Description
Book SynopsisAfrican women's history is a topic as vast as the continent itself, embracing an array of societies in over fifty countries with different geographies, social customs, religions, and historical situations. In African Women: Early History to the 21st Century, Kathleen Sheldon masterfully delivers a comprehensive study of this expansive story from before the time of records to the present day. She provides rich background on descent systems and the roles of women in matrilineal and patrilineal systems. Sheldon's work profiles elite women, as well as those in leadership roles, traders and market women, religious women, slave women, women in resistance movements, and women in politics and development. The rich case studies and biographies in this thorough survey establish a grand narrative about women's roles in the history of Africa.
Trade ReviewThe author's book adds an impressive contribution and paints a comprehensive picture about the role of ordinary African women in the African history and development. The book is a valuable addition to several fields including gender, political studies, and history studies.
* Leeds African Studies Bulletin *
This comprehensive work on African women decisively adds to the understanding of the subject. . . . Highly recommended.
* Choice *
This is an essential book that will enrich undergraduate classroom discussions and, hopefully, bring more attention to the rich and creative scholarship produced by scholars of gender and women's studies.
* Canadian Journal of African Studies *
This book should be regarded as a magisterial achievement, and will no doubt find a well-deserved place on a whole host of undergraduate reading lists.
* Gender & History *
Sheldon has made an important contribution to the field of African women's history with this text, and African Women will become a staple in undergraduate courses while also serving as a handy reference text for graduate students and scholars.
* African Studies Review *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Introduction
1. Women and Gender in Africa before 1700
2. Market Traders, Queens, and Slaves in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
3. Religion and Slavery in the Nineteenth Century
4. Colonial Era, 1850s to 1945: Work and Family
5. Politics, Leadership, and Resistance to Colonialism until 1945
6. Liberation Struggles and Politics from the 1950s to the 1970s
7. Work, Family, and Urbanization from 1970s to the 1990s
8. Women and Politics after Independence
9. Women at the Beginning of the 21st Century
Bibliography
Index
