DOCSLIB.ORG

Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources H-Africa Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources Discussion published by Thomas Spear on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 Dear Colleagues, I am pleased to announce that The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources has just been published by OUP. This is an unequalled collection of 88 original articles on the wide-ranging methods and sources employed by African historians—including archaeology, linguistics, ethnography, climatology, genetics, and oral, documentary, cultural, and digital sources—as well as the different historiographical traditions that have developed within African history. The articles, listed below, are all included in a single two volume set as well as being posted individually online atThe Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History (http://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/), where they will be continually added to and updated over time. For more information please see https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-encyclopedia-of-african-historiography-metho ds-and-sources-9780190698706?cc=us&lang=en&#. We hope that you will find this resource useful, recommend it to your reference librarian, and refer it to your students. Cheers, Thomas Spear University of Wisconsin-Madison The Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources Thomas Spear, Peter Limb, Kathryn M. de Luna, Peter Mitchell, Olufemi Vaughan, Richard Waller (eds.) Introduction Introduction: Researching African History, Thomas Spear Early African Pasts: Sources, Interpretations, Meanings, David Schoenbrun Kingdoms of South-Central Africa: Sources, Historiography, and History, David Gordon Methods and Sources of African History I. Archaeological Methods and Sources Citation: Thomas Spear. Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources . H-Africa. 04-30-2019. https://networks.h-net.org/node/28765/discussions/4076047/oxford-encyclopedia-african-historiography-methods-and-sources Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Africa Introduction: Archaeological Methods & Sources, Peter Mitchell Archaeobotany: Methods, Dorian Fuller & Louis Champion Archaeozoology: Methods, Veerle Linseele Ceramics, Foodways and Consumption: Methods, Lisa Gijanto Pottery chaînes opératoires as Historical Documents, Oliver P. Gosselain Scientific Dating Methods in African Archaeology, Vincent J. Hare & Emma Loftus Paleoenvironmental Science: Methods, David R. Wright African Iron Production and Iron Working Techniques: Methods, Louis Iles Precolonial Metallurgy and Mining across Africa, Shadreck Chirikure Ethnographic Analogy in Archaeology: Methodological Insights from Southern Africa, Mark McGranaghan Primary Historical Sources in Archaeology: Methods, Rachel King Rock Art Research Methods, Jeremy Hollmann Documenting Precolonial Trade in Africa, Shadreck Chirikure Interactions among Precolonial Foragers, Herders, and Farmers in Southern Africa, James Denbow Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Precolonial Sub-Saharan African Farming and Herding Communities, Paul Lane & Anna Shoemaker The Archaeology of Gender in Sub-Saharan Africa, Lyn Wadley II. Biological and Environmental Sciences Methods and Sources Introduction: Biological and Environmental Sciences Methods, Richard Waller African Historical Geography, Landscapes, and Environmental Change, Katherine Homewood Climatology: Methods, Sharon E. Nicolson Genetics and Southern African History, Christian Capelli & Francesco Montinaro III. Language Methods and Sources Introduction: Language Methods, Kathryn M. de Luna Historical Linguistics: Classification, Constanze Weise Historical Linguistics: Words and Things, Rhonda M. Gonzales Historical Linguistics: Loanwords and Borrowing, Birgit Riquier The Bantu Expansion, Koen Bostoen IV. Anthropological and Ethnographic Methods and Sources Introduction: Anthropological and Ethnographic Methods and Sources, Thomas Spear Anthropology and the Study of Africa, Jessica Johnson Anthropological and Ethnographic Methods and Sources, Constance Smith Bodily Ways of Knowing: Anthropological and Historical Approaches to Affect and the Senses, Kathryn Linn Guerts V. Documentary and Written Sources Introduction: Documentary and Written Sources for African History, Olufemi Vaughan Citation: Thomas Spear. Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources . H-Africa. 