Stanford Humanities Center
“As a species, humans are not alone; yet our history has often been written as though we were.”
—Historian Sandra Swart
Abstract: This observation raises an important question: How can scholars develop a comprehensive and inclusive interpretation of the past that highlights the shared experiences and contributions of both animals and humans? In addressing this question, I propose a more-than-human history that examines the complex and often conflictual relationship between humans, specifically the Nzulezo riverine community in Ghana, West Africa, and animals, particularly crocodiles. By utilizing interdisciplinary approaches from history, environmental studies, and ethology, this study offers new perspectives into the historical interactions among humans, animals, and bodies of water in Africa, demonstrating how the Nzulezo and other African communities have coexisted with water and crocodiles over time.
About the Speaker
Nana Kesse is a historian of Africa at Clark University and a Fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). He specializes in the histories of water and the environment, slavery and the Atlantic slave trade, as well as the social and cultural history of West Africa. His research covers the last four centuries, focusing on the intricate relationships between humans, animals, and bodies of water in West Africa and how these connections have shaped the history of the region. Kesse’s current book project, Living with Water: Aqua-culture, Environment, and Slavery in West Africa, examines the social and environmental history of Nzulezo, the only stilt-house community on water in Ghana and one of the few in Africa with a history dating back to the seventeenth century. His other scholarly works on the transatlantic slave trade and the African environment have appeared in peer-reviewed journals and other popular venues, including the International Journal of African Historical Studies and the global history podcast
Co-sponsored by the Department of African and African American Studies, the Center for African Studies, and the Department of History
