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History of North Africa

A Well on the Libyan Desert, Africa. New York, N.Y.: Strohmeyer & Wyman. Photograph. From Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.

Overview

About the course: This course highlights the thematic, theoretical, and methodological approaches and contributions in the field of North African studies and underlines the relationship, continuities, and discontinuities between the colonial past and postcolonial realities. Although the course emphasis is upon the modern and contemporary eras, this interdisciplinary course is inspired by the notion of North Africa as a deep historical space “where worlds have always met.” The readings cover Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt but long-standing ties with the eastern Ottoman Empire, the Mediterranean, and Europe as well as other world regions are considered. Theoretically, the course is informed by world history, migration studies, and comparative politics. 

This lesson introduced students to primary sources and guided them in searching the Library of Congress to find and analyze sources.

Learning Objectives

  • Learn how to analyze textual and visual primary sources.
  • Learn how to find and understand metadata that accompanies primary source digital objects.
  • Learn how to navigate and use the Library of Congress website to find digital collections and other digitized materials.
  • Develop skills to critically examine, interpret, and evaluate historical evidence.

About this Lesson Plan

Discipline(s)

Middle Eastern and North African Studies, History, Anthropology, Political Science

Time Needed

Two class periods (45 minutes each)

Original Course

MENA 417/517: North African Societies: History, Culture & Politics

Lesson Plan Created By

Dr. Julia Clancy-Smith, School of Middle East and North African Studies, and Niamh Wallace, University of Arizona Libraries