Bloomsbury Academic The African-German Experience: Critical Essays

A collection of critical and theoretical essays that seek to take an in-depth look at the socio-political and historical roots of the African-German presence in today's Germany. The essays examine the African Germans and otherness, with vivid descriptions of personal accounts and observations as well as rich information about Germany's colonial history and about being black in Germany through the pre- and post-World War II era. The volume also provides personal accounts of transitional changes in African-German daily life. German racism is an everyday occurrence in the lives of African Germans, and this volume reveals how they cope with this harsh reality. Perhaps, with the exception of the old Soviet Union, no European nation has undergone the dramatic changes to its political and social landscape as has Germany. Yet few people realize how these changes have impacted on the lives of African Germans, a population of African-descended people who have lived in Germany for at least two centuries. This volume of critical essays on the African German experience seeks to establish the position culturally, politically, and socially, of the African Germans in the larger context of the historic changes that have taken place in German society. Drawing upon the analyses of some of the most significant and outstanding scholars in the field, the collection discovers the hidden history of African Germans. As such it will be of interest to scholars and researchers of modern Germany, race relations, and Black studies. Review ?Clearly, this collection is meant to inspire more research on African Germans and to appeal no only to those Germanists involved in minority studies but also to an audience of English-speaking scholars in Afrikana Studies and others interested in the African Diaspora. It belongs in every German Studies library....It is indispensable for Blackshire-Belay's discussion of the African-German experience in global terms, its interdisciplinary approach, and its path-breaking foray into an area where Afrikana Studies and German Studies intersect.?-Calloquia Germanica ?The book makes for fascinating reading on the history of Africa-German relations.?-The International Journal of African Historical Studies "The book makes for fascinating reading on the history of Africa-German relations."-The International Journal of African Historical Studies "Clearly, this collection is meant to inspire more research on African Germans and to appeal no only to those Germanists involved in minority studies but also to an audience of English-speaking scholars in Afrikana Studies and others interested in the African Diaspora. It belongs in every German Studies library....It is indispensable for Blackshire-Belay's discussion of the African-German experience in global terms, its interdisciplinary approach, and its path-breaking foray into an area where Afrikana Studies and German Studies intersect."-Calloquia Germanica About the Author CAROL AISHA BLACKSHIRE-BELAY is professor and chair of the Department of Africana Studies at Indiana State University. Her work centers on the impact of Africa on German culture and vice versa, as well as the emergence of Ebonics, Afrocentric language analysis, African-German relations, African/African American History, and African Diaspora Studies. She is the author or editor of nine books including Language and Liteerature in the African American Imagination (Greenwood, 1992), The German Mosaic (Greenwood, 1993), and The Image of Africa in German Society. She also serves as the director of the International African-German Network. Dr. Blackshire-Belay is widely recognized as one of the leading experts on historical and contemporary issues facing African-descended people in contemporary western European society.