COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST FOR POLI 458-POLITICS OF IDENTITY IN GHANA

Thursday, 6 February 2014

COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST: POLI 458 (POLITICS OF IDENTITY IN GHANA)

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

SECOND SEMESTER, 2014/2015

LECTURER: A. K. D. FREMPONG

COURSE TITLE	POLITICS OF IDENTITY IN GHANA
COURSE CODE	POLI 458
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES	Identity is a manifest feature of every society because in terms of politics, religion, region, ethnicity, gender, age, or socio-economic status, etc, society is pluralistic with different interests pursued by various groups. Often, identity groups have antedated the emergence of the modern state system and have endured in most countries despite policies of assimilation and integration. The issue becomes even more complicated by the fact that people have multiple identities and occupy multiple social statuses. How then does a post-colonial state promote national integration among its citizens within the context of competing identities? What is the role of the state in the struggle among the identity groups for the control of political power and national resources; particularly in the context where the assumption of one group to power alienates other groups? This course analyses the challenges of nation-state building in Ghana; forging a nation out of the diverse group of people living within its borders. To what extent have efforts to promote national identity been either promoted or hindered by competing ethnic, regional and religious identities? What roles have partisan politics, chieftaincy, women, and youth played in Ghanaian politics? Overall, how have the interplay of such identities shaped political actions and alignments in the varying phases of Ghanaian politics?   Upon completion of this course students should be able to: ·         Understand Identity and how it shapes national politics ·         Appreciate the impact of regionalism and ethnicity on politics in Ghana ·         Understand the roles and  dynamics of political party and religion in politics in Ghana ·         Critically discuss the prospects and  challenges  of  Youth participation in Ghanaian politics ·         Analyze the role of the institution of chieftaincy In Ghanaian  politics ·         Contribute meaningfully  to discussions on issues of  Identity and Politics in Ghana A theoretical analysis of the concepts and forms of identity is followed by their application in Ghanaian politics since independence, with particular emphasis on the Fourth Republic. GRADING: Interim Assessment: Take-Home Assignment (30%). End-of -Semester Examination: 50 compulsory Short-Answer Questions covering the entire course (50%); three essays answer one (20%)
WEEK NO	Date	Lecture Course	Tutorials	Venue	Assessment
1-3	2-20 Feb  2015	Understanding Politics of Identity	What is Identity and how does it affect national politics?	Lecture: JQB 19 Tutorial: DLR
4-6	23 Feb-13 Mar 2015	Regionalism and Ethnicity in Ghanaian Politics	Challenges of Regionalism and Ethnicity in Ghana	Lecture: JQB 19 Tutorial: DLR
7-8	16-27 Mar-  2015	Party  Politics in Ghana	Dynamics of  Party Politics in Ghana	Lecture: JQB 19 Tutorial: DLR
9-10	30 Mar- 10 Apr 2015	Women and Youth in Ghanaian Politics	Examine prospects and  challenges	Lecture: JQB 19 Tutorial: DLR
11-12	13-24 April 2015	Chieftaincy and Politics in Ghana	Chieftaincy –State Relations	Lecture: JQB 19 Tutorial: DLR
13	27April- 8 May 2015	Religion and Politics in Ghana	Extent and Influence of religion	Lecture: JQB 19 Tutorial: DLR

Reading List

MAIN TEXT: E. Debrah et al (2014) Ghana: Essays in the Study of Political Science, Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers:COMPULSORY AND AVAILABLE AT DEPARTMENTAL GENERAL OFFICE

Crawford Young (1976) The Politics Of Cultural Pluralism, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Naomi Chazan (1982) “Ethnicity and Politics in Ghana”, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 97, No. 3, Autumn, pp. 461-485.

A. K. D. Frempong (2001) “Ghana’s 2000 Elections: The Ethnic Undercurrents”, in J. R. A. Ayee, ed. Deepening Democracy in Ghana: Politics of the 2000 Elections”, Vol. 1, Accra: Freedom Publications, pp. 141- 159.

