African women carry heavy, growing responsibilities within their
communities that bring them respect but rarely the resources they
need.  Following themes of autonomy and control of social, cultural
and economic resources, we discuss alternatives and radical changes
from pre-colonial to contemporary times and consider their relevance
to African and US development policy, to African feminist concerns
and to our own options.  We will talk about how African women fit
into important public discussions in Africa on economic development,
urbanization, family breakdown, nationalism and religion.  Some
issues familiar in Western media, including famines, refugees, civil
wars, Islamic and Christian fundamentalism, polygyny and AIDS, have
special relevance for African women.  They also can contribute
distinctive experiences and ideas to our discussions of some
problems Americans now feel sharply, such as preserving family and
religious values, building mutual respect between men and women and
between ethnic groups, teen or unwed mothers, budget cuts,
unemployment and global economic competition.  Basic concepts and
analytic skills from this course will help you join in these debates
effectively and learn critically from public media such as
television and newspapers.  By the end of the semester, you will
know what major issues African women consider important to their
lives, especially family and economic issues.  You should be well
aware of the broad range of diversity of viewpoints on these issues
and familiar with some of the most common perspectives.  You will
also see the range of diversity in the situations of specific groups
of African women, and be able to identify the most important local
and international conditions that affect their position.  We will
concentrate on the factors that give women more or less access to
key resources they need to provide security for themselves and their
families.  We will also consider how our actions and US government
policies contribute to these influential factors.