Universität Wien

070265 KU Theories, Sources and Methods of Global History (2017S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 7 - Geschichte
Continuous assessment of course work

The colonialism in Africa, it means the total European hegemony over the continent, has caused irreversible damages to the natural evolution of African societies. The French and English nations were such convinced [persuaded] of the superiority of the European civilization, that they started to build own colonial empires. In this regard, France had to resort to the universal ideas of the Revolution to be able to legitimate its colonial policy as well as its doctrine of assimilation. France was the only metropolis which has tried to put the concept of assimilation into practice. It leaded finally during the process of colonization to an intensive debate about two paradigms of domination: Assimilation and/or Association. The principle of Association was based on the argument, that non-European people would have own social and cultural values which, in any case, have to be recognized. Assimilation, in contrast, included the complete integration into the “grande Nation” [great nation], it means the absolute identification between colonial masters and colonized people. The logic of assimilation was based on the credo of French colonial ideologists to negate simply the specific civilization-criteria of colonized people. Those were supposed, namely through the acceptance of the metropolitan culture, to be released from their “historical stagnation” [This expression was coined by Léopold Sédar Senghor, former und first president of Senegal and also co-founder (with Aimé Césaire from Martinique and Léon-Gontran Damas from French Guyana) of the Negritude-Movement. His original formulation was: “La France a le devoir de libérer les Africains de leur stagnation historique” = “It is the duty of France to release African People from their historical stagnation”]. We see that Senghor was insofar a typical product of the doctrine of assimilation.

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Wednesday 01.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 08.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 15.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 22.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 29.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 05.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 26.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 03.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 10.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 17.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 24.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 31.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 07.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 14.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 21.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9
  • Wednesday 28.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum Geschichte 2 Hauptgebäude, 2.Stock, Stiege 9

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

During this semester we will try, on the basis of archives documents and scientific texts, to analyze the ideological basis of the so-called “Mission civilisatrice” respectively French sense of mission, and that, in connection with the European colonial expansion. We will also try to explain the impact of the very effective policy of assimilation on the African movements of emancipation as well as the massive influence of the French cultural values on the basic behavior of African anti-colonialists. Therefore, we will use the examples of historical sources and books and so, by regular exercises, to search and find adequate topics, to formulate the questions or aims, to make our own assumptions, to analyze and interpret existing theories, to search and select sources, to apply sources from presentations and expositions, to approve or refute sources and theses, to utilize the correct norms of quotation and so on.

Assessment and permitted materials

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Assumptions for a positive closure: regular and active participation; holding of a brief presentation, writing of small homework respectively term paper.

Examination topics

Reading list

Introductory Literature

Fanon, Frantz: The Wretched of the Earth, Grove Press, New York 2004
Césaire, Aimé: Discourse on Colonialism [Translated by Joan Pinkham], Monthly Review Press, New York 1972, 2000
Ginio, Ruth: French Colonialism Unmasked: The Vichy Years in French West Africa, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln/London 2006.
Conklin, Alice L.: A Mission to Civilize: The Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa, Stanford University Press 1997.

Association in the course directory

MA Globalgeschichte: Globalgeschichtliche Theorien, Quellen und Methoden (5 ECTS)

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:30