Week One

Week 1 Day 1

PSCI0202-s19-Week-1-Day-1

  Africa is a big and diverse continent

 1. BIG

  •  Size of continent
  •  Number of nation-states 54 total; 49 in Sub-Saharan Africa

(25% of UN member-states are African)

2. DIVERSE

  • Country sizes
  • Population sizes
  • Population density
  • Languages
  1. Afro-Asiatic
  2. Nilo-Saharan
  3. Niger-Congo/Bantu
  4. Khoisan
  5. Austronesian

     ·         Religions and other value systems 

·         Climates, Ecosystems, Vegetation 

·         Natural Resources 

·         Wealth and Power 

3. Why Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (Which countries are included/excluded)? 

[4. Can We, Should We Generalize?]

Week 1 Day 2

PSCI0202-f19-Week-1-Day-2

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

How is society organized socially and politically?

Would you describe the system as democratic? If so, why? If not, why not?

The Constitution of the Mali Empire

What aspects of society does this constitution regulate?

What, if anything, surprises you about this constitution?