Ghettoizing African History

By Philip D. Curtin

I am troubled by increasing evidence of the use of racial criteria in filling faculty posts in the field of African history. Few, if any, university administrators claim that each field of history is subject to an ethnic qualification -- that only those of English descent, for example, can teach English history. At the annual meeting late last year of the African Studies Association, it was evident that many administrators nevertheless advertise positions in African history in ways that make