“Africa is a Laboratory of Modernity”: Florence Bernault Shares her Expertise

Florence Bernault, professor and researcher in Sciences Po’s Centre for History and specialist in sub-saharan Africa, draws upon her depth of knowledge on the African continent to explain why an understanding of its rich and varied history is essential in our modern world.

The African continent is one of the leading producers of media, has high numbers of women in government and positions of societal power, produces research and medical advances that encourage global scientific reflection. It is also a continent whose history of resistance to colonial oppression allows us to, in the words of Florence Bernault “enrich our knowledge of an extremely complex reality”. She shared her analysis in the second video of our FOCUS series, which invites researchers and professors to explore an idea or concept through the lens of their scholarly expertises.

Join us each Monday for the next seven weeks as we delve into Sciences Po researchers’ wealth of knowledge on subjects as wide-ranging as they are thought-provoking.

The Sciences Po Editorial Team

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• About Florence Bernault