The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Africa (OXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES)

The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Africa presents to a broad readership an accessible, comprehensive, up to date, and topical comparative analysis of sociological thinking in Africa. Sociological discourse about African societies has been challenging and difficult, due to a lack of both comprehensive analyses and holistic sociological evidence that covers Africa from past to present times. This Handbook brings together latest analyses of sociological phenomena from the best scholars working on numerous thematic areas. It provides contributions that locates African sociological thinking in historical context and takes a critical look at its current manifestations across the continent. This collection builds upon an existing body of literature which has demonstrated that while the analysis of African societies has long been an item on the agenda of sociologists worldwide, advances of the decolonial critique made notably by African scholars in Africa enhances the scholarship of the sociology of Africa. Thus, the collection is premised upon the understanding that in order to understand the sociology of Africa as significant intervention, the participation and representation of African ways of knowing and doing is a critical starting point. This Handbook comprises a series of scholarly and interdisciplinary perspectives on current debates over how best to unpack sociological imaginations in African context. The scholarly contributions, therefore, are based on both perspectives illustrating the importance of specificity in sociological phenomenon. The Handbook is arranged in seven parts: Context and Perspectives; Race, Ethnicity, and Religion; Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality; Medical Sociology: Political Economy and Development; Crime and Violence; and The Family and Education. Premised on the importance of African ways of knowing and doing, these chapters offer sociologists, researchers, and students an invaluable starting point for a fuller understanding of African sociology. Cover The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Africa Copyright Contents Preface About the Editors List of Contributors I. The Sociology of Africa: Context and Perspectives 1. The Sociology of Africa: A Thematic Contextualization of the Discourse 2. The Epistemology of African Sociological Knowledge Practices 3. Decolonizing Sociology in Africa: Insights from Zimbabwe and South Africa II. Race, Ethnicity, and Religion 4. Race and Its Sociological Inquiry in Africa: Problematic Suppositions and Contemporary Predicaments 5. Ethnicity, Politics of Power Sharing, and Nation-​Building in Africa 6. Religious Life in African Societies 7. The Advent, Development, and Impact of Christianity in Africa III. Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality 8. Women’s and Gender Studies in Africa 9. Intersectionality of Gender and Sexuality in African Cultures 10. Prevalence and Consequences of Gender-​Based Violence on Families in Africa IV. Medical Sociology 11. Medical Sociology in Africa: Understanding Health, Illness, and Healing 12. African Sociology of Health and Well-​Being 13. Social Determinants of Health in Africa 14. Infectious Diseases in Africa: Emergence, Social Contexts, Political and Media Discourses V. Political Economy and Development 15. The Sociological Implications of Africa’s Political Economy 16. Pan-​Africanism and Development in Africa: Trajectories and Prognoses 17. The Sociology of Science in Africa 18. Sociological Processes of Urbanization: The African Experience since the Twentieth Century 19. Africa’s Nature: A Continental Treasure, a Global Heritage, and the Real Wealth of the Present and Future Generations 20. Climate Governance and Justice: Power Pull and Unequal Exchanges with Peripheral Africa 21. Civil Society, NGOs, and Human Rights in Africa VI. Crime and Violence 22. Criminology in Africa 23. African Criminologies: Decolonization, Relativism, and Resistance 24. Elusive Peace: Extraction and Violent Conflict in Africa 25. Insurgency and Organized Violence in Africa: A Cross-​National Approach VII. The Family and Education 26. Familial Roles, Responsibilities, and Solidarity in Diverse African Societies 27. Managing Uncertainty, Creating Stability: The Enduring Value of Kinship for Family Formation 28. Challenges to Higher Education in Africa and the Decolonized “Academia We Want” Index