Swimming with Crocodiles: Nzulezo and the Human-Animal Entanglement in Africa - Nana Kesse

Session Description
“As a species, humans are not alone; yet our history has often been written as though we were.” - Historian Sandra Swart

This observation raises an important question: How can scholars develop a comprehensive and inclusive interpretation of the past that highlights the shared experiences and contributions of both animals and humans? In addressing this question, I propose a more-than-human history that examines the complex and often conflictual relationship between humans, specifically the Nzulezo riverine community in Ghana, West Africa, and animals, particularly crocodiles. By utilizing interdisciplinary approaches from history, environmental studies, and ethology, this study offers new perspectives into the historical interactions among humans, animals, and bodies of water in Africa, demonstrating how the Nzulezo and other African communities have coexisted with water and crocodiles over time.

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Speaker Bio:
Nana Kesse is a historian of Africa at Clark University and a Fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). He specializes in the histories of water and the environment, slavery and the Atlantic slave trade, as well as the social and cultural history of West Africa. His research covers the last four centuries, focusing on the intricate relationships between humans, animals, and bodies of water in West Africa and how these connections have shaped the history of the region. Kesse’s current book project, Living with Water: Aqua-culture, Environment, and Slavery 
in West Africa, examines the social and environmental history of Nzulezo, the only stilt-house community on water in Ghana and one of the few in Africa with a history dating back to the seventeenth century. His other scholarly works on the transatlantic slave trade and the African environment have appeared in peer-reviewed journals and other popular venues, including the International Journal of African Historical Studies and the global history podcast 
“Fascinating People, Fascinating Places.” These projects have generously been funded by competitive grants and fellowships, including the NEH Fellowships, Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, Fulbright-Hays Fellowship, and the Otumfuo Fellowship, awarded by the King of the Asante Kingdom in Ghana.