Postgraduate Course: Governing Mineral Extraction in Africa (PGSP11281)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Reviewing statistics on Africa's declining share of world trade, Susan George remarked in 1993 "one can almost hear the sound of sub-Saharan Africa sliding off the world map." But in 2011 Africa seems to be back on the map. World market prices for "strategic minerals" are rising. Not only governments and multinationals based in western countries, but increasingly investors from China, India and other rising economic power-players are scrambling to secure their access to Africa's remaining mineral wealth and trying to forge personal and political alliances with the continent's leaders. Is Africa finding a new place for itself in the world economy, or simply back to its colonial role as provider of cheap raw materials for overseas manufacturing?
This course offers a critical introduction to current research on the historical, economic, social, political, environmental and geographical dimensions of mineral extraction in Africa. These topics are approached through theoretical literature and case studies of specific minerals, countries, enterprises and transport routes. The focus will not only be on official policy pronouncements by members of the elites who govern mineral extraction. We will explore the politics and conflicts surrounding mineral extraction in areas like the Niger Delta, Eastern DRC and the Zambian Copperbelt and critically examine consumer activism on 'blood diamonds' and other conflict minerals, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and other emerging attempts at corporate self-regulation like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. The daily realities of small-scale and artisanal miners, smugglers, militias and other foot-soldiers of extraction will also emerge in ethnographic detail. |
| Course description |
Week 1: Introduction
Lecture: A critical introduction to the "Resource Curse" thesis will be followed by a presentation on course practicalities, course topics and the distribution of student group presentations.
Week 2: You Sign, We Dig. Mineral Extraction and Colonial State Formation in Africa
Week 3: African Minerals and Geopolitics
Week 4: Africa¿s Place in the 21st Century World Order
Week 5: Let's Talk Oil
Week 6: The Foot Soldiers of Extraction
Week 7: Blood Diamonds are Forever
Week 8: Corporate Social Responsibility: Universal Solution or the Fox Guarding the Chicken Coop?
Week 9: There Will Be Blood. Mineral Extraction and Conflict in Africa
Week 10: How Much can the Planet Give and Take?
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Students are assessed by an essay of 4000 words length (90%) and an essay plan (10%). All essays must be based on comparative work linking theoretical literature with case-study material. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes comply with the descriptions for level 11 of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). More specifically, these include:
- A comprehensive overview of the diverse factors shaping mineral extraction and its governance in contemporary Africa
- A topically and geographically diverse range of detailed case studies organised around clearly defined sub-topics will give students a critical awareness of current issues in this field, but with enough specific facts to appreciate the wide diversity within it.
- Students are enabled to think critically and make informed interpretations of a wide range of past and current trends shaping fundamental realities in Africa and the world economy.
- Useful for students choosing to continue with academic work or pursue careers in a wide range of fields like development policy-making and practice in governmental or non-governmental organisations, consumer activism or indeed the worlds of international business and extractive industries.
- The compulsory preparation of group presentations will require students to self-organize in small teams to address a specific scientific and empirical question and finally communicate their results to their peers and the course convenors in a coherent manner and within limited time, making use of (audio-)visual technology.
- The compulsory essay will require students to practice their skills in scientific writing and literature-based research, to plan and execute what will amount to a significant project of research, and thereby to demonstrate creativity in the application of the knowledge they have gathered from the course.
|
Reading List
| See 'Course Handbook' |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Wolfgang Zeller
Tel: (0131 6)51 3134
Email: wolfgang.zeller@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Jessica Barton
Tel: (0131 6)51 1659
Email: Jessica.Barton@ed.ac.uk |
|
© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 12 January 2015 4:35 am
|
University Homepage