Land, Power, & Change in Africa

In this course we will explore the ecological, social and political history of land use in Central Africa to feed global markets from slavery to rubber and timber to critical raw materials, and climate change mitigation. We will study the current dynamics of government and governance across Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Angola, as colonial and post-colonial histories have shaped these countries. Each student will do an in depth study of a country and a commodity (timber, copper, hunting, photographic tourism, cobalt, carbon, tobacco) to understand the relationships between people and their government, international aid vs. exploitation of resources, and how this impacts long-term land uses and the prospects for well governed, prosperous countries in the 21st century. Students will be introduced to frameworks associated with Political Economy Analysis, and interactive lectures and readings will bridge history, geography, political science, environmental studies, economics and literature.



Dr. Matt Sommerville is an international development specialist who has led USAID’s global land rights portfolio. He currently works on reconciling customary and natural resource governance systems around agriculture, minerals and forests, with commercial pressures to access these resources in Central Africa.