African Words, African Voices: Critical Practices in Oral History
Bloomington: Indiana University Press (2002), vi, 322 pp.
Contains index
Series: African Systems of Thought
ISBN 0-253-21468-8 (pbk)
"Until the advent of African independence, Africans were not considered fitting subjects for historical research and their words, voices, and experiences were largely absent from the continent's history. In 13 lively and provocative essays focusing on all areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, oral sources are seen as a way to restore African expression to African history. African Words, African Voices evokes the richness and relevance of oral sources for understanding a complex past for readers at all levels." (Publisher description)
Introduction: Voices, Words, and African History / David William Cohen, Stephan F. Miescher, and Luise White, 1
PART I: GIVING AFRICA A HISTORY
1 The Construction of Luo Identity and History [Kenya] / Bethwell A. Ogot, 31
2 Reported Speech and Other Kinds of Testimony / Megan Vaughan, 53
3 John Bunyan, His Chair, and a Few Other Relics: Orality, Literacy, and the Limits of Area Studies / Isabel Hofmeyr, 78
4 The Dialogue between Academic and Community History in Nigeria / E. J. Alagoa, 91
5 The Birth of the Interview: The Thin and the Fat of It / Abdullahi A. Ibrahim, 103
PART II: AFRICAN LIVES
6 Conversations and Lives / Corinne A. Kratz, 121
7 The Life Histories of Boakye Yiadom (Akasease Kofi of Abetifi, Kwawu): Exploring the Subjectivity and "Voices" of a TeacherCatechist in Colonial Ghana / Stephan F. Miescher, 162
8 Laves, Histories, and Sites of Recollection / Tamara Giles-Vernick, 194
9 Senegalese Women in Politics: A Portrait of Two Female Leaders, Arame Diene and Thioumbe Samb, 1945-1996 / Babacar Fall, 214
PART III: AFRICAN IMAGINATIONS
10 Nana Ampadu, the Sung-Tale Metaphor, and Protest Discourse in Contemporary Ghana / Kivesi Yankah, 227
11 Voice, Authority, and Memory: The Kiswahili Recordings of Siti bind Saadi [Zanzibar] / Laura Fair, 246
12 In a Nation of White Cars .. . One White Car, or "A White Car," Becomes a Truth / David William Cohen, 264
13 True Stories: Narrative, Event, History, and Blood in the Lake Victoria Basin / Luise White, 281
Participants in the "Words and Voices" Conference at Bellagio, 305
Participants in the "Words and Voices" Follow-up Conference at Ann Arbor, 306
PART I: GIVING AFRICA A HISTORY
1 The Construction of Luo Identity and History [Kenya] / Bethwell A. Ogot, 31
2 Reported Speech and Other Kinds of Testimony / Megan Vaughan, 53
3 John Bunyan, His Chair, and a Few Other Relics: Orality, Literacy, and the Limits of Area Studies / Isabel Hofmeyr, 78
4 The Dialogue between Academic and Community History in Nigeria / E. J. Alagoa, 91
5 The Birth of the Interview: The Thin and the Fat of It / Abdullahi A. Ibrahim, 103
PART II: AFRICAN LIVES
6 Conversations and Lives / Corinne A. Kratz, 121
7 The Life Histories of Boakye Yiadom (Akasease Kofi of Abetifi, Kwawu): Exploring the Subjectivity and "Voices" of a TeacherCatechist in Colonial Ghana / Stephan F. Miescher, 162
8 Laves, Histories, and Sites of Recollection / Tamara Giles-Vernick, 194
9 Senegalese Women in Politics: A Portrait of Two Female Leaders, Arame Diene and Thioumbe Samb, 1945-1996 / Babacar Fall, 214
PART III: AFRICAN IMAGINATIONS
10 Nana Ampadu, the Sung-Tale Metaphor, and Protest Discourse in Contemporary Ghana / Kivesi Yankah, 227
11 Voice, Authority, and Memory: The Kiswahili Recordings of Siti bind Saadi [Zanzibar] / Laura Fair, 246
12 In a Nation of White Cars .. . One White Car, or "A White Car," Becomes a Truth / David William Cohen, 264
13 True Stories: Narrative, Event, History, and Blood in the Lake Victoria Basin / Luise White, 281
Participants in the "Words and Voices" Conference at Bellagio, 305
Participants in the "Words and Voices" Follow-up Conference at Ann Arbor, 306
