The Changing Worlds of Atlantic Africa: Essays in Honor of Robin Law
edited by Toyin Falola and Matt D. Childs
Robin Law represents the best of the generation that emerged during one of the most eventful and exciting periods in African history and historiography. This book offers an assessment of his scholarship, most notably his work on pre-colonial West African history; his methodological approaches to African history; his scholarship on transatlantic slavery in particular; and his work on diasporic topics and the study of changing identities produced by Atlantic slavery. The Changing Worlds of Atlantic Africa, comprising the writings of a remarkable cast of scholars who occupy the leading role in their areas of specialization, is a vivid example of the ongoing dialogue with the "waves" of scholarship stimulated by the work of Robin Law.
Sàngó in Africa and the African Diaspora
edited by Joel E. Tashkent, Toyin Falola and Akintunde Akinyemi
àngó in Africa and the African Diaspora is a multidisciplinary, transregional exploration of Sàngó religious traditions in West Africa and beyond. Sàngó—the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning—is a powerful, fearful deity who controls the forces of nature, but has not received the same attention as other Yoruba orishas. This volume considers the spread of polytheistic religious traditions from West Africa, the mythic Sàngó, the historical Sàngó, and syncretic traditions of Sàngó worship. Readers with an interest in the Yoruba and their religious cultures will find a diverse, complex, and comprehensive portrait of Sàngó worship in Africa and the African world.
Oral and Written Expressions of African Cultures
edited by Toyin Falola and Fallou Ngom
Oral and Written Expressions of African Cultures challenges the traditional view of exotic and atavistic Africa with a balanced examination of the continent's realities and challenges. It shows how oral and written expressions capture the complexity, concerns, dynamism, challenges and ingenuity of the African masses. It brings together twelve scholars from different academic backgrounds who draw from the rich repertoire of music, poetry, literature and the media in the continent to unearth the underlying socio-cultural, economic and political factors that shape African societies in the twenty-first century. These scholars discuss issues ranging from political manipulations of popular music in Kenya and Argentina, the role of print media in the democratization process in Nigeria, motivations of "vulgar poetry" in South Africa, contemporary gender issues in the Islamic Republic of Sudan, the perseverance of aspects of African cultures in Puerto Rico, misrepresentations of Africa in Rene Maran's Batouala, the function of "lowbrow fiction" in Apartheid South Africa, female African authors' techniques to counter male dominance, and HIV/AID and the cultural taboos associated with the disease in southern Africa, among others.
Historical Dictionary of Nigeria
edited by Toyin Falola and Ann Genova
Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has undergone tremendous change shaped by political instability, rapid population growth, and economic turbulence. The Historical Dictionary of Nigeria introduces Nigeria's rich and complex history. Readers will find a wealth of information on important contemporary issues like AIDS, human rights, petroleum, and faith-based conflict. This thorough and comprehensive volume provides a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on notable people, places, events, and cultural practices with an emphasis on Nigeria's post-1990 developments. Many of the dictionary's entries highlight Nigeria's relationship to its West African neighbors and its membership in international organizations such as the AU, OPEC, and the UN.
Emerging Perspectives on Femi Osofisan
edited by Toyin Falola and Tunde Akinyemi
This anthology presents the most comprehensive and up to date critical works on the creative ingenuity of Femi Osofisan, one of the most prolific contemporary African writers. As shown in many of the essays in the volume, Osofisan's creative works are highly original, innovative, ingenious, and pleasing. The contributors are a distinguished set of literary scholars who have drawn on years of experience and research to present remarkable ideas and original interpretations of the over fifty plays, four works of fiction, four collections of poetry, and two books for junior readers already published by Osofisan. This innovative volume covers a broad range of themes in the writings of Osofisan, including literature and society, gender and women's empowerment, dramaturgy, politics, style and language use, mobility of oral tradition, and translation/transliteration. He is arguably, Nigeria's most purposeful writer and social critic-cum-activist. He has incessantly used his creativity to champion the cause of the marginalized members of the society. Through his outstanding writing across many genres, Osofisan has led his generation of writers on the path of utilizing their writings as a mobilizing tool for social and political change.
