AFRICAN STUDIES
(AS) {AFST}
Undergraduate Courses
SM 018. (ANTH018) Popular Culture
in Africa. (C) Barnes.
Freshman Seminar.
This course concentrates on popular culture in sub-Saharan
Africa. It examines the way people reflect on
and represent various aspects and issues in their daily
lives, in public media, and through a diverse range
of performative and creative outlets. It explores
the way cultural traditions are created, promulgated,
and perpetuated. It looks at the way popular
culture deals with pleasure and pain; identitity, difference,
and diversity; wealth and power; modernity and history;
gender relations; suppression, resistance, and violence;
and local versus global processes. In short,
popular culture will serve as a window through which
to observe contemporary life.
050. (AFRC050, ANTH022, FOLK022,
MUSC050) World Musics and Cultures. (C) Arts & Letters Sector. All Classes. Muller.
Draws on repertories of various societies from Asia, Africa,
Europe, and the Americas to examine relations between
aesthetic productions and social processes. We
investigate musical sounds, cultural logics informing
those sounds, and social strategies of performance. Topics
may include indigenous music theories, music and social
organization, symbolic expressions and musical meaning,
gender, religion, and social change.
062. (NELC062) Land of the Pharaohs.
(M) History & Tradition
Sector. All classes. Silverman/Wegner.
This course provides an introduction to the society, culture
and history of ancient Egypt. The objective of
the course is to provide an understanding of how ancient
Egypt emerged as one of the most successful and long-lived
civilizations in world history.
071. (AFRC071, ENGL071) Literatures
of Africa and the African Diaspora. (M) Distribution Course in Arts &
Letters. Class of 2009 & prior only.
This course will serve as an introduction to a particularly
rich arena of literature in English. It will
also help students to begin to understand many of the
racial subtexts underlying the culture wars in America,
where too often, in the full glare of cameras, an anguished
voice informs the audience that
"as an African, I cannot expect justice in this America." One of
the things at work here is the assumption of a common African diasporic identity
-- understood as an excluded, marginalized subtext of identity in the new world.
But why is Africa being invoked here? What does "Africa" mean
in this new world context? What is the larger global
context of these assumptions about "Africa" and
what is its history? Does the term "Africa" itself
have a history? What is "African literature?" This
course, therefore, will also help students not only to
ask fundamental questions about identity but also to
understand identity as a moving and dynamic construct.
How, for example does "Africa" travel to South
America, to the Caribbean Archipelago, and to Europe?
See the English
Department's website at www.english.upenn.edu for a
description of the current offerings.
L/R 075. (AFRC075, HIST075) Africa
Before 1800. (B) History
& Tradition Sector. All classes. Babou, Cassanelli.
Survey of major themes and issues in African history before
1800. Topics include: early civilizations, African
kingdoms and empires, population movements, the spread
of Islam, the slave trade era. Also, emphasis
on how historians use archaeology, linguistics, and
oral traditions to reconstruct Africa's early history.
L/R 076. (AFRC076, HIST076) Africa
Since 1800. (A) History
& Tradition Sector. All classes. Cassanelli.
Survey of major themes, events, and personalities in African
history from the early nineteenth century through the
1990s. Topics include abolition of the slave
trade, European imperialism, impact of colonial rule,
African religious and cultural movements, rise of nationalism
and pan-Africanism, issues of ethnicity and identity
in modern Africa.
SM 107. (HIST106) Freshman Seminar: World after 1800. (C) Distribution Course in Hist &
Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior only. Babou.
135. (AFRC135, SOCI135) Law &
Society. (A) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Fetni.
After introducing students to the major theoretical concepts
concerning law and society, significanat controversial
societal issues that deal with law and the legal systems
both domestically and internationally will be examined.
Class discussions will focus on issues involving civil
liberties, the organization of courts, legislatures,
the legal profession and administrative agencies. Although
the focus will be on law in the United States, law
and society in other countries of Africa, Asia, Europe,
and Latin America will be covered in a comparative
context. Readings include research reports, statutes
and cases.
168. (NELC168, GSOC168) Women in Ancient Egypt. (M) Distribution
Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Houser, Wegner.
