Re-Threading History: The Tellem Textiles as Decolonial Evidence

Re-Threading History: The Tellem Textiles as Decolonial Evidence is a self-paced, critical inquiry into one of West Africa’s most sophisticated yet contested material legacies. Moving beyond a simple introduction, this course invites you to analyze 10th-16th century textile fragments not as relics of a “lost” people, but as vital evidence in an ongoing debate about history, continuity, and colonial narratives.

You will investigate the Tellem weavers of the Bandiagara Escarpment, their missing looms, and their enduring patterns through a decolonial lens. By engaging with archaeological contradictions, scholarly debates, and living traditions, you will learn to question how history is constructed and by whom.

Course Structure
The course is divided into three core modules:

1. The People & The Problem: Uncover the Tellem and the central historical mysteries.
2. The Material Archive: Analyze the textiles, techniques, and technologies.
3. Legacy & Repatriation: Consider the modern journey of these artifacts.
The first two modules conclude with a critical quiz to synthesize your analysis.

We hope this course not only informs you but also transforms how you view cultural heritage. Your thoughtful feedback is invaluable in helping us refine this critical approach to history.

📬 Personalized Feedback

To deepen your learning, you may submit your completed lesson tasks for personalized feedback from the instructor.

How to submit:

1. Complete all tasks for a single lesson.
2. Compose one email per lesson.
3. Use the subject line: Course Task – [Your Student Number] – Lesson [Number]
4. Send your task response(s) as text in the body of the email or as a clear attachment (PDF, Word doc, or image) to:
education[@]timbuktu-group.africa

Example Subject Line: Course Task – STU-2024-001 – Lesson 1

Please note that feedback is provided by the instructor and may take 5-7 business days.