces and communities in in the United States are rife with struggle and contestation. Throughout the semester, we will ask: How do individuals experience conflict? What roles do spaces have in structuring oppression, activating conflicts, resisting power, and building peace? How is the study of conflict-understood as both routine contestation and violent confrontation-informed by research on built and natural environments? This is a course that will require the active
participation of every individual-in completing all readings, preparing questions and comments, and debating issues with respect and openness. There are no other prerequisites for this course, nor preferred disciplinary concentrations. We will draw from our collective experiences (academic and and personal) to discuss research in diverse fields, including Anthropology, Conflict and Peace Studies, Geography, Political Ecology, and Urban Studies.
participation of every individual-in completing all readings, preparing questions and comments, and debating issues with respect and openness. There are no other prerequisites for this course, nor preferred disciplinary concentrations. We will draw from our collective experiences (academic and and personal) to discuss research in diverse fields, including Anthropology, Conflict and Peace Studies, Geography, Political Ecology, and Urban Studies.
Course number only
328
Use local description
No