Abstract
US students often fail to see the global histories of the local sites they inhabit or how capitalism and militarism configure these landscapes in significant ways. In this reflection on critical pedagogy, I describe my interdisciplinary approach to situating Africa and the United States at the intersections of capitalism and militarism in three historical periods: during the Atlantic slave trade, after the so-called scramble for Africa, and in the context of contemporary US imperialism that flows from the War on Terror. My teaching uses a range of materials to introduce students to the longue durée of globalizing forces under capitalism and to confront the ongoing militarization of US policy in Africa that secures access to the continent’s minerals and other resources for powerful companies and wealthy investors.