The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge (African Systems of Thought) - Softcover

Mudimbe, V. Y.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0253204682 ISBN 13: 9780253204684

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 1988

Synopsis

" . . . groundbreaking . . . clear, straightforward, and economical. . . . seminal . . . " ―American Anthropologist

"This is a challenging book . . . a remarkable contribution to African intellectual history." ―International Journal of African Historical Studies

"Mudimbe's description of the struggles over Africa's self-invention are vivid and rewarding. From Blyden to Sartre, Temples to Senghor, Mudimbe provides a bold and versatile resume of Africa's literary inventors." ―Village Voice Literary Supplement

" . . . a landmark achievement in African studies." ―Journal of Religion in Africa

In this unique and provocative book, Zairean philosopher and writer V. Y. Mudimbe addresses the multiple scholarly discourses that exist―African and non-African―concerning the meaning of Africa and being African.

About this title

Book Description

Winner of the 1989 Herskovits AwardNamed One of Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century by the Zimbabwe International Book Fair

Review

The Invention of Africa, joint winner of the 1989 Herskovits Award, has assumed a place as one of the important books of African studies. JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORY Mudimbe's historical anthropology...achieves the decolonisation of academic knowledge of Africa ... This highly sophisticated and provocative study should command the attention of every scholar. - Bogumil Jewsiewicki ... an impressive demonstration of erudition with a balanced, frequently very perceptive, perspective on how intellectual constructs on Africa have developed and operate. - William Freund in JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN STUDIES

Edition details

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0253204682
• ISBN 13: 9780253204684
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256