Abebe Zegeye

"Sasinda and Siselapha (Still Here) is a fearless interdisciplinary collection of contemporary criticism in the arts and humanities. Authors examine the period after the legal end of apartheid across genre. Nthabiseng Motsemme examines how women's testimonies at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission drew on African traditional religions; Sharlene Khan explores the hateful art criticism that has become the norm in response to women artists; Peter Hudson scrutinizes the colonial unconscious reproducing itself through capitalist property relations; Natalia Molebatsi theorizes about the poetry scene and cross-generational healing; Ashraf Jamal asks how "African" is African art; Bhavisha Panchia offers a provocative argument for the use of laughter, humor and play as cultural repertoire; Derilene (Dee) Marco studies the cinematic legacies of Coetzee's Disgrace; Robert Muponde and Abebe Zegeye write about the legacies of "white writing." Tiffany Willoughby-Herard foregrounds preeminent theorists in feminist African and African Diaspora Studies from June Jordan to Sibongile Khumalo to Mary Rahube to offer us renderings of the meanings of an ongoing and spirit-filled struggle with potential victory. This book is an important contribution to the study of culture in the new dispensation in South Africa and beyond"--

"This is one of the first books in Africa to explore the status and critical relationships between politics, culture, literary creativity, criticism, education and publishing in the context of promoting Africa's indigenous knowledge systems. The book's main themes are built around literary culture, the role of meta-criticism and education in post independence Africa. While building on the theoretical blocks of Cabral's works, the book assimilates insights from some important sources of scholarship in Africa and creates space for itself to (1) revise and extend Amilcar Cabral's concept of the Return To The Source and (2) introduce in critical ways, notions of inter-, cross-, and trans-disciplinary approaches to the understanding of African culture, politics and the academy"--Publisher's website.

"The contributors to this collection of essays provide invaluable information on the role of the mass media in the social transformation of South African society and on the political, social and cultural importance of the evolving identities of the diverse array of people who make up the population of this important country. The interrelationships between the mass media and the evolving identities of the country's diverse population are the focus of most of the essays and provide the connecting theme throughout the collection."--Jacket.

After the fall of Haile Selassie in 1974 Ethiopia experienced a short period of unprecedented freedom and decentralization. This was rapidly followed by a stringent regime of centralized control over people and resources which has played a powerful role in determining the problems faced by Ethiopia today. In the light of the Mengistu period, this book attempts to assess the prospects for change and to identify key policies which must be implemented if Ethiopia is to secure stable and democratic government and economic progress. Bringing together contributions by Ethiopian and European scholars from several disciplines, the book reviews the implications of economic policy for agrarian transformation and development, the effects of Eritrean independence, environmental degradation, food security, ethnic factors and the political process itself. The contributors examine ways in which the Ethiopian people can be involved in a more decentralized and democratic structure which will harness their resources, initiatives and capacities. This book will prove essential reading for all those with an interest in the transition to democratic forms of government in the developing world and in the future of Ethiopia in the post-Cold War era.