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An African Renaissance: Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Ngugi wa Thiong’o is one of the most important voices on language and decolonization. His works include Decolonizing the Mind (1986) and Theory and Politics of Knowing (2012). This post shares some notes on his 2009 Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance (copy appears available here). “colonialists did not literally cut off the heads […]
Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book on the Obama years (We Were Eight Years in Power, 2017) attracted the scorn of Cornell West. Coates’ earlier book, Between the World and Me (2015), is a bestseller. In the form of a letter to his son, the book tells his journey of his own experiences and reflections of being Black […]
A Dying Colonialism – Fanon (1959)
Fanon is well known for his Black Skin, White Masks (1952) and Wretched of the Earth (1961). Another of his works, A Dying Colonialism (1957), seems less spoken about (originally titled L’An Cinq, de la Revolution Algerienne). The first chapter reminded me of Said’s Orientalism, which was written much later (1978). Going back to Orientalism, […]
Nkrumah – The Struggle Continues
This is the third of Kwame Nkrumah’s publications I have shared notes on. The first was the Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare (1968) and the second was Class Struggle in Africa (1970). This post shares some notes from The Struggle Continues (1973), a collection of short publications that were written between 1949 to 1968. A reprinted […]
Class Struggle in Africa
Kwame Nkrumah wrote a number of books and pamphlets. Here are a few notes from his “Class Struggle in Africa” (1970): “Many members of the African bourgeoisie are employed by foreign firms and have, therefore, a direct financial stake in the continuance of the foreign economic exploitation of Africa. Others, notably in the civil service, […]
Theory and the Politics of Knowing
Ngugi wa Thiong’o is one of the most influential and read postcolonial literary critics. His Decolonizing the Mind (1986) is essential reading. He has also penned many works of fiction and theatre, as well as other non-fiction works. The following are some notes from his 2012 Globalectics: Theory and the Politics of Knowing (which is […]
Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare
One of the great leaders and thinkers of the liberation struggle across Africa was Kwame Nkrumah, who would become President of Ghana. He has penned several works, one of which is “Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare” (1968). Reading this book makes clear why writings such as this are not as commonly on reading lists as are […]
Food Aid in Sudan
Darfur has received food aid for one of the longest running periods anywhere. Decades has passed and the crisis of insecurity and malnutrition continue. Long-time humanitarian practitioner, turned academic, Susanne Jaspars, authored “Food Aid in Sudan: A History of Power, Politics and Profit” in 2018 to distill the complex story. The book is readable and […]
The Fire Next Time
Notes from Baldwin’s 1962 two essays in The Fire Next Time, the first a letter to his nephew and the second a longer piece that reflects on engagements with faith and identity: “Do I really want to be integrated into a burning house?” (p. 94) “Let me spell out precisely what I mean by that, […]
Men in the Sun – Ghassan Kanafani
In a letter to his son, Kanafani wrote: “Do not believe that man grows. No; he is born suddenly – a word, in a moment, penetrates his heart to a new throb. Once scene can hurl him down from the ceiling of childhood on to the ruggedness of the road.” (p. 11) Coverage from Al […]
About me
Logan Cochrane
Associate Professor at HBKU in the College of Public Policy. He is an Associate Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences and an Adjunct Professor at Hawassa University (Institute for Policy and Development Research). Over the last fifteen years, he has worked in Afghanistan, Benin, Burundi, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Logan acts as a consultant for governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations, seeking to create bridges between research and practice.
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