The Oxford Handbook of Modern African History

by John Parker (Editor), Richard J. Reid (Editor)

The Oxford Handbook of Modern African History represents an invaluable tool for historians and others in the field of African studies. This collection of essays, produced by some of the finest scholars currently working in the field, provides the latest insights into, and interpretations of, the history of Africa - a continent with a rich and complex past. An understanding of this past is essential to gain perspective on Africa's current challenges, and thisaccessible and comprehensive volume will allow readers to explore various aspects - political, economic, social, and cultural - of the continent's history over the last two hundred years.Since African history first emerged as a serious academic endeavour in the 1950s and 1960s, it has undergone numerous shifts in terms of emphasis and approach, changes brought about by political and economic exigencies and by ideological debates. This multi-faceted Handbook is essential reading for anyone with an interest in those debates, and in Africa and its peoples. While the focus is determinedly historical, anthropology, geography, literary criticism, political science andsociology are all employed in this ground-breaking study of Africa's past.

Genres: History, Africa

559 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

John Parker teaches African history at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He specializes in the history of Ghana.