So controversial was Shaw’s Black Girl when it first appeared in 1932 that it provoked a public outcry, with Shaw decried as a blasphemer. To today’s reader it remains a surprisingly irrever-ent depiction of the universal search for God. Dissatisfied with the teachings of respectable white missionaries, an African girl embarks upon her own quest for God and the truth. Journey-ing through the forest, she comes face to face with various religious figures, each one seeking to convert her to their own brand of faith. This brilliantly sardonic allegory showcases some of Shaw's more unorthodox thoughts on race, religion and God. 112pp, UK. HESPERUS PRESS.

An interdisciplinary study considering the status of Africa globally and reconsidering the nature of African modernity and the African future. Chapters include Africa and the Project of Modernity, The Black Intellectual and the Pan African Agenda in Languages, and The Language of Francophonie and the race of the renaissance. BNS, 180pp, UK. ASHGATE PUBLISHERS.

This collection of articles aims to stimulate the exploration of African initiative and creativity and to go beyond immediate socio-economic and political circumstances by analysing those initiatives that offer alternatives to the prevailing paradigms. It moves away from African 'victimhood' by stressing African 'agency' and by demonstrating that societies in Africa have always showed the ability to negotiate whatever constraining ecological, economic and political circumstances they faced. This is further detailed in the context of the literary contest between local and global; of issues of land rights and property; of livelihoods and poverty; of the popular culture; of demystifying African migrations; the changing parameters of territoriality; and the dynamics of the tourist encounter. Index, 185pp, NETHERLANDS. E J BRILL.

African intellectuals today face uniquely difficult circumstances. This overview of their history, fate and future roles explores the relationship of African intellectuals to nationalism and the Pan African project; the indigenous language question; women intellectuals; and the role of the hugely growing African academic diaspora. It assesses the interface between African intellectuals and society, state and politics in the context of the restoration of multi-party politics, changing economic policies, and renewed Pan African awareness. Contributors include: Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Amina Mama, Ali A. Mazrui and Ngugi wa Thiong'o. 248pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

Argues that the analytical approach to philosophy predominant in the world today can both be applied to and derived from Africa's indigenous cultural heritage. Uses these same analytical tools to argue that there is indisputable evidence of original and invaluable philosophical enterprise in Africa's indigenous conceptual systems that is of direct relevance to such canoni-cal core disciplines of philosophy as epistemology, ethics and aesthetics. 286pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

Intended for those involved in gender and race theory, as well as cultural postcolonial and black studies, bringing together canonical philosophical texts from African, African American, Afro Caribbean and Black European thinkers. Notes, refs, index, 507pp, UK. BLACKWELL PUBLISHING. 0631203389

A collection of previously unpublished essays addressing epistemological and philosophical concerns that have emerged from sub Saharan regions of Africa. The primary focus of the book is on traditional African conceptions of mind, person, personal identity, truth, knowledge and understanding. Contributors include Leke Adeofe, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Lee Brown, and Segun Gbadegesin. Index, bib, notes, xiv, 193pp, USA. OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 0195114418

The revised second edition presents the current philosophical debate in Africa looking at decolonisation, afro centrism, euro centrism, cultural freedom, and the role of black consciousness in the liberation struggles. Authors represented include Abiola Irele, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Steve Biko, Paulin Hountondji, Kwasi Wiredu, Ali A. Mazrui, and Wole Soyinka. Index, refs, notes, xvii, 667pp, UK. ROUTLEDGE, 0415968097

A clear presentation and thoughtful evaluation of each of the main schools in African philosophy. Index, bib, notes, xii, 256pp, UK. RODOPI, 9042008105

