Politics. It is one of those taboo party topics that people try to avoid when looking for a good time. But not all political discussions are bad, and the classes on them can be outright fascinating. For example: African Politics?
But wait; does Africa really even have politics?
"People assume there's a policy of aid," said Ruth Iyob, associate professor of political science, "But where is the gas in your car coming from?"
Politics is not just an argument-inducing topic. According to Iyob it is to "understand power relations, institutional capabilities and political economy" of a country or region and "how all these interact."
She further explained, "It's more than parties; It's how power relations impacts daily life and foreign relations."
Iyob teaches the African Politics class on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Social Science Building. She said that one of the goals of the class is for students to "get an understanding of the centrality of Africa."
Iyob said, "When we talk about any country, we're talking about power relations: local, national, international." Further, African politics are misunderstood or considered to not exist ..at all. She disputes that misconception. "Africa is central to our way of life."
"They remember the negative, but not the basics about waking up," said Iyob about Americans and their Ethiopian coffee drinking. "We only hear about the poor in need, never the transactions."
In the class, Iyob illustrates the inclusion of Africa into everyday existence by naming imports that people do not commonly consider, including oil, industrial diamonds, pharmaceuticals for perfume making, and coffee. She said that it is a puzzle "for a culture that is so present to be so invisible."
This semester, Iyob is concentrating the course on francophone Africa. Because of the sheer expanse of the continent, and different regions within the continent and countries, it is not possible to cover everything in one course. Even the range of just the francophone countries is huge. "From Madagascar to Morocco is francophone," Iyob said.
According to Iyob, there is not a concrete section of Africa that is francophone.
There are countries in north, east, west and central Africa that all are included. "That's what's interesting is the diversity," said Iyob.
The diversity lies not only in the sheer number of countries, but also their economies and ecologies. According to Iyob, there are some countries that are pastoral, petro-states, or have diamond-rich economies. In the ecological diversity, there are deserts, mountains, coastal areas and jungles.
Diversity is not the only focus in the course. Iyob said that she tries "to bring in the Pan-African element, and to examine the globality of it. Africa is in the whole world: African peoples, cultures, economies."
The involvement of Africa in the world economy isn't a new development. It has played an important part in history for the Persians, Greeks and Romans, as well as others. African culture, people and economies have circulated throughout the world since ancient times.
"Africa has always been a part of the global wave, in both positive and negative ways," Iyob said. "There's no way to look at international relations without Africa."
The class will look at past and present politics, including Euro-African relations. "It's central to the world economy, culture and international relations, but it's not politically central," said Iyob. "There's an absence of acknowledgement, which makes it possible for us to ignore it."
She said that she goes into some American politics in the class. She starts with the familiar and works from there to get her students so they do not view the African politics as exotic.
She said that she "makes it relevant" and by doing so, acknowledges the relevance of Africa to the world. "It's so central to our way of life, why don't we acknowledge it?"
By using the internet and current technology, Iyob can make a point about how alive and widespread African politics are.
She said the cartography exercise used to take a week to do, but now students can do a google search and come in with a printed map of the African countries, but no two students will have identical maps.
"Students get excited," Iyob said. She likes the enthusiasm of the students for the subject once they really start to see how broad it is. "The class is in the afternoon, but everyone was attentive and they didn't leave at 1:45." In fact, students linger in the room afterwards, discussing the class.
"Africa is so many things," Iyob said in explaining how a tea she could once purchase only in South Africa is now available in the United States at Target. "We're discovering more African oil and diversifying our purchases."
And since our industrial economy is based on what we import, Africa becomes vitally important in providing "the basic derivatives we need for post-modern life."
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