Etches on Fresh Waters
edited by Toyin Falola and Aderonke Adesola Adesanya
The poetic cosmos of Toyin Falola engages the poetic universe of Aderonke A. Adesanya to give the literary world a phenomenal book of poetry that promises to generate debate for years to come. The poetic journey of Etches on Fresh Waters straddles spaces and epochs, and ties truth, laughter, joy and sadness, victory and failure, hope and despair to the apron of time. The frailty, docility, fragility and volatility of human life find space in the rapidity of a poetic train. This publication is a welcome feast to lovers of the rich craft of poetry. Words are reinvented and crafted in lucid, zesty, breathtaking, and thought-provoking lines. Covering a span of 25 to 50 years in the authors' professional range and observations of various societies and peoples, containing over a hundred poems, and divided thematically, the collection seeks to provide moments of wisdom, words of solace, songs of abuse, songs of praise, songs of politics, songs of morality, songs of desire, and songs of labor, while theorizing in a subtle manner, on the value of foresight as opposed to hindsight, hard work in contrast to laziness, friendship instead of hatred, openness as an alternative to close-mindedness, intelligence as opposed to foolishness, and ultimately, on the imperative of love in many shades and textures as opposed to hatred and hypocrisy.
Emergent Themes and Methods in African Studies: Essays in Honor of Adiele Afigbo
edited by Toyin Falola and Adam Paddock
This volume honors one of Nigeria's pre-eminent historians, Adiele Afigbo, who has made numerous contributions to African history, Archeology, and African Studies over the course of the last forty years. The book reflects on Afigbo's career and contributions while offering chapters on a variety of historical and contemporary issues in Africa. Leading researchers in a wide range of disciplines contributed to the work with chapters ranging from religion, philosophy, economics, human rights, gender and women's studies, historiography, culture, nationalism, government, and politics, among many other subjects. The volume is as diverse in subject matter as the contributions of Adiele Afigbo to the discipline of African history.
Culture and Customs of Sudan
dited by Kwame Essien and Toyin Falola
Amid the Sudan's dark history, saturated with conflicts and tragic current events, lies a culture with deep roots, going back as far as 8000 BC. With several hundred ethnic groups and languages, Sudan is one of the world's most diverse countries. Learn how these cultures have blended and collided throughout the centuries, and examine how traditions and customs are kept alive today. Chapters include coverage on historical background, religions and worldviews, literature and media, art and architecture, cuisine and traditional dress, gender roles, marriage, and family, social customs, and music and dance. A timeline of key events and bibliographical essay including print and nonprint sources supplement the work.
Cultural Identity and Nationalism
edited by Toyin Falola
This published lecture explores the role scholars and the intelligentsia play in reconstructing the cultural identity of Africans, and the black race, in order to preserve the heritage and transform the future of their countries.
Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria
edited by Toyin Falola and Augustine Agwuele
This study looks closely at the conditions that created a legacy of violence in Nigeria. The book examines violence as a tool of domination and resistance, however unequally applied, to get to the heart of why Nigeria has not built a successful democracy. The analysis centers on two phases of Nigerian history: the last quarter of the 19th century, when linkages between violence and domination were part of the British conquest; and the first half of the 20th century, which was characterized by violent rebellion and the development of a national political consciousness. This important book emphasizes the patterns that have been formed and focuses on how violence and instability have influenced Nigeria today.
Africans and the Politics of Popular Culture
edited by Toyin Falola and Augustine Agwuele
This anthology provides insightful data on and discussions of a wide array of popular cultural manifestations and theoretical perspectives, covering such issues as kinship, religion, conflict resolution, music, cinema, drama, and literary texts. The issues cohere around the understanding that culture is situational and political. Going beyond merely challenging popular stereotypes and representations of Africans and African-related practices in various outlets, the book reveals how popular cultural practices are instruments that have been manipulated for personal and collective survival. The book is distinctive in its codification and explication of aspects of popular practices that are based on data from countries in Africa, Europe, and the Americas that showcase cultural negotiations either with reference to how notions, values, norms, and images of Africans have been packaged and exploited over the years or how popular cultures are used as tools of resistance and agitation by the various focal groups that are discussed.
