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78350-01 - Vorlesung: African Studies as Critical Inquiry (2 KP)
| Semester | Frühjahrsemester 2026 |
| Angebotsmuster | einmalig |
| Dozierende | Elisio Macamo (elisio.macamo@unibas.ch, BeurteilerIn) |
| Inhalt | African Studies is often described as an “area studies” field, i.e. a specialized body of knowledge about a specific region of the world. Yet African Studies has always been more than that. It has been a laboratory where disciplines, theories, and methodologies are tested, reconfigured, and sometimes overturned. This lecture traces the history, major debates, and current challenges of African Studies. It introduces students to key authors and controversies, but it also emphasizes African Studies as a way of rethinking the methodology of the social sciences and humanities more broadly. The course develops around three pillars: Key facts: historical developments, institutions, and authors shaping the field. Key ideas: theories, concepts, and debates that have defined African Studies. Key skills: critical thinking, reflexivity, and the ability to translate scholarship into broader societal and policy debates. Students will come to see African Studies not as a bounded discipline, but as an ongoing intellectual project inspired by a commitment to rigorous scholarship that critiques its own shortcomings in order to improve itself. Following the intellectual agenda of the Centre for African Studies in Basel, the course is guided by the motto: “Studying Africa, Understanding the World.” |
| Lernziele | By the end of the lecture, students will: • Understand the historical trajectories of African Studies, from colonial knowledge to postcolonial and decolonial debates. • Engage with major disciplinary approaches (anthropology, history, political science, philosophy, literature). • Critically assess how African Studies has confronted questions of capitalism, globalization, and neoliberalism. • Develop skills in framing, reframing, and questioning dominant categories. • Learn to apply African Studies insights to contemporary academic and policy debates. |
| Bemerkungen | Relevance: African Studies is uniquely positioned to address the epistemological potential, but also the shortcomings of other frameworks such as postcolonialism and decolonization in two relevant ways: Commitment to scholarship: Critique is valuable only if it strengthens scholarship. African Studies’ task is not to discard knowledge traditions, but to use critique to improve them. “Studying Africa, understanding the world”: African Studies provides more than regional expertise; it challenges the very foundations of how knowledge is produced and opens pathways to rethinking global social sciences and humanities. |
| Unterrichtssprache | Englisch |
| Einsatz digitaler Medien | kein spezifischer Einsatz |
| Intervall | Wochentag | Zeit | Raum |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Freitag | 10.15-12.00 | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
Einzeltermine
| Datum | Zeit | Raum |
|---|---|---|
| Freitag 20.02.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 27.02.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Fasnachtsferien |
| Freitag 06.03.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 13.03.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 20.03.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 27.03.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 03.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Ostern |
| Freitag 10.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 17.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 24.04.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 01.05.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Tag der Arbeit |
| Freitag 08.05.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Freitag 15.05.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Auffahrt |
| Freitag 22.05.2026 | 10.15-12.00 Uhr | Rosshofgasse (Schnitz), Seminarraum S 01 |
| Module |
Modul: Basics: Sociology (Master Studiengang: African Studies) Modul: Europäisierung und Globalisierung (Masterstudium: European Global Studies) Modul: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master Studiengang: African Studies) Modul: Interdisziplinäres Seminar (Masterstudium: European Global Studies) Modul: Politik, Entwicklung und soziale Ungleichheit (Bachelor Studienfach: Soziologie) Modul: Transfer: Europa interdisziplinär (Master Studiengang: Europäische Geschichte in globaler Perspektive ) Modul: Ungleichheit, Konflikt, Kultur (Master Studienfach: Soziologie) Modul: Wirtschaft, Wissen und Kultur (Bachelor Studienfach: Soziologie) |
| Prüfung | Lehrveranst.-begleitend |
| Hinweise zur Prüfung | Three short response papers (facts and ideas synthesis). Final paper/project: Reflect on a controversy in African Studies, bridging theory and practice. |
| An-/Abmeldung zur Prüfung | Anmelden: Belegen; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| Wiederholungsprüfung | keine Wiederholungsprüfung |
| Skala | Pass / Fail |
| Belegen bei Nichtbestehen | nicht wiederholbar |
| Zuständige Fakultät | Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Anbietende Organisationseinheit | Fachbereich Soziologie |