Thinking Historically about Africa: Introduction to African Historiography How do historians think about Africa? This course is intended to introduce students to the key debates, themes, and frameworks that have shaped the study of African history over the course of the past century. Following an introduction to historiographical analysis—a key skill for any student planning on continuing to graduate level studies, the course will be conducted as a reading and discussion seminar. In this class, we will cover major shifts in historical thinking about Africa, reading selections from a variety of scholarship that have been influential in the field of African history. Students will then read a recent monograph on African history of their choice and analyze it in the context of the historiography of the field. Jodie Marshall (PhD, Michigan State University) is a historian of transnationalism on the East African coast. Her research examines the history of migration between the Arabian Peninsula and the Zanzibari Archipelago from the 19th century to the 21st./

Art and Culture of the Swahili Coast in Historical Perspective Perched between the Indian Ocean and the East African interior, the Swahili Coast has a diverse artistic culture. In this course we will explore the histories that created this vibrant material culture through hands-on encounters with the materials of Swahili artistic culture, listening to Swahili music, watching Swahili films, tasting Swahili foods, and trying their hands at Swahili artforms. Assignments will include primary source analyses (including, Memoirs of an Arabian Princess, “Mamba” and other poems, BongoFlava and Taarab songs, films: Pumzi, Zanzibar Soccer Queens), a mapping assignment, and final presentations on the history of a cultural artifact.

Jodie Marshall

Reviews and ratings for Jodie Marshall at Middlebury College.Jodie Marshall teaches African Historiography, Art of the Swahili Coast and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Jodie Marshall good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

most chill course I've taken at middlebury. Jodie was great, gave us thought provoking material and led discussions well. Jodie was super respectful of our time, and the whole class was just a discussion about the readings, exactly what a J term class should be.