Following the Gold Road: Global Medieval Africa in the Time of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai with Sarah Guerin and Yinka Adgoke

The Gold Road is a three-part lecture series that explores the medieval West African empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai (6th–16th centuries). This series is for K-12 educators and all of those who are curious to see the ways in which West Africa has shaped the modern world. The program reframes global medieval history by centering Africa’s essential role in the world economy through its prized resource—gold—and by spotlighting its contributions to art, architecture, learning, and governance. This session with Dr. Sarah Guerin and Yinka Adegoke will focus on: Gold, Power, and Global Trade Networks Abstract: Gold lay at the heart of the great West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai—fueling trans-Saharan trade, drawing global interest from Europe and the Islamic world, and affirming Africa’s central role in the medieval global economy. Its legacy also set the stage for subsequent European colonization and the transatlantic slave trade. The conversation will illuminate how the historic Gold Road continues to shape patterns of wealth, power, and exchange in the contemporary global economy. FEATURING: Yinka Adegoke, Editor, Semafor Africa Sarah Guérin, Associate Professor of History of Art, University of Pennsylvania Hosted by the Africa America Institute in partnership with the Boston University African Studies Center and the Howard University Center for African Studies.