Africanisms in American Culture, Second Edition (Blacks in the Diaspora) [Paperback]

Joseph E. Holloway (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0253217490 | ISBN-13: 978-0253217493 | Publication Date: August 3, 2005 | Edition: Second Edition

An important work in the field of diaspora studies for the past decade, this collection has inspired scholars and others to explore a trail blazed originally by Melville J. Herskovits, the father of New World African studies. Since its original publication, the field has changed considerably. Africanism has been explored in its broader dimensions, particularly in the area of white Africanisms. Thus, the new edition has been revised and expanded. Joseph E. Holloway has written three essays for the new volume. The first uses a transnational framework to examine how African cultural survivals have changed over time and readapted to diasporic conditions while experiencing slavery, forced labor, and racial discrimination. The second essay is "Africanisms in African American Names in the United States." The third reconstructs Gullah history, citing numerous Africanisms not previously identified by others. In addition, "The African Heritage of White America" by John Phillips has been revised to take note of many more instances of African cultural survivals in white America and to present a new synthesis of approaches.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph E. Holloway, Professor of Pan African Studies at California State University, Northridge, is a specialist in cross-cultural studies relating to Africa and Afro-Americana. He is a former Ford and Fulbright Scholar, and author of Liberian Diplomacy in Africa, Neither Black Nor White: The Saga of An American Family, and An Introduction to Classical African Civilizations. He is co-author (with Winifred K. Vass) of The African Heritage of American English and editor of The Noble Drew Ali and the Moorish Science Temple Movement and has published widely on New World Africanisms.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; Second Edition edition (August 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253217490
• ISBN-13: 978-0253217493
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Newly revised and expanded!, August 11, 2006

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AfroAmericanHeritage (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Africanisms in American Culture, Second Edition (Blacks in the Diaspora) (Paperback)

The first edition of this book (published in 1990) has stood as an important work in the field of diaspora studies for the past decade, and now the revised, expanded edition reflects the considerable changes in the field, exploring both West and Central African carryovers in America.

"Africanisms" are elements of culture in the New World which can be traced to an African origin. The study of Africanisms is not without controversy, and editor Holloway details its historiography in his introduction.

Fourteen essays by eleven contributors explore African elements in African American language, names, religious practices, music, artistic culture and folklore. Two essays focus specifically on the Gullah, and several others reference them. "The African Heritage of White America" by John Edward Philips (revised for this edition) discusses ways African culture has influenced whites, especially in Southern culture. What I found particularly intriguing was the idea that the basic elements of some "white Africanisms" have pretty much vanished from black culture. For example, though the banjo is of African origin, it is associated today almost entirely with white performers, specifically Appalachian.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in American culture, though I think it will appeal more to academic readers than general ones.