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Many European scholars

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are referred to as experts of African history.

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However, it is highly unlikely that

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an African scholar is considered an expert
in European history

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So my question is what constitutes an individual
to be regarded

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expert of any kind of history and by whom?

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So first, I would like to say that there are
many different of expertise

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and many different forms of doing history.

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I assume here that by expert you mean the definitions

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provided by our current academic system.

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And this is a system that has its own rules
and conventions

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of what constitutes an expert.

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Usually that involves doing research and training
for many years

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following specific principles that are shared
by the scientific community.

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Academic degrees, like a master or a PhD,

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or publications

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serve as proof of this expertise.

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Now, these rules and conventions are by no
means neutral

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They are historically grown and they carry
their own biases.

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In view of your question,

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one of the major biases that accounts for the
lopsidedness

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that you describe is, in my view, resources.

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It takes years of traveling, of doing research

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to gain a PhD in history, and someone has to
pay for that.

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And for reasons that are deep roots in the
colonial past,

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but also in a recurrent economic system, these
resources are much more

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readily available to researchers in the global
north.

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I do want to mention, however,

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that many Africans are, in fact, experts in
European history.

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I find students here in Ghana, for instance,

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much more knowledgeable about European history
than vice and versa.