Education, Creativity, and Economic Empowerment in Africa

On the African continent, education and the arts offer multiple, mutually clarifying lenses through which to examine and understand issues of poverty and empowerment. Much of the scholarly education literature tends to confine its focus to methodology and content in the classroom, and while it may include issues related to arts curricula, it has largely ignored their social role in economic empowerment. At the same time, even social-scientific studies of the arts have overwhelmingly emphasized critique, heritage preservation, and cultural appreciation. As such, issues relating to arts and empowerment are more often addressed by political or civic organizations rather than scholars. Here, both are combined in a fascinating look at how these often overlooked elements promote social equality and cultivate personal agency across Africa's diverse political-economic landscapes

Toyin Falola is the Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor in History and a Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. He has published and edited more than 100 books.

Jamaine Abidogun is Professor of History at Missouri State University, USA.