190. (AFRC190, ANTH190, HIST190)
Introduction to Africa. (A) Society Sector. All classes. Barnes.
During the semester we will focus on people and communties
of sub-Saharan Africa and on the ways people represent,
reflect on, and react to various aspects and issues
in their lives and the institutions which dominate
their communities. We will focus particularly
on the history, contemporary expression, and inter-relationships
among politics, religion, and aesthetic practice. Members
of Penn's African Studies community will share their
expertise with the class and introduce the University's
Africa resources. Texts consist of weekly readings,
films, and recordings; and class members will be expected
to attend several lectures outside of class.
SM 206. (HIST206) Major Seminar of the World after 1800.
(C) Distribution
Course in Hist & Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Staff.
210. (AFRC210, HIST250, RELS210)
African Religions. (M) Ofosu-Donkoh.
Religion permeates all aspects of African life and thought.
There is no dichotomy between religion and society in
Africa. Religion is therefore an essential
tool for understanding and appreciating the behavior
and lifestyle of African peoples. In this course,
we will survey some of the indigenous religions of
Africa and examine their nature and their philosophical
foundations. We will examine African systems
of beliefs, myths, symbols, and rituals, as developed
by African societies to express their distinctive
worldviews. We will also raise a few general
questions about the interrelationship of religion
and culture as well as religion and social change
in Africa, and the challenges of modern technologies
to African beliefs. We will examine the future
of African religions and analyze the extent to which
African peoples can hold on to their beliefs in this
age of rapid technological and scientific development. Emphasis
will be on themes rather than on individual, national,
or ethnic religions. Case Studies will be limited
to West Africa among the Akan of Ghana, the Yoruba
of Nigeria, and the Mende of Sierra Leone.
Questions are provided (a) to guide and direct reading
(b) to form the basis for discussions (c) as exercises
and (d) for examinations.
213. (AFRC203, FOLK203) Introduction
to Afro-American Folklore. (C) May be counted as a General Requirement Course in History & Tradition.
Class of 2009 & prior only. Staff.
An overview of the major forms of expressive culture developed
by Afro-Americans. The course focuses on the
continuous development of black cultural expression
from slavery to present, emphasizing the socio-historical
context in which they are to be understood and interpreted.
SM 214. (AFRC214, ANTH214) Societies
and Cultures of Africa. (M) Distribution Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only. Kopytoff.
An introduction to the peoples and cultures of Sub-Saharan
Africa, including cultural history, vocabularies, traditional
social and political structures, and traditional religion.
225. (AFRC225) African Languages
and Culture. (C) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only.
Mbeje.
The aim of the course is to provide a general perspective
on African languages and African linguistics. No
background in linguistics is necessary. Students
will be introduced to theoretical linguistics-its concepts,
theories, ways of argumentation, data collection, data
analysis, and data interpretation. The focus
will be on the languages and linguistics of Africa
to provide you with the knowledge and skills required
to handle the language and language-related issues
typical of African conditions. We will cover
topics related to formal linguistics (phonology/phonetics,
morphology, syntax, and semantics), aspects of pragmatics
as well as the general socio-linguistic character of
African countries. We will also cover language
in context, language and culture, borrowing, multilingualism,
and cross-cultural communication in Africa.
SM 230. (AFRC230) Law in Africa. (M) Distribution
Course in Society. Class of 2009 & prior only.
Fetni.
This course will deal with law and society in Africa. After
surveying the various legal systems in Africa, the
focus will be on how and to what extent the countries
of Africa "re-Africanized" their legal systems
by reconciling their indigenous law with western law
and other legal traditions to create unified legal
systems that are used as instruments of social change
and development. Toward this end, the experiences
of various African countries covering the various legal
traditions will be included.
Specific focus will be on laws covering both economic
and social relations.
This emphasis includes laws of contracts and civil wrongs,
land law, law of succession, marriage and divorce and
Africa's laws of International Relations, among other
laws. Throughout this course a comparative analysis
with non-African countries will be stressed.
SM 231. (AFRC231, CINE248, FREN231)
Francophone African Cinema. (M) Moudileno.
