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Encyclopedia of African History Kevin Shillington (Ed.) Three Volumes |
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African history as a
modern academic discipline came of age in the 1950s, the decade of African
nationalism that saw the parallel emergence of African institutions of higher
education in the continent. The present Encyclopedia
of African History builds upon this tradition, and in doing so
provides a new reference resource on the history of the African continent and
an up-to-date survey of the current state of scholarship at the turn of the
new millennium. Unlike other reference works that do not treat North Africa
together with Sub-Saharan Africa, the coverage |
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of this encyclopedia is
that of the whole continent, from Morocco, Libya and Egypt in the north to
the Cape of Good Hope in the south, and includes the surrounding islands,
from Cape Verde in the west to Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles in the
east. Covering the history of the continent as a diverse whole - with
complementary and competing cultural forces from north to south and east to
west. An indispensable feature of this work is that students can find African
history presented with a view to the continent in its entirety. The historical periods
covered are also unique for a reference work. This encyclopedia does not chop
African history into discrete and seemingly unrelated periods. To allow
students to find the interlinking histories of continuity and change, the
periods included in this encyclopedia range from the earliest evolution of
human beings on the continent to the new millennium. Approximately one-third
of the encyclopedia covers the history of How to use this book The Encyclopedia
of African History is organized into a series of free-standing
essays, most of them approximately 1,000 words in length. They range from
factual narrative entries to thematic and analytical discussions, and
combination of all these. There are, in addition, a number of longer essays
of about 3,000-5,000 words, which analyze broader topics: regional general
surveys, historiographical essays, and wide
historical themes, such as the African Diaspora, African Political systems,
and Perhaps the most significant feature of the encyclopedia is then easily accessible A-to-Z format. The titles of the essays are organized for easy reference into composite articles on the major regions, states, themes, societies and individuals of African history. |