04-30-2019. https://networks.h-net.org/node/28765/discussions/4076047/oxford-encyclopedia-african-historiography-methods-and-sources Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 2 H-Africa Reading the Archives as Sources, David Gordon Documentary Sources and Methods for Precolonial African History, Christina Mobley West African Manuscripts in Arabic and African Languages and Digital Preservation, Fallou Ngom Islamic Historical Sources: Manuscripts and Online, Amidu Olalekan Sanni Travellers' Accounts as Sources, Adam Jones Business Records as Sources for African History, Dmitri van den Bersselaar Newspapers as Sources for African History, Emma Hunter VI. Digital and Numerical Sources Introduction: Digital and Numerical Sources, Peter Limb Numerical Data and Statistical Sources, Leigh Gardner Quantitative Methods and Economic Statistical Sources for African History, Morton Jerven Digital Approaches to the History of the Atlantic Slave Trade, Daryle Williams Digital Sources for the History of the Horn of Africa, Massimo Zaccaria The Internet and Social Media as Sources, Aubrey Bloomfield & Sean Jacobs VII. Oral Sources Introduction: Oral Sources, Thomas Spear Oral Traditions as Sources, Stephen Belcher Oral History and Life History as Sources, Mary Dillard VIII. Cultural Sources Introduction: Cultural Sources, Richard Waller Material Culture as a Historical Source, Robert Ross Heritage and the Use of the Past in East Africa, John Giblin Exploring Present Pasts: Popular Arts as Historical Sources, Bogumil Jewsiewicki & Allen Roberts Photographs as Sources, Robert Gordon & Jonathan Kurzwelly Film and Video as Historical Sources, Mahir Saul Animating African History: Digital and Visual Trends, Paula Callus Histories and Historiographies of African History I. Schools of African History Introduction: Schools of African History, Olufemi Vaughan African Philosophies of History and Historiography, Toyin Falola & Abikal Borah The SOAS School of African History, Shobana Shankar Writing African History in France during the Colonial Era, Sophie Dulucq The Wisconsin School of African History, Joseph Miller The Dakar School of African History, Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch The Dar es Salaam School of African History, Gregory Maddox South African Historical Writing to the End of the Apartheid Era, Christopher Saunders Citation: Thomas Spear. Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources . H-Africa. 04-30-2019. https://networks.h-net.org/node/28765/discussions/4076047/oxford-encyclopedia-african-historiography-methods-and-sources Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 3 H-Africa II. Histories and Historiographies Introduction: African Histories and Historiographies, Thomas Spear Africa in the World: History and Historiography, Experanza Brizuela-Garcia Atlantic Slavery and the Slave Trade: History and Historiography, Daniel B. Domingues da Silva & Philip Misevich African Diasporas: History and Historiography, Mohammed Bashir Salau Environmental History, Emmanuel Krieke African Economic History and Historiography, Alois Mlambo Ethnicity in Africa, Gabrielle Lynch African Biography and Historiography, Heather Hughes Migration History and Historiography, Benedetta Rossi African Urban History and Historiography, Eric Ross Sport History and Historiography, Michelle Sikes Colonial History and Historiography, Marie-Albane de Suremain Legal History and Historiography, Richard Waller African Military History and Historiography, Timothy Parsons Intellectual History and Historiography, Jonathon Earle Christian History and Historiography, Joel Cabrita History and Historiography of Science, Helen Tilley Historiography in the Maghrib in the 19th and early 20th Century, Sahar Bazzaz Community-based Approaches to African History, Peter R. Schmidt & Kathryn Weedman Arthur Citation: Thomas Spear. Oxford Encyclopedia of African Historiography: Methods and Sources . H-Africa. 04-30-2019. https://networks.h-net.org/node/28765/discussions/4076047/oxford-encyclopedia-african-historiography-methods-and-sources Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 4.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Social Anthropology and Two Contrasting Uses of Tribalism in Africa Author(S): Peter P
    Society for Comparative Studies in Society and History Social Anthropology and Two Contrasting Uses of Tribalism in Africa Author(s): Peter P. Ekeh Reviewed work(s): Source: Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct., 1990), pp. 660-700 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/178957 . Accessed: 23/01/2012 10:57 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Cambridge University Press and Society for Comparative Studies in Society and History are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Comparative Studies in Society and History. http://www.jstor.org Social Anthropology and Two ContrastingUses of Tribalismin Africa PETER P. EKEH State University of New Yorkat Buffalo A remarkablefeature of African studies has been the sharpdiscontinuities in the characterizationof transitionsin African history and society from one era to another. Thus, for an important example, colonialism has rarely been related to the previous era of the slave trade in the analysis of any dominant socioeconomic themes in Africa. Such discontinuity is significant in one importantstrand of modem African studies: The transitionfrom the lore and scholarshipof colonial social anthropologyto postcolonial forms of African studies has been stalled into a brittle break because its central focus on the "tribe" has been under attack.
