3. Africa’s past: historical sources
John Parker and Richard Rathbone
in African History: A Very Short Introduction
Historians of Africa face many of the same challenges as historians of other geographical areas. ‘Africa's past: historical sources’ shows how historians of Africa have been pioneers in the ...
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6. Christianity and Islam in Africa
Jacob J. Olupọna
in African Religions: A Very Short Introduction
Islam and Christianity have both been present on the African continent for nearly as long as they have existed. ‘Christianity and Islam in Africa’ follows the spread of these religions ...
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7. Memory and forgetting, past and present
John Parker and Richard Rathbone
in African History: A Very Short Introduction
The notion of African history is only just over half a century old. Before then there was little or no scholarly engagement in the history of the continent. ‘Memory and forgetting, past and ...
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1. The idea of Africa
John Parker and Richard Rathbone
in African History: A Very Short Introduction
Africa is a place, a people, and a past. ‘The idea of Africa’ considers the sheer scale of both the past and place of what we call ‘Africa’ and relates it to how the history of the region ...
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2. Africans: diversity and unity
John Parker and Richard Rathbone
in African History: A Very Short Introduction
Shifting perceptions of Africa, as well as scholarly debates about the meaning of those perceptions, are about the people. ‘Africans: diversity and unity’ considers the meaning of the term ...
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3. Gold: the glorious and accursed element
Philip Ball
in The Elements: A Very Short Introduction
‘Gold: the glorious and accursed element’ explores the allure of gold. Gold has dominated men's hearts throughout the ages. It is not a very useful metal, but it is prized for its beauty ...
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African History: A Very Short Introduction
John Parker and Richard Rathbone
African History: A Very Short Introduction looks at Africa's past and reflects on the changing ways it has been imagined and represented by examining the unity and diversity of ...
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6. The global communion
Mark Chapman
in Anglicanism: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Global Communion’ examines how overseas expansion raised challenges to central authority under the supremacy of the King of England. Even in the seventeenth century, the Scottish and ...
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6. The Bible in the Post-Colonial World
John Riches
in The Bible: A Very Short Introduction
The areas of greatest growth for Christianity today are in Africa and Asia. ‘The Bible in the Post-Colonial World‘ examines how the Bible is playing an important part in the growth of ...
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4. Rastafari international: the making of a global movement
Ennis B. Edmonds
in Rastafari: A Very Short Introduction
The Rastafari movement has spread throughout the Caribbean, to Caribbean immigrant communities in Europe and North America, to African diasporic people and Africans on the continents, and ...
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5. Writing the Empire story
Ashley Jackson
in The British Empire: A Very Short Introduction
‘Writing the Empire Story’ examines how this powerful theme of Empire has influenced both British and postcolonial consciousness. Empire was once a central feature of the British national ...
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Introduction
William K. Kay
in Pentecostalism: A Very Short Introduction
What is Pentecostalism? How can it best be understood? It is best described as a series of renewal movements that stem from the early days of the church. Modern Pentecostalism dates from ...
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7. The military in African politics
Ian Taylor
in African Politics: A Very Short Introduction
Since the 1960s, there have been more than 200 coups—extra-constitutional or forced changes in government—in Africa, with around half of them being successful. The period between the 1960s ...
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9. Africa’s international relations
Ian Taylor
in African Politics: A Very Short Introduction
Despite the myth of marginality and irrelevance, Africa has always played an important role in international politics. The slave trade, the Scramble for Africa and subsequent colonial ...
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1. Life and work
Bhikhu Parekh
in Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction
‘Life and work’ explores the development of Gandhi's political views. Gandhi grew up in an eclectic religious environment in Porbandar. He left for England in 1888 to train as a lawyer and ...
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Conclusion
Eddie S. Glaude
in African American Religion: A Very Short Introduction
African Americans are generally more religious than other groups in the United States. But African American religion is much more than a description of how deeply religious African ...
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4. Africa in the world
John Parker and Richard Rathbone
in African History: A Very Short Introduction
How does the history of Africa's past fit into that of the rest of the world? Has Africa's history been determined by internal forces or by those from abroad? ‘Africa in the world’ looks at ...
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1. Mathematics: myth and history
Jacqueline Stedall
in The History of Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction
‘Mathematics: myth and history’ considers some well-known names in the field of mathematics: Pythagoras, Euclid, Diophantus, Pierre de Fermat, Leonhard Euler, and Andrew Wiles, the man you ...
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Introduction
Gerard L. Weinberg
in World War II: A Very Short Introduction
The enormous loss of life and physical destruction caused by the First World War led people to hope that there would never be another such catastrophe. How then did it come about that there ...
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1. The Atlantic slave trade
Heather Andrea Williams
in American Slavery: A Very Short Introduction
Slavery had long existed in Europe and Africa, but the history of the Atlantic slave trade begins in the 1440s with Portuguese exploration of West Africa. ‘The Atlantic slave trade’ charts ...
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