This class surveys and examines the history of Africa until 1800. The course begins with an in-depth analysis of the "pre-historical" geological and biological history of Africa. It then discusses early civilization in Africa like Egypt, Nubia, and Jenne as well as later civilizations like Aksum, Swahili Coast, Ghana, and Mali. It also examines different ways of conducting history from writing to art to archaeology to oral history to linguistic methods like glottochronology.
My paper comparing depictions of authority in the hagiography of Walatta Petros and the epic of Sundiata can be found here.
My paper on whether colonialism should be how African history is divided at universities can be found here.