Unit Two: Studying Africa through the Social Studies

Module Six: The Geography of Africa

Teacher's Edition

Suggested Readings

The following selection of books and articles provide sources on the topics and issues addressed in this lesson. This bibliography is not meant to be exhaustive. It includes sources used in developing this lesson and should help you explore these issues more comprehensively.

Geography of Africa:

• General Geography: Robert Stock, Africa South of the Sahara: A Geographic Interpretation, New York: Guilford Press, 1995.
• Africa In Maps: I.L.L. Griffiths, An Atlas of African Affairs, (2nd Ed.) London: Routledge, 1994.
• J.F.A. Ajayi and M. Crowder, Historical Atlas of Africa, London: Longman, 1985.
• Physical Geography of Africa: C. Buckle, Landforms of Africa, London: Longman, 1978.
• J.M. Pritchard, Landform and Landscape in Africa, London: Edward Arnold, 1979.
• African Climate: J.F. Griffiths (ed) Climates of Africa, Amsterdam, 1972.
• B.W. Thompson, The Climate of Africa, New York: Oxford University Press, 1965.
• African Environment: L.A. Lewis and L. Berry, African Environment and Resources, Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1988.

Natural Resources in Africa:

• Mineral: "Major Commodities of Africa: Minerals" in Africa South of the Sahara, London: Europa Publications, 2000.
• G. Lanning, Africa Undermined: Mining Companies and the Underdevelopment of Africa, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1979.
• S.A. Ochola, Minerals in African Underdevelopment, London: L'Ouverture, 1975.
• O. Ogunbadejo, The International Politics of Africa's Strategic Minerals, London: Francis Pinter, 1985.
• Agriculture: P.R. M. McLoughlin, African Food Production Systems: Cases and Theories, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1970.
• W. F. Thomas and G.W. Whittington, Environment and Land Use in Africa, London: Methuen, 1969.

Movement in Africa:

• Trade and Migration: Austen, African Economic History: Internal Development and External Dependency Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1987. Comprehensive treatment of trade in pre-colonial and colonial Africa.
• M.B. Brown and P. Tiffen, Short Changed: Africa and World Trade Boulder: Pluto Press, 1992.
• R.O. Collins (ed) Problems in African History: The Precolonial Centuries, (2nd Ed) Princeton: Markus Wiener, 1996. Contains sections, with multiple chapters, on the Bantu and Nilotic migrations.
• D. Cordell and J. Gregory (eds), African Population and Capitalism: Historical Perspectives Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1987. Good on population movement in late pre-colonial and colonial eras.
• B. Freund, The Making of Contemporary Africa: The Development of African Society Since 1800 (2nd Ed) Boulder: Lynn Riener, 1998. Trade and migration in colonial and post-colonial Africa.
• W. A. Hence, Population, Migration, and Urbanization in Africa New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.
• J. Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800 (2nd Ed) New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
• Slave Trade: P. Curtin, The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1969.
• J.E. Inikori and S.L. Engerman (eds) The Atlantic Slave Trade: Effects on Economies, Societies and Peoples in Africa, the Americas, and Europe Durham: Duke University Press, 1992.
• C. Keim, Teaching the Slave Trade With Documents, in M. L. Bastian and J.L. Parpart (eds) Great Ideas for Teaching About Africa Boulder: Lynn Rienner, 1999.
• P. Manning, Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental and African Slave Trades, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
• J. Miller, Way of Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Angolan Slave Trade, 1730-1830 Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988.

Movement of Ideas:

• Education: P. Altbach and G. Kelly (eds) Education and Colonialism, New York: Praeger, 1977.
• M. Bray, P. Clarke, and D. Stephens, Education and Society in Africa, London: Edward Arnold, 1986.
• M. Carnoy, Education as Cultural Imperialism, New York: Longman, 1974.
• Religion: N. Levetzion and R. Pouwels, (eds), The History of Islam in Africa Athens Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2000

Return to Module Six Overview

Go to Activity One or go to one of the other activities in this module.

1. Location-Engage
2. Africa's Rivers and Lakes-Engage
3. Map activities Physical features, Climate and Vegetation; Summary map exercise-Explore
4. Africa's Natural Resources-Explore
5. Four maps of movement-Explain
6. Human-Environment Interaction: Expand/homework