The Ghana Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The World Readers)

The Ghana Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The World Readers)

Covering 500 years of Ghana's history, The Ghana Reader provides a multitude of historical, political, and cultural perspectives on this iconic African nation. Whether discussing the Asante kingdom and the Gold Coast's importance to European commerce and transatlantic slaving, Ghana's brief period under British colonial rule, or the emergence of its modern democracy, the volume's eighty selections emphasize Ghana's enormous symbolic and pragmatic value to global relations. They also demonstrate that the path to fully understanding Ghana requires acknowledging its ethnic and cultural diversity and listening to its population's varied voices. Readers will encounter selections written by everyone from farmers, traders, and the clergy to intellectuals, politicians, musicians, and foreign travelers. With sources including historical documents, poems, treaties, articles, and fiction, The Ghana Reader conveys the multiple and intersecting histories of Ghana's development as a nation, its key contribution to the formation of the African diaspora, and its increasingly important role in the economy and politics of the twenty-first century.   "Konadu and Campbell have edited a volume that traces the complexity of Ghana, and its overall representation of a stable African state, in a series of short but insightful entries. . . . The editors have done an excellent job in allowing all sections of Ghana, from farmers, slave traders, and intellectuals to imperialists, to speak and thereby represent Ghana’s evolution to a modern nation-state that exemplifies the challenges and opportunities that face not only Ghana, but all of Africa. Highly recommended. All levels/libraries." -- T. M. Reese ― Choice "There is no doubt that The Ghana Reader 's rare documents and publications are indispensable to the understanding of Ghana's historical, cultural, and political narrative....  The Ghana Reader  is a treasure trove of information." -- Kwaku Nti ― Journal of Global South Studies "[A] wonderful introduction to Ghana and its people, stretching all the way back to prehistoric times. Opening this book to virtually any page yields a judiciously selected text that reveals something about Ghana. . . ." -- Nicolas van de Walle ― Foreign Affairs "Overall the selection and presentation of texts works very well in the rich collection. Its readability is strengthened by the editors’ introduction, helpful outlines prior to each of the sub themes, suggestions for further reading, sources, and an index. The collection will appeal to casual readers of cultural or touristic persuasions, who will undoubtedly find something of interest to pursue further, as well as students and scholars of Ghana or sub-Saharan Africa.... [T]he aims of the Reader are accomplished well and it thoroughly succeeds in providing varied and contrasting illuminations of the country we know today as Ghana." -- Paul Stacey ― African Studies Quarterly "A celebration of the dynamism, complexity, and allure of Ghana. . . . The book appeals to a broad range of disciplines across the humanities and social sciences and is exemplary of the kind of text that can foster transdisciplinary teaching and scholarship. It is written in a style that is accessible to an undergraduate audience but is also appropriate for graduate education, and will appeal to those that seek to better understand a country with a fascinating and multifaceted history, politics, and culture." -- Jacqueline Ignatova ― African and Black Diaspora "An important and timely book, The Ghana Reader fills the crucial need to better understand a nation that occupies a privileged place in pan-African-oriented life and is increasingly central to economic, political, and cultural cosmopolitanism. Insightfully framing the complexity of Ghanaian history and life and opening up paths for future study, The Ghana Reader will appeal to students and general readers alike." -- Jesse Weaver Shipley, author of ― Living the Hiplife: Celebrity and Entrepreneurship in Ghanaian Popular Music Kwasi Konadu is Professor of History at the City University of New York and the author of The Akan Diaspora in the Americas and Transatlantic Africa: 1440–1888 .  Clifford C. Campbell received his Ph.D. from the University of Ghana, Legon, and writes about African and African diaspora history.   The Ghana Reader History, Culture, Politics By Kwasi Konadu, Clifford C. Campbell Duke University Press Copyright © 2016 Duke University Press All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-8223-5992-0 Contents Acknowledgments, Introduction, I One Nation, Many Histories, II Between the Sea and the Savanna, 1500–1700, III Commerce and the Scrambles for Africa, 1700–1900, IV Colonial Rule and Political Independence, 1900–1957, V Independence, Coups, and the Republic, 1957–Present, VI The Exigencies of a Postcolony, Suggestions for Further Reading, Acknowledgment of Copyrights and Sources, Index, CHAPTER 1 One