Alek Wek has been the face of ad campaigns for companies ranging from Coach to Michael Kors to Nars and has worked the runways on behalf of designers... such as Diane von Furstenberg and Christian Dior. Yet her defining moments extend beyond the runways of New York, Milan, Paris, and London. Born to a middle-class family in the Sudan, Wek found her life suddenly inverted when civil war broke out among outlaw militias, the Muslim-dominated government, and southern rebels. The conflict not only killed two million people, it created an entire community of refugees, including Wek's family—many of whom fled to London. Here is Wek's incredible, daring story of rising from refugee to international supermodel.

African feminism, this landmark volume demonstrates, differs radically from the Western forms of feminism with which we have become familiar since the... 1960s. African feminists are not, by and large, concerned with issues such as female control over reproduction or variation and choice within human sexuality, nor with debates about essentialism, the female body, or the discourse of patriarchy. The feminism that is slowly emerging in Africa is distinctly heterosexual, pronatal, and concerned with "bread, butter, and power" issues.Contributors present case studies of ten African states, demonstrating that—as they fight for access to land, for the right to own property, for control of food distribution, for living wages and safe working conditions, for health care, and for election reform—African women are creating a powerful and specifically African feminism.

African cinema is a vibrant, diverse, and relatively new art form, which continues to draw the attention of an ever-expanding worldwide audience.... African Filmmaking is the first comprehensive study in English linking filmmaking in the Maghreb with that in the 12 independent states of francophone West Africa. Roy Armes examines a wide range of issues common to filmmakers throughout the region: the socio-political context, filmmaking in Africa before the mid-1960s, the involvement of African and French governments, questions of national and cultural identity, the issue of globalization, and, especially, the work of the filmmakers themselves over the past 40 years, with particular emphasis on younger filmmakers. Armes offers a wealth of information and a unique perspective on the history and future of African filmmaking.

Contemporary African filmmaking is the subject of this insightful and exciting look at every aspect of the art form on the African continent. Focusing... on new trends in African cinema from the 1990s to today, this book explores new cinematic languages and modes of production, films departure from nationalism and social realism, and the Nollywood film industry, among other topics. In this book Manthia Diawara, a renowned scholar on Black cinema, literature, and art brings readers up to date on the exciting changes taking place behind and in front of African cameras. Contributions by filmmakers, scholars, and producers as well as profiles of thirty important African directors and their films, provide valuable insight into recent developments. The volume comes with a DVD containing several interviews with filmmakers conducted by the author. Scholars, students, and anyone interested in cinematic and African cultural studies will find much to discover and celebrate in this authoritative, fascinating look at new trends in African filmmaking.

Entertaining collection of 18 stories handed down from generation to generation among African tribal cultures. Includes "The Magic Crocodile," a... whimsical tale of a reptile with strange powers, and "The Hare and the Crownbird," the story of a feathered friend's reward for its acts of kindness. Features 19 lively illustrations.

"These essays... are of immense importance to anyone interested in the issues of origins and folklore texts." —Choice"... this is Bascom at his... best.... an attractive and full-bodied book." —FabulaThese essays, devoted to traditional narratives found in Africa and in the New World, represent the last major research project of William Bascom (1912-1981), eminent authority on African art and folklore—his intention was to demonstrate the African roots of African American folktales.

African statehood predates that of Europe, as well as the rest of Western civilization, and yet by imposing Western values on Africa and its peoples,... European colonialism destroyed Africa's paradigm of statehood along with its value systems that were ideally suited for this majestic continent. This two-volume book provides a comprehensive survey of the issues and events that have shaped Africa from remotest antiquity to the present, and serves as the foundation of Africa's international relations, diplomacy, and foreign policy.The first volume of African Foreign Policy and Diplomacy from Antiquity to the 21st Century discusses the determinants of Africa's diplomacy from antiquity to the 18th century; the second volume addresses the further developments of its foreign policy from the 19th to the 21st century.

