Great African Reads discussion

Time to start planning reads for 2021!

Each quarter, we read and discuss a work of nonfiction about a topic of interest related to or about Africa.

Books may include history, politics, commentary, theory, science, journalism, anthropology/ethnography, etc. Nonfiction books written by African authors are highly encouraged, though our nonfiction reads are not restricted to African or Diaspora authors.

Jan-Feb-Mar | Pre-colonial African Empires
A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution | Discussion thread
Side read: The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa | Discussion thread
Side read: The Golden Rhinoceros: Histories of the African Middle Ages | Discussion thread

Apr-May-Jun | Political biography or memoir
Female Monarchs and Merchant Queens in Africa | Discussion thread

Jul-Aug-Sep | Foreign or external actors in Africa
China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa | Discussion thread

Oct-Nov-Dec | Fulani (Peul) history or ethnography
Pasteurs Peuls Nomades et Transhumants : Quel avenir ? | Discussion thread


Suggest Topics
Please suggest topics you'd like to read about in the thread below.

By mid-December, we'll vote, and the top 2 subject areas will be our themes for Jan-Mar and Apr-Jun. We'll pick our first book for 2021 toward the end of December.

We will pick the subjects for the last two quarters in early 2021. Please continue to suggest topics until then!

Some subject areas I'd like to dig into in 2021 include:
- Fulani (Peul) history or ethnography, or the more general topic "Pastoralism in Africa"
- Peace-making, Peace-building, and Reconciliation (several book ideas in the link that Wim shared to this big list of nonfiction books, Decolonizing the Academy)

Thanks Tinea for setting up this thread. Some topics I would find interesting are:
- precolonial history
- a political biography or memoir
- foreign/external actors in Africa
- colonial memory

These are altogether interesting topics! At the moment I tend to go for "political biography / memory" and "Fulani history".
I would also be interested in Africa's contemporary visual arts scene (film industry) as well as theatre productions. I have no titles in mind yet but would try and find adequate titles...

Any last ideas before we vote on the first two subjects areas for 2021?

Not sure how to phrase this, but I would be very interested in reading about some of the pre-colonial African empires - Mapungubwe, Aksum or similar

Thanks, everyone! Lots of good choices here.

The poll is up! Go vote!

Great subject areas! Hard to choose...

Our first two subject areas for 2021 are below:
- Jan-Feb-Mar | Pre-colonial African Empires
- Apri-May-Jun | Political biography or memoir

We will pick the subjects for the last two quarters in early 2021. Please continue to suggest topics if you'd like! We'll include the other subject areas suggested above in that poll so you can vote on your second choice then! ;)

Great subjects! looking forward already.

We're almost halfway through 2021, so it's time to choose nonfiction topics for the 3rd and 4th quarters! The poll is up, repeating the topics from this thread that weren't already selected for the first 2 quarters. The top 2 picks from the polls will be our reading themes for July-Sept and Oct-Dec!

Go vote in the poll!

Time flies! Thanks for putting up the poll!!

We are in a 4-way tie! If you haven't voted, please come cast a deciding ballot!