The Idea of Africa

African Systems of Thought

by V.Y. Mudimbe

". . . this is a remarkable book. It will occupy a significant place in the critical literature of African Studies." ―International Journal of African Historical Studies

"To read Mudimbe is to walk through a museum of many exhibits in the company of an erudite companion who explains, with much learned commentary, what you are seeing." ―American Anthropologist

"Mudimbe's sympathetic yet rigorous accounts of such diverse Africanist discourses as Herskovits's cultural relativism and contemporary Afrocentricity bring to the surface the underlying goals and contexts in which these were produced." ―Ivan Karp

A sequel to his highly acclaimed The Invention of Africa, this is V. Y. Mudimbe's exploration of how the "idea" of Africa was constructed by the Western world.

Genres: Africa, Philosophy, Anthropology, History, Politics, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Valentin-Yves Mudimbe was a Congolese philosopher, professor, and author of poems, novels, as well as books and articles on African culture and intellectual history. Mudimbe was Ruth F. DeVarney Professor of Romance Studies and professor of comparative literature at Duke University and maître de conférences at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris.

Reviews

[n · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I could go back and tell my college self to read Mudimbe - this would have been so life-changing then and is still now. Such a stunning and important text.