At one point in recent history, almost the entire continent of Africa was dominated by the continent to the north. Now there are over fifty unique and independent nations in Africa. The processes by which Africa was first controlled by Europe and then by which it liberated itself was a long and complex struggle of forces historical and geographical, external and internal. It is the goal of this unit to examine the conditions of Africa and African society before this period of domination and the effect of this domination had on the African people. Also, this unit will examine how Africa and Africans are portrayed in film. Films from both Hollywood and Africa will be analyzed and contrasted.
Since independence, each individual nation has fared differently, but the results of a quick search
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on the internet for “Africa” reveals the tragedy currently being experienced in many regions of the continent. Corruption. Famine. Illiteracy. A.I.D.S. Genocide. The appalling statistics and images from various news sources all lead one to the same conclusion: Sub-Saharan Africa is currently experiencing the worst crises on the globe and is on the verge of human catastrophe. Why are hundreds of thousands of Africans dying in wars every year? How could Africa have eighty percent of all AIDS deaths, and only twelve percent of the world’s population? Why haven’t the incredible natural resources of some regions of Africa been used to help the people of Africa? What caused the economic stagnation that maintains a fifty percent unemployment rate? Why do only half of Africa’s children under ten years old attend school? What nations have succeeded? How could a continent once full of glorious and thriving kingdoms have de-evolved to such a state?
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To begin to address any of these questions that plague Africa today, we need to trace them back to their roots. What happened to derail Africa from its natural progress? The major event that disrupted the natural development of the African people was the advent of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 1500’s.
All of Africa can be covered in the unit. More specifically, the history of any region of Africa can be taught using this unit. The vast, rich nature of African geography and history insists that the student of history examine each region separately. The cultural geography of Morocco is incredibly different from that of Congo, for example. And the history and Egypt, Liberia, and South Africa differ greatly from one another. There can be one consistent theme found in the histories of all regions, however, and that is the history of contact with Europeans and their domination and exploitation of the Africans.
As I stated before, almost all of Africa went through this process at some point each in its own unique way. This unit will address those historical themes, using film and literature, as they apply to different regions at different times. On another level, the unit will analyze Africa in Film. The students will compare the treatment of the geography and history of Africa in African film versus that in Hollywood’s films.
