The real question about wildlife conservation
How did wildlife in Africa survive for millennia in together with people who never earned anything from it?
Culture
Witnessing the crimes and end of empire
“The sun never sets on the British empire.” The saying, commonly associated with the poet of empire, Rudyard Kipling, refers to the vastness of the British dominions—with territory in every time zone, it was always daylight somewhere the British ruled. An abbreviation of the phrase, “The Sun Never Sets,” is also the title of Canadian artist […]
To think through and beyond the nation-state
A conversation on books, borders, and belonging with Somali-American writer, Abdul Adan.
Where township tours don’t go
Who produced that $30 mug you bought at Cape Town International Airport on your way home?
What is the point of African Studies?
There's no agreement, but the vibrant discussions and interventions by African scholars give much hope that something new is fermenting in African Studies.
Tangier’s Jazzmen — and their phantom producer
He rode on Tito Puente’s float during the Puerto Rican Day Parade of 1969, when the mambo king was given a key to the city by Mayor John Lindsay. He was close to Oscar Peterson and Max Roach, he was pall-bearer at Dizzy Gillespie’s funeral. He was part of a team of engineers that designed the technical Oscar-winning Kudelski-Nagra IV recorder, used in film productions. He designed Oris’s jazz-inspired luxury watches honoring the likes of John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Dexter Gordon. And he produced a slew of memorable jazz records. […]
My Grandmother’s Archive
Faced with the uncertainty of the postapartheid world, my grandmother protects her children the same way she survived Apartheid: by making sure their papers are in order.
The short life and times of Bhele Dlunga of Marikana
Amid the violence of August 2012, one positive feature that stood out was the resilience of the autonomous organization of workers and independent trade unions in Marikana.
Falling into an uneasy sleep
It took the writer, later South Africa's ambassador to Sri Lanka, 30 years to talk to her mother about rape. Her mother's rape.
A masterful experiment in film making
“A Hotel Called Memory” concerns itself with elements of mood and scene and downplays aspects relating to plot or story.
Wobblies of the World Unite
A new history of a radical union that profoundly impacted Southern African politics.
The African churches of South Delhi
Every Sunday and even on weekdays thousands of Africans living in India’s National Capital Region (NCR) head to “charismatic” church services lasting three to four hours.
In a film about war, can you leave out the politics?
The violence of Mozambique's civil war between 1976 and 1992 is generally silenced. Very little of the war’s history has been written down.
Defend Puerto Rico
This weekend's music break is dedicated to the isla del encancto.
Nobel Prizes and Politics in Kenya
The Nobel Prize for Literature buzz around Ngugi’s wa Tiong'o's points to both his seminal contributions to African literature but also his work to kept the memory of Kenya’s divisive past alive.
Is a Chinese education the best shot at success in Africa?
Pragmatism dictates how many young Tanzanians view a Chinese education: A Chinese education was seen as a logical pathway to securing well-paying reliable employment.
What intellectuals look and sound like
Reading three contemporary South African women authors: Lindiwe Hani, Pumla Gqola and Redi Tlhabi.
Is Kati Kati a metaphor for the present crisis in Kenya?
What characterizes daily life in Kenya: a seemingly simultaneous flagrant zest for life and hesitant fascination with death.
Is environmental philanthropy still a white man’s game?
The dominant approach to revitalizing national parks is one-dimensional and sees local residents as obstacles rather than partners.
The Third World Quarterly debacle
For those not familiar with academic publishing, prominent peer-reviewed journals are not expected to publish garbage promoting colonialism.