Country Research Project Project Overview
The Country Research Project will help you develop in-depth knowledge about one African country. The project is worth 140 points of your overall grade. The project contains three steps which you will be required to perform at different stages of the course and submit as a word document. Each submission should be in a 12 point font size. The word limit is 1000 words minimum.
This project is essentially a writing assignment. You are expected to read, assess, and draw insights from sources to write your own informed work about an African country. Endeavor to provide a well-rounded, interesting picture of your country. Providing bare facts will lead to a very basic view. To help give a fuller picture of your assigned country, include relevant facts, responses, and analyses that bolster understanding of the topic.
The project consists of THREE steps, which you will be required to perform at different stages of the course. You will complete each step as a Word document and submit your completed assignment to the appropriate dropbox. The steps are as follows:
Step 1: Colonial History and Political Context. (1000 words minimum)
Due at the conclusion of Lesson 5
Step 2: Economy
Due at the conclusion of Lesson 8 (1000 words minimum)
Step 3: Art/Culture
Due at the conclusion of Lesson 11(1000 words minimum)
Things to Know BEFORE Getting Started
About Sources
Throughout the project, you will keep a record of the information sources you used to gather the information about your assigned country. By the end of the three steps, you should have used no less than a total of NINE different references as you research your country.
Select at least THREE sources from the PSU Libraries’ Research Guide for AFR 110 (https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/UPafr110) or Research Guide for African Studies (https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/african-studies).
Then select at least SIX academic sources of your choosing.
NOTE: The Huffington Post, New York Times, or Wikipedia ARE NOT vetted ACADEMIC sources and should NOT BE USED IN THIS CLASS. A balanced choice of academic sources will include a journal article, a book, and other web related sources.
*Make sure that for each step, you have this balance in your selection of sources to use.
Here are a few recommended sources that are not already listed on the PSU Libraries’ Research Guide for AFR 110. In recommending these sources, we are in no way suggesting that these are EXEMPLARY authorities.
BBC Country Profiles (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/country_profiles/default.stm)
United Nations (https://www.un.org/)
For an academic assignment, you should always draw on the best sources of information, that is, refereed and reputable sources. What does “refereed” and “reputable” mean in this context? The terms mean that these sources gain authority and reputability because they are written by informed and knowledgeable authors, are fact-checked, edited, and reviewed by a publisher or other authoritative, independent entities. Such a process of refereeing, editing, and distribution tends to produce the most reliable information because it is independently verified and checked. Such reputable and refereed sources are provided in the resource sheet on information sources on Africa from the African Studies librarian, Ms. Sylvia Owiny, about the resources in Penn State’s library that will be useful for your assignment. Do not rely on tourism Web sites and unrefereed online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia.
About Plagiarism
Do NOT cut and paste from ANY sources into your assignment without giving credit – such an act constitutes plagiarism. This includes any media you may include or reference. As is true in your other courses, the policy in AFR 110 is that you should not use words that are not your own in an unacknowledged manner. Changing one or two words in a sentence does not entitle you to use it as your own, since you are using someone else’s ideas.
This assignment will be submitted using Turnitin, which is built into each of the Country Research Project dropboxes. Submission instructions for Turnitin can be found on the Turnitin User Guide.
Of course, all scholars learn from others, and you are welcome to draw on ideas or quotations from the sources you find helpful – just remember to use parentheses [e.g. (Juarez, 2016)] when paraphrasing or quotation marks when quoting “word for word.”
Please do not disadvantage yourself and risk a poor grade by plagiarizing your sources. For more information, please see the University Policies in the syllabus.
About Student Country Assignments
Each student will be assigned an African Country to research. In the FA/SP you will receive your country assignment by the beginning of Week 3. For the Summer sessions you will receive your country assignment by the end of Week 1.
You will see your assigned country posted to the Student Country Assignment List Page
Note: If you are unable to link to the page – the page may not be published at this time.
About Due Dates
All work is to submitted on time. No late assignments will be accepted as noted in the syllabus. It is your responsibility to check the Course Schedule or Course Calendar for the assignment due dates. If you are unable to meet the project deadlines, please contact your instructor.
About EACH Step Submission
ALL of your written Step submissions should adhere to the points noted below.
Any additional criteria or grading information will be sent to you by your instructor.
FORMAT: upload ONLY as a MS Word doc or docx file; use single space; use a 12 point font.
FILE NAME: Naming your file is important. Your filename should begin with your LAST NAME and include the Project Step and # e.g. MyLastName_Project STEP_1.docx
CONTENT: Be focused on and address the information detailed in each of the Project Steps
LENGTH: between 700-1000 words (12 font)
SUBMISSIONS: For each project Step you will submit your work to the appropriate dropbox in the course. Dropboxes are located in the lesson in which the Step is due. Each dropbox is labeled as “Submit Country Research Project STEP ‘X'” – where X is the number of the project step. Note: Each dropbox contains information and an example of how you should format your writing
WRITING: It is expected that your work be well written, organized, and written as a persuasive essay i.e. consisting of clearly written and logically organized paragraphs. Simple one sentence responses to the guide prompts for each of the Steps in the project are not sufficient. Also note that guide prompts are only that–guide prompts. They do not exhaust the possible ideas and reflections that you should be addressing. If you respond ONLY to these prompts you are not doing enough.
This assignment will be submitted using Turnitin, which is built into each dropbox. Information on Turnitin, including upload instructions, can be found on their Student Help Page
Project STEP 3 – 40 points
Country: Seychelles
Africa has four Nobel Laureates for literature and a rich and varied artistic heritage. Examples of well-known annual African cultural festivals include Fespaco, the continent-wide film festival in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Poetry Africa in Durban, South Africa and the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania.
1. Colonial impact on art and culture:
How does the art and culture of your country reflect colonial impact? State how colonialism has impacted the following:
the languages of your country (e.g. their use in schools as languages of teaching and learning, their use in government for statecraft, their use in business, etc.)? How have the different roles allocated to the different languages led to “elite closure”?
the literature of your country? Pay attention to the effects of a shift from oral to written literature.
the film industry of your country?
the festivals/ceremonies of your country? (Pay attention to such ceremonies as child naming, weddings, burials/funerals etc)
the music and dance of your country?
the cuisine of your country?
the major religions of your country, e.g. Are there signs of religious syncretism?
2. Leading/notable influences on art and culture and their works (identify 3 leading individuals and 3 of their works for each category):
Who are the leading or notable influences of art and culture in your country – what are some examples of their work and what is the impact of their work both locally and internationally? In these different categories, pay attention to the representation of women.
Who are the major writers … what are some examples … what is their impact locally/internationally?
Who are the major artists … what are some examples … what is their impact locally/internationally?
Who are the major film makers … what are some examples … what is their impact locally/internationally?
Who are the major musicians … what are some examples … what is their impact locally/internationally?
3. Conclusion:
Using all the data and analysis you have done pertaining to the above questions, write a conclusion addressing how culture in your country can play a role in economic and social development.
4. Other Requirements:
Referencing: Evidential Proof of sources used: Paper should be supported by evidence and quotations from sources. At least three sources with APA citation at the bottom of the report, Variation in selection of sources. (You can access APA citation style information at http://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide
Organization of text: Well organized, detailed and logical/cohesive arguments addressing relevant issues.
