One of the perennial questions in all former colonies is that of how to
break the chains in which they are still entangled in various ways long
after official 'independence'. Subsequent developments, such as
globalisation, continue to make the situation even more complex. Marks
of colonial chains are boldly imprinted in many Africans' psyches and
relayed in practice in ways quite often contradictory to the continent's
development demands. This book is an effort by Ugandan scholars at
making sense of the intricate challenges of the African postcolonial
situation. It tackles a wide range of areas, including: education,
research, gender, migration, cultural identity, and environment. The
overarching theme that binds together the different chapters is how to
theoretically understand the dynamics behind Africa's colonial history
and postcolonial performance/identities in the wake of globalisation.
The theoretical analysis is then used to draw out ideas on how Africa
can move forward on a self-decolonisation path to meaningful
development.
Jimmy Spire Ssentongo is a senior lecturer at Uganda Martyrs University.
He is the founding chair of the university's Center for African Studies
and teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Makerere University.