Increasing numbers of governments, NGOs and political scientists are starting to question the absence of economic growth in Africa. 
Economic strength and political stability are desperately needed on the continent, yet despite the heady optimism which followed the departure of the coloinal powers, they have been slow to appear.
Starting this year, Calvin will offer Interim course W51, Politics of Development in Africa, which explores the multiple theories that seek to explain this pertrubing situation.
The class will be taught by Professor Mwenda Ntarangwi, with the department of Sociology.
The course will begin with the basics, defining Africa and the what exactly development entails, before exploring Africa’s interaction with the global economy in the form of natural resources, World Bank development projects and government reforms.
“We will also consider ways in which Christians have engaged with Africa and some of the newer strategies regarding development work as a calling for us Christians”, said Professor Ntaranwi.
He described an important element of the course as working to understand the origins and consequences of one’s preconceptions about Africa: and the less a student has to begin with, the more he or she might benefit from this class.
W-151 The Politics of African Development will be taught from 8:30 AM till noon and can be used to fill an elective in an African Studies or African Diaspora minor.
