African Missionaries
- Course Code:
- 15PSRH043
- Unit value:
- 0.5
- Year of study:
- Any
- Taught in:
- Term 1
The course challenges assumptions that Christian ‘mission’ to the African continent was driven by European missionaries. Instead, it will ask students to consider the role that African converts, evangelists, translators, informants and preachers played in the dissemination and spread of mission society teachings, bodies and practices around the continent throughout the 19th century to the present day.
In particular, the course will survey:
- The role that African Christians played as missionaries in the 19th century to the present day. This includes studying how African converts assisted European and American missionaries linguistically and culturally; as well as pursuing evangelistic work amongst their compatriots, and within their own ethnic and linguistic constituencies.
- An understanding of the religious, social, political and economic motivations underlying the Protestant missionary movement of the 18th century onwards
- A broad overview of the work of missionary societies in Africa from this period to the present day, with a special emphasis on Africans’ reception of missionary enterprise
- An appreciation of the role of missions in colonialism, and resistance to colonialism
- An in-depth knowledge of at least two geographical areas and/or missionary societies
- An understanding of the role that African Christians play in ‘missions’ to Europe and North America in the 21st century
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
At the end of the course, a student should be able to demonstrate…
- A good understanding of the main themes and issues surrounding African reception of Protestant and Catholic missionaries in Africa
- An appreciation of the role that African converts played in the missionary enterprise – theologically, linguistically, culturally, politically and socially.
- An ability to identify, compare and contrast the main scholarly approaches (historical, anthropological, theological) to the study of mission in Africa
- Their ability to critically assess mission society archive material in the SOAS archives, and to skilfully use primary sources in constructing a research essay.
- Sensitivity to the challenges of locating African Christian agency in mission archive material
Workload
2 hours a week of seminars/tutorials
