On the 22 and 23 of July, the University of Cape Town in collaboration with Sciences Po University offered a Masterclass on African Medieval History. Dr Adrien Delmas of Sciences Po offered the course and Prof. Shamil Jeppie of the University of Cape Town’s Historical Studies Department was the discussant.

The Masterclass was attended by postgraduate students, junior and senior academics in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The majority of the attendees were from the University of Cape Town. Others, however, came from the University of the Western Cape and University of Stellenbosch.

The Masterclass focused on two themes: “Periodizing African History: archaeology and the invention of African mediaeval history” and “Three African globalizations: connections and routes in Africa, 10th-16th centuries”. This is the first of a series of Masterclasses on Insights into African Medieval History. The seminar has six sessions, each focusing on the archaeological sites as well as primary sources, whether endogenous or exogenous, and the different interpretations they provoked over time.

The remaining four themes will be covered virtually in September (dates to be confirmed) in a four-day Masterclass. They include “Homer in Africa: Oral history between Classics and African studies”, “Universal or African history? Ethiopians manuscripts in Europe in the 16th c.”, “Where are the Bantus? Africanists and the dangers of interdisciplinarity”, and “History by case: history of and history in Africa”.