Abstract Joseph Earl Harris (born July 2, 1929, North Carolina), an eminent scholar of the history of Africa and the African diaspora. A pioneer in the study of the African diaspora to Asia, he championed the recognition of the African diaspora as a global phenomenon. The Joseph E. Harris papers contain materials from all periods of Dr. Harris' career. They reflect the full scope of his participation in the work of the universities at which he taught, and the organizations and conferences in which he...

Abstract Jan Vansina was born in Antwerp, Belgium on September 14, 1929 and received his Ph.D. in history from the University Leuven in 1957. He is a major figure in the study of Africa. He published twenty monographs, over two hundred articles, and was the co-author, editor, compiler, annotator etc. of many other works. His extensive fieldwork and study of oral tradition established the context and methodologies for reconstructing African history through the use of oral tradition. The Jan Vansina...