Afrotopia: The Roots of African American Popular History (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) [Hardcover]

Wilson Jeremiah Moses (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0521474086 | ISBN-13: 978-0521474085

Afrocentrism and its history have long been disputed and controversial. In this important book, Wilson Moses presents a critical and nuanced view of the issues. Tracing the origins of Afrocentrism since the eighteenth century, he examines the combination of various popular mythologies, some of them mystical and sentimental, others perfectly reasonable. A level presentation in what is often a shouting match, Afrotopia is a rich history of black intellectual life and the concept of race.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Moses charts new lines of investigation and, fearless of consequences,opens up old subjects for discussion in new ways. This is a book that will inform the highly informed." American Historical Review

"In short, this is a truly significant work and should be essential reading for anyone interested in why the present state of race relations has come to be what it is." The Journal of Southern History

"Moses makes his argument convincingly and provides an invaluable resource for scholars and advanced students of the African and African American experience....Recommended for graduate students and faculty/researchers." Choice

"...a first rate book on African American intellectual history that explains a great deal about black historiographic thinking, both academic and popular,today,and is highly recommended." Gerald Early, Journal of World History

Book Description

Afrocentrism and its history has long been disputed and controversial. In this important book, Wilson Moses presents a critical and nuanced view of the issues. Tracing the origins of Afrocentrism since the eighteenth-century, he examines the combination of various popular mythologies, some of them mystical and sentimental, others perfectly reasonable. A level presentation in what is often a shouting match, Afrocentrism, Antimodernism, and Utopia is a rich history of black intellectual life and the concept of race.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521474086
• ISBN-13: 978-0521474085
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,591,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A model analysis of popular history, March 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Afrotopia: The Roots of African American Popular History (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) (Paperback)

This book is required reading not only for anyone interested in Afrocentrism and its history, but also for anyone interested in how "popular" history shapes cultural images, goals, and political aspirations. For those who presume that Afrocentrism is a product of postmodern relativism, this book is an important corrective: Moses demonstrates Afrocentrism's emergence (or, more accurately, the emergence of different Afrocentrisms) in the discourse of nineteenth-century African-American intellectuals. (In fact, as he points out, the key concepts of Afrocentric discourse have remained virtually unchanged since their conception.) Moses' commitment to *understanding* how Afrocentric discourse *works* produces genuine insight into how the "literate public" appropriates historical concepts for its own purposes. (He is particularly sympathetic to Afrocentrism's interest in high culture.) Moses is also willing to apportion praise and blame when due, with both Mary Lefkowitz and Maulana Karenga coming in for scathing shares of the latter. In addition to the book's scrupulous research, one must praise its elegant writing style--all too rare in academic prose these days.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fairly balanced work on a controversial subject, July 2, 2001

By 

Andre M. "brnn64" (Mt. Pleasant, SC United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Afrotopia: The Roots of African American Popular History (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) (Hardcover)

Like most serious African-American educators, I don't have a high opinion of so-called "Afrocentric" history. However, I do understand why many of the Black masses feel the psychological need to beleive the historical tall tales and overemphasis on Egyptian Mythology (although in reality, most of today's African-Americans are descended from West Africans).

Dr. Moses does a good job of tracing the roots of afrocentric thought and I learned a lot from the solid evidence he offers. However, he could have left out the personal attacks and name calling regarding Moefi, Lefkowitz, and Karenga and discussed them strictly within the faultiness of their historical work. But other than that, it's a pretty good book.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Critical Critique of Afrotopia, April 16, 2008

By 

Bill Jackson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Afrotopia: The Roots of African American Popular History (Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture) (Paperback)

I usually don't spend any time thinking about or writing reviews of literature I feel is misinformative to the African American people. But this book I find not only misinformative but grossly in error and very subjective. It not only misinterprets many of those in the African American community, it assumes that Afrocentrism is some kind of cult recognized by the misinformed. The author obviously is out of touch with the African American community in general and specifically those "interllectuals" he inaccurately discusses. I totally wasted my money and time with this book.