African Conceptions of Time and Periodising African History

In this course, we will explore time in the African experience and how this affects how we divide up Africa’s history.

You will get an overview of traditional ways of marking time in African cultures, how early historians writing in Arabic and later historians writing in English divided up Africa’s past, and the effect that colonisation has had on how we divide up and tell African history.

By the end of this course, participants will have an understanding of:

• The key features of African conceptions of time.
• How time and periods of time have been marked in African history in both Arabic-language and English-language texts.

How is this course delivered?

This course is delivered online via a live session (2 hours). There is Pre-Reading for this course which will require up to 2 hours to complete. Students enrolled on the Foundation Certificate in African History will have an optional Pre-Session assignment. The live session is delivered using a mixture of tutor presentations, source analysis, and discussion.

Course Director

Apeike Umolu is the Director of the African History Project. Specialising in African political thought and intellectual history, she is a passionate historian and has undertaken historical studies at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.

Have a question?

Please send us an email to info@africanhistoryproject.org.