Earlier I posted about a CODESRIA book on methodology, in the same year (2011) CODESRIA also published the book “Philosophy and African Development: Theory and Practice”, edited by Lansana Keita. As with the other volume, there are amazing contributors and contributions. The text was largely published earlier, as a 2004 journal issue, however most remains […]
What does democracy / democratization result in within African contexts? Robin Harding argues that due to the increase of elections, combined with a majority of many countries being rural, is an increase in rural interests as an outcome. The answer is summarized in his 2020 book “Rural Democracy: Elections and Development in Africa”, which is […]
In 2015 a symposium was held at the University of Regina on “Public Engagement and the Politics of Evidence in an Age of Neoliberalism and Audit Culture”, which went on to be the basis of the book “Dissident Knowledge in Higher Education”, published in 2018 by the University of Regina Press. The book is edited […]
There are piles of critiques of economic indicators driving decision making, and a range of proposals for alternatives. In 2018 Eloi Laurent published “Measuring Tomorrow: Accounting for Well-Being, Resilience, and Sustainability in the Twenty-First Century”, which proposes new metrics. The book gives concrete examples of metrics and existing data sets – for those interested in […]
The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), based in Dakar, Senegal, has produced some excellent books and journals. One example of this is “Readings in Methodology – African Perspectives”, published in 2011, and edited by Jean-Bernard Ouedraogo and Carlos Cardoso. The book has five parts: (1) social reasons for scientific […]
If you are looking for an introduction to agroecology and/or a textbook for a course on sustainable agriculture, “Agroecology: Science and Politics” (2017) by Rosset and Altieri is it. This book is written by leading experts, activists, and advocates (which motivates the book), for students this might be read in combination with a parallel book […]
From the many historical books of Qatar, one of the newest is “Masters of the Pearl: A History of Qatar” (2020) by Michael Quentin Morton. The author has written a history of the UAE, oil in the Middle East, Buraimi, his father’s life as an oil geologist, and this book on Qatar (where he spent […]
I try to keep an eye out for useful teaching materials, particularly ones that provide unique perspectives on issues that students may not have encountered in their studies (unfortunately many courses are similar ideas/voice on repeat, in various forms). “Critical Development Studies: In Introduction” (2018) by Veltmeyer and Wise is brief (170 pages), easy to […]
Given how little is available about or on Cabral, the edited collection by Firoze Manji and Bill Fletcher Jr (2013) is a welcome addition. The book is titled “Claim No Easy Victories: The Legacy of Amilcar Cabral”, with 38 chapters and seven sections (many chapters are brief), including a chapter by the late Samir Amin. […]
Ngugi wa Thiongo is a giant in the decolonization community, in 1986 he wrote Decolonizing the Mind, he also wrote Theory and the Politics of Knowing, Secure the Base, Something Torn and New, amongst many others (including a list of fiction works). This post shares some notes from his 1993 book Moving the Centre: The […]