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.

Contributors

Lesley Cowling, University of the Witwatersrand

Nicholas M. Creary, University at Albany

Marlene De La Cruz, Ohio University

Carolyn Hamilton, University of Cape Town

George Hartley, Ohio University

Janet Hess, Sonoma State University

T. Spreelin McDonald, Ohio University

Ebenezer Adebisi Olawuyi, University of Ibadan

Steve Odero Ouma, University of Nairobi

Oyeronke Oyewumi, State University of New York

at Stony Brook

Tsenay Serequeberhan, Morgan State University