|
Ethnography of the Western Sudan Region
| Dozent/in |
Till Förster |
| Veranstaltungsart |
Seminar
|
| Wann |
Fr 10-12 Uhr |
| Ort |
Ethnologisches Seminar, Seminarraum |
| Sprechstunde |
|
| |
|
| |
Inhalt |
| bilād as-sūdān – »Land of the black« was the name that Arab traders from North Africa gave to the savannah regions south of the Sahara. It extends across Africa from Senegal in the West to the fringes of the Ethiopian highlands in the East. Because of more regular rainfalls, the Sudan region is more suitable to farming than the steppes of the Sahel bordering the Sahara desert. The Western part of the Sudan region roughly covers the northern parts of Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and the central or southern parts of Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and the South-West of Niger. This region has a long history. It was here that the first medieval empires of Sub-Saharan Africa emerged at the end of the first millennium AD, and it was also a region of extraordinary cultural and artistic creativity. More recently, however, the region became better known for the increasingly precarious conditions of livelihood that its population has to cope with. This seminar addresses major questions of research. It starts with the history of the old Ghana and Mali empires and introduces the students to the continuities of everyday life and the social change that transformed the region since the establishment of colonial rule at the end of the 19th century. |
| |
Programm |
|
date |
|
topic |
speaker |
|
21.9.07 |
|
bilād as-sūdān – contours of a landscape and a setting |
Till Förster |
|
28.9.07 |
1.
2.
|
Geography and Environment:
The savannah: its vegetation and fauna
The rivers: resources and transport routes
(recommended reading: & Krings 2006) |
A. Steiner
S. Hess
|
|
5.10.07
Þ 8–12 a.m. |
3.
4.
5.
6.
|
Double Session:
The History of Great Empires and acephalous societies:
Ancient Ghana and Mali
Massina and Samori
Afrique Occidentale Française,
brit. Sierra Leone and Gold Coast
The post-colonial setting
(recommended reading: & Levtzion 1973, introduction) |
J. Beck
|
|
12.10.07 |
7.
8.
|
Economy:
Agriculture: subsistence and cash crops
[& Bassett 1985, 2001; Krings 1991]
Pastoralism: pastures and transhumance
[& Stenning 21995; Amadu/Kirk-Greene 1986; Dupire 1970] |
F. Wildi
M. Häni
|
|
19.10.07 |
9.
10. |
Trade: commodities and markets [& Amselle 1977, Launay 1982]
Crafts: smiths, potters, weavers, the informal sector today [& Gardi 1985, Frank 1998] |
F. Chazarenc
J. Thomas
|
|
26.10.07 |
11.
12.
|
Social Organisation:
Lineage and clan [& Fortes 1945, 1949]
Nyamakala: from caste to profession [& Conrad/Frank 1995] |
C. Foutsop
H. Kissling |
|
2.11.07 |
13.
14. |
Cities I: old centres of trade and learning [àDjenné, Timbouctou]
Cities II: from colonial administration to post-colonial muddling-through [àBobo-Dioulasso, Bamako] |
M. Meier
C. Howald
|
|
9.11.07 |
|
no meeting |
|
|
16.11.07 |
|
no meeting |
|
|
23.11.07
Þ 8–12 a.m. |
15.
16.
17.
18.
|
Political Organisation:
Acephalous societies: first settlers and latecomers [àBamana]
Chiefdoms: basic units of domination [àDagara, Manding]
The post-colonial condition: Patrons, clients and the state
New actors: NGOs, militias and other corporate groups |
M. Bonenberger
M. Nittnaus
M. Meli
A. Schwab |
|
30.11.07 |
|
dies |
|
|
7.12.07 |
19.
20.
|
Culture and the arts:
Religion I: Gods and ancestors
Religion II: Islam, missions and new religious movements (e.g. regional cults, the Tijaniyya brotherhood, the White Fathers) |
J. Baehler
C. Papa
|
|
14.12.07 |
21.
22. |
Fine arts: from ›traditional‹ sculpture to urban art
Performing arts: oral literature, dance and ritual |
L. Lenggenhager
A. Uehrlinger |
|
21.12.07 |
|
Perspectives of research
General discussion |
Till Förster
all | |
| |
Literatur |
| Amselle, Jean-Loup / M'Bokolo, Elikia (eds.), Au coeur de l'ethnie : ethnies, tribalisme et état en Afrique. Paris: Ed. La Decouverte, 1985 [rethinks the concept of ethnicity, important case studies from the Sudan region].
Fortes, Meyer, The dynamics of clanship among the Tallensi. London: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1945.
—, The web of kinship among the Tallensi. London: Oxford Univ. Pr., 1949 [both classics in British social anthropology].
Griuale, Marcel, Dieu d’eau. Paris: Fayard 21966 [an extraordinary document of French anthropology].
Krings, Thomas, Sahelländer : Mauretanien, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2006 [has many contributions of the Sudan region within the countries cited in the title].
Levtzion, Nehemia, Ancient Ghana and Mali. New York: Africana Pub., 1980 [a brilliant introduction to the history of the two medieval empires].
Person, Yves, Samori: une revolution Dioula. 3 vols. Dakar: IFAN, 1968–1975 [comprehensive history of the last Manding emperor]. |
| |
Bemerkungen |
| Studierende im BA erst ab 5. Semester
Unterrichtssprache: Englisch
A passive knowledge of French is required as much of the literature will be in French. Papers may be written in German, English or French.
Leistungsübeprüfung:
Active participation in the discussions, and short oral presentation of one book or two to three articles on one society (20min.). |
|
Shortcuts
Inhalt
Programm
Literatur
Bemerkungen
Download
handout 5.10. (pdf)
handout 12.10. (pdf)
handout 19.10. (pdf)
handout 19.10. II (pdf)
handout 26.10. I (pdf)
|
studium