Reading and Online Resources 

Note: Many of the early resources were suggested and provided by RDH's original research partner, Glenn Odom, University of Roehampton. We are grateful for this contribution. Additional books, materials and other media were explored by individuals on the project. We welcome additional suggestions and hope to add to this section over time. Please contact us with suggestions of other resources that could be included. 
 

History of Empires:

  • Nubia: The Rise and Fall of African Empires, by Andre Antonio Samuels
  • The Mali Empire: A Captivating Guide to One of the Largest Empires in West African History and the Legendary Mansa Musa, by Captivating History

Myth and Legend:

  • The Yoruba People: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Yorubas and Yoruba Mythology, by Captivating History
  • African Mythology: Captivating Myths of Gods, Goddesses, and Legendary Creatures of Africa, by Captivating History
  • African Myths and Legends, by J.K. Jackson and Sonia Owonibi 
  • Myth Literature and the African World, by Wole Soyinka 
  • Essential African Mythology, by Ngangar Mbitu & Ranchor Prime 
  • Kintu, by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Cross Cultural Research and Methodology:

  • Human Development in Cultural Context: A Third World Perspective, by A. Bame Nsamenang 

History of Africans on the continent and the people of African descent in the diaspora:

  • The Destruction of Black Civilisation, by Chancellor Williams
  • If you want to learn Early African History START HERE, by Robin Walker
  • African History Extra is a site of research and writing on African history, with a focus on neglected parts of the continent’s heritage. Researched and written by Isaac Samuel.

African Studies and Analysis:

  • Decolonising African Knowledge, by Toyin Falola 
  • Africa Is a Country is a site of opinion, analysis, and new writing on and from the African left. It was founded by Sean Jacobs in 2009.

African Philosophy:

  • Ubuntu, Life Lessons from Africa, by Johann Broodryk 
  • The Healing Wisdom of Africa, by Malidoma Patrice Somé
  • Bu Me Be, Proverbs of the Akans, by Ivor Agyeman-Duah, Peggy Appiah, Kwame Anthony Appiah 

Travel Writing:

Poetry:

  • The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry, edited by Gerald Moore and Ulli Beier
  • African Poems shares oral and written poetry from across the African continent. It includes audio recordings of poems and songs, along with vernacular texts and essays providing background for some of the material.

Autobiography:

  • Aké: The Years of Childhood, by Wole Soyinka
  • Of Water and the Spirit. Ritual, Magic and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman, by Malidoma Patrice Somé 

Post-Colonial Theory and Criticism:

  • The Post-Colonial Studies Reader, edited by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin

Novels:

  • Sozaboy, by Ken Saro-Wiwa

Cultural Studies / Diaspora Studies / Art History:

  • Cultural Identity and Diaspora, by Stuart Hall
  • Decolonial Imaginings, by Avtar Brah
  • Exiles, Diasporas & Strangers, edited by Kobena Mercer
  • Afropean: Notes from Black Europe, by Johny Pitts 
  • Afropean is a multimedia, multidisciplinary journal. The website explores the social, cultural and aesthetic interplay of black and European cultures.
  • The Black Atlantic, by Paul Gilroy
  • Rewriting the African Diaspora: Beyond the Black Atlantic, by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza

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