140146 SK Hausa: Texts 1 (2017W)

Course Description: This course introduces students to basic literary texts in Hausa. Texts will be drawn from media such as newspaper clippings, abstracts from elementary literary textbooks/ books, comics etc, and the readings will largely mimic F.P. Robinson’s SQ3R technique.
It is intended that by this approach, students may be able to grasp some socio-cultural elements of the Hausa language that may eventually make them functionally proficient enough to appreciate the rich culture and social composition of the Hausa people around the globe.
Interested students may also be able to tie this course in with their courses of study in other departments such as Linguistics (for Linguistic comparisons and analysis), Comparative Literature, English etc. Students intending to go on fieldwork/visits to Hausa speaking parts of Africa such as Nigeria and Ghana may also find this course extremely useful.

Learning Objectives:
To be able to read and understand basic texts in Hausa such as newspaper clippings, abstracts from elementary literary textbooks/ books, comics etc;
To be able to use the texts covered in lectures as prompts for dialogues, discussions, debates, skits and role-plays;
To be able to analyze the study texts in order to appraise the cultural, social, and even political significance of the issues therein;
To provide students with the tools to critically and intelligibly talk about the Hausa people of Africa from a literary perspective.

Format of Class meetings: Class interaction will be largely based on Hausa literary texts readings, listening, dialogues, and skits. There will also be photo descriptions, film viewing and analysis for a social-cultural perspective as well as a hint on the various dialects and writing systems of the Hausa people.