Colonial Africa and the Making of the Modern World

This colloquium explores how historians have understood the making of colonial Africa and, in turn, how Africa shaped the modern world. Rather than offering a comprehensive survey of every aspect of colonial African history, the course examines a series of influential debates that have defined the field over the past half-century: empire and capitalism, resistance and collaboration, law and social conflict, slavery and emancipation, rural and urban transformation, gender and household politics, tradition and modernity, and the writing of African lives. Through close engagement with classic and contemporary scholarship, students will encounter diverse methodological approaches ( social and economic history to cultural and religious history, gender analysis, oral history, and global history) and assess their strengths and limitations. Together, these readings invite us to consider not only how colonialism transformed African societies, but also how Africans actively shaped the institutions, ideas, and historical processes that constituted the modern world.