The African Working Group (AHWG) is a collaborative and informal environment for historians to share, read, and discuss the latest historiography of the African continent. Beyond operating as a reading group, the AHWG aims to enhance the visibility of African history within the EUI History Department and connect researchers working on Africa within and without the Institute. Following the interests of its EUI members, the AHWG is primarily concerned with the period between 1850 and 1950.
The group meets every month to connect a classic work to a recent publication, centring on a particular theme such as labour migration, resource management, or urban space. The aim is to improve our knowledge of fundamental works and how they relate to the most current developments in the field.
Because ‘African history’ is spatially ubiquitous and impossible to cover each month, the recent publication is selected to project the theme of the session onto a specific African space. An example could be to read a classic work on colonial urbanisation together with a recent publication on the informal economy of Lagos, Nigeria.
The sessions are always hybrid to promote an accessible, inclusive, and approachable atmosphere. The intention is not to burden a researcher’s already strenuous workload but to create a space for historiographical discussions for interested EUI researchers who have not necessarily been trained in African history.
In the spring of 2024, the AHWG hosts a series of book launches to showcase recent work by historians from universities in Africa and beyond. If you are interested at presenting your work in this series, please contact [email protected]