    [Show full text]
  • African Historiography (Pt
    African Historiography (pt. 1) Week Eight Lectures John Donnelly Fage Philip D. Curtin ● Born in England - 1921-2002 ● Born in Philadelphia - 1922-2009 ● Attended Cambridge, where he wrote his ● He earned his PhD from Harvard in PhD in 1949, titled "The Achievement of 1953 on "Revolution and Decline in Self-Government in Southern Rhodesia, Jamaica, 1830-1865" 1898-1923" ● He taught primarily at the University ● He promptly left the UK and joined the of Wisconsin-Madison (1956-1975), history faculty at the University of the Gold with Jan Vansina. Coast (now called the University of Ghana) ○ This remains one of the top ○ He taught there for 10 years African History Programmes ● After Ghana's independence in 1957, he left ● He then Left and taught at Johns for the UK, where he taught at SOAS, and Hopkins from 1975 until his death. the University of Birmingham. ● He is one of those scholars who ● He was the founder of the Journal of African started studying the Atlantic Slave History, and he edited the 1975-1986 Trade and gradually moved to Cambridge History of Africa studying African History. He also was ● He became a prominent scholar of West a great statistician of the slave trade. Africa Fage - "The Development of African Historiography" ● First, Fage maintains the Sub-Saharan-North Africa divide. This is very crucial and somewhat problematic. ● Arabic-language scholars were continually engaging in the study of Africa even as early as c.950 AD. ○ Much of these were histories of Islam in Africa, or histories of regions where Islam is prominent.
    [Show full text]
  • AFRICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY: from Colonial Historiography to UNESCO's General History of Africa
    AFRICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY: From colonial historiography to UNESCO's general history of Africa Bethwell A. Ogot Since the later 19th century, the study of African history has undergone radical changes. From about 1885 to the end of the Second World War, most of Africa was under the yoke of colonialism; and hence colonial historiography held sway. According to this imperial historiography, Africa had no history and therefore the Africans were a people without history. They propagated the image of Africa as a 'dark continent'. Any historical process or movement in the conti­ nent was explained as the work of outsiders, whether these be the mythical Hamites or the Caucasoids. Consequently, African history was for the most part seen as the history of Europeans in Africa - a part of the historical progress and development of Western Europe and an appendix of the national history of the metropolis. It was argued at the time that Africa had no history because history begins with writing and thus with the arrival of the Europeans. Their presence in Africa was therefore justified, among other things, by their ability to place Africa in the 'path of history'. Colonialism was celebrated as a 'civilising mission' carried out by European traders, missionaries and administrators.! Thus African historiography was closely linked with the colonial period and its own official historiography, with prejudices acquired and disseminated as historical knowiedge, and with eurocentric assumptions and arrogant certainty. Social Darwinism accorded Europeans an innate superiority over other peoples and justified Europe's plunder of the rest of the world. But even during the dark days of colonialism there were other historians, for example the traditional historians, African historians educated in the West and Western colonial critics sueh as Basil Davidson, who were writing different African or colonial histories.
