Archives & documentary evidence
Identify who created a record, for what purpose, what it leaves out and how its categories shaped administration.
Public learningRead closely.
Read the essays ↗Read closely.
Understand more.
Explore African histories, societies and cultures through the journal’s accessible documentary essays.
Researching Africa
Sources, methods & ethics
Oral history & qualitative inquiry
Distinguish memory, observation and interpretation. Explain selection, translation, consent and the circumstances in which accounts were produced.
Visual & material sources
Analyse photographs, films, maps, buildings and objects through provenance, production, circulation and use. Fiction and staged images are labelled as such.
Comparison & historical change
Define a bounded comparison and explain continuity, critical junctures and mechanisms without treating Africa as one homogeneous case.
Knowledge, language & positionality
Engage African scholarship and relevant languages; explain how access, funding, translation and the researcher’s position affect interpretation.
Ethics & public responsibility
Assess consent, privacy, risk, data ownership and fair representation. Protect vulnerable participants and disclose material conflicts.