Jacob Tropp
Spencer Fellow in African Studies; Assoc. Professor of History
Email: jtropp@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.3250
Office Hours: Spring 2013: Mondays 11:15 am - 12:15 pm, Thursdays, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm and 2:40 - 3:40 pm; and by appointment.
Download Contact Information
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
ENVS 0500 - Independent Study ▲ ▹
Independent Study
A one- or two-semester research project on a topic that relates to the relationship between humans and the environment. The project, carried out under the supervision of a faculty member with related expertise, must involve a significant amount of independent research and analysis. Students may enroll in ENVS 0500 no more than twice for a given project. (Approval only)
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
ENVS 0700 - ES Senior Honors Work ▲ ▹
Senior Honors Work
The final semester of a multi-semester research project on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. Students may enroll in ENVS 0700 only once. (Previous work would have been conducted as one or two semesters of an ENVS 0500 Independent Study project.) The project, carried out under the supervision of a faculty member, will result in a substantial piece of writing, and will be presented to other ENVS faculty and students in a public forum. (Senior standing; ENVS 0112, ENVS 0211, ENVS 0215, GEOG 0120, and ENVS 0500; Approval only)
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
FYSE 1247 - Everyday Life in South Africa
Everyday Life in South Africa, 1948-Present
In this seminar we will explore some of the social worlds of South Africans amid the country's recent decades of turbulent and dramatic change. We will look at how different groups within the nation's diverse population have understood and experienced the rise of the apartheid system, its demise, and its legacies in their "everyday" lives and interactions. We will draw from various sources - non-fiction, fiction, film, music, and other forms of popular culture - to interpret these social dynamics and their ongoing significance in a post-apartheid society. 3 hrs. sem.
Fall 2011
HIST 0113 - History of Africa to 1800
History of Africa To 1800
This course offers an introductory survey of African history from earliest times to 1800. Through lectures, discussions, readings, and films, we will explore Africa’s complex and diverse pre-colonial past. Themes examined in the course include development of long-distance trade networks, the linkages between ecological change and social dynamics, the formation of large pre-colonial states, and the transatlantic slave trade and its impact on social and economic relations within Africa. A broader concern in the course is how we have come to understand the meaning of “Africa” itself and what is at stake in interpreting Africa’s pre-colonial history. Pre-1800. 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc.
Fall 2012
HIST 0114 / HIST 0226 - History of Modern Africa
History of Modern Africa
We begin looking at revolutions in the early 19th century and the transformations surrounding the slave trade. Next we examine the European colonization of the continent, exploring how diverse interventions into Africans' lives had complex effects on political authority, class and generational dynamics, gender relations, ethnic and cultural identities, and rural and urban livelihoods. After exploring Africans' struggles against colonial rule in day-to-day practices and mass political movements, the last few weeks cover Africa's transition to independence and the postcolonial era, including the experience of neo-colonialism, ethnic conflict, poverty, and demographic crisis. (formerly HIST 0226) 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc.
Spring 2009, Fall 2011, Spring 2013
HIST 0225 - African American History
African American History
This course will explore the history of the African American people from the slave trade to the present. It will examine the process of enslavement, the nature of American slavery, the meaning of emancipation, the response to the rise of legalized segregation, and the modern struggle for equality. Special attention will be given to placing the African American story within the context of the developing American nation, its institutions, and its culture. (formerly HIST0371) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2011
HIST 0375 - Struggles in Southern Africa ▲
Struggles for Change in Southern Africa
In this course we will examine the tumultuous period of social struggle in southern Africa in the decades following World War II. Major topics to be covered include the rise of apartheid and the mobilization of anti-apartheid resistance in South Africa and Namibia; the liberation struggle against white settler rule in Zimbabwe; the fight for freedom from Portuguese colonialism in Mozambique; and Mozambique's protracted civil war following independence. A central purpose of this course is to explore how these different arenas of struggle transformed individual lives and social relations in complex and diverse ways, generating enduring impacts and challenges within the region.
Spring 2012, Fall 2013
HIST 0419 - Rdgs African HI: Environmental
Readings in African History: Environmental History of Africa
This seminar will explore the history of human-environmental interaction on the African continent. The course examines how scholars have begun unraveling dominant historical understandings of African landscapes, cultures, and pre-colonial ecologies. A major portion of the course looks at how colonial relations shaped conflicts over environmental control and ecological change and the legacies of such dynamics in the postcolonial era. Readings on gender relations, urban environmental change, and the evolution of development thinking will be the focus of class discussions on new ways of interpreting African social and environmental change. 3 hr. sem.
Spring 2009, Spring 2011
HIST 0441 - Rdgs African HI: Environmental
Readings in African History: Environmental History of Africa
This seminar will explore the history of human-environmental interaction on the African continent. The course examines how scholars have begun unraveling dominant historical understandings of African landscapes, cultures, and pre-colonial ecologies. A major portion of the course looks at how colonial relations shaped conflicts over environmental control and ecological change and the legacies of such dynamics in the postcolonial era. Readings on gender relations, urban environmental change, and the evolution of development thinking will be the focus of class discussions on new ways of interpreting African social and environmental change. (formerly HIST 0419) 3 hr. sem.
Fall 2012
HIST 0442 - Popular Culture/History/Africa
Popular Culture and History in Africa
In recent years scholars of the African past have increasingly turned their attention to the multiple arenas of "popular culture" that have helped shape and express Africans' histories. In this course, we will explore the diverse thematic range of such approaches and the new conceptual lenses they bring to interpreting African colonial and post-colonial history. Readings and seminar discussions will touch on such varied historical topics as Africans as producers and consumers of popular photography, film/video, and music; the politics of fashion; and local dynamics of sports and leisure. (Formerly HIST 0420) 3 hrs. sem.
Spring 2013
HIST 0443 / WAGS 0443 - Readings in African History
Readings in African History: Women and Gender in Africa
This course takes up the challenge of understanding women's experiences and the role of gender in Africa's past. We will read from a wide variety of disciplinary perspectives and literary forms, including ethnographies, life histories, and fiction, in order to explore different methodological and interpretive approaches to these subjects. Themes will include: changes in the structure of patriarchy and women's status in the pre-colonial period, the gendered impact of colonial rule on African economies and ecologies, historical identities of masculinity and femininity, and gendered experience of postcolonial "development." Prior experience in African history is not required. (formerly HIST/WAGS 0421) 3 hrs. seminar
Spring 2012
HIST 0500 - Special Research Projects ▲ ▹
Special research projects during the junior year may be used to fulfill the research seminar requirements in some cases. Approval of department chair and project advisor is required.
Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
HIST 0700 - Senior Independent Study ▲
The History Senior Thesis is required of all majors. It is written over two terms, with the final grade applying to both terms. The project is generally begun in the fall and completed during winter or spring. Approval is required to begin the thesis in winter or spring, and such students must still attend the Thesis Writer's Workshops that take place in fall and winter.
Spring 2009, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
HIST 1018 - African Consumers
African Consumers
In this course we will explore how Africans variously situated across the continent have acted throughout history as cultural and economic consumers. Readings, discussions, and film screenings will touch on such diverse topics as Africans’ use of second-hand clothing from the West, the marketing and consumption of soap and hygiene products, the trade and consumption of food, the production and reception of popular videos and photography, and young peoples’ interactions with the global circulation of music and communications technology.
Winter 2011
INTL 0703 - LAS Senior Thesis
INTL 0705 - African Studies Senior Thesis
African Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Spring 2009, Fall 2011, Spring 2012
