Bøger udgivet af African Books Collective

This collection of Yoruba folktales, myths and legends, is written for children. The tales are based on the research of Nigerian scholars into the history, religion and culture of the Yorubas. In the magic world depicted, live heroes larger than life, and villains worse than scoundrels. Animals and plants walk and talk and mingle freely with humans, for it is a world without any form of barrier. Selected to depict heroic exploits, the tales explain the reasons behind some Yorbua social and cultural beliefs.

Differing approaches have been used to establish formal education in East Africa. This book traces developments from pre-colonial indigenous systems, to the pioneering work of missionaries, and education during the colonial and post-colonial periods. The work is organised by country - parts one to four systematically look at pre- independence education in Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar; part five gives a comparative analysis of education in the region since independence. The authors, academics at Makerere University, argue that East African educational policies have brought about significant progress within the limits of resources. The new challenge is what to do about the number of unemployed school leavers and graduates. The authors refute the tendency to view the educated as victims of their own success and a potential social nuisance; and instead argue they are a resource crucial to national development processes.

This collection of essays brings together critical and considered responses to matters of constitutionalism in the context of the most recent political evolutions in many African countries. They are concerned with the struggles for progressive constitionalism, and review historical developments and future challenges. Some specific subjects discussed are: pan- Africanism and constitutionalism; culture, ethnicity and citizenship with reference to Ruanda and Senegal; equality, discrimination and constitutionalism in Muslim Africa; gender and affirmative action in post-1995 Uganda; constitution making in Eritrea; and the challenges of antiquated constitutional doctrines and values in Commonwealth Africa. The contributors are prominent scholars in the fields of politics, law and human rights and include Ola Abu Zeid, Antonia Kalu, Ali Mazrui, Oloka-Onyanyo and Sylvia Tamale.

The first short story anthology by Ugandan women includes twelve stories. They vividly illuminate the courage and endurance of Ugandan women in the face of hardships and social injustice. The book is published by the publishing arm of the Uganda Women Writers' Association, as part of their remit of documenting women's feelings, thoughts and experiences, and creating awareness about the role of women in society.

A survey of Sharia criminal law, commissioned by the European Commission, and to provide analysis of the re-islamification of the Northern Nigerian states, based on classical Islamic texts. The study clarifies and explains the circumstances and background to these new codes, paying special attention to the Koraic offences of fornication, theft, robbery and alcohol consumption. It further identifies conflicts between these codes and the human rights principles guaranteed in the Nigerian federal constitution, and in the United Nations conventions on human rights to which Nigeria is a signatory; and surmises the views of the local people about the laws. The author is Professor of Islamic Law at the University of Amsterdam.

A novel from the pen of one of Africa's foremost writers. Iska tellsthe story of a Nigerian girl from a simple village background who goes tothe city and joins the smart literary and political world. Conflict ensues about her relationship with an unscrupulous politician. The mood and atmosphere of Nigeria are evoked in the settings of the village, the fashionable world of Lagos, and the dark ceremonies of a religious sect. The girl is a symbol of the wind which blows strongly through Africa, destroying the old and preparing for the new.

In African drum ensembles, a musician establishes a time line which establishes the points of entry for the different instruments. So the player must know the role of the particular instrument in the totality, and also the rhythm or rhythms assigned to it and precisely where they fit into the music. Opportunities to learn and appreciate drumming is limited in contemporary contexts, and it is against this background that the International Centre for African Music and Dance at the University of Ghana has embarked on this project aimed at making African drum music accessible to a wider public in the form of musical scores, audio and video recordings. Although essentially cultivated and practiced by oral tradition, the value of transcriptions is not disputed by African musicians. The three titles in the series cover different types of drum; and each gives information on performance practice and instruments, the full score of the work, vertical alignment and bibliography.

In African drum ensembles, a musician establishes a time line which establishes the points of entry for the different instruments. So the player must know the role of the particular instrument in the totality, and also the rhythm or rhythms assigned to it and precisely where they fit into the music. Opportunities to learn and appreciate drumming is limited in contemporary contexts, and it is against this background that the International Centre for African Music and Dance at the University of Ghana has embarked on this project aimed at making African drum music accessible to a wider public in the form of musical scores, audio and video recordings. Although essentially cultivated and practiced by oral tradition, the value of transcriptions is not disputed by African musicians. The three titles in the series cover different types of drum; and each gives information on performance practice and instruments, the full score of the work, vertical alignment and bibliography.

This collection of Kofi Awoonor's writings comprises essays written over a period of three decades, and includes several previously unpublished pieces. According to the author himself: '[they] reflect a life-time of engagement in literature and politics, my two passions¿'

No one can fail to be aware of the incredible impact that the IMF and the World Bank have had on Africa. Their structural adjustment programmes were deliberately designed to shock African economies into free market reform and ensuing stability. But when `getting the prices right' first swamped the World Bank's African economic plans in the early 1980s, few bothered to analyse the politics of a reform package whose immediate impact was violent and unsettling. While Africa has come a long way since then, the goal of market reform must be as important as the task of understanding the politics of unleashing the forces of the market. Not least, is the question of democratisation, which the Bank itself now attempts to force through with loan conditions. This book is the culmination of intense debate by African authors across the continent. Three sections make up a comprehensive analysis of adjustment regimes, their perspectives and the political context in which they have survived, or not. Country case studies in both anglophone and francophone Africa round up the analysis.

