This is an advanced Kiswahili course which will engage learners in extended spoken and written discourse. Advanced learners of Kiswahili will listen to, read about, write and speak on authentic video materials, contemporary novels, and newspapers. They will also participate in various discussions on cultural and political issues.

The objectives of this course are: to strengthen students' knowledge of speaking, listening, reading, and writing Swahili and to compare it with the language of the students; to learn more about the cultures of East Africa and to compare it with the culture(s) of the students; to consider the relationship between that knowledge and the knowledge of other disciplines; and using that knowledge, to unite students with communities outside of class.

This course is designed to provide the students with a broad understanding of the history of Islam in Africa. The focus will be mostly on West Africa, but we will also look at developments in other regions of the continent. We will examine the process of islamization in Africa and the interplay between Islam and the African traditional religions and customs. Topics include conversion, Islamic education and literacy, the status of women, Muslim responses to European colonial domination, Islamic mysticism, and the contemporary development of Sunni movements.

This course will deal with law and society in Africa. After surveying the various legal systems in Africa, the focus will be on how and to what extent the countries of Africa "re-Africanized" their legal systems by reconciling their indigenous law with western law and other legal traditions to create unified legal systems that are used as instruments of social change and development. Toward this end, the experiences of various African countries covering the various legal traditions will be included. Specific focus will be on laws covering both economic and social relations. This emphasis includes laws of contracts and civil wrongs, land law, law of succession, marriage and divorce and Africa's laws of International Relations, among other laws. Throughout this course a comparative analysis with non-African countries will be stressed.