Africa Past & Present » Podcast Feed

Franco Barchiesi (Ohio State U) explains the precarious lives of South African workers and unemployed together with the role of politics and the impact of economic crises today. He also analyzes contests over social citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa and discusses the development of his own interest in South African labor matters.[…]

Jabulani Sithole (UKZN) on why history matters in South Africa. Sithole discusses his journey from activist to historian, and his research on the ANC and labor unions in KwaZulu-Natal, part of SADET's landmark The Road to Democracy in South Africa series. He elaborates on Zulu identities and his role in renaming streets in Pietermaritzburg.[…]

Candace Keller (MSU Art and Art History) on her research on West African photographers, cultural histories, identities and aesthetics from the 1940s up to the present. Dr. Keller describes and explains the rich and varied photographic scene in Mali, its historical roots and aesthetical and technological components, discusses leading photographers such as Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keita, an[…]

Mwalimu Deo Ngonyani (MSU Linguistics) on his research on Kikisi a Bantu language spoken by 10,000 people on the shores of Lake Malawi in southwestern Tanzania. Ngonyani elaborates on projects committed to preserving small languages and highlights the significance of government language policies, especially in regards to English and Swahili.[…]

Wendi Manuel-Scott and Benedict Carton on the African Identities in the Age of Obama conference they organized recently at George Mason University. Bridging the gap between studies of Africa, African America, and the Caribbean, participants debated who and what does Obama represent? How do cultural aspects of the Obama phenomenon intersect with political and economic aspects? What does O[…]

Historian Chuck Ambler (UTEP and African Studies Association president) on the work of the ASA and his ongoing research on African audiences from Hollywood to Nollywood. He also discusses a manuscript-in-progress on mass media and popular culture in colonial and post-colonial Africa. With guest co-host Laura Fair.[…]

Marika Sherwood (senior research fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London) on the history of the African diaspora in Britain. She discusses aspects of her 2007 book After Abolition: Britain and the Slave Trade Since 1807, the 1945 Pan Africanist Congress in Manchester, and Pan-African biographies. Sherwood concludes by noting the inadequate treatment of black history in the UK s[…]

Historian Ned Alpers (UCLA) on changing trends in Indian Ocean history and Africa's centrality within it. Drawing from over three decades of research and a recently published book, Alpers discusses east African views of the Indian Ocean; slavery and the slave trade; resistance and agency. He concludes by reflecting on the daunting challenges and exciting opportunities facing Indian Ocea[…]

Dr. Robert Vinson (History, College of William and Mary) on the spread of Garveyism in South Africa and its political and cultural impact. Vinson explains how black men and women in the 1920s and 30s appropriated Garveys ideas of racial pride, pan-Africanism, and modernity to sustain themselves and to propel South Africas struggle for freedom.[…]

Prof. Robert A. Hill (History, UCLA) on his life's work as editor of The Marcus Garvey and UNIA Papers, a magisterial multi-volume series published by the University of California Press since 1983. Hill discusses the origins of his interest in Garvey and the Africa for the Africans movement the largest organized mass movement in black history. He sheds light on important editorial issues[…]

Dr. Ibro Chekaraou, Dr. Waithera Karim-Sesay, Mamarame Seck on challenges and possibilities for African language study in North America. Focus is on pedagogy and language politics in Africa with specific reference to Hausa, Swahili, and Wolof.[…]

Historians Stephanie Beswick (Ball State U.) and Jay Spaulding (Kean U.) on ethnicity, slavery, and trade in Sudan. Focus is on pre-colonial times, with an emphasis on how power relationships and economic factors influenced identity formation and political conflict. The interview was conducted at the Sudan Studies Association meeting in East Lansing.[…]

Dr. Robert Hitchcock (chair of Anthropology at MSU) on San people's struggles in southern Africa's Kalahari region. Focus is on government-San relations; San communities' local and international quest for empowerment and human rights; and images of the San in film. Hitchcock concludes with an assessment of the impact of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project on the region.[…]

2009 elections in South Africa: Dr. Sean Jacobs and Dr. Hlonipha Mokoena analyze the significance of the ANC victory; Jacob Zuma and Zulu nationalism; the opposition's weak showing outside the Western Cape; and local and international media coverage. Read Ray Suttner's paper Why is this election different from all others? Watch controversial commercial mentioned by Prof. Mokoena[…]

Prof. Abebe Zegeye (Chair of Genocide and Holocaust studies at UNISA) on Africans multiple identities and genocide studies in Africa. Is there a need for a different model than that of Holocaust studies to analyze political violence in colonial and post-colonial Africa? Zegeye closes with thoughts on his recent appointment as Director of WISER at Wits in Johannesburg.[…]

Dr. Sheryl McCurdy (University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health) on drugs, gender, and violence in East Africa. McCurdy examines heroin use in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania its recent history, enabling conditions, and the differences between men and women users. She concludes with observations on the local war on drugs and then offers policy recommendations.[…]

Dr. Paul Darby (University of Ulster) on Africa's place in world soccer. He examines Africa's political relations with FIFA and the role of CAF, the continental governing body. Darby then discusses his new research on the migration of young African players to Europe through case studies of Ghana's Liberty Professionals FC and the Right to Dream Academy.[…]

Dr. Wapu Mulwafu (Univ. of Malawi) on African environmental history. Mulwafu discusses the history of water use and management in Malawi, focusing on political and religious aspects of soil conservation and the importance of indigenous ecological knowledge and practices. He closes with insights on the challenges of doing history in Malawi.[…]

Anthropologist Mara Leichtman (MSU) on religion, migration, and politics. Leichtman unveils her new book New Perspectives on Islam in Senegal (co-edited with Mamadou Diouf). She then discusses transnational Shia Islam in Dakar among Lebanese migrants and Senegalese converts, and in London at the Al-Khoei Foundation. A fine example of why we cannot properly analyze globalization without […]

Our first anniversary episode! Historian Martin Klein (Emeritus, U. of Toronto) reflects on African history and historiography and his life's work on slavery in West Africa. Klein then sheds light on his ongoing research (in cooperation with leading Africanists) on African slaves. He concludes with observations about the state of historical research in Senegal, Mali, and Guinea.[…]