While the first four lectures are missing from the new history course Modern Africa Since 1880 (feed), that’s no reason not to jump aboard and catch the rest of the ride.
University of California San Diego (UCSD) historian Jeremy Prestholdt narrates Africa’s modern history in a calm and thoughtful manner which makes his indictment of European colonialism and the racial paternalism of the colonial all the more damning.
Here are a few factoids and ideas from lectures 5, 6 and 7:
- Indigenous African religions have worldwide influence, ranging from the Vudun (Voodoo) of Haiti to the charismatic Christianity of the Pentecostals.
- Native Africans didn’t have the right to own land in most colonies until after World War II. This was part of a discriminatory system of laws in most African colonies which relegated native Africans to inferior status.
- The late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie is worshipped as a Messiah figure by the Rastafarians of Jamaica. In the 1930s they were inspired by Haile Selassie’s stature as the leader of an independent African nation.
There are not a lot of online history offerings for areas outside of Europe and North America, and this one is well worth checking out.
(Note: most UCSD course podcasts disappear at the end of the academic term (roughly the middle of March). So if you’re interested, grab this one while you can.)