This course will introduce students to recent films by major
directors from Francophone Africa. While attention
will be given to aesthetic aspects and individual creativity,
the viewing and discussions will be mostly organized
arounda variety of (overlapping) themes: History; Tradition/modernity;
Urban Life; Gender and sexuality; Politics. Class
conducted in French.
233. (FOLK233) Tradition and Modernity.
(M) Staff.
"Despite the overwhelming reality of economic decline;
despite unimaginable poverty; despite wars, malnutrition,
disease and political instability, African cultural
productivity grows apace: popular literatures, oral
narrative and poetry, dance, drama, and visual art
all thrive."-- Kwame Anthony Appiah from In My
Father's House
What role(s) does
folklore play in the lives of Africans today? How
has folklore adapted to the realities of contemporary,
urban Africa? This course will investigate the
continuation of traditional elements produced in diverse
media and circumstances in a modern, largely urban,
Africa. Although traditional African culture
has been transformed and changed in the face of rapid
urbanization and modernity, it continues to provide
a means through which people enjoy themselves and comment
on a wide range of issues affecting their lives. Issues
such as identity, difference, and diversity; tradition
and history; modernity and development; wealth and
power; politics and political change; and gender relations.
235. Africans Abroad: Emigrants,
Refugees, and Citizens in the New African Diaspora.
(M) Cassanelli.
This seminar will examine the experiences of recent emigrants
and refugees from Africa, including many now living
in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding region. In
addition to reading some of the historical and comparative
literature on migration, ethnic diasporas, and transnationalism,
students will have the opportunity to conduct research
on specific African communities in Philadelphia or
elsewhere in North America, Europe, or the Middle East. African
emigres' relations with both their home and host societies
will be explored and compared with the experience of
other immigrant groups over the past century. Topics
include reasons for leaving Africa, patterns of economic
and educational adaptation abroad, changes in gender
and generational roles, issues of cultural and political
identity, and the impact of national immigration policies.
253. (AFRC253, FOLK253, GSOC253,
MUSC253) Music and Performance of Africa. (M) Muller. Prerequisite(s): Completion of MUSC 050 is
recommended.
This class provides an overview of the most popular musical
styles, and discussion of the cultural and political
contexts in which they emerged in contemporary Africa. We
will cover sub-Saharan and North Africa with a strong
focus on southern Africa. Learning to perform
a limited range of African music/dance will be a part
of this course. No prior performance experience
required,though completion of Music 050 is recommended.
257. (AFRC257, PSCI210) Contemporary
African Politics. (C) Callaghy.
This course will consist of an analytic survey of post-colonial
politics in the states of Sub-Saharan Africa. It
will focus on the complex relationships between state,
society, economy, and external actors and will offer
a conceptual framework, which takes into account forms
of politics that are often highly fluid, personalized,
and authoritarian in character. Particular attention
will be paid this term to Africa's pervasive economic
crisis, internal and external efforts to cope with
it, and its relationship to recent moves back toward
forms of democratic politics. A special focus
this term will be the political economy and violence
of failing states.
268. (GSOC268) Women and Human Rights in Africa. (A) Kadende-Kaiser.
292. (AFRC260, RELS211) African
Religous Culture in Nigeria and in the African Diaspora.
(M) Distribution Course in Society. Class
of 2009 & prior only. Staff.
This survey course focuses on African Religous culture in
Nigeria and in the African Diaspora. Students
will be introduced to the ritual and philosophical
foundations of Yoruba religion and culture. This
course emphasizes the incorporative nature and heterogeneity
of problematize essentialisms and stereotypes about
these religious systems by paying close attention to
the ethnographic details, historical contexts, philosophical
underpinnings, and political developments of each religion
in their region.
Traditions we will be exploring are: Ifa Divination in
Nigeria and Benin; Santeria and Regla de Ocha in Cuba
and the United States; Vodoun in Haiti; Shango in Trinidad;
Candomble and Umbanda in Brazil; and the American Yoruba
Movement in the United States. Course readings
will provide a theoretical and informative basis for
dealing with the concepts of syncretism, creolization,
and ethnicity.
SM 301. (AFRC301) Africa and the African
Diaspora. (M) Distribution
Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Nwadiora.
