African History: Research and Website Creation FINAL PROJECT DUE: Tuesday, Dec 1

In class we have looked broadly at patterns of colonialism, nationalist activity, and independence as
they have occurred across parts of the continent of Africa. Now you will be looking more closely at
how these events occurred in a particular country.

As a group, select one of the independent nations of Africa listed below to focus on. Each group
must focus on a different country, so check with me before moving forward. Then, divide up the
research topics among all members of your group. You will need to research:

● Its colonial experience

● Nationalist movements toward independence
● Nation-Building (what has happened since independence)
Challenges
Efforts to address challenges
● A Profile

Once you have completed the research, your group will create a website. The website should be
well organized and look professional. Your website should have the following:

A Homepage including:
● Name of the country
● Map(s)
● A summary synthesizing your research (up to 150 words)
● Four tabs leading to your research topics (Colonial Experience, Nationalist Movements,
Nation-building, and A Profile)
● Images

Colonial Experience Tab:

Images (maps, photos, graphs, etc)
2 paragraphs (200-300 words total) describing their colonial experience. This should include:
● the type of colony
● the European nation that had control
● the policies (economic, social, political) and the effects these policies had on the native
populations

Nationalist Movements Toward Independence Tab:

Images (maps, photos, graphs, etc)
2 paragraphs (200-300 words total) that include:
● a description of strategies and movements
● nationalist leaders
● connections to colonial experience
● conditions of independence, including type of government set up
Nation-Building Tab:
Images (maps, photos, graphs, etc)
1 paragraph on the challenges faced in building their new nation
1 paragraph focusing on efforts to address these challenges
(200-300 words total)

A Profile Tab:
This could be a close look at a specific person or organization doing interesting things, it could be
about a music or arts scene or a social movement (environmental, health, human rights, and so on).
You can include images, links to videos, music, etc. 2 paragraphs (200-300 words total)

As you create the website, your group should also be focusing on editing the product of your
research so that it is grammatically correct, formal in style, and is consistent in tone and length
(especially important as it will have been written by several authors).

List of countries to choose from: (be sure to clear your selection with me)

Algeria
South Africa Sudan
Mozambique Eritrea
Angola Botswana
Uganda Nigeria
Zimbabwe Guinea
Cameroon Senegal
Democratic Republic of Congo Mali
Tanzania
2020 Recommended Sources for Africa Project

Be sure to use reputable and useful online resources for your research. Remember, Wikipedia is
not a good place to start: It’s good to grab a date, find a map, define a term.
You can start by exploring the following to see what information they contain. Try to be targeted in
your search.

The Library of Congress https://www.loc.gov/ (be specific in your search; this is a helpful site)
NYTimes The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia (limited free articles)
Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/?noredirect=on (limited free articles)
BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/world/africa
Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/africa/
Ted Talks https://www.ted.com/talks?sort=relevance&q=africa
NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/africa/
Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/
United Nations United Nations: Home (excellent but can be overwhelming)
US State Department U.S. Department of State | Home Page (go here for the stats not Wiki)
Amnesty International Amnesty International: Home (especially for human rights)
The Guardian News, sport and opinion from the Guardian's UK edition | The Guardian
Choices.edu https://www.choices.edu/curriculum-series/world-history/ (videos!)
Vox https://www.vox.com/search?q=Africa (videos, leans liberal)
Writing matters, structure matters. Be sure your paragraphs begin with strong topic sentences. The
information in each paragraph should adhere to your topic sentences and be well organized and
coherent. Remember the 200 word minimum and the 300 word maximum for each section. And
yes, 1 paragraph is possible if the topic sentence controls it.

Here are some samples of topic sentences for this type of writing:

Examples for Two Paragraphs

The US response to Covid19 has been woefully inadequate because of the lack of leadership and
unclear communication.

Compounding the immediate missteps by the present administration is Americans’ belief in

“America’s exceptionalism.”

Examples for Three paragraphs

After the Chinese Communistic Party took power in 1949, it had to face two challenges:
producing enough food for China’s large population and industrializing its economy.

To address these challenges, the CCP created communes and collectives so people’s labor and
equipment could be used more efficiently.

However, the communes and the collectives ultimately failed because of poor planning and
political corruption.