    [Show full text]
  • Africa in World History: a Teaching Conference (Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 25-26, 1986). INSTITUTION Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 285 809 SO 018 305 AUTHOR Shaw, Bryant P., Ed. TITLE Africa in World History: A Teaching Conference (Colorado Springs, Colorado, April 25-26, 1986). INSTITUTION Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. REPORT NO USAFA-TR-87-2 PUB DATE Feb 87 NOTE 211p.; Also sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Regional World History Organization. PUB TYPE Collected Works - Conference Proceedings (021) -- Guides - Classroom Use - Guides (For Teachers) (052) -- Tests/Evaluation Instruments (160) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Developing Nations; Diseases; Global Approach; Higher Education; Historiography; History; *History Instruction; Instructional Materials; Secondary Education; Slavery; Social Studies; *World History IDENTIFIERS *Africa ABSTRACT African history is a relatively new discipline and its sources, methodology, and content may be unfamiliar to those trained in European or U.S. history. Through presentations by African scholars, this document offers new strategies for integrating Africa into world history courses. Each presentation is followed by commentaries from experienced history teachers on how the issues presented can be used in the classroom. Bryant P. Shaw, in "Isolation and Progress: Africa and World History," points out how the limitations of history textbooks can be overcome by adoptingnew approaches to the subject. Jan V ,csina explains the historiographic dimensions of African history in the presentation "One's Own Past: African Perceptions of African History." A. J. R. Russell-Wood confronts the misconceptions, problems, (Jmplexities, and unknowns of African history in "African History: New Perspectives for the non-Africanist Historian." George E. Brook's presentation, "A Schema for Integrating Africa into World History Courses," offers materials, maps, and methods of organization for teaching African history.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 HI 870/Fall 2016 Introduction to African Historiography Prof. Diana
    1 HI 870/Fall 2016 Introduction to African Historiography Prof. Diana Wylie Fri. 12-3 African Studies Center (232 Bay State Road) Room 505 Office Hours: M, W 1:30-2:30 and by appointment Office: African Studies Center, #517 e-mail: [email protected] Phone: 617 353-6645 Goals of the Seminar The purpose of this seminar is to provide graduate students with an introduction to key themes, methods, sources, and debates in the historiography of Africa. The approach will be that of a reading seminar with an emphasis on analysis of method and the distinctive character of historical writing on Africa within North American, European, and African traditions of historical scholarship. Students in the seminar will receive guidance and peer support in writing a bibliographic paper, précis of major monographs, as well as assessing articles and review essays in the field. Key thematic foci include: Methods and Sources for Pre-colonial History Islam and Christianity in Africa Pre-colonial State-building Imperialism and the Scramble Africa and the Atlantic World Colonialism and Social History Slavery and the Slave Trades Environmental History South Africa The History of Health Seminar Project and Evaluation Criteria This is a reading seminar. Its forms of evaluation will emphasize writing in two forms. The first will be weekly one-page précis statements that describe the central argument and evidence for monographs. The second writing exercise will be a 15-20 page bibliographic essay (aka review article) that surveys the literature on either a particular theme (examples appear above) or a regional historiography related to the student's long- term research/teaching interest.
    [Show full text]
  • Nationalist Historiography in Kenya: a Look at the Changing Disposition of B.A
    NATIONALIST HISTORIOGRAPHY IN KENYA: A LOOK AT THE CHANGING DISPOSITION OF B.A. OGOT’S WORKS SINCE 1961. BY DR. MILDRED A.J.NDEDA, KENYATTA UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICAL STUDIES, BOX 43844, 00200, NAIROBI, KENYA. EMAIL ndeda@avu .org PAPER PRESENTED AT THE CODESRIA’S THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS, DECEMBER 10-12 2003, DAKAR, SENEGAL. ABSTRACT 2 In this paper we analyse the post independence production of history by a nationalist scholar whose life has spanned the entire period from Kenyas independence to date. This is an effort to analyse some of his past and current dispositions by looking at a number of the scholarly books and articles he has produced overtime. His latest book is quite significant in this analysis establishing whether he has maintained the academic fervor and disposition that went through stiff challenges in the 1970s and 1980’s. This paper tackles this in four subsections: First, it analyses his "Footprints on the Sands of Time" and his reflections on the trends of African historiography; It also analyses his essays that reconstruct various historical processes from pre-colonial state formation to the evolution of the colonial administration in Kenya and the organisation, composition and impact of the Mau Mau; And finally it analyses his commentaries on the contemporary issues and events including the nature and dynamics of African politics, leadership, identities, culture, development, universities and globalization Introduction: The Decolonisation of History The struggle for political independence and subsequent nationalist ideological triumph over colonialism in the late 1950s and early 1960s was accompanied by a concerted effort to decolonise African historiography.
