Women's Roles in Sub-Saharan Africa

(Hardback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

This exhaustive exploration of the sociocultural, political, and economic roles of African women through history demonstrates how African women have shapedand continue to shapetheir societies. Women play essential, critical roles in every society; African women south of the Sahara are certainly no different. Women's Roles in Sub-Saharan Africa adds significantly to our understanding of the ways in which women contribute to the fabric of human civilization. This book provides an in-depth exploration of African women's roles in society from precolonial periods to the contemporary era. Topical sections describe the roles that women play in family, courtship and marriage, religion, work, literature and arts, and government. Each of the six chapters has been structured to elucidate women's roles and functions in society as partners, as active participants, as defenders of their status and occupations, and as agents of change. Authors Nana Akua Amponsah and Toyin Falola present a thought-provoking work that looks at the complicated victimhood/powerful-female paradigm in women and gender studies in Africa, and challenge ideological interest in African historiography that privilege male representation.

Reviews

In this wide-ranging study, emerging scholar of women's and gender history Amponsah (doctoral student, Univ. of Texas) and prolific UT historian Falola, the author or editor of more than 100 books, explore the complex roles of African women as wives and mothers, religious practitioners, workers and employers, artists and authors, government officials, and consumers and purveyors of education. . . . Summing Up: Recommended. * Choice *

Author Bio

Toyin Falola is Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial professor and a distinguished teaching professor of African history at The University of Texas, Austin, TX. Nana Akua Amponsah is a PhD candidate of African women's history at The University of Texas, Austin, TX.