Themes In West Africa's History

by Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku

• ISBN13: 9780821416402
• ISBN10: 0821416405
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-05-05
• Publisher: Ohio Univ Pr

Summary

There has long been a need for a new textbook on West Africa's history. In Themes in West Africa's History, editor Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong and his contributors meet this need, examining key themes in West Africa's prehistory to the present through the lenses of their different disciplines. The contents of the book comprise an introduction and thirteen chapters divided into three parts. Each chapter provides an overview of existing literature on major topics, as well as a short list of recommended reading, and breaks new ground through the incorporation of original research. The first part of the book examines paths to a West African past, including perspectives from archaeology, ecology and culture, linguistics, and oral traditions. Part two probes environment, society, and agency and historical change through essays on the slave trade, social inequality, religious interaction, poverty, disease, and urbanization. Part three sheds light on contemporary West Africa in exploring how economic and political developments have shaped religious expression and identity in significant ways. A truly collaborative effort, Themes in West Africa's History represents a range of intellectual views and interpretations from leading scholars on West Africa's history. It will appeal to college undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars in the way it draws on different disciplines and expertise to bring together key themes in West Africa's prehistory to the present. ABOUT THE EDITOR---Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong is a professor of history at Harvard University. He is the author of Between the Sea and the Lagoon: An Eco-social History of the Anlo of Southeastern Ghana c. 1850 to Recent Times (Ohio, 2001).

Author Biography

Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong is a professor of history at Harvard University. He is the author of Between the Sea and the Lagoon: An Eco-social History of the Anlo of Southeastern Ghana c. 1850 to Recent Times (Ohio, 2001).

Table of Contents

List of Maps & Figures	p. viii
Acknowledgements & Notes on Contributors	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Paths to a West African Past	p. 9
The Holocene Prehistory of West Africa 10,000-1000 BP	p. 11
Ecology & Culture in West Africa	p. 33
Linguistics & History in West Africa	p. 52
Oral Tradition & Perceptions of History from the Manding Peoples of West Africa	p. 73
Perspectives on Environment, Society, Agency & Historical Change	p. 97
Slavery & Slave Trade in West Africa 1450-1930	p. 99
Class, Caste & Social Inequality in West African History	p. 118
Religious Interactions in Pre-Twentieth Century West Africa	p. 141
Poverty in Pre-Colonial & Colonial West Africa: Perception, Causes & Alleviation	p. 163
Disease in West African History	p. 186
Urbanization in Colonial & Post-Colonial West Africa	p. 208
Understanding Contemporary West Africa through Religion & Political Economy	p. 225
Commodities, Mercedes-Benz & Structural Adjustment: An Episode in West African Economic History	p. 227
Ethnicity, Conflict & the State in Contemporary West Africa	p. 265
Pentecostalism, Islam & Culture: New Religious Movements in West Africa	p. 286
Index	p. 313
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