The book is the first of this kind to tackle the subject of beauty and ugliness in Africa. It draws on essays by continental, diasporic and metropolitan scholars, though the majority of its contributors are Africans based on the continent. The essays not only work with the idea of beauty across the senses - sight, sound, touch, taste and smell - but are written in both academic and non-academic styles. The contributors are: Simon Gikandi, Achille Mbembe, William Kentridge, Rita Barnard, Dominique Malaquais, Pippa Stein, Els van der Plas, Mark Gevisser, Celestin Monga, Françoise Vergès, Cheryl-Ann Michael, Patricia Pinho, Kamari Maxine Clarke, Rodney Place, Michelle Gilbert, Mia Couto, Isabel Hofmeyr. Extensively illustrated. 416pp, USA. DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

Accessible book by a leading South African ethics consultant, attempts to show how to draw on the deepest wells of ethical power in the self and in broader value systems, both religious and secular, in order to promote greater, sustainable well-being for all. It maps out a putatively global ethic, but draws on examples from the moral and social crises in South Africa: from grinding poverty to corrupt politicians, unscrupulous business people and organised criminal gangs, from sexual violence to armed robberies, war-mongers and thugs in schools. Index, bib, 176pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

"On the shoulders of Aime Césaire, Frantz Fanon, Paulin Hountondji, Edward Said, Alioune Diop, Albert Memmi, Martin Heidegger, Marcien Towa, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Mahmood Mamdani that Serequeberhan extends the centuries old intellectual heritage and tradition of East African scholarship and language mastery far beyond its shores. In Serequeberhan's often poetic language, particulars masquerading as universals not only the use of particular cultural types, but culturally specific definitions of what it means to be rational or what cultural groups will shape civilization are exposed for the way they help sustain metaphysically sanctioned despotic violence." - Leonard Harris, Purdue University. Index, 183pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

A political and philosophical manifesto considers the ramifications of a world in which Western society is divided from other cultures, evaluating the limited capacity of differentiating societies as compared to the power of a united world. 224pp, UK. ALLEN LANE.

Reflections on the interactions between African ethical thinking and Western philosophical concepts of the "ethics of discourse" and "communitarianism". Bib, 237pp, KENYA. PAULINES PUBLICATIONS

1998 9789966213365 Paperback

New in paperback. Race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, sexuality: in the past couple of decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to such collective identities. They clamour for recognition and respect, sometimes at the expense of other things we value. But to what extent do identities constrain our freedom, our ability to make an individual life, and to what extent do they enable our individuality? Index, notes, xvii, 358pp, USA. PRINCETON.

Critiques western ethics and discusses African ethical contexts, the process of palaver, understandings of freedom, individual responsibility, sin, conscience and inculturation. Originally published in German as Wider den Universalanspruch Westlicher Moral (2000), this edition translated by Brian McNeil. Index, bib, notes, abbrevs, 216pp, KENYA. PAULINES PUBLICATIONS AFRICA.

2003 996621870X Paperback

Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, leaves the easy life of the Happy Valley, accompanied by his sister Nekayah, her attendant Pekuah, and the much-travelled philosopher Imlac. Their journey takes them to Egypt, where they study the various conditions of men's lives, before returning home in a 'conclusion in which nothing is concluded'. Johnson's tale is not only a satire on optimism, but a philosophical exploration of the human mind's infinite capacity for hope. Edited by Paul Goring. Notes, 137pp, UK. PENGUIN BOOKS.

An analysis of how indigenous knowledge can impact on the social and natural sciences. These issues are set against a contemporary, post colonial environment. Refs, xiv, 285pp, SOUTH AFRICA. NEW AFRICA EDUCATION PUBLISHING, 1919876588

Conference papers from the 2003 seminar of the South African Science and Religion Forum on the issue of technoscience and the experience of personal, cultural and religious fragmentation in Africa and the West. Deploys the concept of personhood encapsulated in 'ubuntu' as a point of reference and departure. Contributors include: Augustine Shutte, Aslam Farouk Ali and Jackie Phahlamohlaka. 295pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNISA PRESS.

