African history is a relatively new and very dynamic field.
Its growth as an academic discipline dates back to the 1960s and was inextricably linked to the decolonization of Africa and the need for new national states to have a usable past. During the succeeding four decades the field of African history has moved away from prior colonial and Eurocentric formulations to one which stresses African agency and creative adaptations and representations, and relies on innovative fieldwork as well as more traditional archival research. Historians have increasingly come to rely on African words, life histories, and ideologies to formulate a new historiography that is attentive to the nuances and complexities of everyday life. The faculty is superb and I am really proud to be receiving instructions from such a wonderful group of scholars. Minnesota has one of the leading programs in African social history in the country.