Fractals are characterized by the repetition of similar patterns at ever-diminishing scales. Fractal geometry has emerged as one of the most exciting... frontiers on the border between mathematics and information technology and can be seen in many of the swirling patterns produced by computer graphics. It has become a new tool for modeling in biology, geology, and other natural sciences. Anthropologists have observed that the patterns produced in different cultures can be characterized by specific design themes. In Europe and America, we often see cities laid out in a grid pattern of straight streets and right-angle corners. In contrast, traditional African settlements tend to use fractal structure--circles of circles of circular dwellings, rectangular walls enclosing ever-smaller rectangles, and streets in which broad avenues branch down to tiny footpaths with striking geometric repetition. These indigenous fractals are not limited to architecture; their recursive patterns echo throughout many disparate African designs and knowledge systems. Drawing on interviews with African designers, artists, and scientists, Ron Eglash investigates fractals in African architecture, traditional hairstyling, textiles, sculpture, painting, carving, metalwork, religion, games, practical craft, quantitative technologies, and symbolic systems. He also examines the political and social implications of the existence of African fractal geometry. His book makes a unique contribution to the study of mathematics, African culture, anthropology, and computer simulations.

In 1909, the Smithsonian Institution commissioned ex-President Theodore Roosevelt to collect specimens of African wildlife for the National Museum.... Roosevelt went to Africa with his son Kermit, several prominent naturalists, and many journalists, thereby initiating the safari industry and setting the standard for the big game hunt. Yet Roosevelt never killed for thrills, instead hunting only specific animals in the amounts requested by the Smithsonian. Making his way from the Kenyan coast to the Upper Nile, he records his impressions of the African landscape, witnesses a traditional lion hunt by African pastoralists, and recalls his meetings with East Africans, to whom he was known as 'Bwana Tumbo (belly).'

This is the first comprehensive reader that brings African experiences to bear on the ongoing global discussions of women, gender, and society. Bringing... together the essential writing on this topic from the last 25 years, these essays discuss gender in Africa from a multi-disciplinary perspective. With a theoretical and conceptual focus, African Gender Studies will inform debate in African Studies, Women's Studies, History, Sociology and Anthropology.

These entertaining tales reflect the geographic and cultural backgrounds of their storytellers. Ranging from Kabyl creation legends of the Berbers to... ballads of the southern Sahara, the narrations are enhanced by illustrations adapted from prehistoric rock paintings and portraits of 20th-century Africans. A must-have for readers of African culture and mythology.

A multidisciplinary study of African pasts: method, content, ethics and philosophy come together in one place.    African Histories gives... readers a rich understanding of Africa's complex history through a wide variety of sources while exposing them to the African voice. The text offers examples of how scholars have, over the past 60 years, demonstrated Africa’s detailed history. It is about how historians interpret the past by giving full and adequate attention to the stories of Africans in ways that can be meaningful and acceptable to Africans and researchers alike. The text is titled African Histories in recognition of the diversity of sources and ways in which they are examined.   Note: MySearchLab does not come automatically packaged with this text. To purchase MySearchLab at no extra charge, please visit www.MySearchLab.com or use ISBN: 9780205006892.

This Very Short Introduction looks at Africa's past and reflects on the changing ways it has been imagined and represented, both in Africa and beyond.... The author illustrates important aspects of Africa's history with a range of fascinating historical examples, drawn from over 5 millennia across this vast continent. The multitude of topics that the reader will learn about in this succinct work include the unity and diversity of African cultures, slavery, religion, colonial conquest, the diaspora, and the importance of history in understanding contemporary Africa. The book examines questions such as: Who invented the idea of "Africa"? How is African history pieced together, given such a lack of documentary evidence? How did Africa interact with the world 1,000 years ago? Africa has been known as 'the cradle of mankind', and its recoverable history stretches back to the Pharaohs. But the idea of studying African history is itself new, and the authors show why it is still contested and controversial. This VSI, the first concise work of its kind, will prove essential reading for anyone interested in the African continent and the diversity of human history.

Long established as a standard work, this famous survey explores the history of Africa from earliest times to the end of the colonial period. It is... exceptional in its breadth (it provides systematic coverage of the entire continent, including the North), in its range (it establishes a clear political framework, but is still more concerned with social, economic and intellectual trends), and in its quality. Now in this major revision -- the first since 1979 -- its four distinguished authors have reworked, updated and expanded the text, which has also been redesigned and reset.