TEACHING

Philosophy:

It is my view that ‘teaching’ is more about helping students approach so-called ‘facts’ and information with critical questions than it is about providing them with the answers. While there are of course instances where historical events are simple realities, it is rare that there is not room for debate about why they occurred, who they most affected – and how, and in what ways they shaped subsequent change. It is this debate and this exploration that I encourage both in how I present my lectures and in how I construct my assignments (for example, "On-Line" Debates).

I do have opinions and I expect students will as well; what I request is that as a classroom community, we express them as ‘informed’ ideas and arguments. And accept that we will not always agree. I believe that ‘teaching’ is about showing students how to arrive at those informed opinions and then articulate them, convincingly but also openly, to others – in writing, in presentation, in discussion. The structure of my courses reflect these goals -- 'in-class' discussion of readings, documents; written, critical 'Reading Responses'; e-class 'Tutorials'.

I believe that we each have different learning strengths and weaknesses. I try to incorporate different 'genres' of materials (visual, textual, oral) as well as different kinds of assignments (written examinations per se comprise only a smallish component of my evaluation process - never more than 30 or 35%, for example.) I also assume that students in my courses, given their normally geographical parameters (Africa, Middle East or a combination of both) come from different disciplinary backgrounds and have different expectations of the course. I do not always meet the latter (unfortunately) but do try to speak to the former. In the context of historical paradigms, I try to address 'issues' (indeed, define 'issues') in as interdisciplinary a fashion as possible. I like to think that every course I teach could contribute to a student's major, minor or certificate in the Faculty of Arts' Middle Eastern and African Studies programme.

While I hope to make students feel at ease in my classroom, I believe that occasionally being uncomfortable with ideas and/or arguments presented (either by me or fellow students’), is an inevitable part of critical learning. I have found that when class material deals with religion, race, ethnicity and/or gender – as my coures inevitably do – those ‘moments’ of intellectual discomfort tend to be more frequent (than perhaps in some other History courses). The tendency to respond with emotional reaction equally so. It is my philosophy that the learning process should allow students to struggle with these conflicting tendencies in an environment that values questioning, exploration, discussion, disagreement and challenge. And that this classroom should respect the right of all members of its 'community' -- because this is how I view a classroom -- to learn in his/her own way, and to care according to his/her own beliefs.

Courses Taught:

Hist 243: The Golden Age of Islam: History of the Early Muslim World to the 16th C.
Historical overview of the rise of Islam in seventh century Arabia and the political, economic and cultural impact of subsequent expansion into Asia, Africa and Europe.
[No prerequisites, however any early world history course or courses in Religious Studies on Islam would be helpful.]

Hist 246: Africa from Medieval to Modern Times (c.1800)
Historical overview of the development of the continent from the so-called 'dawn of man' through to European imperialism. Much attention paid to how we know what we know -- a very interdisciplinary approach to the evidence.
[No prerequisites. Any early world history course would be helpful but not required.]

Hist 247: African history since the late 19th century.
Focus on the impact of European colonial rule, the struggles for Independence, and the legacies of both in contemporary Africa. A ‘case study’ approach is employed.
[No prerequisites. Any modern world history course and/or HIST 246 would be helpful but not required.]

Hist 323: The Middle East in the Making: 1300-1920.
The rise and demise of the Ottoman Empire. An overview of the religious, cultural and political making of current-day North Africa, Near and Middle East, and Eastern Mediterranean.
[ No prerequisites. Any modern world history course would be helpful, as would courses on Islam offered in Religious Studies..]

Hist 347: Muslim Societies from the 19th through to the 21st century in Africa.
Focusing on case studies reflecting different pre-colonial social structures, invading colonial interests, geographical regions (principally North, West, and East) and Islamic belief systems, this course asks the question "What does it mean to be Muslim and African" in key historical periods from the 19th century through to today.
[ Some background in Islam (eg. history, political science, religious studies, sociology) would be helpful. Not frequently taught.]

Hist 349: ‘Concubines, wives and gendered politics: history of the Sultan’s harem ’
Focus on evolution of slave wives and politics in Middle East broadly configured to include North and East (Omani) Africa. Examines how institution of harem evolved in medieval/early modern Islamic world to become political, economic and social ‘force’ still relevant in contemporary times. Source materials include ‘eye-witness’ accounts (internal, external); personal ‘memoires’; colonial archival observations; film and video (historical, contemporary).
[ No Prerequisites but some familiarity with the region and/or Islam,  recommended; not frequently taught.]

Hist 350: Abolition and Slavery in Africa [NEW 2022/23]
Focus on what Joel Quirk has called 'The Anti-Slavery Project ' -- the rise of abolitionism in 18th-19th century Europe, its impact on international slave trading (especially commerce in the Atlantic World and the Middle East), and the ways in which it shaped the continent from which the slaves were drawn, namely Africa.
[No prerequisites but Hist 246 and/or Hist 247 recommended, as is any course on the Atlantic World or Modern World History.]

Hist 446/695: South Africa: from Apartheid to Democracy.
Focus is on understanding the nature and impact of the racist ideology 'Apartheid' from its formal inception through its development into 'Grand Apartheid', the resistance it provoked (social, political, economic) and the legacy it has left in the form of contemporary struggles in the so-call 'Rainbow Nation'.
[ Some familiarity with African history or politics would be helpful; not frequently taught.]

Hist 446/695: Slavery and Human Trafficking in Africa
Focus on the ambiguities of of Abolition and Emancipation from late 19th century through to contemporary times. Attention given to what has been called 'The Anti-Slavery Project' and its legacies in modern human trafficking within and out of Africa.
{Some familiarity with African history or European Abolitionism would be helpful; also consider Hist 350 'Abolition and Slavery in Africa' (new course 2023/4)

Hist 494:‘Slavery and Emancipation in Islamic Africa and the Middle East: 19th – 21st centuries’:
Focus on comparative historiography as well as comparative experiences of slaves and their (freed) descendants. Traces politics of Abolition through to contemporary politics of ‘slave legacy’. Engages with issues of race, gender, religion and modern ideas of ‘slavery’ in context of Human Rights . Uses variety of source materials including written (archival, personal memoirs, novels), oral (interviews with slaves/former slaves) and video (contemporary film, websites/‘YouTube’).
[ No prerequisite but some familiarity with one or both regions, and/or Islam, and/or ‘slavery’, highly recommended.]