(Posted 4-11-00)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News Service Contact: Steve Gilliam, 336-334-5371

 UNCG HISTORIAN SPEAKING AT SMITHSONIAN MAY 13

 GREENSBORO--Dr. Colleen Kriger, associate professor of history at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has been invited to give a public lecture on May 13 at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C.

Kriger's lecture will be on "Making and Changing Money: Iron Currencies in Central Africa." She is speaking in conjunction with an exhibition on African currencies, which is on view through July 23 at the museum.

Her lecture will include slides of iron smelting and smithing that she took in 1989 while doing research in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In her research, she identified a complex system of iron currencies that circulated in the Congo River Basin--a discovery that helped her explain why blacksmiths were so revered in central African and oral traditions. Smiths, she explained, were the makers of money, the iron objects that served as currency, and they also changed iron currencies from one form to another. Their work as bankers brought wealth and renown to successful blacksmiths in the region.

A UNCG faculty member since 1993, Kriger teaches courses in African history. She is a specialist in the social and economic history of western Africa. She is author of the recently published book, "Pride of Men: Ironworking in 19th Century West Central Africa." Kriger earned her Ph.D. degree from York University in Toronto, Canada.

Back to the Latest News Releases
Return to the University News Service Home Page