Masterpieces of African Literature is a compendium of critical reviews of about 100 selected major works in Prose, Drama, and Poetry, written between 1914 and 2014. It provides author's names and dates, type of work, publication data and information on major characters. A summary of the work is followed by fairly detailed analysis which ends with a critical context. The entries are arranged in alphabetical user-friendly easy reference format.

During the political upheavals of the mid-twentieth century, as imperialism was unraveling on a grand scale, writers from colonized and occupied spaces questioned the necessity and ethics of their histories. As empire "wrote back" to the self-ordained centres of the world, modes of representation underwent a transformation. Exploring novels and diverse forms of literature from regions in West Africa, the Middle East, and Indigenous America, Maps of Empire considers how writers struggle with the unstable boundaries generated by colonial projects and their dissolution. The literary spaces covered in the book form imaginary states or reimagine actual cartographies and identities sanctioned under empire. The works examined in Maps of Empire, through their inner representations and their outer histories of reception, inspire and provoke us to reconsider boundaries.

The First World War was a widespread conflagration in world history, which, despite its European origins, had enormous effects throughout the world. Fettered to European politics and diplomacy through colonialism, Africa could not claim a position of neutrality, meaning that it mobilised human and natural resources to support the imperial war effort. Fighting both within and outside Africa, colonised Africans who were compelled or coaxed by the colonial regimes of the warring European countries fought Europeans and Africans too. The soldiers fought with great dedication and contributed significantly to successes attained by the belligerent European colonialists. Similarly, African non-combatants, like carriers, brought zeal and enthusiasm to difficult wartime tasks. The impact of the war on Africa was immense with far-reaching consequences in specific colonies, and touched the lives of all Africans under colonial rule. Although the continent’s connections to the war were immense and diverse, these experiences are not widely known among scholars and the general public. This is because, over the years, most studies and commemorative events of the war have centred on the European theatre of the war and its outcomes. This book brings together interesting essays written by scholars of African history, society, and military about African experiences of the war. It complements and problematises some key themes on Africa and the First World War, and offers a stimulating historiographical excursion, providing possibilities for reconsidering normative conclusions on the war. The volume will be of interest to general readers, as well as students and researchers in different areas of scholarship, including African history, war studies, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, labour history, and the history of memory, among others.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2, University of Ulster (Faculty of Arts), course: Proseminar Irish Author Studies, 5 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: When in 1914 James Joyce wanted to have his literary work Dubliners published by the British publisher Grant Richards, it was not at all as easy as Joyce had imagined. Before Richards could accept the work changes had to be applied that were accompanied by an exchange of various letters between author and publisher. The reason for Richard's hesitation to publish the book in its first version was the very accuracy of its language. Literary conventions would have been shocked by Joyce's accurate and entirely realistic description of social situations and psychological states. In his letter to Grant Richards Joyce tries to justify his style, and it is thus that he speaks of 'scrupulous meanness' for the first time. The term 'meanness' connotes stinginess or the lack of generosity. Joyce uses it to describe the economy of language applying to his stories. However, the interpretation demands a more complicated understanding of the term. 'Scrupulousness' is a crucial element both in Joyce's use of language, and in the structure and form of the stories. 'Scrupulous meanness' refers to a most complex and heavily allusive style that determines the reading of Dubliners. From the minimum of words Joyce succeeds to extract the maximum effect so that the very economy of his style gives Dubliners such concentration and resonance that it "passes through realism into symbolism" (Dubliners,1991, p. xix). Joyce puts this style forward as a means to express his moral intent. This essay aims to examine James Joyce's method of 'scrupulous meanness' in two short stories chosen from the collection of Dubliners: 'The Sisters' and 'The Dead'. In addition, Joyce's attempt of conveying a temper of death and hopelessness shall find access into t

A collection of animal fables told by the Greek slave Aesop.

An academic study of the history of the Caribbean.

How does our colonial past echo through today's global politics? How have former empire-builders sought vindication or atonement, and formerly colonized states reversal or retribution? This groundbreaking book presents a panoramic view of attitudes to empires past and present, seen not only through the hard politics of international power structures but also through the nuances of memory, historiography and national and minority cultural identities. Bringing together leading historians, poitical scientists and international relations scholars from across the globe, Echoes of Empire emphasizes Europe's colonial legacy whilst also highlighting the importance of non-European power centres- Ottoman, Russian, Chinese, Japanese- in shaping world politics, then and now. Echoes of Empire bridges the divide between disciplines to trace the global routes travelled by objects, ideas and people and forms a radically different notion of the term 'empire' itself. This will be an essential companion to courses on international relations and imperial history as well as a fascinating read for anyone interested in Western hegemony, North-South relations, global power shifts and the longue duree.

This book was the end product of life experiences, thoughts and intellectual wanderings of the author, who through his career and for the last twenty years was always serving all the three aspects of a Psychiatrist: He is a clinician, a researcher and an academic teacher. The book includes a comprehensive history of Psychiatry since antiquity and until today, with an emphasis not only on main events but also specifically and with much detail and explanations, on the chain of events that led to a particular development. At the center of this work is the question ‘What is mental illness?’ and ‘Does free will exist?’. These are questions which tantalize Psychiatrists, neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers, patients and their families and the sensitive and educated lay persons alike. Thus, the book includes a comprehensive review and systematic elaboration on the definition and the concept of mental illness, a detailed discussion on the issue of free will as well as the state of the art of contemporary Psychiatry and the socio-political currents it has provoked. Finally the book includes a description of the academic, social and professional status of Psychiatry and Psychiatrists and a view of future needs and possible developments. A last moment addition was the chapter on conspiracy theories, as a consequence of the experience with the social media and the public response to the COVID-19 outbreak which coincided with the final stage of the preparation of the book. Their study is an excellent opportunity to dig deep into the relation among human psychology, mental health, the society and politics and to swim in intellectually dangerous waters.

What is the role of cultural authenticity in the making of nations? Much scholarly and popular commentary on nationalism dismisses authenticity as a romantic fantasy or, worse, a deliberately constructed mythology used for political manipulation. The Politics and Poetics of Authenticity places authenticity at the heart of Sinhala nationalism in late nineteenth and twentieth-century Sri Lanka. It argues that the passion for the ‘real’ or the ‘authentic’ has played a significant role in shaping nationalist thinking and argues for an empathetic yet critical engagement with the idea of authenticity. Through a series of fine-grained and historically grounded analyses of the writings of individual figures central to the making of Sinhala nationalist ideology the book demonstrates authenticity’s rich and varied presence in Sri Lankan public life and its key role in understanding postcolonial nationalism in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in South Asia and the world. It also explores how notions of authenticity shape certain strands of postcolonial criticism and offers a way of questioning the taken-for-granted nature of the nation as a unit of analysis but at the same time critically explore the deep imprint of nations and nationalisms on people's lives.