The Course deepens the political set-up of contemporary Africa and is aimed at providing the student with a critical knowledge of the processes of formation of the current African states and the themes of globalization in Africa .

The course is aimed, first, on the acquisition and use of the main theoretical and methodological tools for political studies on contemporary Africa (awareness of critical approaches to colonial speech and redefinition of categories, political lexicon and comparative tools). It is also aimed at knowledge of historical processes and ideological orientations that have redefined the forms of African politics in contemporary times.

In particular, the course aims at understanding of:

- Protagonists, forms and processes of the modernization of Africa.

- Redefinition of African institutions during the colonial globalization and forms of resistance to colonialism.

- Affirmation of nationalisms in African societies, change in relations between populations and territories, political mobilization, redefinition of ethnic-cultural belonging and issues of citizenship, role of boundaries in different regional contexts.

- State forms and forms of government in Africa: contemporary States.

- Resource and resource-related resource issues (case studies: Algeria, Libya, Nigeria).

- Democratization processes (XX and XXI century).

The course provides seminarial themes (on Italian colonialism, rentier state theories) and theoretical-practical exemplifications through an analysis of African national case studies (North Africa and Saharan Africa).

Further details on the program (and its partition in such lesson) will be offered through the Moodle digital platform (at the beginning of the course, attending students will receive instruction for access to the digital platform).

Course topics:

     The modernization of Africa, between the 18th and 20th centuries.
     Colonization. Colonial penetration and domination patterns.
     Independent Africa. Nationalisms and political systems. Decolonization and Cold War.
     The bipolar system and African politics.
     Case study: the Constitutions of independent states in North Africa. Comparative constitutional analysis laboratory.
     The processes of democratization. Africa after 1989.
     African integration policy. The African Union. Political integration, economic integration.

Knowledge and understanding skills. The student must demonstrate a good knowledge of the subjects of the course mentioned in the program and demonstrate the ability to understand the critique of the colonial categories. The student will also have to demonstrate that he has gained a good understanding of Africa's institutional and political map, with insights into the main issues underlying the current African political debate through case studies (knowledge and understanding).

Knowledge and understanding skills applied. The student will have to demonstrate that he has the ability to interpret and apply his/her knowledge, skills and understanding skills in deepening the different African areas, with references to specific contexts (case studies) and with an interdisciplinary approach (applying knowledge and understanding ).

Judgment autonomy. The student will need to integrate the knowledge gained during the course with those of his basic training in political and social studies and demonstrate interpretive capacity of African political processes using the making judgements.

Communicative Skills. The student will demonstrate that he/she is able to communicate his/her own knowledge in a clear and unambiguous manner, to be able to express his/her own considerations and conclusions with regard to the frontal lessons and also to the workshops or thematic seminars. The student must demonstrate his/her ability to expose the notions acquired with arguing consistency, logical-systematic rigor and language skills (communication skills).

Ability to learn. The student will have to demonstrate that he/she has developed the ability to understand the complexity of institutional processes in Africa. The student will also have to demonstrate that he/she has developed an ability to analyze African politics that will allow him/her to contextualize the current debate and to organize a self-sustaining updating of its skills (learning skills).

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Frontal teaching is integrated with the support of:

- Topic themes in seminarial form.

- Theoretical-practical examples through African national case studies..

- Digital video materials and exploration of specialized sitography for the study of African political systems (such as Constitutional records).

Teaching

Frontal lessons.

Seminars (lectures or workshops with invited speakers) are added to the frontal teaching.

Supplementary didactic tools:

video projections, laboratory sessions for providing access to information tools on African politics (eg constitutional history, resource management for rentier states, electoral processes, transnational issues of African politics).

To be able to manage the didactic activities of the course, a section on the Moodle digital platform will be active.

Attendance

In-depth study of Course books.

Course books

- A.M. Medici, A. Pallotti, M. Zamponi, L'Africa contemporanea, Mondadori-Le Monnier, Milano, 2017.

