A comparative anthropological study looking at the link between ways of dressing and the cultural and religious identity of the wearer in three locations in Senegal. BNS, 335pp, THE NETHERLANDS. EJ BRILL, 9004141073

Traces interconnected interpretative frameworks around and about the National Ballet of Senegal. Using the metaphor of a dancing circle, Castaldi's arguments cover the full spectrum of performance, from production to circulation and reception. Focuses on the relationship between dancers and audiences as well as that between black performers and white spectators. Also examines the work of the National Ballet in relation to Leopold Sedar Senghor's Negritude ideology and cultural politics. 264pp, USA. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS.

Explores contemporary and traditional culture in Senegal, Africa's Land of Hospitality, showing how daily lifestyles are celebrated through both religious and secular customs and covering topics such as: oral storytelling, Islamic roots, French, architectural styles and modern housing in urban environments, typical cuisine and traditional fashions. Index, bib, maps, b/w photos, 127pp, USA. GREENWOOD.

Explores the encounter between the real and the imaginary in Aminata Sow Fall's oeuvre in which neither term is quite distinct from the other, yet maps a new possibility in human endeavour where realism and heroism merge. Contributors: Ada Uzoamaka Azodo, Lucy M. Schwartz, Kahiudi C. Mabana, Jeanne-Sarah de Larquier, Mame S. Diouf Ndiaye, Roman D. Marco, and Léa Kalaora. Index, bib, apps, 319pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

A collection of essays by a variety of scholars in African literature representing a spectrum of readings of Mariama Ba's fiction with the most recent methodologies. Index, bib, xxxiii, 483pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

A case study of modern art history in Senegal examining modernism, negritude and the place of contemporary African artists in the international art world. Senghor's philosophical and political beliefs led to a particular type of pan African work emerging from the Ecole de Dakar. Harney examines this and the Avant Garde movement which followed. Index, bib, notes, b/w illus, colour plates, xxv, 316pp, USA. DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Focuses on the architectural transformation that occurred in imperial Dakar. Several ideas are central to the work and they form its core: that the style was the result of a conscious effort of the French to enhance their colonial authority in West Africa; that it represented one positive outcome of the forced encounter of European and African culture through French colonialism; and that the style, despite its specific origins, is surprisingly linked to the long history of African architectural traditions. 192pp, USA. EDWIN MELLEN PRESS.

How do those on the margins of modernity face the challenges of globalization? This book demonstrates that secrecy is one of the means by which a society on the fringe of modernity produces itself as locality. Focusing on initiation rituals, masked performances and modern art, this study shows that rituals and performances long deemed obsolete, serve the insertion of their performers in the world at their own terms. The Jola and Mandinko people of the Casamance region in Senegal have always used their rituals and performances to incorporate the impact of Islam, colonialism, capitalism, and contemporary politics. Their performances of secrecy have accommodated these modern powers and continue to do so today. The performers incorporate the modern and redefine modernity through secretive practices. Their traditions are not modern inventions, but traditional ways of dealing with modernity. Index, bib, notes, 228pp, UK. EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS.

The first book to examine the music and culture of Wolof griot percussionists, masters of the vibrant sabar drumming tradition. Based on extensive field research in Senegal, this book is a biographical study of several generations of percussionists in a Wolof griot (gewel) family, exploring and documenting their learning processes, repertories, and performance contexts, from life-cycle ceremonies to sporting events and political meetings. 224pp, USA. TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Focusing on the themes of the representation of the African city, animism, African women, colonialism and neo-colonialism, the book sets out to define the nature of Sembene's radical vision as a writer and film director in the context of liberation and resistance in Africa. B/w ill, notes, bib, index, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS, 0852555555