Martin S. Shanguhyia & Toyin Falola 
The Palgrave Handbook of African Colonial and Postcolonial History 

This wide-ranging volume presents the most complete appraisal of modern African history to date. It assembles dozens of new and established scholars to tackle the questions and subjects that define the field, ranging from the economy, the two world wars, nationalism, decolonization, and postcolonial politics to religion, development, sexuality, and the African youth experience. Contributors are drawn from numerous fields in African studies, including art, music, literature, education, and anthropology. The themes they cover illustrate the depth of modern African history and the diversity and originality of lenses available for examining it. Older themes in the field have been treated to an engaging re-assessment, while new and emerging themes are situated as the book’s core strength. The result is a comprehensive, vital picture of where the field of modern African history stands today.

Table of Content

1. Introduction





I. Colonial Africa







2. Colonialism and the African Environment






3. Colonial Administrations and the Africans






4. Slavery in the Colonial State and After






5. Africans and the Colonial Economy






6. African Women in Colonial Economies






7. Colonialism and African Womanhood






8. Administration, Economy, and Society in the Portuguese African Empire (1900–1975)






9. Christian Evangelization and Its Legacy






10. Colonial Education






11. Health and Medicine in Colonial Society






12. African Colonial Urban Experience






13. Africa and the First World War






14. Africa and the Second World War






15. Colonialism and African Migrations



16. Colonialism and African Childhood






17. Literature in Colonial Africa






18. Art, African Identity, and Colonialism






19. Intensification and Attenuation: Colonial Influences on an African Culture






20. Youth and Popular Culture in Colonial Africa






21. The Horn of Africa and the Black Anticolonial Imaginary: 1896–1915






22. Colonial Africa and the West






23. International Law, Colonialism, and the African






24. Colonialism and Development in Africa






25. Nationalism and African Intellectuals






26. Decolonization Histories






II. Postcolonial Africa






27. Africa and the Cold War






28. African Politics since Independence






29. Secession and Separatism in Modern Africa






30. Post-Colonial Africa and the West






31. United States and Africa






32. Franco-African Relations: Still Exceptional?






33. Algeria and France: Beyond the Franco-Algerian Lens






34. China and Africa






35. Africa and Global Financial Institutions






36. Development History and Postcolonial African Experience






37. The African Diaspora and Postcolonial Africa






38. Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa






39. The Unfinished Business of Postcolonialism: Theological Perspectives






40. South Africa: Apartheid and Post-Apartheid






41. The Pan-African Experience: From the Organization of African Unity to the African Union






42. Africa and Human Rights






43. Education in Postcolonial Africa






44. African Women and the Postcolonial State






45. Young People and Public Space in Africa: Past and Present






46. Colonialism and African Sexualities






47. Culture, Artefacts and Independent Africa: The Cultural Politics of Museums and Heritage






48. Building the African Novel on Quick Sand: Politics of Language, Identity and Ownership






49. Music and Postcolonial Africa






50. Sports and Politics in Postcolonial Africa






51. Media, Society, and the Postcolonial State






52. Between Diaspora and Homeland: The Study of African and the African Diaspora in the United States

About the author

Martin S. Shanguhyia is Associate Professor of African History in the History Department of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, USA. His most recent book is
Population, Tradition, and Environmental Control in Colonial Kenya (2015). 





Toyin Falola is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. He has received seven honorary doctorates in addition to scores of lifetime career awards, and is the author and editor of over a hundred books.