2004 1868883000 Paperback

The Kpim refers to the central ethical questions that govern human life. Drawing on African philosophical and cultural traditions, this broad-ranging work discuses the major ethical questions pertaining to public and private spheres of life. It is divided into sections on general ethics, special ethics, professional ethics, education ethics, business ethics, life ethics, bio-ethics, medical ethics and gene ethics. 697pp, NIGERIA. HEINEMANN EDUCATIONAL BOOKS NIGERIA.

Monograph addressing the implications and limitations of Wiredu's projects, arguing that he has not grappled with the full consequences of his conceptual decolonisation. Osha suggests that due to the hybridity of postcoloniality, projects seeking to retrieve the precolonial heritage are likely to fall short, and identifies language as a major problem, not addressed by Wiredus thesis. To support his arguments, Osha draws on postcolonial theory as advanced by scholars such as Edward Said, Biodun Jeyifo and Abiola Irele. 240pp, SENEGAL. CODESRIA. DELAY.

A critical examination of Maat, the moral ideal in ancient Egypt, presenting it in the language of modern moral discourse. Index, bib, 458pp, UKA. ROUTLEDGE.

Argues that rationality and, by extension, philosophy, need not be renounced as manifestations or tools of Western imperialism. Examining reason in connection to the politics of difference - the cluster of issues known variously as cultural diversity, political correctness, the culture wars, and identity politics - Eze expounds a rigorous argument that reason is produced through and because of difference. In so doing, he preserves reason as a human property while at the same time showing that it cannot be thought outside the realities of cultural diversity. Advocating rationality in a multicultural world, he proposes new ways of affirming both identity and differ-ence. Index, bib, notes, 327pp, USA. DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

A study of the intellectual antecedents to the philosophies and ideas that fuelled the African independence movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Philosophers discussed include Africanus Horton, Bishop Crowther, Edward Blyden, Bishop James Johnson, Herbert Macaulay, Blaise Diagne, Henry Carr and Casely Hayford. Index, bib, notes, xi, 512pp, USA. AFRICA WORLD PRESS.

Is there a distinctive African perspective on right and wrong? Do ethical frameworks differ across cultures? Is there such a thing as a common global ethic? Do traditional African ethical views have anything to contribute to this global ethic? Can traditional African ethics survive in a world increasingly dominated by a single global economy? The contributors to this book argue that there are distinctive common strands in African ethical views, although these need to be examined and challenged. They apply these strands to very different contexts: the worlds of business, medicine, government, political change and gender relationships. The authors argue that despite their rootedness in a past culture, African ethics are in a continuous state of development and change, and have a considerable contribution to make to an emerging global ethic. Index, 146pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL PRESS.

A discussion of the nature and direction of African philosophy, looking at its use in African contexts. Index, bib, notes, refs, 162pp, NIGERIA. HOPE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 9783598120

Considers the contribution of African thought to the study of philosophy, in relation to the ideas of Marx, Senghor, Aristotle, Aquinas and Karl Rahner among others. Chapters include The Thomist Tradition, Contemporary Philosophy in Crisis, Be-yond Materialism and Dualism, and Traditional African Thought. Foreword by Denis Hurley. Index, 184pp, SOUTH AFRICA. UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN PRESS.

Second edition. Written by southern African academics involved in the teaching and development of courses in African Philosophy in South Africa, Malawi and Botswana, this volume brings together the works of Biko, Senghor, Appiah and other distinguished African thinkers. These new perspectives offer alternatives to problems of self and society, culture, aesthetics, metaphysics and religion. The contemporary problems of cross-cultural cognition and post-coloniality are also addressed. This second edition has been considerably revised. Index, tables, refs, notes, xvii, 667pp, SOUTH AFRICA. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS SOUTH AFRICA.