This course will take the form of an introductory seminar
designed to provide undergraduate students an overview
of significant themes and issues focusing on the historical,
political and cultural relationships between Africans
and their descendants abroad. It will encompass:
a review of different historical periods and geographical
locations, from Ancient Egypt to modern American, Caribbean
and African states; a critical evaluation of social
movements and theories that have developed in the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries among scholars of different
origins in their attempt to reconstruct Africa as a
center and the Diaspora as a specific cultural space;
and, an exploration of representations of Africa and
the Diaspora in canonical literary works and other
forms of fiction like the visual arts.
SM 354. (ARTH354) African Art &
Culture. (A) Distribution
Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Blakely.
African art is a rich and varied field of study encompassing
visual arts and architecture of ancient cultures, regional
artistic traditions of diverse peoples in more recent
precolonial and colonial times, and contemporary artists,
both self-taught and formally trained. The principal
goals of this course are to help students to appreciate
the scope of this field while also gaining in-depth
understanding of particular African artistic traditions,
artists, and artworks within specific historical and
cultural contexts. Topics to be considered include
persistent misconceptions about African art; indigenous
African aesthetics; semiotics of African visual signs
and sign systems; roles of "traditional artists" in
African societies; gender issues in art production,
representation, and performance; historical contacts
and cultural interaction; spiritual, therapeutic, and
political uses of art; and interrelations of visual
art with verbal and kinesthetic expression.
SM 390. (AFRC391, FREN390) Survey
Francophone Lit. (M) Moudileno.
This class will explore the African city as a site of colonial
and postcolonial exchanges by way of twentieth-century
European and African representations. We will
examine, on the one hand, the status of the urban located
in Africa in European works from the colonial period
(fiction and non-ficiton including Gide, Leiris, Londres). On
the other hand, we will study Africans, focusing on
the dreams and transformations involved in the passage
from the village to the city to the metropole. Essays
from history, sociology, urban studies and postcolonial
theory will supplement the study of the primary texts. All
readings, class discussions and written assignments
in French.
SM 393. (ENGL393) Topics in Literature & Society: South
African Literature. (C) Distribution Course in Arts & Letters. Class of 2009 & prior
only. Barnard.
467. (NELC467) Introduction to
Egyptian Culture and Archaeology. (B) Wegner.
Covers principal aspects of ancient Egyptian culture (enviornment,
urbanisma, religion, technology, etc.) with special
focus on archaeological data; includes study of University
Museum artifacts.
484. (AFST590) Aspects of Kiswahili
Language, History, and Culture. (M) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Completion of Advanced Swahili
I & II.
This course taught in Kiswahili will focus on reading/writing
skills and speaking/listening skills as well as structural
and cultural information. The course will be
structured around three thematic units: History, Politics,
and Education. The course will provide resources
for the Swahili speaking world: Who are first language
speakers and the varieties they speak? How did
Swahili spread from the coast to other Swahili speaking
areas as far inland as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and
Congo. Swahili is a lingua franca and its importance
in the spread of religion and in trade movements.
Influence of other languages on Swahili and influence
of Swahili on local languages will be discussed. Political
and educational systems will be discussed as well.
SM 489. (AFRC488, HIST489) Africans
Abroad: Emigrants, Refugees, and Citizens in the
New African Diaspora. (M) Distribution Course in Hist &
Tradition. Class of 2009 & prior only. Cassanelli.
This seminar will examine the experiences of recent emigrants
and refugees from Africa, including many now living
in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding region. In
addition to reading some of the historical and comparative
literature on migration, ethnic diasporas, and transnationalism,
students will have the opportunity to conduct research
on specific African communities in Philadelphia or
elsewhere in North America, Europe, or the Middle East. African
emigres' relations with both their home and host societies
will be explored and compared with the experience of
other immigrant groups over the past century. Topics
include reasons for leaving Africa, patterns of economic
and educational adaptation abroad, changes in gender
and generational roles, issues of cultural and political
identity, and the impact of national immigration policies.
Graduate Courses
SM 511. (HIST511) African Cultural
History. (C) Feierman.
