Messages & Updates

3 Jan: Here at long last is the African Groundnut Stew recipe. Let me know how it turns out!

10 Dec: Here is a list of study questions. It includes the previous questions plus some new ones concerning recent material.

8 Dec: Midterm 2 grades were generally good. mean score was 86% and median was 90%. The approximate letter grade breakdown almost follows the standard cutoffs:

93-100 A
81-92 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
below 60 well, uh...

15 Nov: here are some study questions for the 2nd midterm.

Stats on midterm #1: median grade was 98 (out of 120 points) and point breakdown was as follows:

50-55 1
55-60 1
60-65 1
65-70 0
70-75 0
75-80 3
80-85 6
85-90 13
90-95 15
95-100 12
100-105 23
105-110 14
110-115 4

Approximate letter grading would be as follows (but note that final grades are computed on the basis of point totals, not averaging of letter grades):

>112 a+
107-112 a
103-106 a-
99-102 b+
93-98 b
90-93 b-
89 c+
87-88 c
83-86 c-
77-81 d
<77 f

10/18: The photo collection A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AFRICA is well worth a few minutes of your time. Nice drumming soundtrack too. Thanks to the member of the class for sending this to me.

10/15: Midterm study quide

10/1: Due to the class missed due to illness we have done a slight re-arrangement of upcoming classes. No quizzes or exams have been changed. We will talk about colonial administration of indigenous peoples on 10/1, using the comparison of Hausa and Tiv, and then take up "tribalism" per se in the later section on African States and Culture (the Southall reading will be discussed in that class).

9/27: Please note that the second quiz has been moved back from Oct 3 to Oct 8. It will include the Bradford & Blume book on Ota Benga. Also an analytic map question or two.

9/12: Here are first 4 entries into the West Africa Mnemonic Sweepstakes:

Many Seasonal Greens Give Bad Gas; Slightly Limiting Intake of Greens Tends to Benefit Noses

MS Gordon's Gleeful Broadcast Gives SLIGhTly Better News

Most Sisters Give Good Brothers Great Stuff Likely Inducing Guys To Be Nice

My Silly Gibbon George Bush Gallops Softly + Lightly Into Gunslinging Territory Barefoot + Neckid

8/15: More specifics on the first quiz: you will have to identify countries, cities and rivers on a map (i.e., they will be drawn in already, and you will have to name them). Know all African countries, their capitals, and other major cities shown on the cities map (but if you need to prioritize, the capitals of the smallest countries would be the lowest priority...I would have to be in pretty picky mood to ask you the capital of Gabon). Know the major rivers, deserts, Sahel, and rift system. Use the maps on the resource page and also in McNulty. There may also be one question on the readings.