Welcome to H-AfrTeach, a network whose mission is to provide a stimulating forum for considering the possibilities and problems involved in teaching about Africa. It is intended for a wide audience, encompassing educators, students and others with an interest in teaching about Africa at all educational levels.
The network has been fairly inactive since its transition to the Commons, but we're in the process of reviving it! In the next few weeks, we hope to launch syllabus and assignment collections, followed by textbook reviews from instructors in the field (for more, please see our new editor introduction).
If you have any materials you'd like to contribute--sample syllabi, successful assignments, discussions of useful texts and documents, or other resources--please feel free to post a discussion or email the editors at editorial-afrteach@mail.h-net.msu.edu. If you are interested taking a more active role, see our call for editors here.
Dear Ibra,
This could be a conversation within the volume. Challenging contemporary labels and naming practices is welcome, which we hope many of our authors who have lived with family members who practiced in the fields we mentioned would bring to light.
I was wondering what could be the rationale behind grouping "witchcraft, ritual magic, divination, charms, conjuring of spirits, etc." and calling them "occult" practices. Occult for/according to who?
Kathleen, I have students look at your book as they must include women's history in their projects. It is indeed very useful.
I would like to suggest that my book, *African Women: Early History to the 21st Century* (Indiana University Press, 2017) be assigned or recommended (sorry for the self-promotion, it is necessary but uncomfortable!). The books you list (and most general histories of Africa) are very limited in their inclusion of women's history. Iliffe, for instance, even in the updated 2017 edition, has only about a dozen references to women in a 300-page book.