2002 2000 9780195782035 Paperback

Argues that the modern works on African philosophy have not been integrated and fully connected to Africa’s antiquity in order to provide a foundational unity for further intellectual refinement. The philosophical dimensions of humanism, Nkrumah’s concept of categorical conversion, African concepts of duality, polarity, unity, continual creation and democratic ideals must be shown their African-centred origins. In considering African philosophy, there arise conceptual and logical gaps that require the development of fundamental cognitive unity from the available data with judicious interpretation and restructuring in order to define the parameters of African philosophical unity that will allow these gaps to be closed for intellectual continu-ity. Index, bib, 289pp, UK. ADONIS & ABBEY PUBLISHERS.

Wrestles with the perplexities of the notions of community and identity within the Africana world. Argues that in the postmodern, globalised world new forms of community and identity must be established. BNS, 304pp, UK. ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, 0742512916 HB, 0742512924 PB

Reason is not the monopoly of any particular group or culture. It is a universal human quality. Nevertheless, it should be recognised that reason manifests itself differently from one culture to another. Do we therefore admit that these forms are distinctly plural or should we, on the contrary, recognise the possibility of a meeting and, if need be, of an ordered confrontation that would guarantee, beyond this obvious diversity, a unity of human reason? This book with contributions in both English and French is the result of a debate on this question, during a conference co-organised by UNESCO and the Centre Africain des Hautes Etudes de Porto-Novo on the theme The Meeting of Rationalities held in Porto-Novo in Benin in September 2002, during the 26th General Assembly of the International Board of Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPH). 476pp, SENEGAL. CODESRIA.

Reflections on the philosophies of Logical empiricism and empiricism; critical rationalism; critical theory; existentialism; systems theory; feminism; African philosophy; Hermeneutics; Postmodernism; Nihilism. Index, bib, 139pp, SOUTH AFRICA. JUTA PUBLISHERS.

This short history of African thought introduces several key themes in the study of philosophy and African culture. Hallen explores how African philosophy is both connected with, and challenges Western cultural traditions. Bib, index, 133pp, USA. INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0253215315

Explores the notion of agency in a range of empirical situations in Africa. Agency directs our quest for an understanding of the dynamics and social transformations of African situations to the domains of creativity, inventiveness and reflexivity. It emphasizes the possibilities individuals and social groups perceive when faced with the constraints that tend to mark African social life. The case studies provide an alternative view of people and society in Africa by looking at the ways social strength is created in the hope of overcoming many of the structural limitations encountered in daily life. This collection challenges the optimism that is engrained in the development rhetoric about Africa by making agency the subject of empirical scrutiny. 350pp, NETHERLANDS. BRILL.

An important and wide ranging philosophical work by the famed intellectual whose work has often provided the context for debate and dialogue in African philosophy. Translated from French by John Conteh-Morgan with a foreword by K. Anthony Appiah. Index, bib, notes, xxiv, 308pp, USA. OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0896802256

Now available in paperback. A thought provoking introduction to contemporary philosophy. The author takes the reader through the ways philosophers have engaged with the problems of mind, language, knowledge, science, morality, politics, law and metaphysics and attempts to understand how philosophers think. There is some reference to African systems of beliefs, but the main scope of the book deals with Western philosophy. Index, notes, xviii, 412pp, USA. OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 0195134583

A collection of essays which celebrate the contribution of Professor Kwasi Wiredu to the study of philosophical scholarship. These papers look at the significance of his work in epistemology, metaphysics and contemporary African social and political thought. Index, notes, 345pp, NIGERIA. HOPE PUBLICATIONS.

2002 978365487X Paperback DELAY

For many people 'nature' means wilderness and wild animals. It is experienced indirectly through magazines and television programmes or through visiting the highly managed environments of national parks. Nature, however, is not external, separate from the world of people - we live in nature and interact with it daily. This book meditates on how these intricate and complex interconnections, seen and unseen, are often ignored. Each of the ten chapters examines an aspect of our relationship with nature: ignoring, understanding, enjoying, imitating, privatising, polluting, abusing, protecting as well as organising for nature. 256pp, SOUTH AFRICA. WITWATERSRAND UNIVERSITY PRESS.