Historian of European colonialism and modern Africa @UniofOxford & @WadhamOxford. Working on Maasai history, anti-colonialism, infrastructure, Black Germany.
Congratulations to Doyle D. Calhoun, whose book "The Suicide Archive" has been named the winner of the 2025 African Literature Association @AfricanLitAssoc Book of the Year Award. https://t.co/dCCJeaIcgX
In our latest blog post, Lotte Hughes and Katy Newell-Jones, explore some common myths about FGM/C and highlight how community-led education and engagement can drive lasting change. Read the blog ➡️ https://t.co/1awTt6Jty4
@lotte_hughes
Looking for a postdoc? The Faculty of History at Oxford is holding an Expression of Interest competition to select candidates for support through the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships scheme. More information here: https://t.co/xfG9DbnEyP
This evening, 21st May 2026, I return to my alma mater, @Cambridge_Uni, for the 2026 Audrey Richards Annual Lecture at 5:00 pm in the Winstanley Lecture Theatre, Trinity College. The distinguished historian John Lonsdale will speak on “Self-Mastery: Jomo Kenyatta and State-Free African Political Thought.”
The lecture opens two days of intellectual engagement at the Centre of African Studies, bringing together some of the most distinguished Africanists of our generation. Tomorrow 22nd May, 2026, I'm honoured to give a keynote lecture on "Land, Blood & Belonging : Rethinking the Moral Foundations of Statecraft in Kenya." Among those participating are eminent scholars whose work has profoundly shaped our understanding of Africa and its place in the world, including John Lonsdale himself, Frederick Cooper, Richard Waller, Derek Peterson, David Anderson, Adriaan van Klinken, Carola Lentz, Justin Willis, Joel Cabrita, Emma Hunter, Shane Doyle, Megan Vaughan, Parker Shipton, Inge Brinkman, Frederick Cooper, and a distinguished community of historians, anthropologists, political scientists, literary scholars, and public intellectuals from Africa, Europe, and North America. The conference reminds us that history is not merely an archive of bygone events; it is a compass for navigating the possibilities of the future.
Those unable to attend in person may follow the proceedings online here:
https://t.co/6F5MQR1VqD
#AudreyRichardsLecture #JohnLonsdale #AfricanStudies #UniversityOfCambridge #AfricasPastsAfricasFuture
Would an African president shut up a noisy audience in France the way Macron did in Nairobi? Some Africans are outraged about the French president's paternalistic tone.
But some praise him for showing leadership. Was it rude, or was it the right thing to do?
Very happy to finally see this out in the world!
My new book ‘Paths to Forgetting: Memory and Power After Violence in East Africa’ just out with @CUP_PoliSci :
https://t.co/dNXuoEgr1L
Yesterday I had the pleasure of addressing the graduates @UMich commencement. I spoke about the long history of student activism, which has moved the University toward justice.
Here is a video. It has caused a furore on social media & in UM admin.
https://t.co/1tIJPnRwyp
Professor Derek R. Peterson, a University of Michigan historian and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, thanked “pro-Palestinian student activists” during a graduation speech today, for “opening our hearts to the injustices and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza.”
Peterson teaches history and African studies at the University of Michigan, where he also became chair of the faculty senate in 2025.
Ob bewusst oder unbewusst: Das ist die erste Generation, die nicht durch die negativen Erfahrungen im Ostblock politisiert wurde, sondern ausschließlich durch die Zumutungen des Kapitalismus: Klimakollaps, Genozid, Wehrpflicht. Das ist der Treibstoff, der die Welt verändern wird!
Stephen Legg (Nottingham) has written a fantastic conference report on our “Cities and Decolonization” conference, which has just been published in the Journal of Historical Geography. https://t.co/GfDOH0F769
Conference time! From protest routes to print networks, from imperial capitals to port cities, urban spaces were not just backdrops but engines of anticolonial struggle. Join us for the "Cities and Decolonization" conference in Oxford this week. More: https://t.co/D58FbHnHvj
„Ich schäme mich, Israeli zu sein.“
Ich habe mit dem israelischen Historiker Adam Raz über Netanjahu, den Krieg im Nahen Osten und sein Leben als Jude in Berlin gesprochen: https://t.co/LhQOaOLjld
Wangari Maathai was the first female professor in Kenya and the first African woman to be awarded the #NobelPeacePrize.
Born on this day, she was a committed environmentalist and founded the Green Belt Movement, which led to the planting of millions of trees.