African Perspectives: Papers in the History, Politics and Economics of Africa Presented to Thomas Hodgkin

by R.W. Johnson (Editor), Christopher Allen (Editor)

Scholars from all over the world contributed to the Festschrift volumes presented as a tribute to Thomas Hodgkin on his sixtieth birthday. This book contains a selection from those contributions, reflecting the wide scope of Hodgkin's own interests, work and influence in the field of African and Tiers Monde studies. All the contributions represent original and previously unpublished work in the fields of African history, Islamic studies and the sociology of religion, and also of contemporary political and economic studies. They are particularly concerned to examine questions of a general and theoretical importance, often by means of detailed case studies. Among the countries thus discussed are Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Guiné Bissao, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Gambia - and, as part of the African diaspora, Jamaica. Fittingly, these essays share one of the main features which have distinguished Thomas Hodgkin's own work - they take a critically evaluative view of some of the established interpretations and conventional wisdoms surrounding their subjects. This book will provide an introduction in depth to the whole field of African studies as well as being essential material for specialists in many disciplines.

459 pages, Hardcover

First published January 29, 1971

About the author

R. W. Johnson is a British-South African journalist and historian. Born in England, he was educated at Natal University and Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar. He was a fellow in politics at Magdalen College, Oxford, for twenty-six years; he remains an emeritus fellow. He was formerly Director of the Helen Suzman Foundation in Johannesburg.

He is currently a South Africa correspondent for the London Sunday Times and also writes for the London Review of Books. His articles for the LRB generally cover South African and, to a lesser extent, Zimbabwean affairs.

~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._W._Jo...