Final Final Question -- Best Wishes!

The final exam question, due in TurnItIn.com by Wednesday, 12/13, 1:30 pm is

What impact has European colonialism had on Africa and African societies up to the present? Please focus on African agency in your response. The strongest answers will include illustrations from the three non-textbook sources: Things Fall Apart for West Africa, The River Between for East Africa, and Kaffir Boy for South Africa. You may submit your answer in outline or essay form.  

For inspiration, I strongly encourage you to read the recent New York Times Book Review article by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, the author of The River Between. 

And if you have an aching unsatisfied feeling after watching the movie, take a look at the photos in the collection titled, "The Real Rebels of Timbuktu."

Final Exam Questions

This is the last week to blog (due before midnight on Wednesday), and it's time to decide our final exam questions. We've been working on the idea of having one question on the movie, Timbuktu, and the other on African agency in the colonial period, but we should also consider questions that were on the previous years' final exams:

1. Compare and contrast the role of Christianity in Things Fall Apart and The River Between or compare and contrast the role of education in The River Between and Khaffir Boy.
2. Since independence, what have been the greatest challenges for African countries?
3. List and describe the most significant or surprising thing you have learned about Africa's history in each of the following categories: (a) precolonial, (b) colonial, and (c) post-independence.
4. How did European colonialism change Africa and African societies? (see especially 11/3 blog post)

Would you choose two of these for our exam or something else? Please comment below.