Description

Book Synopsis
In The Roots of Ethnicity, Ronald R. Atkinson argues that although colonial rule and its aftermath have played a major role in shaping the particular manifestations of ethnicity in Africa, many sociohistorical developments crucial to current expressions of ethnicity can be traced to a past long before the colonial period. Atkinson develops his argument through an exhaustive examination of the origins of the collective identity of the Acholi of present-day northern Uganda. His study makes clear that by the time of European conquest the essential foundations and the crucial parameters for the evolution of Acholi society and ethnic consciousness had long been established. In presenting his argument for the need to extend the existing scholarship on ethnicity in Africa beyond its twentieth-century focus, Atkinson provides what is perhaps the most detailed reconstruction and analysis yet available of the pre-1800 evolution of an African sociopolitical order. Beyond these contributions to

Trade Review
"An excellent book which should not only appeal to the specialist in Ugandan or Luo history but also to the general Africanist concerned with questions of ethnicity and the use of oral history/narrative." * African Studies Review *

The Roots of Ethnicity

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    A Hardback by Ronald R. Atkinson

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      Book details

      Publisher University of Pennsylvania Press
      Published 29 October 1994
      ISBN-13 9780812232486
      978-0812232486
      ISBN-10 0812232488
      Also in:
      Anthropology

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      In The Roots of Ethnicity, Ronald R. Atkinson argues that although colonial rule and its aftermath have played a major role in shaping the particular manifestations of ethnicity in Africa, many sociohistorical developments crucial to current expressions of ethnicity can be traced to a past long before the colonial period. Atkinson develops his argument through an exhaustive examination of the origins of the collective identity of the Acholi of present-day northern Uganda. His study makes clear that by the time of European conquest the essential foundations and the crucial parameters for the evolution of Acholi society and ethnic consciousness had long been established. In presenting his argument for the need to extend the existing scholarship on ethnicity in Africa beyond its twentieth-century focus, Atkinson provides what is perhaps the most detailed reconstruction and analysis yet available of the pre-1800 evolution of an African sociopolitical order. Beyond these contributions to

      Trade Review
      "An excellent book which should not only appeal to the specialist in Ugandan or Luo history but also to the general Africanist concerned with questions of ethnicity and the use of oral history/narrative." * African Studies Review *

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