Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 204
•
Trim: 6¼ x 9¼
978-0-8476-9772-4 • Hardback • December 2001 • $155.00 • (£119.00)
Samuel Oluoch Imbo is assistant professor of philosophy at Hamline University and author of An Introduction to African Philosophy.
Chapter 1 Visions of Africanity
Chapter 2 Defining the Philosophical, the Religious, and the Spiritual
Chapter 3 Oral Traditions as Texts
Chapter 4 Roles for Women in African Oral Traditions
Chapter 5 Western Scholarship, African Religions
Chapter 6 Problems of Translating Western Concepts into African Languages
Chapter 7 Authentic African Selfhood
Chapter 8 Responsibilities of African Philosophers
Samuel Imbo's book explores the philosophical significance of a remarkable African man-of-letters. Okot p'Bitek was a pioneer in the debate about 'the invention of Africa,' in the discourse about the alleged 'Christianization' of African indigenous religions, in the choice of an African language by a Westernized African writer as a literary medium, and in giving voice to 'negritude' in a non-European language at long last. P'Bitek also remains as the only male African writer whose most famous work is about a woman's perspective on the gender-divide. Samuel Oluoch Imbo takes us to those philosophical and social areas—and beyond.
— Ali A. Mazrui, director, Institute of Global Cultural Studies, SUNY Binghamton