Nigeria is Africa's largest country by population, its largest economy, and one of the most diverse nation-states in the contemporary world. It is also a place of considerable poverty, wealth disparity, and political discord. How did Nigeria become this country of superlatives, good and bad? This course examines Nigeria's history over the last two centuries—a period encompassing the Atlantic trade in enslaved Africans, British colonial rule, the era of decolonization, and the recent histories of military rule and democracy. Along the way, we will consider Nigeria's place in the broader history of modern Africa.
Department of African & African American Studies