This seminar will investigate the cultural history of Africa,
with a special emphasis on concepts and methods. Topics
include the history of religion before and during the
colonial period, the social context of knowledge transmitted
orally or through literate means, the circulation of
ideas, images, and practices, the changing nature and
significance of popular culture and the cultural significance
of popular social movements. Examples will be
drawn from the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.
514. (AFRC514, ANTH514) Anthropology
of Africa. (M) Kopytoff.
African culture history, as inferred from archaeology, linguistic
relationships and ethnology. Culture areas of
Africa and representative societies; common themes
and differences; significance for anthropological concerns.
SM 572. (AFRC572, COML575, ENGL586)
Topics in African Literature. (M) Barnard.
This course is concerned with the context, and an aspect of
the content and form, of African Literature. It
is based on a selection of representative text written
in English, as well as a few texts in English translation. It
involves first, a study of themes relating to social
change and the persistence of cultural traditions,
followed by an attempt at sketching the emergence of
literary tradition by identifying some of the formal
conventions established b the writers in their use
of old forms and experiments with new.
SM 593. (AFRC593, FREN593) Studies-Francophone
Literature. (M) Moudileno.
Topics will vary. Seminar will focus on one area, author,
or "problematique" in Francophone studies. Examples
of area-focused seminar: The African Contemporary novel
or Francophone Caribbean writers.
Example of single-author seminar: "The Poetry and
Drama of Aime Cesaire.
Examples of thematic approach: writing and national identity;
postcolonial conditions, autobiography.
SM 620. (ENVS620) Topics on African
Environmental Issues. (B) Fonjweng.
Africa is
a land of great contrasts and possesses a rich mix
of scenic beauty, impressive biodiversity, many cultures,
economies and interesting history. Almost completely
encircled by water and home to a network of some of
the world's largest and longest rivers, Africa is also
home to two vast and expanding hot deserts. While
Africa contains enormous amounts of mineral wealth,
it also has fifteen of the world's least developed
countries. Its climate ranges from the harsh
extremes in hot deserts to the Arctic Current dominated
temperate climate of the southern tip of Africa and
the pleasant Mediterranean climate of North Africa.
Africa's remarkable
ecological diversity is unique and is an expression
of the varied climates in the continent, with camels
in Egypt, Goliath frogs (the largest frogs in the world)
in Cameroon and the African penguins in Namibia and
South Africa. Africa has extensive fertile grasslands
and lush equatorial forests, yet many of its people
suffer from hunger and starvation. Despite possessing
some of the most scenic and pristine landscapes in
the world, poor resource management has resulted in
serious environmental problems in various parts of
Africa, including air and water pollution, deforestation,
loss of soil & soil fertility and a dramatic decline
in biodiversity through out the continent.
This course aims
to explore Africa's natural environment and the impact
of human activities on it. Each semester the
course will offer an overview of Africa's environment
as it relates to one of the following two topics 1)
Water issues; 2)Environmental impact of development
projects, natural resource extraction and consumption. Each
semester, in addition to analyzing one of the above
topics, we will pick a couple of case studies from
within the US that can be used to show parallels between
some of the issues discussed in the African case studies. The
students will be asked to conduct research on a relevant
topic in any region in Africa for a paper due at the
end of the semester.
SM 628. (HIST628) Africa in the Wider
World: Connections, Contexts, Comparisons. (A) Cassanelli.
This seminar is aimed at students of history, culture, literature,
and the arts in the Americas, Europe, or Asia, who
need to know something about African history and culture
for their own research or studies.
It is intended to help students identify, analyze, and
incorporate selected scholarship on Africa into their
particular area or disciplinary specializations. Topics
covered include slavery and slave societies; diasporas
and migrations, linguistic, religious and cultural transfers
and survivals; and issues of identity, assimilation,
nationalism, and pan-Africanism. we want to ask:
how much African history, culture, language, and social
structure do Americanists or other non-specialists need
to know to do sound scholarship?
What comparative questions should we be asking about
Africa, and how can we find and utilize data that is
reliable and relevant to our our own work.
SM 630. (HIST630, HSSC630) African
History: Core Issues of Social Process. (C) Feierman.
