African Intellectuals and Decolonization

Decades after independence for most African states, the struggle for decolonization is still incomplete, as demonstrated by the fact that Africa remains associated in many Western minds with chaos, illness, and disorder. African and non-African scholars alike still struggle to establish the idea of African humanity, in all its diversity, and to move Africa beyond its historical role as the foil to the West.As this book shows, Africa's decolonization is an ongoing process across a range of fronts, and intellectuals-both African and non-African-have significant roles to play in that process. The essays collected here examine issues such as representation and retrospection; the roles of intellectuals in the public sphere; and the fundamental question of how to decolonize African knowledges. African Intellectuals and Decolonization outlines ways in which intellectual practice can serve to de-link Africa from its global representation as a debased, subordinated, deviant, and inferior entity.ContributorsLesley Cowling, University of the WitwatersrandNicholas M. Creary, University at AlbanyMarlene De La Cruz, Ohio UniversityCarolyn Hamilton, University of Cape TownGeorge Hartley, Ohio UniversityJanet Hess, Sonoma State UniversityT. Spreelin McDonald, Ohio UniversityEbenezer Adebisi Olawuyi, University of IbadanSteve Odero Ouma, University of NairobiOyeronke Oyewumi, State University of New Yorkat Stony BrookTsenay Serequeberhan, Morgan State University