Africa Before Colonialism

(4 Credits)

Africa, the ‘Dark Continent’ of the euro-American imagination, was long portrayed as a land without history. In this course we debunk the myths, exploring African civilization and culture in the centuries before European colonialism. We will examine how ecology, slavery and the slave trades, and Africa’s place in Atlantic and Indian Ocean networks shaped medieval Mali, the Swahilli Coast, the South African cape colony—and the world. There are no prerequisites for this course. History Major Requirements Fulfilled by this course: Pre-1800s and Non-west