HST 204 - Africa Before 1800

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirements HU and DE.
Meets Explore Core requirement (students beginning Fall 2024 and later): HS and GP
This course will introduce students to the immensely diverse African societies across the continent from the earliest human origins up to 1800. Major themes of the course will include the politics of centralized and decentralized societies, gender and production, artistic expression, and religion. Through topics such as the development of Indian Ocean networks and the rise of the Atlantic slave system, students will build knowledge about Africa’s history in a global context. This course will also focus on the intellectual and political stakes of studying African history before European colonization, foregrounding the work of African intellectuals and societies to sustain and rejuvenate understandings of the deep African past.
Meets Department pre-Modern Requirement.