AFRS 385 - Africans in Asia: Agency, Entanglements, Accommodations

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as ANTH 385) This course contributes to studies of black diasporas by centering the historical and contemporary involvement of Africans in Asia. We also consider Afro-Asian lifeways in and between Eastern Africa and Asia. Among topics/issues we address are: how Africans have experienced and influenced different parts of Asia, including the Middle East, Persia, South Asia, and China; how encounters with Asians have influenced African cultures and ways of life; how systems of servitude, including slavery and indenture in the Indian Ocean might be distinguished from Transatlantic enslavement; how Africans interacted historically with Asians as traders, servants, political figures, artisans, military personnel, ordinary peoples, and in some cases, governors. Expanding the diversity and complexity of our questions about African diasporas, students draw on historical texts, ethnography, fiction, film, and other media to inform their studies of African diasporans east and north of the continent. As we explore topics that are situated within particular places, the course simultaneously challenges easy understandings of region, place, people, and culture. Candice Lowe Swift.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS