Tbh, it should. American educations don’t touch Africa barring a dip into Egypt, which usually compresses the dynasties in a way that does nothing for a deeper understanding. Even as someone with a BA in history, that watched the course listing like a hawk for “history of the Sahel” or “history of the Mali empire” or some lovely 3000-4000 course - nothing.
I should have been taught who Nkrumah was. And Léopold Senghor, and Kenyatta…
Instead, I lean on The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith. Which is a good book, but by a journalist, not a historian.
Tbh, it should. American educations don’t touch Africa barring a dip into Egypt, which usually compresses the dynasties in a way that does nothing for a deeper understanding. Even as someone with a BA in history, that watched the course listing like a hawk for “history of the Sahel” or “history of the Mali empire” or some lovely 3000-4000 course - nothing.
I should have been taught who Nkrumah was. And Léopold Senghor, and Kenyatta…
Instead, I lean on The Fate of Africa by Martin Meredith. Which is a good book, but by a journalist, not a historian.