Useful readings for thematic insights will be reported on the Moodle platform during the Course.

Assessment

Assessment of learning takes place in oral form.

The oral examination is judged by vote (30/30 maximum).

The oral examination evaluates the knowledge gained in the framework of the study program, the acquisition of an appropriate vocabulary and the basic skills needed to discuss contemporary African political issues (55%). The student's synthesis skills, the aptitude for analysis and comparison, and communicative and expressive skills are also evaluated (15%). The assessment includes the evaluation of participation in the discussions during the lessons (20%) and the in-depth seminars during the course (10%).

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

Knowledge of the detail of the course program and in-depth study of Course books.

It is advisable to contact the Professor by mail at the beginning of the course; you will have access to a selection of digital materials of the Course on Moodle platform.

Course books

1) A.M. Medici, A. Pallotti, M. Zamponi, L'Africa contemporanea, Mondadori-Le Monnier, Milano, 2017, ISBN 9788800743877.

2) Non-attending students will need to add the reading of the following essay:
A.M. Medici, Mediterraneo planetario, in R. Barbanti, L. Boi, M. Neve (a cura di), Paesaggi della complessità, Mimesis, Milano 2011, pp. 351-393, ISBN  9788857507644 (see: www.academia.edu/1435251/Mediterraneo_Planetario).

Assessment

Assessment of learning takes place in oral form.

The oral examination is judged by vote (30/30 maximum).

The oral examination evaluates the knowledge gained in the framework of the study program, the acquisition of an appropriate vocabulary and the basic skills needed to discuss contemporary African political issues (65%). The student's synthesis skills, the aptitude for analysis and comparison, and communicative and expressive skills (35%) are also evaluated.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

N. B. - Course with optional materials in a foreign language: On peut soutenir l'examen en Langue française, en utilisant une bibliographie alternative / The student can request to sit the final exam in French with an alternative bibliography.

N. B. - Students attending other degree programs can agree with the teacher personalized programs for 'free choice' exams.

For further insights:

1_ Ama Mazama, Africa in the 21st Century: Toward a New Future, Routledge, 2012; R. Schulze, Il mondo musulmano nel 20° secolo, Feltrinelli, Milano 2004; Amartya Sen, La democrazia degli altri. Perché la libertà non è un'invenzione dell'Occidente, Mondadori, Milano 2004;

2_For African history before the contemporary era: Gian Paolo Calchi Novati, Pierluigi Valsecchi, Africa: la storia ritrovata. Dalle prime forme politiche agli stati nazionali, Carocci, Roma 2016.

3_ Atlas:
- The New Atlas of the Arab World, New York, Oxford, 2011.
- Allen, John M., Student atlas of world politics, Dubuque: McGraw-Hill, 2006. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/cult.html (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/africa/cuvl/cult.html) http://studidafrica.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/v1/home/PreviewArea.aspx (http://studidafrica.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/v1/home/PreviewArea.aspx) http://www.sahistory.org.za/ (http://www.sahistory.org.za/) http://allafrica.com/ (http://allafrica.com/) http://ccas.georgetown.edu/ (http://ccas.georgetown.edu/) http://w3fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/ (http://w3fp.arizona.edu/mesassoc/) http://www.mideasti.org/ (http://www.mideasti.org/) http://afriquepluriel.ruwenzori.net/atlas-total.htm (http://afriquepluriel.ruwenzori.net/atlas-total.htm) http://www.afriqueindex.com/Pays/afrique-francophone-8.htm (http://www.afriqueindex.com/Pays/afrique-francophone-8.htm)

Siti più specificamente attinenti l'articolazione dei diversi sistemi politici africani e i relativi approfondimenti costituzionali saranno segnalati durante le lezioni.

Infine, per verificare rapidamente la solidità delle proprie conoscenze di base della geografia politica dell'Africa, si può giocare con: http://www.yourchildlearns.com/mappuzzle/africa-puzzle.html (http://www.yourchildlearns.com/mappuzzle/africa-puzzle.html)