This volume, edited by a multi-disciplinary group of scholars who work in different regions of Africa, will be a collection of essays focusing on forms of leisure and expressivity on the continent. Each short and descriptive essay (5000-6000 words), will be written in accessible prose and will focus on providing details about a cultural form, explaining the context(s) in which it occurs, and providing some analysis as to its significance. The book will be thematically organized, with multiple chapters on topics such as Fashion and Beauty, Sports and Games, Love and Dating, and Creative Arts. The volume targets an undergraduate audience with limited knowledge of the continent. The intent is for the volume to include essays from all regions of the continent, from rural and urban settings, about the present or the past, and about “popular” or “traditional” practices. This edited volume is under precompletion contract with Ohio University Press, and draft chapters will be due by February 2017.
This project will contribute a critically needed text that exposes undergraduate students to the positive aspects of daily life on the continent. A particular focus will be upon the creative and dynamic ways that people in African contexts are using their leisure time, having fun, being creative, and engaging in forms of expressive culture. Much of the material available for undergraduate African Studies courses emphasizes the challenges facing the continent, focusing on war, poverty, corruption, disease, or human rights violations. These issues are real and deserve sustained attention. However, the narrow focus on “Africa’s problems” creates pedagogical problems. It can reinforce stereotypes students are already conversant with and misses an opportunity for students to consider the similarities and differences between their lives and those of their African counterparts. As those of us who have spent time on the continent know firsthand, challenging conditions do not preclude people from making music, falling in love, playing sports, participating in festivals, writing blogs, telling jokes, wearing expressive clothing, making videos, playing games, dancing, eating delicious food and finding pleasure in myriad other ways in their daily lives. These are the types of topics we anticipate for this volume.
Contributors are welcome to write about their research expertise and may distill research findings from an article or monograph to make it accessible to undergraduates. This is also an opportunity to write about a compelling topic outside of one’s disciplinary scope. We welcome all abstracts that convey a sense of energy and excitement on the part of the author.
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