Sources of the African Past - Couverture souple

Smith, Douglas

 
9781583482889: Sources of the African Past
Couverture souple
ISBN 10 : 1583482881 ISBN 13 : 9781583482889
Editeur : iUniverse, 1999

Synopsis

Sources of the African Past combines a case-study approach with an emphasis on primary and orally transmitted sources to accomplish three objectives; to tell a story in some depth, to portray major themes and to raise basic questions of analysis and interpretation. The case studies are set in the nineteenth century and deal with critical periods in the fortunes of five societies in different parts of the continent (South, East, and West Africa). The authors wish students to work with the "raw" materials of history and to that end have provided a workbook for a "laboratory" experience. Sources of the African Past is designed for use in a wide variety of courses and in conjuction with other texts. The authors have kept their own interpretations to a minimum and invited scrutiny of their decision of selection and arrangement. They chose the cases on the basis of several criteria: geographical coverage, abundance and diversity of primary sources, importance in the secondary literature, and relevance to important historical problems. All the studies emphasize political change. All witness some growth in European intervention. In selecting the documents, the authors sought a balance of perspective without sacrificing accuracy and relevance. This means a conscious effort to present a variety of views: African and European, internal and external, partipant and observer, those of the victims as well as those of the victors, those of the "people" as well as those of the elite. Within the limitations of space, they have made the excerpts sufficiently long to allow the reader to examine the author's style, purpose and other characteristics. Keeping in mind the limitations of libraries, they have attemted to make each chapter self-contained.

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Sources of the African Past combines a case-study approach with an emphasis on primary and orally transmitted sources to accomplish three objectives; to tell a story in some depth, to portray major themes and to raise basic questions of analysis and interpretation. The case studies are set in the nineteenth century and deal with critical periods in the fortunes of five societies in different parts of the continent (South, East, and West Africa). The authors wish students to work with the "raw" materials of history and to that end have provided a workbook for a "laboratory" experience. Sources of the African Past is designed for use in a wide variety of courses and in conjuction with other texts. The authors have kept their own interpretations to a minimum and invited scrutiny of their decision of selection and arrangement. They chose the cases on the basis of several criteria: geographical coverage, abundance and diversity of primary sources, importance in the secondary literature, and relevance to important historical problems. All the studies emphasize political change. All witness some growth in European intervention. In selecting the documents, the authors sought a balance of perspective without sacrificing accuracy and relevance. This means a conscious effort to present a variety of views: African and European, internal and external, partipant and observer, those of the victims as well as those of the victors, those of the "people" as well as those of the elite. Within the limitations of space, they have made the excerpts sufficiently long to allow the reader to examine the author's style, purpose and other characteristics. Keeping in mind the limitations of libraries, they have attemted to make each chapter self-contained.

Biographie de l'auteur

David Robinson is a University Distinguished Professor of History and African Studies at Michigan State University. He has worked primarily on the recent history of francophone and Islamic West Africa, and published The Holy War of Umar Tal(oxford, 1985);with John Hanson,After the Jihad: The Reign of Ahmad al-Kabir in the Western Sudan (MSU Press, 1991), and with Jean-Louis Triaud, Le Temps de Marabouts,/i>(Paris:Karthala,1997). He was editor of the Journal of African History from 1990 through 1994, President of the African Studies Association of the United States in 1992-3, ans serves as Vice-President of the West African Research Association, based in Madison,Wisconsin and Dakar, Senegal, West Africa.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
iUniverse
Date d'édition
1999
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
1583482881
ISBN 13 
9781583482889
Reliure
Broché
Nombre de pages
220
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible

Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9780841903371: Sources of the African Past: Case Studies of Five Nineteenth-Century African Societies

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  0841903379 ISBN 13 :  9780841903371
Editeur : Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1979
Couverture rigide