The Histories, Languages, And Cultures of Western Africa: Interdisciplinary Essays

The editors (variously affiliated with Boston College and the U. of Wisconsin at Madison) present 24 papers form the first WARA (West African Research Association) International Symposium, which brought together an interdisciplinary group of US and West African researchers in June of 1997. The papers are grouped together into sections dealing with language, literature, and identity in the African world; continuities and discontinuities in West African history; aspects of dialogue and interaction between Africa and its diaspora; historical and contemporary issues of community development; and democratization, governance, and the economy of sustainable development. Seven of the papers are in French, while the rest are in English. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)