This graduate seminar explores the literature of African history
while trying to find ways to understand history which
happens on unfamiliar social and cultural terrain. The
terrain is unfamiliar because the words professional
historians use, and the underlying assumptions about
social process, show the marks of many generations
of writing about Europe. The standard histories,
then, are torn between describing events in terms of
European social process, in which case they do violence
to the history, or finding a historical language which
is closer to being locally grounded but unfamiliar
to a western audience. In this course we study
a number of core issues of social process. Each one
is meant to direct attention to a complex of local
social forms, and each is at the heart of a major body
of writings of African history. A tentative list
of topics includes the following: Oral tradition; knowledge
and identity; ecology and ethnicity; forms of local
authority and state power; ritual, conquest, and the
transformation of political authority; political economy;
gender and personal dependency; the ecological history
of disease; popular associations and the state; the
local bases of nationalism.
SM 701. (AFRC701, ANTH701, ENVS701,
HIST701) Graduate Seminar in African Studies. (B) Staff.
Topics vary. Please consult The African Studies Center
for details.
SM 705. (AFRC705, ANTH705, FOLK715,
MUSC705, GSOC705) Seminar in Ethnomusicology. (A) Muller.
Seminar on selected topics in Ethnomusicology.
SM 775. (ENGL775) South African Literature.
(M) Barnard.
An advanced seminar in anglophone African literature, possibly
including a few works in translation.
African Language Courses
170. (AFRC170, AFST517) Elementary
Yoruba I. (A) Awoyale.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
The Elementary Yoruba I course can be taken to fulfill a language
requirement, or for linguistic preparation to do research
on Nigeria and the diaspora/Africa-related topics. The
course emphasizes communicative competence to enable
the students to acquire linguistic and extra-linguistic
skills in Yoruba. The content of the course is
selected from various everyday life situations to enable
the students to communicate in predictable common daily
settings. Culture, as it relates to language
use, is also part of the course content.
Students will acquire
the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills
at the mid-high novice level, based on the ACTFL scale. The
mid-high novice level proficiency skills that the students
will acquire constitute threshold capabilibilities
of the second semester range of proficiency to prepare
students for Elementary Yoruba II course materials.
171. (AFRC171, AFST518) Elementary
Yoruba II. (B) Awoyale. Prerequisite(s): Completion of Elementary Yoruba I, or permission
of instructor. Offered through Penn Language Center.
The main objective of this course is to further sharpen the
Yoruba linquistic knowledge that the student acquired
in level I. By the end of the course, the student
should be able to (1) read, write, and understand simple
to moderately complex sentences in Yoruba; and, (2)
advance in the knowledge of the Yoruba culture.
180. (AFRC180, AFST580) Elementary
Swahili I. (A) Mshomba. Offered through Penn Language Center.
The elementary Swahili I course can be taken to fulfill a
language requirement, or for linguistic preparation
to do research on East Africa/Africa-related topics. The
course emphasizes communicative compentence to enable
the students to acquire linguistic and extra-linguistic
skills in Swahili. The content of the course
is selected from various everyday life situations to
enable the students to communicate in predictable common
daily settings. Culture, as it relates to language
use, is also part of the course content.
Students will acquire
the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills
at the mid-high novice level, based on the ACTFL scale. The
mid-high level proficiency skills that the students
will acquire constitute threshold capabilities of the
second semester range of proficiency to prepare students
for Elementary Swahili II course materials.
181. (AFRC181, AFST581) Elementary
Swahili II. (B) Mshomba. Prerequisite(s): Completion of Elementary Swahili I, or permission
of instructor. Offered through Penn Language Center.
This course continues to introduce basic grammar, vocabulary,
and the reading and writing of Swahili to new speakers. During
this term, folktales, other texts, and film selections
are used to help introduce important aspects of Swahili
culture and the use of the language in wide areas of
Africa.
185. (AFRC185, AFST585) Elementary Swahili: Accelerated.
(C) Staff.
Offered through the Penn Language Center.
240. (AFRC240, AFRC540, AFST540,
NELC481) Elementary Amharic I. (A) Wogayehu. Offered through Penn Language Center.
The Elementary Amharic I course can be taken to fulfill a
language requirement, or for linguistic preparation
to do research on Ethiopia/Africa-related topics. The
course emphasizes communicative competence to enable
the students to acquire linguistic and extra-linguistic
skills in Amharic. The content of the course
is selected from various everyday life situations to
enable the students to communicate in predictable common
daily settings.
