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79640-01 - Practical course: Women’s Rights Activism: African Histories, Global Connections (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Claire Nicolas (claire.nicolas@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This course invites students to engage with African women activists across history, centering their perspectives, voices, and political thought. Focusing primarily on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the class explores the diverse strategies African women developed to advance women’s rights and anticolonial agendas. Spanning the African continent and its diasporas, the course introduces students to a wide range of activist repertoires, including protest movements, newspaper writing, trade union organizing, and armed struggle. It also examines how women activists operated within varied political systems, from local arenas of power to transnational networks forged through international travel. The Ubung is assessed on a Fail/Pass basis. Each week, we will have an activity focusing on sources, such as movies, interviews, literature and newspapers. Students are expected to attend the day-visit to the World’s Young Women’s Christian Association’s Archives (Geneva) and produce an analysis of the material they collected. This should include voices and perspectives from African members of the association and situate them within a broader political context at local, national and international level. |
| Bibliography | Amadiume, Ifi. Daughters of the Goddess, Daughters of Imperialism: African Women Struggle for Culture, Power and Democracy. Zed Books, 2000. Joseph-Gabriel, Annette K. Reimagining Liberation: How Black Women Transformed Citizenship in the French Empire. University of Illinois Press, 2020. Tchouta Mougoué, Jacqueline-Bethel. Gender, Separatist Politics, and Embodied Nationalism in Cameroon. University of Michigan Press, 2020. |
| Admission requirements | Studierende der Geschichte aller Studienstufen sowie Studierende anderer Studienfächer, in deren Module die Übung verknüpft ist. Bei Überbelegung werden Studierende der Geschichte bevorzugt zugelassen. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 17.09.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 24.09.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 01.10.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 08.10.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 15.10.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 22.10.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 29.10.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 05.11.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 12.11.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 19.11.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 26.11.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 03.12.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 10.12.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Thursday 17.12.2026 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
| Modules |
Electives Bachelor History: Recommendations (Bachelor's degree subject: History) Modul: Areas: Afrika (Master's degree program: European History in Global Perspective) Modul: Spezialisierung «Geschichte und Polititsche Bildung» (Master's Studies: Subject-Specific Teaching and Learning) Module: Europeanization and Globalization (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Module: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Topics and Debates in Gender Studies (Bachelor's degree subject: Gender Studies) Module: Topics and Theories of Social Anthropology (Bachelor's degree subject: Social Anthropology) Specialization Module Global Europe: Work, Migration and Society (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Wahlbereich Master Geschichte: Empfehlungen (Master's degree subject: History) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Departement Geschichte |