Facts, Fiction, and African Creative Imaginations

The authors in the collection set out to prove that Africa is only a "dark continent" in the minds of outsiders who have been presented with no more than exotic jungle adventure stories about white explorers or often biased news reports about disease and insurrection. Falola (history, University of Texas, Austin) and Ngom (anthropology and African languages, Boston University) began this work at a conference on African popular culture held in Austin in 2007. The essays focus on little known or misinterpreted elements of African cultures and their influence on the people of the African diaspora. The subjects are divided into icons and popular culture, religion, gender and art, and culture and art. Several authors discuss African films and novels, most written in the language of the colonizer. The influence of Islam is considered from several angles, something often neglected in English language studies. Put together, the collection demonstrates the creativity of African writers and artists. It also makes clear that African artists are agents of their own culture, not mirrors of outside expectations, as is demonstrated in the prestigious "Dak'Art" festival. The publisher is to be congratulated for pricing this book within the range of students so that it can be included in undergraduate world culture classes. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dr. Toyin Falola is the Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor in History and a Distinguished Teaching Professsor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Fallou Ngom is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Director of the African Language Program at the African Studies Center at Boston University.