Culture, as it relates to language use, is also part
of the course content.
Students will acquire
the speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills
at the mid-high novice level, based on the ACTFL scale. The
mid-high novice level proficiency skills that the students
will acquire constitute threshold capabilities of the
second semester range of proficiency to prepare students
for Elementary Amharic II course materials.
241. (AFRC241, AFRC541, AFST541,
NELC482) Elementary Amharic II. (B) Wogayehu. Prerequisite(s): Completion of Elementary Amharic
I, or permission of the instructor. Offered through
Penn Language Center.
Continuation of Elementary Amharic I.
242. (AFRC242, AFRC543, AFST543, NELC483) Intermediate
Amharic I. (A) Wogayehu.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
243. (AFRC243, AFRC544, AFST544, NELC484) Intermediate
Amharic II. (B) Wogayehu.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
245. (AFST545) Intensive Elementary Amharic I and II.
(M) Wogayehu.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
247. (AFRC247, AFRC548, AFST547,
NELC583) Advanced Amharic. (C) Wogayehu. Offered through Penn Language Center.
An advanced Amharic course that will further sharpen the students'
knowledge of the Amharic language and the culture of
the Amharas.
The learners communicative skills will be further developed
through listening, speaking, reading and writing. There
will also be discussions on cultural and political issues.
270. (AFRC270, AFST529) Intermediate Yoruba I. (A) Awoyale.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
271. (AFRC271, AFST532) Intermediate Yoruba II. (B) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
280. (AFRC280, AFST582) Intermediate Swahili I. (A) Mshomba.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
281. (AFRC282, AFST583) Intermediate Swahili II. (B) Mshomba. Prerequisite(s): Intermediate
Swahili I, or permission of instructor. Offered through
the Penn Language Center.
284. (AFRC284, AFST584) Advanced
Swahili I. (A) Mshomba.
Prerequisite(s): AFST 280, LING 280, AFAM 280 or
permission of instructor. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
This is an advanced Kiswahili course which will engage learners
in extended spoken and written discourse. Advanced
learners of Kiswahili will listen to, read about, write
and speak on authentic video materials, contemporary
novels, and newspapers. They will also participate
in various discussions on cultural and political issues.
285. (AFRC285, AFST586) Advanced Swahili II. (B) Mshomba. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
370. (AFST587) Advanced Yoruba I. (A) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
371. (AFST588) Advanced Yoruba II. (B) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
399. Independent Study: Language. (C) Staff. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
486. Yoruba Language & Culture I. (M) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
490. African Language Tutorial
I. (C) Staff.
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates must have permission
of Language Coordinator. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
The main objective of this course is to allow students to
study an African language of their choice, depending
on the availability of the instructor. The course will
provide students with linquistics tools which will
facilitate their research work in the target country. Cultural
aspects of the speakers of the language will be introduced
and reinforced.
491. African Language Tutorial
II. (C) Staff.
Prerequisite(s): Undergraduates must have permission
of Language Coordinator. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
Continuation of AFST 490
492. African Language Tutorial III. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Permission
of the department. Offered through Penn Language Center.
493. African Language Tutorial IV. (B) Staff. Prerequisite(s): Permission
of the department. Offered through Penn Language Center.
494. African Language Tutorial: Advanced I. (L) Staff.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
517. (AFRC170, AFST170) Elementary
Yoruba I. (A) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language Center.
This is an introductory course in Yoruba whose goals are to
introduce students to the history, geographical location
of the people who speak Yoruba, their culture, customs,
and traditions; and, to enable students to develop
communicative skills through listening, speaking, reading
and writing.
518. (AFRC171, AFST171) Elementary
Yoruba II. (B) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language Center.
The main objective of this course is to further sharpen the
Yoruba linquistic knowledge that the student acquired
in level I. By the end of the course, the student
should be able to (1) read, write, and understand simple
to moderately complex sentences in Yoruba; and (2)
advance in the knowledge of the Yoruba culture.
