Re-inventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion And Culture
E-Book Overview
This extraordinary book issues a clarion call for a new understanding of Africa. The author of the best-selling Male Daughters/Female Husbands here issues a challenge to western anthropologists to recognize their own complicity in producing a version of Africa that is often little more than a reflection of their own class-based, patriarchal thought.Professor Amadiume calls instead for a new history of Africa, made and written by Africans. This is such a book.The book* explores how imperialism, violence, patriarchy and class-based social structures - originally imposed by colonialism - have become internalized to result in a contemporary Africa cursed with neo-colonial states.* uncovers the hidden matriarchal history of Africa which continues to empower women in political struggle throughout the continent* looks at the masculinization of indigenous African religions, effected largely by the imposition of Christianity and Islam* provides a guide to the main Afro-centric social theorists, writing a new social history of their continent.Dedicated to the diasporic African communities in their struggle to construct alternative, anti-racist and anti-imperialist epistemologies of self-representation and self-generated ideals, this is the beginning of a new vision of Africa, from the powerful voice of an African woman.
E-Book Information
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Year: 1,998
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Pages: 320
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Pages In File: 221
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Language: English
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Topic: 205
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Issue: до 2011-01
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Identifier: 1856495345,9781856495349
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Ddc: 305.3/096
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Lcc: GN645 .A448 1997
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Org File Size: 22,939,257
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Extension: pdf
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Toc: About the author ......Page 1 Contents ......Page 4 Acknowledgements ......Page 5 Preface ......Page 6 Introduction: Writing Africa: African social history and the sociology of history ......Page 10 Part One: Re-writing History ......Page 36 1 The matriarchal roots of Africa ......Page 37 2 Race and gender: Cheikh Anta Diop's moral philosophy ......Page 60 3 Theorizing matriarchy in Africa: kinship ideologies and systems in Africa and Europe ......Page 79 4 Women's achievements in African politican systems: transforming culture for 500 years ......Page 97 5 Gender and social movements in Africa: a West African experience ......Page 117 6 Gender and the contestation of religion: a historical perspective on African societies ......Page 152 Part Two: Decolonizing History ......Page 167 7 African women and politics: a history of transformation ......Page 168 8 Cycles of Western imperialism: feminism, race, gender, class and power ......Page 190 9 In the company of women: love, struggle, class and our feminisms ......Page 206 Index ......Page 215