    [Show full text]
  • African and World Historiography
    Journal of African History, (), pp. –. © Cambridge University Press doi:./S JAH Forum AFRICAN AND WORLD HISTORIOGRAPHY* PATRICK MANNING University of Pittsburgh Abstract African history and world history each became substantial fields of historical study in the aftermath of the Second World War. African history organized rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, an era dominated by modernization-thinking. World history developed slowly until the 1990s, then quickly expanded and generated institutional homes in a time of globalization-thinking. This piece considers issues of time, scale, and scholarly diversity within the two fields. The conclusion argues that world historians should pay more atten- tion to Africa and that African historians should do more to set the African past in a global context. Key Words Historiography, method, regional, world. The fields of African history and world history each arose, in recent decades, to achieve pro- minence within historical studies. Impressively, both fields have expanded the breadth of their documentation and the sophistication of their analyses. African historiography high- lights a prominent but imbalanced set of global interactions in the African past, with dis- proportionate emphasis on Europe. Interpretations in world history, meanwhile, include only modest attention to Africa and its place in the world. Thus, while links between the two fields are expanding, especially as a result of the work of Africanists who have be- come active in world historical studies, the gaps remain uncomfortably large – in documen- tation and especially in interpretation. Both African history and world history were in a sense insurgent fields, but their in- surgency came less from political critique than from surmounting the narrowness of the historical canon: both fields pushed historical studies beyond the limits of nationally- focused studies of western Europe and the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Decolonising African History. Crises and Transitions in African Historiography (1950-1990)
    Decolonising African History. Crises and transitions in African historiography (1950-1990) by Esperanza Brizuela-Garcia Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies ProQuest N um ber: 11010445 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11010445 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 2 Abstract. This thesis looks at the development of anglophone African historiography from the 1950s to the 1990s. The main question underlying this work is why, during the last thirty years, has African History been described as being "in crisis". The main argument is that the perception of a crisis has come from the perceived failure of historians to "decolonise" African History and to produce a "usable past." The thesis analyses the different ways in which these expectations have changed over time, and studies them from different perspectives. First, the thesis looks at the way in which African History has been incorporated into universities. It argues that the particular circumstances of different academic environments have influenced historians' priorities and attitudes towards the study of African History.
    [Show full text]
  • Remembering Adiele Afigbo
    University of Massachusetts Boston ScholarWorks at UMass Boston Africana Studies Faculty Publication Series Africana Studies 1-1-2009 Remembering Adiele Afigbo (Memorial Tribute to Professor Adiele Ebereegbulam Afigbo), 1938-2009 Chukwuma Azuonye University of Massachusetts Boston, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/africana_faculty_pubs Part of the African Languages and Societies Commons, Comparative Literature Commons, and the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Azuonye, Chukwuma, "Remembering Adiele Afigbo (Memorial Tribute to Professor Adiele Ebereegbulam Afigbo), 1938-2009" (2009). Africana Studies Faculty Publication Series. Paper 24. http://scholarworks.umb.edu/africana_faculty_pubs/24 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Africana Studies at ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. It has been accepted for inclusion in Africana Studies Faculty Publication Series by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Remembering Adiele Afigbo, 1938-2008 By Chukwuma Azuonye, PhD Professor of African Literature, University of Massachusetts, Boston Fellow, W E B Du Bois Institute, Harvard University THERE CAN BE NO GAINSAYING THE FACT that Professor Adiele Eberegbulam Afigbo was one of the most outstanding African historians of our time. Wise, loving, and humble to a fault, he rose to his formidable global reputation through his training in Africa’s oldest school of postcolonial
    [Show full text]
  • 'Griotic' Methodology: African Historiography, Identity Politics And
    Towards A ‘Griotic’ Methodology: African Historiography, Identity Politics and Educational Implications Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Abu Jaraad Toure, M.A. Graduate Program in Education and Human Ecology The Ohio State University 2011 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Antoinette Errante, Advisor Dr. Leslie Alexander Dr. Ousman Kobo Copyright by Abu J. Toure 2011 Abstract This study assesses the historical and educational implications of a ‘griotic’ methodology that was employed by free African Americans in the antebellum North. This griotic methodology involved a textual production of history by and for African Americans that was derived from a West African oral/performance basis of history. The study therefore examines how a distinctive approach of history production developed among free African Americans from the late 1700s through the 1830s as they appropriated, engaged and/or countered prevailing European American discourses. Most important to the study is how these early intellectuals sought to vindicate, historicize and liberate themselves through re-presenting the idea of ‘Africa’ as the metaphorical source and destiny of their race. Educational implications of this griotic methodology are subsequently highlighted in the study as it is applied as pedagogy in a post-secondary classroom to empower African African students. In order to establish an endogenous prism through which to examine this distinctive African American methodology, this study integrates a number of qualitative and historiographical components: an intellectual autobiography of the author who is an African American male educator; oral histories of African and African American history professors; and assessments of recent African American scholarship that focus on early African identity politics in the Americas.
