Books published by James Currey

Proposes a dynamic new approach to the production of knowledge on Africa, one that is global, multiple and heterogeneous, elucidating this through both discursive theoretical chapters and case histories.

Traces the dynamics of state-building in Juba, Southern Sudan 2005-2011, revealing how underlying ties of ethnicity and land dominated the actions of the various parties in post-conflict reconstruction and how these may continue to influence power and resource-sharing in the newly independent state of South Sudan.

A timely, ethnographically informed account of the "development state" of Tanzania, showing how development practice and culture have become integrated into everyday life, politically, socially and economically.

Directors and collaborators assess and comment on the production of plays by West Africa's Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka and East Africa's most influential author Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

Examines some of the varied African literary responses to politics and social justice and injustice under colonialism/neocolonialism.

A single coherent narrative of Aksumite civilisation revealing the roots of medieval Christian Ethiopia.

Examines Eritrea's deprivation of human rights since independence and its transformation into a militarised "garrison state".

Analyses the roots of power, patriarchy, ecological destruction and capitalist dynamics, of anti-apartheid resistance and of on-going movements against inequality and injustice in contemporary South Africa, to show how its contemporary realities are rooted in its past history and earlier struggles for independence.

A distinguished scholar's magnum opus and the first full account of Malawi's colonial history.

Spanning the period from the cold war to the 'war on terror', examines the political economy dynamics of security and insecurity on the continent, as well as its implications for political actions.

This book makes a unique contribution to the renewed debate about empire and imperialism and will be of great interest to all those concerned with understanding the historical antecedents and wider implications of today's emergentliberal interventionism, and the various logics of international development.

A much needed examination of contemporary approaches to animal healing in South Africa, and the role of local knowledge.

Homophobia is still rife and it remains dangerous and even life-threatening to be out in Africa, but Chantal Zabus here traces the range of representations of same-sex desire in Africa through historic and contemporary sources.

The success of the Caine Prize for African Writing and the growth of online publishing have played key roles in putting the short story in its rightful place within the study and criticism of African literature.

A key volume for Shakespeare, African theatre and postcolonial cultural scholars, promoting debate on the role of Western cultural icons in contemporary postcolonial cultures.

A uniquely detailed portrayal of the formative years of Tanzania's first president and the influences that led him to enter politics.

A lively historical account of the rise of Ethiopia's student movement by one of those involved, its role in overthrowing the imperial regime, and its impact on the shaping of the country's future.

Analysis of South African politics under the administration of Mandela and Mbeki

Analyses the ZANU-PF in Zimbabwe, SWAPO in Namibia and the ANC in South Africa and to what extent their promises of democracy have been effected in government.

Variously understood as literary genius and enfant terrible of African literature, Dambudzo Marechera's work as novelist, poet, playwright and essayist is discussed here in relation to other free-thinking writers.

Psychotherapy and ethnography are jointly employed to produce an account of HIV-positive children's lives (and deaths) in Zimbabwe that is sensitive to emotions and their social contexts.

The re-issue of archival volumes ALT 1 to ALT 14 makes the complete series available and provides the historical perspective of these early contributions to the literature and its criticism.

Theorizes the experiences of women in wartime, and specifically of African women during Zimbabwe's anti-colonial struggle.

Demonstrates shortcomings in Western feminist conceptualizations, and shows how insights from African feminist thinking may enhance understandings of gender, both in and beyond Africa.

The first major study of the experiences of the hundreds of thousands of African soldiers who served with the British army during the Second World War.

An historical overview of Ethiopia's transformation from a multicultural empire into a modern nation state.

Investigates development practice, civil organization formation and the increase of ethnically motivated conflicts over the past two decades in Western Africa.

Written by a critically positioned participant in Zimbabwe's political history, this book covers more than a generation of eyewitness account and scholarly analysis by a war veteran academic and activist.

This study recounts the reasons why the order for the Herero genocide was very likely issued by the Kaiser himself, and why proof of this has not emerged before now.