Urbanization and African Cultures affirms the centrality of African cities in the modernization of African cultures, showing how many have become firmly established in their settings, and reflecting the impact of globalization. Cities are presented as centers of culture and power and as powerful agencies that provide opportunities to generate new ideas. The book shows how cities empower Africans with the opportunity to assert themselves, to use culture to assert individual freedom and dignity, to articulate ideas of ethnicity and group solidarity, to portray class, and even to show off poverty.
“[V]aluable attention is paid to cities and urban phenomena off the paths beaten by most Western-trained scholars.” — African Studies Review
“[This book] successfully introduces readers to a range of cases that show the creative, translocal processes taking place on the ground in African cities.” — The International Journal of African Historical Studies