AADS2466 · African and African Diaspora Studies
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
This course is about the relationship between political violence and state-building in Africa. The first four weeks provide background topics such as war and state formation in pre-colonial Africa and the dynamics of colonial conquest. The core themes will follow in the following four weeks, including the onset, intensity, and termination of civil war in post-colonial Africa. The last four weeks explore patterns of conflict and state-building in individual African countries. Beyond the descriptive goals, the course significantly emphasizes explaining issues. Thus, students should not only develop an understanding of what patterns of conflict and state-building in post-colonial Africa look like but also engage in a range of competing academic theories designed to describe and explain the patterns. Students can also critically weigh available evidence in developing their original understanding.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.7 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.4 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.6 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.5 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~5
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect the evaluations connected to this course.
Student perspective
Anonymous comments from BC students past and present are shown as submitted and may reflect different course formats.
Sep 15, 2025 · Historical comment
Took for state building and conflict. Assignments were manageable and easy, professor was knowledgable and friendly, but exams were impossible and mostly based on trivial facts that weren't emphasized during class/review. Seriously impossible.
Across time
Available section-level results across semesters.
Fall 2024
1 section