This special subject will introduce students to the study of peace, conflict, and the politics of history in Rwanda, a small nation in the Great Lakes region of eastern Africa. Part I will proceed chronologically to cover key events from the mythical origins of the Nyiginya Kingdom to Rwandan independence in 1962. Part II will then cover Rwandan history since independence until the present. Students will analyse relevant primary and secondary sources to better understand a nation whose history includes periods of relative peace and political stability, intermingled with episodes of state-sanctioned political and ethnic violence resulting from colonisation, small-scale ethnic, regional, and political conflicts, civil war, and genocide. In the process, students will learn to examine sources critically with an eye toward comprehending the political processes that have informed how Rwandans and foreigners have presented the nation's history at different points in its past.

3x1 hr per week over 20 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.  This is one of the Honours options in History and may not run every year. The options that are running in the current session are available on MyCampus.

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The standard assessments for this course are:

Semester One:

■ Reading responses (10%) - 1,000 words

■ Primary source analysis (30%) - 2,000 words

■ Final essay (60%) - 3,000 words

Semester Two:

■ Reading responses (10%) - 1,000 words

■ Primary source analysis (30%) - 2,000 words

■ Final essay (60%) - 3,000 words

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions).

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ Assess competing interpretations and theoretical concepts relating to the study of Rwandan history, from the mythical origins of the Nyiginya kingdom to the present;

■ Act as professional historians by conducting independent and small-group group analysis of primary sources, in conversation with secondary literature, and writing carefully considered essays and related written assessments;

■ Gain familiarity with some of the challenges that historians face when studying places and people whose histories have been overwhelmed by recent genocides and related atrocities and other potentially polarising events.

■ Develop the confidence, imagination, self-discipline and skills required to excel in similar demanding work in postgraduate work or in employment. 

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Identify and discuss in a critical manner key theoretical and historiographic trends related to the study of Rwanda's history;

■ Critically evaluate and interpret primary sources related to different periods in Rwanda's history, and bring them into conversation with relevant secondary literature to support informed conclusions about Rwanda's past and present; 

■ Draw informed conclusions about how different kinds of political violence have taken shape in Rwanda, and the long-term legacies of such violence for present-day Rwandans;

■ Present research findings in unambiguous, concise and effective prose or verbal argument, incorporating different kinds of substantiating evidence; and

■ Engage in lively and well-grounded discussion with fellow students, including commenting meaningfully on your peers' work.