HI277-15 Africa and the Cold War
Introductory description
This 30 CATS second-year option module introduces students to major debates in the history of the Cold War in Africa, aiming to set these issues within their historical, social and cultural contexts over the period from 1945 to the 1990s.
Module aims
After the opening weeks set up the context of decoloniation and superpower rivalry in Africa, the rest of the course takes a roughly chronological approach to explore various case studies and thematic issues. We will look in depth at upheavals in Congo and Zanzibar which demonstrated the fragile state of the continent immediately after decolonisation, the wars in Angola and the Horn of Africa, and the attempts of the white minority regimes in Rhodesia, South Africa, and the Portuguese colonies to retain power. While the course pays close attention to the policies of the United States and the Soviet Union, it also highlights the role played by other Cold War actors, like China and Cuba. Moreover, we will uncover the agency exercised by Africans in the global Cold War: were they simply superpower proxies or did they turn the Cold War order to their own advantage? Finally, the course will consider the aftermath of the Cold War in Africa: did the fall of the Berlin Wall bring a new dawn to the continent or did it reignite frozen conflicts in the 1990s?
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
From Berlin to Berlin: the division of Africa, the division of the world
The rise of African nationalism
The Cold War dimensions of decolonisation
Searching for alternatives: Bandung, pan-Africanism, and non-alignment
Crisis in Congo, 1959-65
Reading Week - no lectures or seminars
Revolution in Zanzibar, 1964
Capitalism, Socialism or African Socialism? Struggles over Economic Growth
The Other Cold War: the Sino-Soviet rivalry
Educating Africa: students in the Eastern Bloc
The end of the dream: coups, dictators, and military rule
Superpower rivalry and revolution in the Horn of Africa
Proxy war? The Ethiopia-Somalia conflict, 1977-78
A luta continua! Liberating southern Africa
Defending white minority rule
Reading Week - no lectures or seminars
Cuba, South Africa, and the struggle for Angola, 1974-89
The Cold War and the end of Apartheid
New Dawns? Africa after the Cold War
Looking back: themes, perspectives, periodisations [Revision session]
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Development of critical and analytical study, writing and communication skills
- Critically evaluate sources for the study of Africa in the Cold War
- Understand historical and theoretical interpretations of Africa in the Cold War
- Presentation research in an imaginative and concise manner
- Develop written and oral communication skills
- Undertake bibliographic research
- Develop competency in using electronic resources for research and writing
Indicative reading list
Key textbooks
Odd Arne Westad, The Global Cold War: Third World Interventions and the Making of Our Times (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) [e-book].
Elizabeth Schmidt, Foreign Intervention in Africa: From the Cold War to the War on Terror (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2013) [e-book].
Modern Africa
Richard Reid, A History of Modern Africa, 1800 to the Present (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).
Frederick Cooper, Africa since 1940: The Past of the Present (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009) [e-book].
Martin Meredith, The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence (London: The Free Press, 2008).
Paul Nugent, Africa since Independence: A Comparative History, 2nd edn (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
Keith Somerville, Africa’s Long Road since Independence: The Many Histories of a Continent (London: Hurst, 2015).
The Cold War
John Lewis Gaddis, The Cold War (London: Allen Lane, 2005).
Martin Walker, The Cold War: A History (New York: H. Holt, 1995).
Perry Anderson, American Foreign Policy and its Thinkers (London: Verso, 2013) [for a narrative of the Cold War from the 'Left']
The Third World
Vijay Prashad, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World (New York: The New Press, 2007).
Reference works
Richard H. Immerman and Petra Goedde (eds), The Oxford Handbook on the Cold War (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013) [e-book].
Melvyn P. Leffler and Odd Arne Westad (eds), The Cambridge History of the Cold War, vols I-III (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009) [e-book].
Journals
Those after the very latest scholarship may wish to keep an eye on Diplomatic History, Cold War History, Journal of Cold War Studies, International History Review, Journal of African History, and International Journal of African Historical Studies.
Subject specific skills
-Critically evaluate sources for the study of Africa in the Cold War
-Understand historical and theoretical interpretations of the study of Africa in the Cold War
Transferable skills
-Develop critical and analytical study, writing and communication skills
-Present research in an imaginative and concise manner
-Develop written and oral communication skills
-Develop competency in using electronic resources for research and writing
Study time
| Type | Required |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Seminars | 9 sessions of 1 hour (6%) |
| Tutorials | 1 session of 1 hour (1%) |
| Private study | 131 hours (87%) |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
No private study requirements defined for this module.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A1
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Assignment 1: Oral participation | 10% | Yes (extension) | |
Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Assignment 2: 1000 word essay plan | 40% | Yes (extension) | |
Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| Assignment 3: 3,000 word essay | 50% | Yes (extension) | |
Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
- written feedback on essay and exam cover sheets\r\n- student/tutor dialogues in one-to-one tutorials
There is currently no information about the courses for which this module is core or optional.