New textbook on African women's history

Kathleen Sheldon Discussion

Dear friends and colleagues,

I am very pleased to let you know that my book -- African Women: Early History to the 21st Century -- has been published by Indiana University Press - just in time for summer reading and to consider for your fall or spring classes. While it is obviously essential for courses on African women, it will also be an important addition to reading lists for courses on comparative women's history and world history.

This book has been my main project for more than a decade, and I am confident that it fills a major gap in the literature. Too many textbooks in African history continue to omit or marginalize women's contributions, and while there is an abundant and excellent literature on African women's history, it has been scattered across a wide variety of books and articles. My book pulls together a coherent and comprehensive narrative that is accessible to undergraduates and others.

Table of Contents:

1. Women and Gender in Africa before 1700
2. Market Traders, Queens, and Slaves in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
3. Religion and Slavery in the Nineteenth Century
4. Colonial Era, 1850s to 1945: Work and Family
5. Politics, Leadership, and Resistance to Colonialism until 1945
6. Liberation Struggles and Politics from the 1950s to the 1970s
7. Work, Family, and Urbanization from 1970s to the 1990s
8. Women and Politics after Independence
9. Women at the Beginning of the 21st Century

If you wish to contact me directly, write to ksheldon@ucla.edu.

All best wishes,

Kathleen