[SOLVED] The significance of colonialism for Africa

Carleton University
Institute of African Studies April 8, 2022
AFRI 1002A
Study Questions for the Final Exam
PART ONE
1. Nothing has become more controversial now than the question of impact of colonialism on Africa. Examine the main legacies that colonialism has bequeathed to Africa? And assess the significance of colonialism for Africa and the Africans. Can one argue that the benefits of colonial rule to Africa are overstated?
2. Colin Legum characterized 1936-1970 as an era of romanticism and the years 1970-1985 as the years of disillusionment in modern African history. Most scholars have dubbed this the “crises of expectations”. What is your assessment of the first thirty years of African independence? Why did post-colonial economic and political reforms end in failure?
3. Why is there a growing consensus among scientists that all people on planet earth are descended from ancestors who lived in Africa? Analyze the new perspectives and debates on Multiregional Hypothesis and the “Out of Africa” model.
4. What were the key features of apartheid and how did the state apply apartheid laws?
What impact did apartheid have on black society and how did the blacks find ways to cope with and overcome repression? How and why did South Africa’s apartheid regime end when it did?
5. Discuss the movement away from authoritarianism and towards democracy in so many African states in the period since 1989.Why has democracy been consolidated in certain areas of African countries but regressed or collapsed in others?
6. To what extent have post-independence conflicts in Greater Horn of Africa (Sudan, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia) been products of their colonial past?
PART TWO
1. How did the military coups become the dominant form of regime change in Africa during the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s? To what extent has its contribution to political and economic development been positive or negative one? Use specific examples to illustrate your points.
2. How true are the perceptions and arguments that pre-colonial African societies were merely “traditional and tribal”? Using specific examples to illustrate your points.
3. Name some ways that the newly independent states in Africa were affected by the Cold war.
Was the Cold war a contributing factor to conflict in Africa, as in the case of Angola or Somali-Ethiopian wars?
4. Compare the various models used by Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana in their attempt to modernize their countries.
5. Discuss market model that had been imposed so much of Africa under the name of “Structural Adjustment Programs”, both as a solution to Africa’s problems and as accumulator of more problems.
6. Assess the value of China’s recent expansion of trade investment in the African continent. Is it a new form of “neo-colonialism” and are Africans better equipped to deal with it to their own advantage than they were the Western neo-colonialism of the 20th century?
7. The Arab Spring in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya was a struggle for freedom and justice for the majority. To what extent did these three North Africa states achieve their objective.
8. How do you account for the growth of Africa’s chronic indebtedness in the decades after independence?
Reading Assignments for the following (China and Africa and the Arab Spring) topics: Kevin Shillington, ’China and Africa’ pages 490-491. (ARES)
Kevin Shillington, ‘The Arab Spring’ pages 500-501. (ARES)
The Structure of the final exam:
-The final exam will have three parts:
Part one (2X10 points each)
Part one –will have six broader questions and you will do two. You need to put as much details as you can.
Part two (5X5 points each)
Part two will have eight questions and you will do five. Part two is short answers
Part three (5X1 points each )
You will have seven identifications and you will do five (maximum three sentences each).
If you have any questions, please send me an email-The final exam will be done online on April 27,2022.