This week, ending in February 6th, 2014:
Today's thread is for open discussion of:
History in the academy
Historiographical disputes, debates and rivalries
Implications of historical theory both abstractly and in application
Philosophy of history
And so on
Regular participants in the Thursday threads should just keep doing what they've been doing; newcomers should take notice that this thread is meant for open discussion only of matters like those above, not just anything you like -- we'll have a thread on Friday for that, as usual.
One thing I've wondered, generally the term "Tribe" has gone out of parlance in African history. The connotations of primitiveness and the fact that it simply isn't useful for describing the complex polities of pre-colonial Africa means it isn't of much use. Is this the same in pre-colonial American history, pre-colonial Asian history and early European history? Who is still using the word tribe and what does it describe?