Great African Reads discussion

Welcome! Every quarter, we'll use this space to read and discuss together a work of nonfiction about a topic of interest related to or about Africa. Eligible nonfiction books may include history, politics, commentary, theory, science, journalism, anthropology/ethnography, etc. As creative nonfiction, memoir, and biography often show up in other GAR discussions, I suggest we avoid these here unless they present the best way to learn about a chosen subject.

Nonfiction books written by African authors are highly encouraged, though our nonfiction reads are not restricted to African or Diaspora authors.

Oct-Dec 2019: Contemporary Sahel
Burkina Faso: A History of Power, Protest and Revolution | Read and discuss!

Jan-Mar 2020: African Language Politics and Practices
Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature | Read and discuss!

Apr-Jun 2020: African History
A Mission to Civilize: The Republican Idea of Empire in France and West Africa, 1895-1930 OR Congo: The Epic History of a People | Read and discuss!

Jul-Sep 2020: Climate Change in Africa
Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and the New Geography of Violence OR Climate Change and Human Development | Read and discuss!

Oct-Dec 2020: LGBTQ Africa
Love Falls On Us: A Story of American Ideas and African LGBT Lives | Read and discuss!

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This thread was originally used to nominate subject areas for 2020 nonfiction reads.


Nominate subject areas for 2020
What subject areas would you like to learn about in 2020? Nominate subject areas in this thread, and we'll vote for 2 in December. We'll vote again in April to select topics for the last half of the year.

A couple suggestions to get us going:
- Boko Haram (also discussed in that thread)
- Congo Basin ecology
- LGBTQIA

Great initiative Tinea. I am very excited about this!

Impact of climate change on Africa

I'm not sure how much I'll be able to take part as I'm going back on fieldwork, but I'll try to tag along. If I can't find the book/time, could I potentially join the discussion by reading journal articles on the same topic as the book?

Other possible topics: language politics/practices ; African political philosophy.

Cam wrote: "I'm not sure how much I'll be able to take part as I'm going back on fieldwork, but I'll try to tag along. If I can't find the book/time, could I potentially join the discussion by reading journal articles on the same topic as the book?"

That sounds like an excellent idea. We can use the book thread to post additional resources on the topic like these.

We should start thinking about the first read for 2020. Which topic to pick? Suggested before were:
- Boko Haram
- Congo Basin ecology
- LGBTQIA
- Climate change
- Language politics and practices
- African political philosophy

For the next read, I would be interested in Climate Change or African Political Philosophy. Other topics I would be interested in adding to the list are:
- African history
- African politics
- Development and humanitarian policies
- Human rights

Hi all, ended up traveling on short notice for 2 months, but I am back home and will set up a poll soon! Lots of great suggestions here.

OK everyone, the poll for the first two nonfiction subject areas for 2020 is up!

Vote now!

The top 2 choices here will be selected for Jan-Mar and Apr-Jun 2020 nonfiction reads. We'll nominate and vote on books in early January.

Bumping this poll. We're in a 4-way tie and need some more readers to vote! Vote now!

Hi everyone, what nonfiction topic should we cover for the last quarter of 2020, Oct-Dec? Any of the above topics still resonate, or has something else caught your eye?

Please suggest (or re-suggest) topics this month, and we'll do a vote near the end of July, and then pick books in August, with the hopes that I can maybe even facilitate a book selection poll in time for readers to actually access the book before reading starts! ;)

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My topic idea is for books on LGBTQIA identity or social movements. What else?

Bumping this thread-- any other nonfiction topic ideas so we can put up a poll soon?

The poll is up to vote on the last nonfiction subject of 2020! Pick a topic and then we'll discuss and choose a book.

Vote now!

All 4 subjects are really interesting, hard to pick one. Hopefully some more people will join the vote (and read along).

Thanks for all the votes! LGBTQ in Africa got the most votes, so time to choose a book.

Dear all,
I just discovered this great reading list full of non fiction books and articles by African authors on many interesting topics. Could be a source of inspiration for our non fiction reads in 2021?

Wim wrote: "Dear all,
I just discovered this great reading list full of non fiction books and articles by African authors on many interesting topics. Could be a source of inspiration for our non fiction reads..."

Woah, such a good mix of topics, and new and old books! This is great, thanks for sharing!

Wim wrote: "Dear all,
I just discovered this great reading list full of non fiction books and articles by African authors on many interesting topics. Could be a source of inspiration for our non fiction reads..."

This is indeed quite an impressive list to browse through! Thanks for sharing!