Africana Studies 241WE - Topics in Africana Studies: 'On West Africa's Shores: From the Sahara to the Atlantic c. 800 to 1800'

One of the most significant shifts in global history is the incorporation of the New World into the Afro-Eurasian trading system. Slowly, but surely, the Mediterranean declined as a hub of inter-continental trade, and the Atlantic Ocean gained ground. On West Africa's Shores analyzes this world-historical pivot from the perspective of West Africa. Beginning with the rise of the Ghana Empire, we study trans-Saharan cultures of exchange, the societies of West Africa's Middle Ages, and the ways that the trans-Atlantic slave trade transformed the region. A special focus on art and artefacts helps us imagine the worlds of West Africa over the course of a millennium.