African History and its Discontents

Dr Christopher Appiah-Thompson

Redefining African History from African perspectives

  1. Writing Africa’s Economic History: Beyond One Single Story

    Jan 18

    Writing Africa’s Economic History: Beyond One Single Story

    When most people think about Africa’s economic history, they jump straight to colonialism, poverty, or “emerging markets.” But the story is far older, far more complex, and much harder to squeeze into a simple headline.​ Today’s episode unpacks how historians actually write Africa’s economic history, and how ideas about Africa’s development have shifted over the last century—from serving European empires to today’s more nuanced, data‑driven perspectives.

    8 min
  2. From Bond to Colony: How the Gold Coast Became a Laboratory of Empire

    Jan 11

    From Bond to Colony: How the Gold Coast Became a Laboratory of Empire

    This episode aims to reveal how a patchwork of treaties and conquests turned the Gold Coast into a formal Crown Colony. Show why British officials saw the territory as a testing ground for new ideas about ruling African societies.

    11 min
  3. West African States, Responsibility and Political Agency

    Jan 10

    West African States, Responsibility and Political Agency

    This episode aims to assess John Dunn’s main arguments in the “Conclusion” to West African States. Explore how colonial legacies, patronage politics and leadership choices shape responsibility for post‑colonial outcomes. Introduce the idea of political agency and counterfactual thinking (“things could have been different”) as tools for analysing African politics today.

    8 min
  4. The European Tradition Exported: How Colonialism Shaped Universities and Culture in Africa and India

    Jan 1

    The European Tradition Exported: How Colonialism Shaped Universities and Culture in Africa and India

    This episode aims to examine how European colonial powers transplanted their educational and cultural traditions to colonized regions Explore the lasting impact on African and Indian universities and cultural institutions Discuss the tensions between indigenous traditions and imposed European systems Highlight examples of cultural adaptation and resistance in Ghana and India

    7 min
  5. Spirits, Scripts, and Crossroads: Rethinking the Religious History of West Africa

    Jan 1

    Spirits, Scripts, and Crossroads: Rethinking the Religious History of West Africa

    This episode aims to explore why writing a single, unified history of religion in West Africa is historically and methodologically difficult. Highlight how African religious experience has been shaped by indigenous traditions, Islam, and Christianity across different regions and time periods. Encourage listeners to question simplistic narratives about “African religion” and to see West Africa as religiously diverse and dynamic

    7 min
  6. Harmonies of the Spirit: Church Music in Ghana and Black America

    12/31/2025

    Harmonies of the Spirit: Church Music in Ghana and Black America

    This episode explores the evolution of Pentecostal and Black church music in Ghana and the US, highlighting US influences from the 1970s onward.​Examine how music fosters congregational participation, blending African traditions with gospel styles to address youth disengagement.​ Compare music ministry concepts, choir organization, and worship dynamics between Ghanaian Pentecostal churches and US Black churches for a deeper appreciation of cross-cultural spiritual expression.

    6 min
  7. Studying a Living Faith: Method for African Religion

    12/26/2025

    Studying a Living Faith: Method for African Religion

    Today’s episode aims to show how to study African Traditional Religion with respect and method, and why earlier approaches often failed

    6 min
  8. Rethinking the Slavery Blame-Game: Africans, Eurocentrism, and Historical Truth

    12/21/2025

    Rethinking the Slavery Blame-Game: Africans, Eurocentrism, and Historical Truth

    Welcome to today’s episode, “Rethinking the Slavery Blame-Game: Africans, Eurocentrism, and Historical Truth.” In this conversation, the focus is on one tough question: who bears responsibility for the Atlantic slave trade, and how has history tried to push most of the blame onto Africans themselves? This episode engages with the ideas of Professor Kwabena Akurang‑Parry, a distinguished scholar of Africana Studies and World History, who wrote a powerful rejoinder to journalist Enimil Ashon and to Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. on slavery, blame, and reparations. The aim is not to deny African participation in the Atlantic slave trade, but to challenge lazy narratives that make Africans the main culprits while minimizing European and American responsibility and erasing African resistance.

    6 min
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Redefining African History from African perspectives

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