Understanding Contemporary Africa, 5th Edn

Contents:

Introduction • Africa: A Geographic Preface • The Moving ITCZ • Natural Regions • Continents Adrift • The Historical Context • The Peopling of Africa • Political Patterns of the Past • Slave Trade • Trade, Exploration, and Conquest • The Colonial Period • Conclusion • African Politics • The Impact of Colonialism • Nationalism and the Politics of Independence • The Transfer of Power • Independence • The Centralization of State Power • Patronage, the Patrimonial State, and Personal Rule • Military Intervention • The Political Economy of Decline • State and Society in Crisis • Structural Adjustment and the Reordering of the State • Beyond Autocracy • The Economies of Africa • Precolonial Economies • The Influence of Colonialism • Postcolonial Development Strategies • Current Issues • African International Relations • African Foreign Policy in a Changing International Environment • Pan-Africanism and the African Union • Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration • The Role of Foreign Powers in African International Relations • The UN and International Financial Institutions • Toward the Future • Population, Urbanization, and AIDS • Precolonial and Colonial Periods • Postindependence Trends • Family Planning • Urban Population Policy • AIDS in Africa • Africa's Environmental Problems • The Environment in Africa • Contemporary Problems of the African Environment • Development and the Environment • Other Issues of Environmental Concern • Conclusion • Family and Kinship • African Kinship and Marriage • New Areas of Study and Holdovers from the Past in Contemporary African Societies • Challenges to Contemporary African Kinship Systems • Women and Development • Women in Precolonial Africa • European Penetration • The Postcolonial Period • Women in the Economy • Women and Politics • Women's Groups and Gender Reform Efforts • Prospects for African Women • Religion in Africa • African Traditional Religions • Christianity in Africa • Islam in Africa • Conclusion • African Literature • African Oral Literature • Written Literature in African Languages • African Literature in European Languages • Conclusion • Trends and Prospects • Poverty Reduction • Debt • Trade and Investment • Aid • Information Technology • Conclusion • List of Acronyms • Glossary • Basic Political Data • The Contributors • Index • About the Book

About the Authors:

April A. Gordon is professor emeritus of sociology and director of the Women’s Studies Program at Winthrop University.

Donald L. Gordon is professor of political science and director of the Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics, and Public Leadership at Furman University.