Nationalism and African Intellectuals

By Toyin Falola

Book Overview

This book is about how African intellectuals, influenced primarily by nationalism, have addressed the inter-related issues of power, identity politics, self-assertion and autonomy for themselves and their continent, from the mid-nineteenth century onward. Their major goal was to create a 'better Africa' by connecting nationalism to knowledge. The results have been mixed, from the glorious euphoria of the success of anti-colonial movements to the depressing circumstances of the African condition as we enter a new millennium. As the intellectual elite is a creation of the Western formal school system, the ideas it generated are also connected to the larger world of scholarship. This world is, in turn, shaped by European contacts with Africa from the fifteenth century onward, the politics of the Cold War, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union. In essence, Africa and its elite cannot be fully understood without also considering the West and changing global politics. Neither can the academic and media contributions by non-Africans be ignored, as these also affect the ways that Africans think about themselves and their continent. Nationalism and African Intellectuals examines intellectuals' ambivalent relationships with the colonial apparatus and subsequent nation-state formations; the contradictions manifested within pan-Africanism and nationalism; and the relation of academic institutions and intellectual production to the state during the nationalism period and beyond. Toyin Falola is the Nalle Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580461492
• ISBN13: 9781580461498
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: University of Rochester Press
• Length: 394 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

National and the African Intelligentsia

Falola's most recent book is a thought-provoking study of the emergence of nationalism and the evolution of the intelligentsia within Modern Africa. Beginning with the first chapter, he sets what will become the tone for the remainder of the study. Falola's book is not a historical text in the traditional sense of the word. It does not simply trace the origin and the development of nationalism(s) and intellectuals with a blind, objective eye. Instead, it is a work that constantly interrogates the very developments that he is illustrating. It is an interrogation, not in the sense that it is seeking to question the essence of nationalism or that of modern African intellectuals. Rather, it poses the tough questions and underlines the challenges faced in the development of nationalist movements and in the creation of an intelligentsia, which has the capacity of becoming an elitist group. Scholars of African history will find this text a useful tool in examining the many challenges inherent within the concepts of nationalism and the intelligentsia. Falola's work is an interrogation of these concepts. This text forces one to reflect upon the questions that are posed, many of which remain unanswered within contemporary Africa. By probing in such a manner, Falola is working toward the finding of viable solutions in this era of an independent Africa.