The dramatic changes in Zimbabwe's economic, political and social landscapes since the 2000 elections - referred to as the 'Zimbabwe crisis' - have raised complex critical questions at national, regional and international levels. This work addresses these points, by focusing on the shifting discourses about, and relationsips between land, state and citizenship. It argues that these changing definitions and dynamics, and their implications, can best be understood in terms of a number of overlapping, complete and incomplete projects of transformations; or as 'unfinished business'

Kiswahili is the fastest growing African language. The author, Professor of Kiswahili at Egerton University, here describes this growth and examines Kiswahili as an alternative to European languages in East Africa and as an international language for Africa. He covers the controversial theories of the origination and development of Kiswahili, the effects of the use of English as the language of instruction in Kenya and the status of Kiswahili in trade, religion and politics in East and Central Africa, within a continental context. A country analysis of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda reveals the spread of Kiswahili as a mother tongue and second language; its use in creative writing and music, and its status in language policies. The argument for Kiswahili as the language of Africa is also discussed.

This friendly, informative book looks at the reasons many actors hate improvisation, while quietly reinforcing the reasons improv is a vital part of acting and of theatre.

Conflict manifestations and the development crisis in Africa are addressed by contributions from sixteen eminent Nigerian scholars and researchers in policy and strategic studies. The volume addresses the ontological linkage between the prevalent crisis of underdevelopment and political instability in the continent, resulting in mass poverty, stagflation, uneven development, alienation, mounting external debts and periodic outbreak of violence and military coup d'etats. There is a thematic overview, a section on identity crisis, and on conflict resolution and development in Africa. Amongst the issues covered are language, structures of communication, ethnicity, power sharing, culture, epidemiology of convlict and violence in Nigera, political stability, economic development, and a case analysis of the Niger Delta in relation to resources and conflict. Celestine Bassey is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Calabar and currently the Commissioner of Education, Cross River State, Calabar. Oshita Oshita is the director of research and policy analysis at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at The Presidency in Abuja.

This is a story that takes place at the (Mbare)flats where a lot of people from different places stay. This is the story of their lives, their culture, how they hustle for money; this story is fun, saddening, and makes people look hard on who they have become.

This book assembles some of the best writing about Malawi's church history.

Shaping Up is more personal and intimate than the author's previous works. The poems and images reflect a period while he was living outside of Zimbabwe, in South Africa.

A lyrical and multi-layered tapestry of Anglo-South African life, with its interwoven destinies shot through with imperial associations, and its divided loyalties and love of the land, to catch a world before it slips from memory.

This is a history of the health of the people of Pietermaritzburg, a developing city in Africa and capital of the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.

This series presents fresh perspectives on the city and region's apartheid history. It takes a position that South Africa was liberated by all of its people.

This biography charts the life of Umaru Ibrahim, a Nigerian civil servant who later was active in the country's banking sector.

This is the first of a three-volume history by Bill Guest of a major South African university founded as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg in 1909.

This is the first of a three-volume history by Bill Guest of a major South African university founded as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg in 1909.

"Kusadziwa Nkufa Komwe"(Lack of Knowledge is as Being Dead) is a Nyanja maxim, African Philosophy that is true the world over. A person who lacks knowledge is as good as dead, inactive and insensitive.

Traditional and Religious Plants of West Africa is a collection of plant uses that appear to be based on beliefs, symbols, signs and values.

The railway systems of Nigeria were not just railways replacing another mode of transport. They were pioneers in the opening up of the country to development and contact with the outside world. This prodigious three-volume narrative sets out to explore those systems from their very beginning in the 1890s through their tortuous development to the closing decades of the twentieth century. The first volume starts with exploration, geography and demographic studies and covers the basics of the railway system: locomotives, rolling stock, permanent way, bridging, and signalling applications. The maintenance of these assets is then described followed by fuel examination and water supply exploration. The second volume covers the economic and political history for each of the nine railway and tramway systems traversing the country. Emphasis is given to time and place in the prevailing environment. In the third volume operational facilities and commercial practice are each described under three heads: crime, health, training, storekeeping and railway road transport are given a historical perspective. The whole is summed up under organisation, accounts and statistics while staff and industrial relations have their place, followed by short biographies of departmental heads.

The railway systems of Nigeria were not just railways replacing another mode of transport. They were pioneers in the opening up of the country to development and contact with the outside world. This prodigious three-volume narrative sets out to explore those systems from their very beginning in the 1890s through their tortuous development to the closing decades of the twentieth century. The first volume starts with exploration, geography and demographic studies and covers the basics of the railway system: locomotives, rolling stock, permanent way, bridging, and signalling applications. The maintenance of these assets is then described followed by fuel examination and water supply exploration. The second volume covers the economic and political history for each of the nine railway and tramway systems traversing the country. Emphasis is given to time and place in the prevailing environment. In the third volume operational facilities and commercial practice are each described under three heads: crime, health, training, storekeeping and railway road transport are given a historical perspective. The whole is summed up under organisation, accounts and statistics while staff and industrial relations have their place, followed by short biographies of departmental heads.

The focus of this book is to assess, through language and literary studies in interpretation, the epistemic representation of frontiers in its shifting and fixing categories.