An investigation of selected topics in social, economic and political history from the earliest times to the present. The emphasis will be on Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular attention to East, Central, and Southern Africa. In any one year topics chosen will include some of the following: iron age cultures; precolonial states and economies; slavery and the slave trade; religious innovations; colonial conquest and resistance; migrant labour and mobility; changing identities; segregation and apartheid; nationalism and decolonization; violence, armed struggle and civil wars; demography, health and environmental management. Students are welcome to suggest areas of personal interest. Coursework includes a research or historiographical paper and class presentations.