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Module Catalogue

HI277-30 Africa and the Cold War

Department
History
Level
Undergraduate Level 2
Module leader
David Anderson
Credit value
30
Module duration
23 weeks
Assessment
60% coursework, 40% exam
Study location
University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

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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 web page

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.

  1. From Berlin to Berlin: the division of Africa, the division of the world
  2. The rise of African nationalism
  3. The Cold War dimensions of decolonisation
  4. Searching for alternatives: Bandung, pan-Africanism, and non-alignment
  5. Crisis in Congo, 1959-65
  6. Reading Week - no lectures or seminars
  7. Revolution in Zanzibar, 1964
  8. Capitalism, Socialism or African Socialism? Struggles over Economic Growth
  9. The Other Cold War: the Sino-Soviet rivalry
  10. Educating Africa: students in the Eastern Bloc
  11. The end of the dream: coups, dictators, and military rule
  12. Superpower rivalry and revolution in the Horn of Africa
  13. Proxy war? The Ethiopia-Somalia conflict, 1977-78
  14. A luta continua! Liberating southern Africa
  15. Defending white minority rule
  16. Reading Week - no lectures or seminars
  17. Cuba, South Africa, and the struggle for Angola, 1974-89
  18. The Cold War and the end of Apartheid
  19. New Dawns? Africa after the Cold War
  20. Looking back: themes, perspectives, periodisations [Revision session]

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

  • Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of historical and theoretical interpretations of Africa in the Cold War.
  • Communicate ideas and findings, adapting to a range of situations, audiences and degrees of complexity.
  • Generate ideas through the analysis of a broad range of primary source material for the study of Africa in the Cold War, including electronic resources.
  • Analyse and evaluate the contributions made by existing scholarship.
  • Act with limited supervision and direction within defined guidelines, accepting responsibility for achieving deadlines.

Indicative reading list

Generic Reading lists can be found in Talis

Specific reading list for the module can be found on

Subject specific skills

See learning outcomes.

Transferable skills

See learning outcomes.

Study time

Type Required
Lectures 20 sessions of 1 hour (7%)
Seminars 20 sessions of 1 hour (7%)
Tutorials 2 sessions of 1 hour (1%)
Other activity 2 hours (1%)
Private study 258 hours (85%)
Total 302 hours

Private study description

History modules require students to undertake extensive independent research and reading to prepare for seminars and assessments. As a rough guide, students will be expected to read and prepare to comment on three substantial texts (articles or book chapters) for each seminar taking approximately 3 hours. Each assessment requires independent research, reading around 6-10 texts and writing and presenting the outcomes of this preparation in an essay, review, presentation or other related task.

Other activity description

Revision seminar

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group D1
Weighting Study time Eligible for self-certification
Assessment component
Seminar contribution 10% No
Reassessment component
1000 word reflection Yes (extension)
Assessment component
1500 word essay 10% Yes (extension)
Reassessment component is the same
Assessment component
3000 word essay 40% Yes (extension)
Reassessment component is the same
Assessment component
Take-home Examination 40% No
Reassessment component is the same
Feedback on assessment
  • written feedback on essay and exam cover sheets\r\n- student/tutor dialogues in one-to-one tutorials\r\n

Past exam papers for HI277

Courses

This module is Optional for:

  • Year 2 of UENA-VQ32 Undergraduate English and History

This module is Option list B for:

  • Year 2 of UHIA-V100 Undergraduate History

This module is Option list G for:

  • Year 3 of USX2-Y202 Undergraduate Social Studies [2 + 2]