THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE IDEAS
Cheikh Anta Diop
Cheikh Anta Diop (1923–1986) crossed disciplinary boundaries that others treated as fixed. He joined historical inquiry to linguistics, Egyptology and the physical sciences, and helped establish radiocarbon research at IFAN in Dakar. In Nations nègres et culture, L’Afrique noire précoloniale and Civilisation ou barbarie, he challenged inherited accounts of Africa’s historical place and argued for a rigorous African contribution to writing world history. His research, debated in scholarship, also belonged to a wider intellectual project of African cultural and political autonomy.
Editorial background: Cheikh Anta Diop — works and scientific career