How Colonialism Preempted Modernity in Africa

Abstract

The seven chapters in this book are based on a series of original essays and their various revisions, presented at numerous conferences in the US and abroad over an extended period of time (1992-2003), with updated revisions and footnotes through 2008. The basic focus is on 'the nature of the relations between Africa and modernity' with emphasis on Commonwealth Africa, particularly Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. Táíwò (philosophy and global African studies, Seattle Univ.) argues that 19th-century colonialism hampered the development of African modernization and notes various contributions Africans made to the process historically that were neglected or discounted. The major topics include a profile of colonialism, 19th-century African modernists, the philosophy of British colonialism, the legal legacy, two examples of modernity, and the process of globalization. The author provides extensive footnotes, a selective but useful bibliography, and an index. The almost exclusive focus on African topics and issues offers a new and unusual interpretation of the precolonial era. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. - Choice

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