Readings in Modernity in Africa

Questions surrounding modernity and its meanings weigh heavily on students and scholars who study Africa. Becoming modern carries a lot of different meanings and puts concepts of culture, tradition, and nation into uneasy use. Readings in Modernity in Africa brings together classic essays, old and new, to help assess the issues and problems of modernity in an African context. Questions include: How can we discuss modernity without lapsing into a Western-dominated view of history? How do we avoid losing sight of the diversity of local forms? How is it that modernity has such a powerful impact on African lives? This wide-ranging volume provides new perspectives and suggests alternatives for how a better future might be implemented in Africa and beyond.

A student guide to the variety of scholarly work on the issue of modernity in Africa.

Peter Geschiere is Professor of African Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam.

Birgit Meyer is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the Free University, Amsterdam.

Peter Pels is Professor of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Leiden.