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Leigh Gardner is a Professor of Economic History at the London School of Economics. Her research focuses on economic and financial history in Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with a significant emphasis on Africa’s connections to the global economy. She completed her monograph, 'Sovereignty Power: Liberia Age Empires, 1822-1980', published by Cambridge in 2022, which analyzes how African countries managed to remain independent during the colonial period and examines how the Liberian government exercised economic sovereignty, influencing its long-term economic development. Gardner investigates the institutional legacies of colonialism in Africa and the relationships that African countries maintain with international financial and monetary systems. Additionally, she collaborates with the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian to create digital and physical displays of African monetary objects that provide new perspectives on Africa's economic, political, and social history. Her courses include 'Africa in the World Economy, 1500-2000' and 'Historical Analysis of Economic Change'. Beyond LSE, she serves as a Research Associate at both the National Museum of American History and the University of Stellenbosch, focusing on African economic history.
Department of Economics