History of Surfing in Africa Part 2: The Modern Era

In this episode we continue our deep duck dive into the history of surfing in Africa as part of wider scholarly work within critical surf studies and the blue humanities. This episode is Part 2 of a two part series on the topic. Part 2 focuses on surfing in Africa during the modern era, from c. early 1900s to the present.

If you have not listened to Part 1, which covers surfing in during the colonial period, we recommend to you check out the episode [ADD link] before joining us for Part 2.

We cover a lot of coastline in this episode: from Agatha Christie's surfing during her Grand Tour of the colonies in the 1920s to examples of indigenous surfing in West Africa in the late 1940s; from the era of "surf discovery" in Africa in the Sixties and Seventies to the diffusion of surfing through the processes of surf tourism, non-profit led social development, and sportisation in Africa from the 1990s and 2000s. We consider how the term AfroSurf is both productive in creating black and brown surfing identities in Africa and the USA, but also is in need of critique for it ideological and material base. We also look to how the entry of surfing into the Olympics is driving the growth of surfing in Africa. And we offer a case study of surfing in Liberia to illustrate these trends.

References for this episode:

Dawson, Kevin. Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora, (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018).

Laderman, Scott. Empire in Waves: A Political History of Surfing, (University of California Press, 2014).

"Liberia to Host Africa’s First-ever Surf Tour," Daily Observer, 18 April 2024, https://www.liberianobserver.com/liberia-host-africas-first-ever-surf-tour

Mami Wata. AfroSurf, (Mami Wata International, 2020).

Moore, Michael Scott. Sweetness and Blood, (Rodale Books, 2010).

Prichard, Mathew (ed). Agatha Christie: The Grand Tour, (Harper, 2013).

Rouch, Jean. “Surf-Riding sur la Côte d'Afrique,” Notes Africaines, vol. 42, 1949.

Sliding Liberia, dir. Britton Caillouette and Nicholai Lidow: Liberia/USA, Woodshed Films, 2007.

The Impossible Wave, dir. Jay Johnson and Jessica Johnson, (International Surfing Association, 2023), available https://theimpossiblewave.com/ - a film on the ISA's path to the Olympics.

Waves for Change, “Liberian surf therapy brings the stoke to Robertsport,” 5 October 2022, https://waves-for-change.org/liberian-surf-therapy-brings-the-stoke-to-robertsport/