    [Show full text]
  • Prof. Romero Calls Them Waamu. Atomised Into
    1 Re-introducing the “ People Without History “: African Historiographies E.S. Atieno Odhiambo Rice University Introduction It has become fashionable to think of continents, communities, identities, belonging, tradition, heritage and home as imagined, invented or created entities. The idea of Africa has been tantalizing to the West since Homer imagined the flight of the Greek gods from mount Olympus to Africa, there to feast with the blemishless Ethiopians. In the fifteenth century a Papal Bull imagined Africa as a terra nullius and proceeded to divide it between Christian Spain and Portugal. The English poet Jonathan Swift imagined a yon Afrique where geographers were wont to fill the blank spaces with elephants for want of towns. The partition of Africa at the Berlin West Africa Conference in 1884 – 1885 carved out Africa to European powers ostensibly because the continent had an ignoble history of slave trade and slavery which could only be stamped out through European colonization. Thus the former citizens and subjects of African kingdoms and of stateless communities were dubbed as the peoples without history. Instead it was asserted that there was only the history of Europeans in Africa. European authorship from Hegel down to H. R. Trevor- Roper asserted that Africa constituted a blank darkness, and “ darkness was no suitable subject for history” [Trevor – Roper 1966:9] The colonial period was a time of distortion through power: “power was used to force Africans into distorting identities; power relations distorted colonial social science, rendering it incapable of doing more than reflecting colonial constructions “. [Ranger 1996: 273] One of these distortions was that of Africans as peoples without history.
    [Show full text]
  • Decolonizing African History: Spotlight on the History of Africa in the Ancient and Medieval Times
    Decolonizing African history: Spotlight on the history of Africa in the ancient and medieval times. By Pr Dr Moncef Bakail. Introduction: Through this paper, we seek to demonstrate the importance of the ancient and medieval history of Africa, as well as the great strides that were made to highlight this history, which has been marginalized. This Paper also tries to cast lights on what has been the role of the African Studies Laboratory (LEA), The University of Algiers 2 in establishing a historiography of sub- Saharan Africa. As we Know, African history is a fairly new discipline in the academic landscape. This latter was introduced at French and English universities in the sixties. African history has been accelerated by the launch of major scientific journals in English and French just after independence, the general history of Africa initiated by UNESCO, the Cambridge history of Africa and then a final blow accelerator given by archeology which has renewed the data in several African countries.1 Therefore, our contribution aims to avoid prejudices and move away from subjective emotions and tendencies. And since history is the only passage that links the past to the present and to the future, it has received the care of thinkers since Antiquity, considering that its interpretation requires a particular methodology. On this basis, Ibn Khaldoun was the first to subject writing and rewriting to a number of standards and criteria that must be referred to when processing information and interrogating texts.2 The excavations carried out from the 1960s have confirmed what was already partially known from the texts of Arab and European travelers of previous centuries.
    [Show full text]