529. (AFRC270, AFST270) Intermediate Yoruba I. (A) Awoyale.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
532. (AFRC271, AFST271) Intermediate Yoruba II. (B) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
540. (AFRC240, AFRC540, AFST240,
NELC481) Elementary Amharic I. (A) Wogayehu. Offered through Penn Language Center.
An introductory course for students with no previous knowledge
of Amharic. Amharic belongs to the southern branch
of Hemeto-Semitic languages which is also referred
to as "Afrasian." Amharic is the official
language of Ethiopia and is spoken by 14 million native
Amharas and by approximately 18 million of the other
ethic groups in Ethiopia. The goals of this course
are to introduce students to the culture, customs,
and traditions of the Amharas. Students will
develop communicative skills through listening, speaking,
reading and writing.
541. (AFRC241, AFRC541, AFST241,
NELC482) Elementary Amharic II. (B) Wogayehu. Offered through Penn Language Center.
Continuation of Elementary Amharic I.
543. (AFRC242, AFRC543, AFST242,
NELC483) Intermediate Amharic I. (A) Wogayehu.
Offered through Penn Language Center
544. (AFRC243, AFRC544, AFST243,
NELC484) Intermediate Amharic I. (B) Wogayehu.
Offered through Penn Language Center
545. (AFST245) Intensive Elementary
Amharic: I & II. (C) Wogayehu.
Offered through Penn Language Center
546. Intensive Intermediate Amharic
I & II. (L) Wogayehu.
Offered through Penn Language Center
547. (AFRC247, AFRC548, AFST247,
NELC583) Advanced Amharic. (C) Wogayehu. Offered through Penn Language Center.
An advanced Amharic course that will further sharpen the students'
knowledge of the Amharic language and the culture of
the Amharas.
The learners communicative skills will be further developed
through listening, speaking, reading and wwriting. There
will also be discussions on cultural and political issues.
563. (ANEL563) Old Egyptian. (C) Silverman.
This course is an introduction to the language of the Egyptian
Old Kingdom. The grammar of the period will be introduced
during the early part of the semester, using Ededl's
ALTAGYPTISCHE GRAMMATIK as the basic reference. Other
grammatical studies to be utilized will include works
by Allen, Baier, Polotsky, Satzinger, Gilula, Doret,
and Silverman. The majority of the time in the
course will be devoted to reading varied textual material:
the unpublished inscriptions in the tomb of the Old
Kingdom official Kapure--on view in the collection
of the University Museum; several autobiographical
inscriptions as recorded by Sethe in URKUNDEN I; and
a letter in hieratic (Baer, ZAS 03. 1077. 1-9).
580. (AFRC180, AFST180) Elementary
Swahili I. (A) Mshomba. Offered through Penn Language Center.
Beginning level of Swahili which provides training and practice
in speaking, reading and writing with initial emphasis
on speaking and listening. Basic grammar, vocabulary
and cultural skills learned gradually with priority
on the spoken language. Especially during the
second term, folktales, other texts and films will
be used to help introduce important aspects of Swahili
culture.
581. (AFRC181, AFST181) Elementary
Swahili II. (B) Mshomba. Offered through Penn Language Center.
This course continues to introduce basic grammar, vocabulary,
and the reading and writing of Swahili to new speakers. During
this term, folktales, other texts, and film selections
are used to help introduce important aspects of Swahili
culture and the use of the language in wide areas of
Africa.
582. (AFRC280, AFST280) Intermediate Swahili I. (A) Mshomba.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
583. (AFRC282, AFST281) Intermediate Swahili II. (B) Mshomba. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
584. (AFRC284, AFST284) Advanced
Swahili I. (C) Mshomba.
Offered through Penn Language Center.
This is an advanced Kiswahili course which will engage learners
in extended spoken and written discourse. Advanced
learners of Kiswahili will listen to, read about, write
and speak on authentic video materials, contemporary
novels, and newspapers. They will also participate
in various discussions on cultural and political issues.
586. (AFRC285, AFST285) Advanced Swahili II. (C) Mshomba. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
587. (AFST370) Advanced Yoruba I. (A) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language
Center.
588.
(AFST371) Advanced Yoruba II. (B) Awoyale. Offered through Penn Language Center.