Welcome!
I’m a comparative social and cultural historian of modern eastern and southern Africa interested in memory, decolonization, and print culture. My current research studies the ways in which African societies have defined their relationship to the past and the future, and how these changing visions affected notions of sovereignty and justice on the continent. I also have long-running interests in global history and the nature of colonial states in Africa.
I teach and work as a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in African History at University College London. You can find out more about me at my UCL profile.
Beyond UCL, I’m the core-convener and founder of the African History Seminar at London’s Institute of Historical Research. I also serve as Book Review Editor for the journal Memory Studies.
News:
The Royal Historical Society elected me as an Associate Fellow on February 7, 2025.
Upcoming Presentations:
“Publishing Empire: African Vernacular Newspapers in German Colonial Africa and the Question of Violence.” Free University Berlin, March 26, 2026.
Based on a generous loan from Johannesburg- and London-based gallery Guns & Rain, I’m organizing the launch of a small, public exhibit of contemporary Namibian art at University College London on May 14. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out to me you have any questions. You can register here and via the QR code below:
Together with Salvatory Nyanto (University of Dar es Salaam) and Benjamin Kirby (University Of Bayreuth), I’m also organizing a British Academy-funded workshop at the University of Dar es Salaam on July 9-10, 2026:
Fabian Krautwald 