Assignment

This is the link to the video we watched in class today:

http://www.pbs.org/video/2365964624/

Due to the broad nature of this course, we make many generalizations about places as we explore particular topics. For example, we have identified the continent of Africa as having a concentration of peripheral countries. We have identified the Sub-Saharan region of Africa as having some of the highest Crude Birth and Death rates. We have mentioned that that region also has some of the highest rates of poverty, which we will talk about in a future chapter. These descriptions of Africa represent Africa after the invasion of European powers but they do not represent the entire history of Africa.

These broad characterizations, while necessary to be able to cover the amount of information we hope to cover in this introductory course, often leave out important and very interesting stories. The film that we will watch today will hopefully fill in some of these interesting and unknown stories about the continent of Africa.

FOR DISCUSSION:

Describe something that you learned about the continent of Africa that you did not previously know. What are some of the great innovations that were developed in Africa? What did you find interesting in this film? Did you learn anything that is surprising to you? Refer to specific scenes from the film to support your statements.