The African Conception of Time and
Periodising African History
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Welcome
In this course, we will explore time in the African experience and how this affects how we divide up Africa’s
history.
This course can be taken as a standalone course or as part of the Foundation Certificate Module Historiography and
Philosophy of History.
By the end of this course, participants will have an understanding of:
o The key features of African conceptions of time.
o How time and periods of time have been marked in African history in both Arabic-language and English-language texts.
o The impact of colonisation on the periodisation of African history.
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1. Culture, Temporalisation and Periodisation
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Temporalisation
Periodisation
Ethnocentric
Chronocentrism
What are your thoughts?
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“Ethnocentrism is a term applied to the cultural or ethnic bias—whether
conscious or unconscious—in which an individual views the world from the
perspective of his or her own group, establishing the in-group as archetypal and
rating all other groups with reference to this ideal.”
Oxford Bibliographies, “Anthropology”
“Chronocentrism has been defined by British science journalist Tom
Standage as “the egotism that one’s own generation is poised on the very cusp
of history.” It is to time what ethnocentrism is to ethnicity.”
Marc F. Bellemare, Professor of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota
Chronocentric ethnocentrism is the idea that the intellectual productions and
processes of one’s own present culture is not only superior to those of
contemporary societies, but also superior to those of all progenitor, or past,
societies. Coupled to this is the notion that the knowledge of one’s present age
and society cannot be improved upon. Chronocentric and ethnocentric thinking
thus fuels supremacy narratives.
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Ethnocentrism
Chronocentrism
Ethnocentric
Chronocentrism

2. Humans create time
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3. Time is relative
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4. Mythical time
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5. Historical time
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6. Periodising African History
Samuel Johnson’s, “History of the Yorubas”
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“History of the
Yorubas” 1/3
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“History of the
Yorubas” 2/3

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“History of the
Yorubas” 3/3

7. Periodising African History
Ajayi’s and Crowder’s, “History of West Africa”
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“History of West
Africa” 1/2
Volume 1

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Volume 2
“History of West
Africa” 2/2

8. Periodising African History
UNESCO General History of Africa
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UNESCO General
History of Africa
Volume I - Methodology and African
Prehistory
Volume II - Ancient civilizations of
Africa
Volume III - Africa from the Seventh
to the Eleventh Century
Volume IV - Africa from the Twelfth
to the Sixteenth Century
Volume V - Africa from the Sixteenth
to the Eighteenth Century
Volume VI - Africa in the Nineteenth
Century until the 1880s
Volume VII - Africa under Colonial
Domination 1880-1935
Volume VIII - Africa since 1935

9. Impact of Colonisation on University
Courses Outside Africa
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Impact of
Colonisation on
University
Courses Outside
Africa
1/2
LSE - MSc Empires, Colonialism, and Globalisation
(September 2021)
Course Options:
(1) Race, Violence and Colonial Rule in Africa
(2) African Economic Development in Historical
Perspective
“This course provides an introduction to the
economic history of sub-Saharan Africa since the
medieval period. Its overall aim is to bring Africa
and Africans into global economic history,
allowing students to understand how Africans
contributed to that history, as well as how global
changes have influenced the patterns of African
development.”
Howard University’s African History course
offerings (September 2021)
• Colonialism in Africa
• African Political Thought
• Africa in World Affairs
• Problems in African Diaspora
• Pan-Africanism Past/Present
• Gender Theory in Historical African Practice
• Islam Culture Philosophy I&II

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University of Leiden - MA African Studies
(September 2021)
Course Option:
History and Politics in Africa
“While questioning the conventional
classification of African history into pre-colonial,
colonial, and post-colonial, this course provides
an introduction into the historical development
of power in Africa covering all these
periods…Have a thorough overview of the
historical development of conceptualisations and
practices of power in Africa within the broader
historical context of Africa’s pre-colonial,
and post-colonial history.”
Harvard University’s African History course
offerings (September 2021)
• West Africa from 1800 to the Present (listed
under course cluster for “Imperial History”)
• Comparative Slavery & the Law: Africa, Latin
America, & the US
• Sources, Methodology, and Themes in African
History
• The British Empire (Cross listed between the
Department of Sociology, the Department of
History, and the Department of African and
African American Studies—wow)
• Introduction to African Studies (cross listed
between the Department of History and the
Department of African and African American
Studies)
• The History of African Americans from the
Slave Trade to the Civil War (cross listed
between Dept of History and African and
African American Studies).
• Histories of the Third World: Asia, Africa, and
Internationalism.
Impact of
Colonisation on
University
Courses Outside
Africa
2/2

Thank You!
In this course, we explored time in the African experience and how this affects how we divide up Africa’s
history.
You should now understand:
o The key features of African conceptions of time.
o How time and periods of time have been marked in African history in both Arabic-language and English-language texts.
o The impact of colonisation on the periodisation of African history.
______
Any Questions? Contact me, Apeike Umolu, on apeike@africanhistoryproject.org.
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