Shanguhyia edits major tome on Africa’s modern history
Martin S. Shanguhyia, associate professor of history, co-edited a two-volume manual on
African colonial and postcolonial history as part of the Palgrave Handbooks
series.
Written
by more than 50 historians and scholars in African studies, The Palgrave
Handbook of African Colonial and Postcolonial History focuses on African
colonial and postcolonial history and the relation between the two eras. It
also proves that the production of African history is the result of blended, interdisciplinary
efforts, as evidenced by the contributors drawn from various disciplines in
African studies: history, political science, anthropology, religion, African
art, law, music, to mention but a few.
“The
Handbook was conceived out of the necessity to demonstrate the extent to which
African history has expanded in scope, themes, and interpretations since the
early 1980s,” writes Shanguhyia in the introduction. “The themes illustrate the
depth of African modern history, the innovativeness and range of paradigms of
its analysis, and the multidisciplinary lens for understanding Africa’s past.”
Shanguhyia
also wrote the first chapter of the tome, where he argues that the African
environment was the medium in which Africa’s activities and foreign
interactions, powerful agents in shaping its history, developed. He also
concludes that the outcome of the continent’s colonial reality created dynamic
environmental relations between colonial states and African communities that
left a lasting legacy on both African landscapes and their inhabitants.
Shanguhyia
received a PhD in African history from West Virginia University in 2007. Before
joining the Maxwell School faculty as an assistant professor of history in 2010,
he was a visiting assistant professor of African history at the Ohio State
University at Columbus (2008- 2009), and in the same capacity at the College of
William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia (2009-2010). His research focuses on
colonial Africa, with a specific concentration on Eastern Africa and rural
economies and environments.
04/09/18