Greetings to all H-Africa members!
Thanks to everyone for the interesting discussions thus far. I'm
certainly less of a "lonely Africanist" since the list started.
I'd appreciate any help you can give me on choosing readings for a
west African history course (my first). I'd be open to incorporating
west central Africa as well.
I'll be teaching it this fall, at a school which has introductory
courses on different regions, rather than continent-wide surveys. So
it's a lower-level course, but I'm told the students are motivated
and bright.
I'd like to find a solid text, but I'd rather put emphasis on
readings in a wide variety of topics. It would be fine to challenge
the students, if the reading is interesting and thought provoking.
The one decision I've made is to use *Sundiata*. It has worked well
in my survey. The students loved it, appreciated the African voice,
and it created good discussions on historical sources.
So please let me know your experiences. What has worked (or not
worked?) in your west Africa courses?