Africa Today articles from June 1995

Africa Today archives from June 1995

Displaced academies and the quest for a new world academic order.
June 22, 1995... The Case In the latter part of the 19th century, Lord Chatelain made a statement which, a century after, still rings true: Never have more momentous questions come before the bar of public opinion than these between European...

Reason, identity, and the African quest: the problems of self-definition in African philosophy.
June 22, 1995... Introduction The focus of this essay is on one of the issues that have served as a significant force in the development of modern African thought. This is the issue of self-definition in Africa, that is the issue of how best we can achieve...

Conceptual Decolonization in African Philosophy: Four Essays.
June 22, 1995... The first essay, "Postcolonial African Philosophy: Some Comments," of Kwasi Wiredu's Conceptual Decolonization in African Philosophy: Four Essays explains how the fight against colonialism in Africa gave rise to many activists (Julius Nyerere,...

In My Father's House: Africa in the Philosophy of Culture.
June 22, 1995... In My Father's House, subtitled, "Africa in the Philosophy of Culture," is a wonderfully crafted collection of essays. Appiah notes that the essays fall into "four clusters." The first cluster focusses on the ideas of African-American...

Ghana Under Rawlings: Early Years.
June 22, 1995... In My Father's House, subtitled, "Africa in the Philosophy of Culture," is a wonderfully crafted collection of essays. Appiah notes that the essays fall into "four clusters." The first cluster focusses on the ideas of African-American...

Moving the Centre: The Struggle for Cultural Freedom.
June 22, 1995... If one glances through the programs of the annual conferences of various associations in the humanities and social sciences, at least in the U.S. - African Studies Association, International Studies Association, etc. - it is quite evident that we...

The Agonistic Imperative: The Rational Burden of Africa-Centeredness.
June 22, 1995... If one glances through the programs of the annual conferences of various associations in the humanities and social sciences, at least in the U.S. - African Studies Association, International Studies Association, etc. - it is quite evident that we...

African Philosophy in Search of Identity.
June 22, 1995... In African Philosophy in Search of Identity, Masolo offers an expansive and lucidly panoramic view of the origin and developments in African philosophy. In what he terms the "rationality debate," the author explores distinguishing features...

Anthills of the Savannah.
June 22, 1995... What might Nuruddin Farah and Chinua Achebe say to each other about African politics/society, women, patriarchy and hope? I think this question and the issues involved could be debated in an interesting way that would be informed by cultural,...

Sweet and Sour Milk.
June 22, 1995... What might Nuruddin Farah and Chinua Achebe say to each other about African politics/society, women, patriarchy and hope? I think this question and the issues involved could be debated in an interesting way that would be informed by cultural,...

Chinua Achebe: A Novelist and a Potraitist of His Society.
June 22, 1995... Readers seeking an introduction to Achebe's novels might turn to Christophe Tshikala Kambaji's concise study Chinua Achebe: A Novelist and a Portraitist of his Society. Addressing Achebe's five major works, the study focuses primarily on his most...

Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa.
June 22, 1995... This remarkable book by Jan Vansina is a paradigm-shifting tour de force. Faced with a paucity of sources of the sort they had been trained to use, a generation of European historians were not able to see that the 12 million or so inhabitants of...

Death and the Invisible Powers: The World of Kongo Belief.
June 22, 1995... Straightforward accounts of contemporary African religion are hard to find. In the not-so-distant past, anthropologists consciously removed all traces of mission Christianity or colonial rule. Today, many authors present their subject matter...

Divine Madness: Mohammed Abdulle Hassan, 1856-1920.
June 22, 1995... This book is a welcome addition to the few book-length biographies of important African historical figures. The study, which consists of an Introduction and six chapters, offers a fresh and balanced perspective on one of Africa's most...