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

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

SECOND SEMESTER, 2017/2018

COURSE SYLLABUS

COURSE TITLE: POLITICS OF IDENTITY IN GHANA

COURSE CODE: POLI 458

VENUE: JQB 24

LECTURE RERIOD: MON 1:30 PM-3:30 PM

COURSE INSTRUCTORS:

MR. A. K. D. FREMPONG

Office Location: F20 Kweku Folson Building, Dept. of Political Science

Office Hours: Monday 7.30-8.30am Friday: 11.30am-12:30pm

Email: akdfremppong@ug.edu.gh

DR. ISAAC OWUSU-MENSAH

Office Location: Dept. of Political Science, Room 5

Email: iomensah@ug.edu.gh

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

Alberta Enyaawah Arthur, Ellen Quaicoe, Richard Boakye

Office Location: Graduate Assistants Office (F17) Kweku Folson Building

Course Title	POLITICS OF IDENTITY IN GHANA/ 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 Women and 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 concept and forms of identity is followed by their application in Ghanaian politics since independence, with particular emphasis on the Fourth Republic
WEEK NO	Date	Lecture Course	Tutorials	Venue	Assessment
1-3	5-19 Feb 2018	Understanding Politics of Identity	What is Identity and how does it affect national politics?	Lecture: JQB24 Tutorial: DLR
4-6	26 Feb -12 Mar 2018	Regionalism and Ethnicity in Ghanaian Politics	Challenges of Regionalism and Ethnicity in Ghana	Lecture: JQB24 Tutorial: DLR
7-8	19-26 Mar 2018	Party  Politics in Ghana	Dynamics of  Party Politics in Ghana	Lecture: JQB24 Tutorial: DLR
9-10	02 Apr - 9 Apr 2018	Women and Youth in Ghanaian Politics	Examine prospects and  challenges	Lecture: JQB24 Tutorial: DLR
11-12	16-23 Apr 2018	Chieftaincy and Politics in Ghana	Chieftaincy –State Relations	Lecture: JQB24 Tutorial: DLR
13	30 Apr 2018	Religion and Politics in Ghana	Extent and Influence of religion	Lecture: JQB24 Tutorial: DLR

Reading List

Allah-Mensah, B. (2004). Women in politics and public life in Ghana. Accra: Friedrich Elbert Foundation.

Allman, J. M. (1991). “Hewers of wood, carriers of water”: Islam, class, and politics on the eve of Ghana's independence. African studies review, 34(2), 1-26.

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.

Boafo-Arthur, K. (2003). Chieftaincy in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects in the 21 st Century. African and Asian Studies, 2(2), 125-153.

Boafo-Arthur, K. (2007). Ghana: One decade of the liberal state. Zed Books.

Bob-Milliar, G. M. (2014). Party youth activists and low-intensity electoral violence in Ghana: a qualitative study of party foot soldiers' activism. African Studies Quarterly, 15(1), 125.

Chazan, N. (1982). Ethnicity and politics in Ghana. Political Science Quarterly, 97(3), 461-485.

Crawford, Y. (1976). The politics of cultural pluralism.

Debrah, E. (2007). Fifty years of party politics in Ghana: The balance sheet.

Frempong, A. K. (2004). Ethnicity, democracy and Ghana’s election 2004’. Voting for Democracy in Ghana: Ghana’s, 157-86.

Frempong, A. K. D. (2015). Elections in Ghana (1951-2016) Accra: DigiBooks. Available at the Department General Office

Frempong, A. K. (2007). Political conflict and elite consensus in the liberal state.

Frempong, A. K. (2001), Ghana’s election 2000: The ethnic undercurrent. Deepening democracy in Ghana: Politics of the 2000 elections, 1, 141-159.

Gyapong, S. K. (2006). The role of chieftaincy in Ghana‟ s democratic experiment. Chieftaincy in Ghana: Culture, Governance and Development, 1, 183.

Gyimah-Boadi, E. (2003). The political economy of ‘successful’ethno-regional conflict management. Can Democracy Be Designed? The Politics of Institutional Choice in Conflict-Torn Societies.

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

Jockers, H., Kohnert, D., & Nugent, P. (2010). The successful Ghana election of 2008: a convenient myth?. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 48(1), 95-115.

John, S. P. (1991). Religion and Politics in Ghana. Accra: Asempa Publishers, 12.

Kelly, B. (2005). The 2004 elections in northern Ghana. Review of African Political Economy, 455-461.

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

Van Gyampo, R. E. (2008). The Youth and Political Ideology in Ghanaian Politics: The Case of the Fourth Republic: an Inter-faculty Lecture Delivered on 18th October 2008 at the University of Ghana. University of Ghana.

Plagiarism Policy

Be reminded of UG Plagiarism Policy (Refer to UG Public Affairs Website)

Examination

Interim Assessment: Two sit-in Assignments. Time will be communicated later

End of Semester Examination: Two-&-Half-Hour Paper of two Sections. Section A: 50 short-answer questions (compulsory for 50marks) and Section B: three-essay questions (answer any one for 20marks)