Roland Oliver
Encyclopedia
Roland Oliver is Emeritus Professor of African history at the University of London
. Throughout a long career he was an eminent researcher, writer, teacher, administrator and organiser, who had a profound effect on the development of African Studies in the United Kingdom
and who has made an outstanding contribution to the study of African history.
between 1941 and 1948, Roland Oliver joined the staff of the School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS) at the University of London
, where he was successively Lecturer, Reader and Professor until his retirement in 1986. His appointment as a Lecturer in African history marked the beginnings of the contemporary academic field of African history. The African History Seminar that he founded and chaired at the School of Oriental and African Studies
(SOAS) became the most important venue for the advancement of the academic discipline of African history anywhere in the world, and has profoundly influenced all subsequent scholarship on the subject.
He travelled extensively throughout Africa
in 1949-50 and 1957-58 and has visited the continent almost every year since then. In 1953, 1957 and 1961 he organised international conferences on African history and archaeology, which did much to establish the subject as an academic discipline.
He was a founding editor, with John Fage, in 1960 of the Journal of African History and, again with John Fage, in 1960 of the Cambridge History of Africa which appeared in eight volumes between 1975 and 1986.
In 1963, he carried out a survey of 250 working Africanist academics in the United Kingdom
and founded the African Studies Association itself.
Oliver has been Visiting Professor at the University of Brussels (1961), Northwestern University
(1962), and Harvard University
(1967). From 1979 to 1993 he was president of the British Institute in Eastern Africa.
The Cambridge History of Africa, and his influential Oxford History of East Africa, were produced in a decade between the late 1970s and late 1980s. These histories recognised and celebrated the long, rich history of Africa, which for the first half of the 20th Century was previously thought by historians to have only a history "created" by white travellers, administrators and settlers.
In 1989, Oliver was awarded the Distinguished Africanist Award of the African Studies Association of the UK and in 1993 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy
.
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. Throughout a long career he was an eminent researcher, writer, teacher, administrator and organiser, who had a profound effect on the development of African Studies in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and who has made an outstanding contribution to the study of African history.
Biography
Following his undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
between 1941 and 1948, Roland Oliver joined the staff of the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
(SOAS) at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, where he was successively Lecturer, Reader and Professor until his retirement in 1986. His appointment as a Lecturer in African history marked the beginnings of the contemporary academic field of African history. The African History Seminar that he founded and chaired at the School of Oriental and African Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
(SOAS) became the most important venue for the advancement of the academic discipline of African history anywhere in the world, and has profoundly influenced all subsequent scholarship on the subject.
He travelled extensively throughout Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in 1949-50 and 1957-58 and has visited the continent almost every year since then. In 1953, 1957 and 1961 he organised international conferences on African history and archaeology, which did much to establish the subject as an academic discipline.
He was a founding editor, with John Fage, in 1960 of the Journal of African History and, again with John Fage, in 1960 of the Cambridge History of Africa which appeared in eight volumes between 1975 and 1986.
In 1963, he carried out a survey of 250 working Africanist academics in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and founded the African Studies Association itself.
Oliver has been Visiting Professor at the University of Brussels (1961), Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(1962), and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1967). From 1979 to 1993 he was president of the British Institute in Eastern Africa.
The Cambridge History of Africa, and his influential Oxford History of East Africa, were produced in a decade between the late 1970s and late 1980s. These histories recognised and celebrated the long, rich history of Africa, which for the first half of the 20th Century was previously thought by historians to have only a history "created" by white travellers, administrators and settlers.
In 1989, Oliver was awarded the Distinguished Africanist Award of the African Studies Association of the UK and in 1993 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
.
Books
- The Missionary Factor in East Africa, 1952.
- Sir Harry Johnston and the Scramble for Africa, 1957.
- A Short History of Africa (with John Fage), 1962, 6th edition 1988.
- Africa since 1800 (with Anthony Atmore) 1967.
- Africa in the Iron Age (with Brian FaganBrian FaganBrian Murray Fagan is a prolific author of popular archaeology books and a professor emeritus of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA.-Biography:...
) 1975. - The African Middle Ages (with Anthony Atmore) 1981.
- The African Experience: From Olduvai Gorge to the 21st Century, 1991, Revised 1999.
- In the Realms of Gold: Pioneering in African History, 1997.