Covers the history of the entire African continent, from prehistory to the present day
A Companion to African History embraces the diverse regions, subject matter, and disciplines of the African continent, while also providing chronological and geographical coverage of basic historical developments. Two dozen essays by leading international scholars explore the challenges facing this relatively new field of historical enquiry and present the dynamic ways in which historians and scholars from other fields such as archaeology, anthropology, political science, and economics are forging new directions in thinking and research.
Comprised of six parts, the book begins with thematic approaches to African history—exploring the environment, gender and family, medical practices, and more. Section two covers Africa’s early history and its pre-colonial past—early human adaptation, the emergence of kingdoms, royal power, and warring states. The third section looks at the era of the slave trade and European expansion. Part four examines the process of conquest—the discovery of diamonds and gold, military and social response, and more. Colonialism is discussed in the sixth section, with chapters on the economy transformed due to the development of agriculture and mining industries. The last section studies the continent from post World War II all the way up to modern times.
- Aims at capturing the enthusiasms of practicing historians, and encouraging similar passion in a new generation of scholars
- Emphasizes linkages within Africa as well as between the continent and other parts of the world
- All chapters include significant historiographical content and suggestions for further reading
- Written by a global team of writers with unique backgrounds and views
- Features case studies with illustrative examples
In a field traditionally marked by narrow specialisms, A Companion to African History is an ideal book for advanced students, researchers, historians, and scholars looking for a broad yet unique overview of African history as a whole.
Author(s): William H. Worger; Charles Ambler; Nwando Achebe
Series: Wiley Blackwell Companions to World History
Edition: ePub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Year: 2019
Notes on Contributors ix
1 Introduction: Identities and (Mis)Representations 1
William H. Worger
PART I THE PERSONAL 13
2 Tracing the Roots of Common Sense about Sexuality in Africa 15
Marc Epprecht
3 Masculinities 35
Stephan F. Miescher
4 Colonialism, Christianity, and Personhood 59
Nimi Wariboko
5 Settler Societies 77
Nicola Ginsburgh and Will Jackson
PART II WOMEN’S ROLES IN INSTITUTIONS OF POWER 93
6 Women, Authority, and Power in Precolonial Southeast Africa: The Production and Destruction of Historical Knowledge on Queen Mother Ntombazi of the Ndwandwe 95
Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu
7 Love, Courtship, and Marriage in Africa 119
Nwando Achebe
8 Slavery and Women in Africa: Changing Definitions, Continuing Problems 143
Claire C. Robertson
PART III FAMILY AND COMMUNITY 161
9 Kinship in African History 163
James L. Giblin
10 Ethnicity in Southern Africa 179
Michael R. Mahoney
11 Ethnicity and Race in African Thought 199
Jonathon Glassman
12 Islam in African History 225
Sean Hanretta and Shobana Shankar
13 Refugees in African History 247
Brett Shadle
PART IV AFRICANS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT 265
14 Science in Africa: A History of Ingenuity and Invention in African Iron Technology 267
Peter R. Schmidt
15 Africa and Environmental History 28
Gregory H. Maddox
16 Health and Medicine in African History 307
Karen E. Flint
17 Wealth and Poverty in African History 329
Morten Jerven
PART V AFRICANS AND THE WORLD 351
18 The Idea of the Atlantic World from an Africanist Perspective 353
Walter Hawthorne
19 Swahili Literature and the Writing of African History 367
Ann Biersteker
20 Africa and the Cold War 383
Timothy Scarnecchia
21 The Horn of Africa from the Cold War to the War on Terror 401
Awet T. Weldemichael
PART VI AFRICAN SELF‐REPRESENTATIONS 419
22 The Art of Memory and the Chancery of Sinnar 421
Jay Spaulding
23 Apartheid Forgotten and Remembered 431
Nancy L. Clark and William H. Worger
24 Cultural Resistance on Robben Island: Songs of Struggle and Liberation in Southern Africa 459
Neo Lekgotla laga Ramoupi
25 African Historians and Popular Culture 483
Charles Ambler
Index 501
