I’ve been having a hard time finding a non euro-centric book or course that is able to delve into African history in a meaningful way. Most of the ones I find don’t take native perspectives into account, don’t talk about the social influences, and heavily focus on colonialism from a western perspective. Would anyone know of some solid resources? (I’ve also checked the booklist for this sub).
One book I really like is Michael A. Gomez's book African Dominion: A New History of Empire in Early and Medieval West Africa. The book is split into these parts: Early Sahel and Savannah (including Gao and Ghana); Imperial Mali; Imperial Songhay; and Le Dernier de l'Empire. Basically, he takes you through the Middle Ages from beginning to end, focusing on a few different key empires. He does a good job of combining archaeological and historic sources, the latter of which are often Islamic writings about West Africa since much of West Africa became Muslim during the Middle Ages. Gomez is a professor of History and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at NYU.
For Nubia, in modern-day Sudan and Egypt, I can recommend Medieval Nubia: A Social and Economic History by Giovanni Ruffini. Makuria was an ancient Christian kingdom in Nubia that had important relationships with the Byzantine Empire and the Fatimid Caliphate, among others. Outside of Ethiopia it was the most notable Christian kingdom in medieval Africa. A ton of material survives in Old Nubian but not many scholars have written about it in English, so Ruffini's book is a really good overview of the history there. Ruffini is a professor of classical studies at Fairfield University.