African Mosaic

African Mosaic is essential reading for all students of Africa, its people, society and future. Zack-Williams and Udogu bring together an invaluable collection of essays by both Africans and non-Africans dealing with some of the most pressing issues facing Africa in the new millennium. These include: • Development and the Democratisation Process • Human Rights and Ethnicity • Corruption • Education Policy • Health Systems • Gender and Migration • Information Communication and Technology The volume is equally suitable for undergraduates and postgraduates, as well as policy makers and NGO workers specialising in political science, development, sociology, history, anthropology, education and technology.

This book’s ambition is to offer the most recent scholarship on North African cultures at a time when the very notion of culture is being re-evaluated in the shifting tides that both associate and divorce the forces of nationalism, globalism and neo-liberalism. Another ambition is to be a readable document about the past and the potential of North African civilizations. Those which have been crystallized into a polysemic voice from centuries of occupations, exchanges and what is now commonly called hybridizations. In this work the collective position of the authors, with their different fields of experience, is that the languages, musics, and the many expressions of common life in North Africa continue to flourish. That they are a bridge between sub-Saharan peoples and Europe. That they are a necessary antidote to the anemic political discourses that have prevailed since decolonization. That they are seminal for the future of the African continent as it begins its true voyage into democracy. It is difficult, at this juncture, to measure the distance that, in the decades to come, will be achieved on that voyage. It is, however, less difficult to evaluate the importance of North Africa on tomorrow’s world. If the past is an indicator, it will be an important force in the cross-flow of trade, ideas and of global destinies.

The book revisits a study conducted in 1994 on subjects defined as historically disadvantaged by the apartheid regime. However, despite the ravages of that regime, these individuals had succeeded and gotten extraordinary opportunities to pursue higher education in colleges and universities in the U.S. In the study, the subjects discussed and shared their visions of South Africa as a new democracy while coming to terms with the impact of apartheid. A sample of the 1994 subjects are surveyed for this book. The author concludes that, in short, while South Africa has possibilities, several challenges remain, in particular economic challenges.

As the Roman Empire expanded its African settlements in the early centuries of the common era, thousands of mosaic floor pavements were fashioned to adorn the townhouses and rural estates of the African upper classes. Between the second and sixth centuries, mosaic art blossomed, particularly in Africa Proconsularis, the region comprising modern Tunisia. In contrast to the official art of imperial Rome, mosaics generally expressed the worldviews of private citizens. These artworks are remarkable for the intricate beauty of their polychromatic geometric and floral designs, as well as for figural scenes depicting the interests and activities of the patrons who commissioned them--scenes of daily life, athletic contests, gladiator spectacles, and classical literature and mythology. Abundantly illustrated throughout, Tunisian Mosaics: Treasures from Roman Africa offers the general reader a lively introduction to this extraordinary ancient art. Initial chapters survey the historical background of Roman Africa and discuss the development of mosaic art in the Mediterranean. Subsequent chapters profile Tunisia's major mosaic sites and tour the collections of important museums. A final chapter surveys current initiatives to preserve this heritage for future generations.

This book is an analysis of key factors that may be problematic as Southern Africa shifts to a new "democracy". Based on research conducted on black South Africans who have been studying overseas, the author examines intragroup differences that have been created and accentuated by forty years of apartheid rule in South Africa. Contents: Preface; Introduction; Post-Independence Conflict: Theoretical Perspectives; Current Conflict Dynamics in South Africa; Research Methodology; Data Presentation and Analysis: Part I; Data Presentation and Analysis: Part II; Summary and the Implications of the Findings; Appendix A: Cover Letter to Respondents; Questionnaire Reminder; Acronyms of Variables; List of Abbreviations; Questionnaire; Bibliography; Index.

Some of the finest examples of Roman mosaics survive in Tunisa. The mosaics bring to life the rich dwellings, introducing a civilization which flourished between the first and fifth century AD. Illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, this book captures the beauty of these floors.