Africa in a Global Perspective: Connections, Encounters, and Diasporas

What happens when we place Africa and Africans at the center of world history? Rather than treating Africa as peripheral to global historical processes, this course examines the connections, encounters, and diasporas that linked African societies to the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, Europe, and the Soviet world. Organized thematically rather than chronologically, the course moves between the premodern and modern eras to explore how Africans shaped - and were shaped by - global networks of trade, religion, migration, empire, and political solidarity. Drawing range of scholarly work , students will examine the histories of rulers, religious communities, diasporas, missionary movements, cultural exchange, and Cold War internationalism, while rethinking world history from an African perspective.