HIST3431

This course offers a general, introductory survey of African history from the earliest times to around 1860. You need have no prior knowledge of the subject, just interest and enthusiasm. We will explore Africa’s rich and diverse pre-colonial past, paying particular attention to material and social change and the ways in which both ruling elites and “ordinary” men and women—farmers, herders, traders, slaves—helped to shape their worlds.

Given the vast chronological and geographic scope of the continent, our coverage will necessarily be selective. Rather than attempting to cover everything, the course highlights major themes and case studies that illuminate broader patterns and transformations. Topics include climate and environment, migration and settlement, material culture, state formation, trade networks, slavery and the slave trade, and the spread and influence of Islam and Christianity.

Students will also be introduced to the methods historians use to reconstruct Africa’s early past, including oral traditions, archaeology, linguistics, and anthropology. By the end of the course, students will have developed a strong methodological and historiographical foundation for understanding African history and situating specific events and processes within larger regional and global contexts.

00599

Historical Perspectives, Global Perspectives

Periodic Fall & Spring