Representations of Africa

This course will focus on the ways in which Africa has been imagined and represented across the ages. Drawing on key texts from the creative and performing arts, the course will explore specific depictions of Africa and Africans in each era and open up questions about the relationship between arts and society. It will examine African self-representations alongside representations that focus on Africa as a site of difference or 'othering'. Topics include: Introduction - What is representation?; Images of Slavery; Travel writing and tourism; Visual Arts; Anti-colonialism/ nationalism in film.

Assessment: Coursework: tutorial hand-ins (20%), 1st essay (20%), 2nd essay (30%).

The University of Cape Town awards credits based on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) to determine course and contact hour recommendations per course. 1 NQF credit represents roughly 10 notional hours of work which includes study time, assignments and examinations. Notional hours may very per courses depending on the course level and modality therefore, CEA recommends using NQF credits as a basis to determine U.S. equivalencies (1 NQF=.222 semester credits)