History of Modern Africa
History of Modern Africa We begin looking at revolutions in the early 19th century and the transformations surrounding the slave trade. Next we examine the European colonization of the continent, exploring how diverse interventions into Africans' lives had complex effects on political authority, class and generational dynamics, gender relations, ethnic and cultural identities, and rural and urban livelihoods. After exploring Africans' struggles against colonial rule in day-to-day practices and mass political movements, the last few weeks cover Africa's transition to independence and the postcolonial era, including the experience of neo-colonialism, ethnic conflict, poverty, and demographic crisis.
History of Modern Africa We begin looking at revolutions in the early 19th century and the transformations surrounding the slave trade. Next we examine the European colonization of the continent, exploring how diverse interventions into Africans' lives had complex effects on political authority, class and generational dynamics, gender relations, ethnic and cultural identities, and rural and urban livelihoods. After exploring Africans' struggles against colonial rule in day-to-day practices and mass political movements, the last few weeks cover Africa's transition to independence and the postco …Read more
Very valuable class. Lecture content is fascinating, well organized and very fast paced. Readings are mostly supplemental, except for three novels, of which you choose two to write papers on. The books were dense and difficult reads (each took me 15-20 hours) but felt relevant to contextualize the lecture material. Tropp is a tough grader but he gives the most thorough feedback of any prof I've had at Middlebury. My returned papers had comments on almost every sentence, and the feedback pushed me to improve as a writer. The midterm exam was also intense but much more forgiving. Definitely take this class if you have the opportunity, and take advantage of office hours (they were super helpful!)
Very valuable class. Lecture content is fascinating, well organized and very fast paced. Readings are mostly supplemental, except for three novels, of which you choose two to write papers on. The books were dense and difficult reads (each took me 15-20 hours) but felt relevant to contextualize the lecture material. Tropp is a tough …Read more
Professor Tropp was a great and enthusiastic professor. You could get by in this class without doing most of the reading, as the material in the textbook was covered in class by the lectures. Tropp's lectures were interesting and engaging, and you can see his passion for the class. He did make us read two books throughout the semester and write papers on them, which increased the workload significantly. He was a harsh grader on the essays, but the exams were not too bad and there was a take-home essay component on all the exams.
Professor Tropp was a great and enthusiastic professor. You could get by in this class without doing most of the reading, as the material in the textbook was covered in class by the lectures. Tropp's lectures were interesting and engaging, and you can see his passion for the class. He did make us read two books throughout the semeste …Read more
The workload in this class is particularly low. Despite a minimal amount of reading the grading is incredibly harsh. The class is not anywhere near as difficult as one would expect from such a harsh grader. Essentially you will not have much work yet you will be scrutinized to an unbelievable standard.
Professor Tropp seems intimidating at first, but is very fun. His presentations do not include any written words, just pictures, and he does not provide any additional notes on the material. Thus, you have to be good at taking notes to do well in this class.
Tropp is engaging and highly knowledgeable. He is a tough grader and holds students to a high bar with their writing in particular. His tests are not specifically challenging as long as you prepare for them.
I learned a lot in this class. Tropp would assign textbook reading required for lectures. He would then go in depth about the readings in class. He was very good at explaining conflicts, concepts, etc and identified clear and relevant connections between each topic. His teaching and lecture style were very engaging and easy to follow. In terms of major assignments, he gives two major papers based on novels and two sit down exams that include vocab recall, geography/map labelling, and a take home essay portion. Overall, I liked this class, learned a lot, and would recommend it to others.
I learned a lot in this class. Tropp would assign textbook reading required for lectures. He would then go in depth about the readings in class. He was very good at explaining conflicts, concepts, etc and identified clear and relevant connections between each topic. His teaching and lecture style were very engaging and easy to follow …Read more
Professor Tropp is super knowledgeable about African history and you will learn a lot in this class and have really interesting discussions. However, the essays are all based on novels (which is kinda weird for a history class) and he grades them harshly.
So Lot to say about this class -- the material itself was fascinating and I thought that the prof was a great lecturer and always had my attention. Lectures were really well planned. But I would say that the readings were my biggest source of frustration. I hated the readings. It would've been great if the readings truly were a supplement to the course, but not when there are two essays (which he grades actually quite harshly). I thought I was a good writer until I took this course.
So Lot to say about this class -- the material itself was fascinating and I thought that the prof was a great lecturer and always had my attention. Lectures were really well planned. But I would say that the readings were my biggest source of frustration. I hated the readings. It would've been great if the readings truly were a suppl …Read more