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Politics of African Anticolonial Archive

Exploring Historical Contexts and Contemporary Struggles

Isaac A Kamola editor Shiera S el-Malik editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield International

Published:10th Mar '17

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Politics of African Anticolonial Archive cover

This collection of essays explores anticolonialism in Africa, bridging historical contexts with present-day struggles, as seen in the Politics of African Anticolonial Archive.

The Politics of African Anticolonial Archive presents a collection of essays that delve into the complexities of anticolonialism in Africa. These essays explore the historical context of mid-20th century African political writing, which aimed to engage with critical issues surrounding identity, history, and statehood in the pursuit of both national and human liberation. By examining the anticolonial archive, the contributors highlight how these historical narratives resonate with contemporary struggles against colonial legacies.

Each essay in this volume connects the past with the present, offering insights into what constitutes the anticolonial archive. This exploration is informed by a Derridean understanding of the archive as a dynamic entity, constantly being constructed and reconstructed. The process of curating these materials emphasizes the importance of viewing the African anticolonial archive as not merely historical but as an ongoing dialogue that shapes current political discourse and identity.

Through an alternative lens, the Politics of African Anticolonial Archive challenges traditional frameworks of area studies and international relations. It asserts that Africa's narrative should not be confined to the perspectives of policymakers or academic disciplines, but should instead be shaped by the voices and experiences of African peoples. This volume invites readers to reconsider the significance of these historical documents and their relevance in understanding contemporary global politics.

This is an excellent anthology! It is the fruit of a timely and highly creative act of curation. El-Malik and Kamola bring together a wonderfully heterodox group of scholars to explore the intellectual backbone of African anticolonial struggles. Neither a nostalgic undertaking nor one in search of a bounded territorial authenticity, it offers readers a fresh encounter with a vibrant horizon of possibilities developed in the face of fierce opposition. Not limited to intervening in an academic field or the historical study of failed ideas, together the contributors explore the meaning of an African anticolonial archive as a global inheritance, one that illuminates core aspects of the human condition, fundamental questions of politics, and what counts as knowledge when seeking to forge a world that is no longer colonized. -- Jane Anna Gordon, Associate Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies, University of Connecticut
Academic literature has not taken the intellectual work of African anti-colonial thinkers seriously. Forgotten is the clarity of Amilcar Cabral and Thomas Sankara as well as the movements they led. This volume is part of a long task of recovery, to excavate the ferocious intelligence of the African anti-colonial world and bring it into our times. -- Vijay Prashad, George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History and Professor of International Studies, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut

ISBN: 9781783487899

Dimensions: 236mm x 160mm x 28mm

Weight: 617g

290 pages