WeeklySA_AdminRESILIENCE: This book seeks to capture the continental dynamics of post-apartheid era after the five-century quest for liberation from the twin scourges of transatlantic slavery and colonialism…
By WSAM Reporter
A University of Pretoria professor has penned a book that seeks to provide South African audiences specifically with insights into African economics and politics.
The book, The Splendid Tapestry of African Life: Essays on a Resilient Continent, its Diaspora, and the World, is the latest work by Prof Adekeye Adebajo and examines multiple topics ranging from politics and economics in Africa to African sport and culture. The book was launched at the university’s Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship on March 25.
After the launch of his latest book, Professor Adekeye Adebajo, senior research fellow at the centre, said he hoped the book would provide South African audiences specifically with insights into African economics and politics and the role South Africa plays in Southern Africa’s broader economy.
The book is a continuation of Prof Adebajo’s previous book, Global Africa, and contains a collection of 145 of his essays written over the past three decades.
“They reflect my thinking about African politics, African international relations, and the world in general,” he said. “The book also examines the changing geostrategic dynamics between the US and China.” His latest work is divided into 10 sections that examine multiple topics ranging from politics and economics on the continent to African sport and culture.
“I wouldn’t say that there is one particular part that people should look at more than others. Different audiences and readers will have different interests regarding which sections they will delve more into.” Adebajo added that he “would like people to read these essays and primarily learn about Africa and its diaspora in the Caribbean, America and Europe, because that is the story that the book is telling, about the Black Atlantic and the legacies of slavery and imperialism”.
Over the past three decades, Adebajo’s writings have proven to be extensively transdisciplinary, with roots in sociology, politics, economics, law, and culture and sport. The 10 sections of his new book range from serious topics such as pan-African struggles and Germany’s genocide in Namibia, to lighter topics such as African film and African football.
The figurative golden thread that ties the essays together is “the colonial slave trade legacy that created the Black Atlantic diaspora in Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean and Europe”. Adebajo’s essays also examine other aspects of African life, including the misrepresentation of Africans and the story of Africa in Western contexts such as Hollywood.
“These films are reinforcing the image that the West has about Africa as a primitive continent full of disease and war,” he says. “There isn’t really a positive side that’s often been shown about Africa [in Hollywood].” He cites Nollywood films as more successful in delivering accurate narratives about Africa, its people and its cultures. He hopes to reach readers who are ready for new, and more accurate, reflections on African life.
“I would like readers to be educated and entertained in some way by the book – people who like punchy and provocative writing that takes a stance and debates various people.”
* The Splendid Tapestry of African Life: Essays on a Resilient Continent, Its Diaspora, and the World is published by Jacana Media and is available at various bookstores, retailing for R430
