Language and Short Courses 2019/2020

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Bayreuth International Summer School – African Studies – Islam and Christianity in Africa African Studies – Islam and Christianity in Africa

University of Bayreuth • Bayreuth

Course location
Bayreuth
Teaching language
  • English
Language level of course
  • English: B2, C1
Date(s)
  • July 2020 (Registration deadline of course provider: April 30, 2020)
Target group

International undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students

Description/content

Week One – Islam in Africa

The commonly applied division of the Maghreb from sub-Saharan Africa spread by Western scholarship gives rise to innumerable problems, since it denies the many forms of intertwining and interconnectedness that exist between the two shores of the Sahara. The connections between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa are broad and rooted deeply in the collective unconscious, as this is manifest in contemporary African arts and literature. They have been formed through the centuries from a variety of events and a vast network of relationships, ruptures, influences, insertions and rejections.

This course will attempt to look at one of the numerous connecting factors, Islam, which was introduced to Africa in the early seventh century. It is well known that Islam is the majority religion in Africa north of the Sahara. This region often seems detached from the continent and and appears to have assimilated into "the Middle East" or "the Arab World". What is much less known is the fact that today Islam may also be the most widely professed faith in Africa south of the Sahara, in what western scholarship often calls “Black Africa”.

The course starts with an overview of the history of Islam in Africa, from the arrival of the earliest Muslim migrants in Ethiopia to Islam's expansion into the rest of the continent. Then focusing on North and West Africa, we will attempt to shed light on the processes of Islamisation of the African peoples and the Africanisation of Islam. 

The objective is to arrive at an understanding of the ways in which the (North and West) African settings have influenced the practice of Islam in the region, and how in turn, Islam has shaped religious, social, political and economic developments.

Among the topics that will be covered by the course are:

  • The forms, processes and agents of Islamisation of the continent
  • The forms, processes and agents of Africanisation of the religion
  • The Muslim Medieval kingdoms of Western Africa
  • Africa and the "Islamic West" (The Almoravid and Almohad empires)
  • Islam, women and gender relations
  • Islam and colonialism
  • The "war against terror" as seen from Africa

Week Two – Christianity in Africa

The dramatic growth of Christianity in contemporary Africa has transformed the continent. This course concerns this expansion and sociohistorical processes through which Christianity has been shaped by indigenous beliefs and practices as well as ethnicity, class, gender, and politics in Africa. It adopts a historical approach to understand the recent expansion in the context of the past two hundred years, including the impact of European colonialism, African nationalism, and postcolonial politics. The focus is on how Christianity has influenced African lives both within and outside of religious communities.

Topics include:

  • Initial Christian missionary efforts and African responses
  • African initiatives to found independent churches
  • African adoption and transformation of charismatic expressions
  • Christianity and postcolonial politics
  • Christianity in contexts of religious pluralism

Please see the website for the complete text!

Average number of hours per week
30
Average number of participants per group/course
20
Dates and costs
  • July 2020 (Registration deadline of course provider: April 30, 2020)
Price only on request
Yes
Further information on dates and prices

The course fee will include tuition fees, an excursion and meals (daily lunch + a welcome dinner & a farewell dinner). Please check our website for further information: http://www.summerschool.uni-bayreuth.de.

Teaching language
  • English
Language level of course
  • English: B2, C1
Language requirements

A very good command of the English language (preferably level B2) is a requirement for your participation in the course. Please provide proof of your language level by submitting a language certificate (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge) with your application.

Submit application to

Please send your documents (completed application form, CV, brief personal statement, and proof of language skills) either in digital or printed form to:

E-mail: summerschool@uni-bayreuth.de
Fax: +49 921557397

http://www.summerschool.uni-bayreuth.de/

Is accommodation organised?
Accommodation is arranged by the organiser.
Type of accommodation

Hostel or hotel

Meals

A daily lunch as well as a welcome dinner and a farewell dinner are included in the registration fee.

Is a social and leisure programme offered?
Yes
Description of social and leisure programme

City tours, guided visits, BBQ, film evening, excursions, etc.

Free internet access
Yes
Support in visa matters
Yes
Pick-up service from train station/airport
Yes

University of Bayreuth

The University of Bayreuth has been ranked among the top 50 universities in the THE World University Ranking "THE Young University Ranking" in the last years! An interdisciplinary profile in study and research, innovation, and an international orientation are the guiding principles of the university, a modern campus university. The university is a centre of international research, with innovative structures characterised by their "interface philosophy".
See: http://www.uni-bayreuth.de

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