Document Type
Syllabus
Publication Date
Fall 9-1-2024
Course Description
Societies across the world attach different values, taboos, sacredness, and interpretations of sex, sexuality, and sexual relationships. In Africa, although societies saw sex as a normal exercise that every "adult" aspired to engage in, the act, however, intersected with religion, culture, ritual, belief systems, and customs. The course investigates the historical, cultural, and social contexts of sexual diversity, identity, discrimination, and sexual violence in 20th and 21st-century Africa while paying close attention to the inJluence of cultural norms and religion. We will organize our inquiries around the themes of sexuality and sexual relations, religion, culture, family, and courtship. Some of the questions we will raise include: What counted as sex? What types of sex were considered socially acceptable in different societies in Africa? Who was allowed to engage in them? How did taboos, values, customs, and rituals on sexual relationships change over time and across histories and geographies? Also, the course covers ongoing issues such as HIV-AIDS and the current struggles for the rights of the LGBTQIA communities in Africa.
Recommended Citation
Magaya, Aldrin T., "HIST 100B God and Sex: Religion and Culture in Africa Magaya Fall 2024" (2024). All Course Syllabi. 704, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/records_syllabi/704
Student Outcomes
Students will be able to: Outcome: Analytical Skills - evaluate historical arguments, historiographical debates, and develop and frame historical arguments in their own work. Outcome: Writing and Oral Communication Skills - communicate complex historical analysis in written form with appropriate scholarly attribution and communicate effectively in class discussions and presentations. Outcome: Breadth of historical knowledge - understand the past with respect to diversities of culture, geography, and chronology.