This course is a historical reconstruction of Ethiopia’s guerrilla insurgency, its actors and their motivation, peculiarity, and/or commonness of tactics, as well as its impact and challenges during the 1935-1941 Italian invasion/occupation of Ethiopia. Tutor: Dr Sunday Oyewole.
What is the course about?
Discourses on European imperial adventures have often sought to put the “conquered” at the blame end while desperately gaming for subtle means to validate the invasion and the eventual occupation of sovereign societies with well-established socio-economic and political institutions in Africa and beyond. This course is, therefore, a critical historical reflection on Ethiopia’s guerrilla insurgency, its actors and their motivation, peculiarity, and/or commonness of tactics, as well as its impact and challenges during the 1935-1941 Italian invasion/occupation of Ethiopia. The course will reveal the potency of balanced arguments using the dual lens of the invaders and the invaded.
What will we cover?
– General Introduction to the course
– Defining guerrilla warfare or insurgency
– The burden of the overseas empire and the Italian invasion of Ethiopia
– The Ethiopian resistance, actors, motives, and strategy
– The impact and challenges of the five years Italo-Ethiopian War
– Balancing the Narrative and the principle of Messy-Middle
– Historiography of African anti-colonial resistance efforts and the place of global politics.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to…
– understand the geography of East Africa and how it impacted Ethiopia’s territorial defense;
– identify the different events that birthed the Italian quest for overseas colonies in East Africa,
– contextualize guerilla insurgency within the Ethiopians’ manifest desire to resist foreign occupation and control,
– identify the internal dynamics that inspired the Ethiopians’ resistance to Italian invasion;
– objectively assess the impact and challenges of the five-year Italo-Ethiopian war;
– understand the complex politics that underlie the conversations around the historiography of African anti-colonial resistance efforts.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
The course is ‘introductory’ and does not require previous studies on the topic. A willingness to engage respectfully and constructively in class is the only requirement.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
PowerPoint will be used to illustrate key points and then we will be reading and discussing contemporary sources (in translation). I will make notes on the course and share them with the students at no cost to them. You will be encouraged to share your thoughts and ideas in a relaxed and friendly environment. Occasionally reading outside the class will be encouraged with a worksheet to complete, but is not obligatory. Please note that this will no doubt assist your quick grasp of the course thrust if you can follow it through with constant reflections on lessons learned.
This is an in-person course which may, however, require access to virtual resources for optimal participation and knowledge sharing. You will need:
(i) Good internet connection to be able to watch some selected digital clips.
(ii) A computer with a microphone and camera is best (for example a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smartphone/iPhone if you have access to a computer
(iii) Earphones/headphones/speakers
If the course requires an online presence, we will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
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