Paper short abstract:

The paper examines how sources from the past combined with new digital technologies and new active learning teaching methods could be used to engage and connect undergraduate students to Africa's past.

Paper long abstract:

Increasingly undergraduate history course outcomes emphasize historical thinking, lessons are inquiry based and students are required to apply evidence-based reasoning in answering historical questions. Studies have also shown that students become more engaged and interested in coursework with improved academic skills and course outcomes when primary source research is integrated in the curriculum. Other studies reflect a trend towards increased use of online primary sources instead of published sources by faculty in their teaching. The growth of digital primary sources related to Africa through subscription databases and freely available repositories online has vastly expanded access to rare materials making it possible to integrate such materials in teaching historical research on Africa. African history and culture transmitted broadly through language, documents, material objects, images, rituals and oral traditions, which preserved are used to engage with the African past. The materials used to be only housed in archives, libraries, museums, privately owned, published or at times in precarious conditions in Africa, restricting access and visibility to users outside the country, region or institutions of origin. Advent of digital technologies have transformed access by removing barriers, allowing access in transnational spaces. Selected freely accessible online collections of African primary sources will be examined as well as their discovery and access. The role of faculty, librarians and archivists in driving adoption in an African history classroom will be explored.