A History of West Africa

ISBN-13: 9781032055961 / Twarda / 2023 / 408 str.

USA) Falola Toyin (The University of Texas at Austin

Opis

This book introduces readers to the fascinating history of West Africa, all the way back to the stone age, and right up to the modern day. This book will serve as an excellent textbook for entry-level History and African Studies courses.

Recenzje

At a first glance, it will appear as if Falola’s new fascinating book simply illustrates the popular saying by George Orwell that “The best books… are those that tell you what you know already.” However, and most significantly, what makes this particular work so insightful and unique is that one is able to learn about the history of West Africa through the prisms of Falola’s multiple visits, interactions and researches conducted for several decades across the sub-region coupled with his long years of teaching, examining and writing about West Africa. This book is a quintessential primer for bringing the knowledge of West Africa to mature students and the general readers.

            Koya Ogen, Professor of History, Osun State University and former Provost, College of Education, Ondo.

This comprehensive textbook on West Africa offers a deep exploration of the region's history. With its engaging writing style, extensive research, and insightful analysis, it is an invaluable resource for students and educators alike, providing a window into the historical forces that have shaped the region and beyond. This teaching resource is a must-read for teachers interested in helping students obtain a deeper understanding of the region's cultures, economies, politics, and identities.

Henry Lovejoy, Director of the Digital Slavery Research Lab, University of Colorado Boulder

Scholars and students alike will actually enjoy reading this invaluable book and will keep returning to it as a deep well. Falola covers major ecological, economic, and political transformations over the longue durée in West Africa while also enlivening history with attention to people’s daily lives, pastimes, and priorities—food, art, aging, schooling, and other topics. With a detailed timeline, a thoughtful structure, and spotlights on important West African thinkers, this book is an engaging and usable text that will serve generations to come. 

         Shobana Shankar, Professor of History,   Stony Brook University

Professor Toyin Falola, the most prolific historian of our time, has brought a sublime finality to West African history text. Scholars in various fields of studying, teaching, and writing West Africa will find this a most useful book to adopt.

Kwabena Akurang-Parry, PhD (Visiting Scholar) Professor of African History, Heritage Studies & World History, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana

Spis treści

PART I: INTRODUCTION  1. Introduction  2. Writing West African History  3. Geography, Landscape, and Composition  PART II: EARLY HISTORY, STATE FORMATION, AND SOCIETIES  4. Evolutions and Revolutions  5. Societies and Cultures in the Iron Age  6. The Trans-Saharan Trade  in West Africa  7. States and Empires  8. Domestic Economies  9. Traditional Religions  PART III: WEST AFRICA IN THE ERA OF ATLANTIC ECONOMIES AND GLOBALIZATION UP TILL THE NINETEENTH CENTURY  10. Islam in West Africa  11. Christianity in West Africa  12. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade  13. Economy and Society: External Commerce  14. Transformations and Revolutions in the Nineteenth Century  15.The Nineteenth Century Jihads in West Africa  PART IV: THE COLONIAL ERA  16. Colonial Rule and Its Impact  17. West Africa and the World Wars (1914-1919) and (1940-1945)  18. Nationalism and Independence  19. The Road to Independence in West Africa  PART V: THE POSTCOLONIAL ERA  20. Postcolonial Politics  21. Economies and Development  22. Postcolonial Cultures  23. Cultural Changes and Popular Cultures  24. Religions and Religious Changes  25. Contemporary West African Identities  26. West Africa and the Wider World  27. Trajectories and Projections on the Future of West Africa  28. Timeline

O autorze

Toyin Falola, Ph.D. is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of History, The University of Texas at Austin. He is the recipient of many distinguished awards, including sixteen honorary titles.