In Monday’s class session, we examined the African continent broadly, discussing Africa’s contentious role in world history. To better understand Africa’s role in the world, it is important to identify the perspective in which we are learning. Examples of the two “extremes” of these views are Eurocentric and Afrocentric perspectives. This Eurocentric view implies that Africa played a minor role in world history and that the European Enlightenment was responsible for creating the modern world.

Afrocentrism is the worldview that is centered around Africa and the African people. It also stresses the idea that the world and humankind descend from African origins. Dr. Ibra Sene also spoke about the notion that before the “modern era” and the Enlightenment, Africa was not seen as different. Africa, Asia, and Europe were all interrelated and were connected through things like trade and religion. Another significant development for Africa was the African Slave Trade or the Triangular Trade. Dr. Sene spoke about the fact that many parts of the Americas were created through the African Slave Trade, including several well-known colleges and universities.

Overall, we learned that the history of Africa is much too deep and complex to be able to grasp in one lesson, but we can begin to understand the implications of Euro-focused perspectives on Africa and develop a nuanced view.