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79633-01 - Practical course: Commemorating a Complicated Past. 200 Years of the Basel Mission in Ghana (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Julia Tischler (julia.tischler@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This hands-on Übung seeks to develop ways of addressing the upcoming bicentenary of the Basel Mission’s first landing in Ghana. The Basel Mission, founded in 1815, developed into one of the largest German-speaking missions. Ghana was one of the first territories to which Basel missionaries were sent, with the first group of missionaries arriving in the then Gold Coast in 1828. From troublesome and turbulent beginnings, the BM eventually managed to establish a stable presence in southern Ghana. Today, traces of the mission’s work are still highly visible in the form of schools and hospitals, cemeteries, churches, but also as central features in family histories and religious self-identifications. Assessments of the BM’s legacy have undergone dramatic changes. From early heroic accounts of perseverance, sacrifice and salvation to much more critical perspectives on how the BM devalued, intervened in, and sought to change local belief systems and cultural practices. The Übung focusses on the question of how, from a Basel-based perspective, we are to commemorate this complicated past and legacy as well as its practical implications. Our work will be project based, seeking to develop concrete public history interventions. |
| Bibliography | Miller, Jon. Missionary Zeal and Institutional Control: Organizational Contradictions in the Basel Mission on the Gold Coast, 1828-1917. Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003. Quartey, Seth. Mission Practices on the Gold Coast, 1832-1895. New York: Cambria Press, 2007. Schweizer, Peter A. Survivors on the Gold Coast: The Basel Missionaries in Colonial Ghana. Accra: Smartline Publishing, 2000. Ratschiller Nasim, Linda. Medical Missionaries and Colonial Knowledge in West Africa and Europe, 1885-1914. New York: Palgrave, 2023. Please also consult the website of a previous collaborative research programme: baselfo.ch |
| Admission requirements | BA and MA students of History and African Studies as well as related programmes (Global European Studies, Critical Urbanisms, Social Anthropology, Theology ...). Prior knowledge of the Basel Mission's history is an advantage, but not a requirement (students with no prior knowledge might be asked to do a bit of extra reading). |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Friday | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 18.09.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 25.09.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 02.10.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 09.10.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 16.10.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 23.10.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 30.10.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 06.11.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 13.11.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 20.11.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 27.11.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Dies Academicus |
| Friday 04.12.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 11.12.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Friday 18.12.2026 | 08.15-10.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 3 |
| Modules |
Electives Bachelor History: Recommendations (Bachelor's degree subject: History) Modul: Antike / monotheistische / aussereuropäische Religionen (Bachelor's degree subject: Study of Religion) Modul: Areas: Afrika (Master's degree program: European History in Global Perspective) Module: Europeanization and Globalization (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Module: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Fields: Media and Imagination (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Interdisciplinary and Applied African Studies (Master's degree program: African Studies) Wahlbereich Master Geschichte: Empfehlungen (Master's degree subject: History) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | This Übung emphasizes independent research work (in groups). |
| 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 |