Frempong (2006) “Ethnicity, Democracy and Ghana’s Election 2004” in K. Boafo-Arthur ed. Voting for Democracy in Ghana: The 2004 Elections in Perspective,Thematic Studies, Accra: Freedom Publications, pp. 157-186

J. R. A. Ayee (nd) “Voting Patterns in the 2004 Elections”, Discussing Issues not Sensations http://ghanaelectionwatch.com/blog/index.php?itemid=5 

E. Gyimah-Boadi (2003) “Ghana: The Political Economy of ‘Successful’ Ethno-regional Conflict Management” in Bastain, Sunil and Robin Luckham , eds. Can Democracy be Designed? The Politics of Institutional Choice in Conflict-torn Societies, London/New York: Zed Books, pp.120-144.

H. Jockers, D. Kohnert and P. Nugent (2009) “The Successful Ghana Election of 2008: A Convenient Myth? Ethnicity in Ghana’s Elections Revisited”, Munich Personal RePEc Archive MPRA) Paper No. 16167.

Bob Kelly (2005) “The 2004 Elections in Northern Ghana”, Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 32, No. 104/105, Jun-Sept, pp. 455-461. 

John S. Pobee (1991) Religion and Politics in Ghana, Accra: Asempa Publishers.

Jean Marie Allman (1991) “Hewers of Wood, Carriers of Water: Islam, Class and Politics on the Eve of Ghana’s Independence”, African Studies Review, Vol. 34, No.2, pp. 1-26.

K. Ansah-Koi (1998) “Walking the Tightrope: Chiefs, Chieftaincy and the 1996 Elections in Ghana”, in J. R. A. Ayee, ed. The 1996 General Elections and Democratic Consolidation in Ghana, Accra: Gold-Type Ltd, pp. 139-155.

Kwame Boafo-Arthur (2006) “Chieftaincy in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects in the 21 Century” in Irene K. Odotei and Albert K. Awedoba, eds. Chieftaincy in Ghana: Culture, Governance and Development, Accra: Sub-Saharan Publishers, pp. 145-168

Samuel K. Gyapong (2006) “The Role of Chieftaincy in Ghana’s Democratic Experiment” in Odotei and Awedoba, eds. Chieftaincy in Ghana, pp. 183-191

E. Debrah (2007) “Fifty Years of Party Politics in Ghana: The Balance Sheet” in J. R. A. Ayee (ed) Ghana at 50: Government, Politics and Development, Accra: Friedrich Ebert Foundation, pp. 107-123.

A. K. D. Frempong (2007) “Political Conflict and Elite Consensus in the Liberal State”, in Kwame Boafo-Arthur, ed. Ghana: One Decade of the Liberal State,London/Dakar: Zed/CODESRIA Books, pp.128-164.

Beatrix Allah-Mensah (2005) Women in Politics and Public Life in Ghana, Accra: Friedrich Elbert Foundation.

 Beatrix Allah-Mensah (2007) “Women in Politics in Ghana, 1993-2003” in Kwame Boafo-Arthur, ed. Ghana: One Decade of the Liberal State, London/Dakar: Zed/CODESRIA Books, pp.251-279

Mike Oquaye (1996) “Youth, Politics and Society in Ghana” in F. K. Drah & Mike Oquaye, eds. Civil Society in Ghana, Accra: FES, pp. 163-202.

Richard Asante (2006) “The Youth and Politics in Ghana: Reflections on the 2004 General Elections” in K. Boafo-Arthur ed. Voting for Democracy in Ghana: The 2004 Elections in Perspective, Thematic Studies, Accra: Freedom Publications, pp. 211-236.

Ransford E. V. Gyampo (2008) The Youth and Political Ideology in Ghanaian Politics, Inter-Faculty Lecture delivered on 18 October 2007, University of Ghana, Legon.