This compilation was inspired by an international symposium held on the
Legon campus over three days in September 2003. Hosted by the CODESRIA
African Humanities Institute Programme, the symposium had the broad
theme 'Canonical Works and Continuing Innovation in African Arts &
Humanities'. In these two volumes of 85 papers there are contributions
from established scholars such as Mahmood Mamdani, Peter Ekeh and Kwame
Ninsin which sit alongside contributions from well-known literary
scholars including Niyi Osundare, Femi Osofisan and Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
Also included in the volume are classic papers by Claude Ake, Chinua
Achebe and Kwasi Wiredu, plus those of up-and-coming young scholars of
the day. The book is broken into nine sections: Examining Knowledge
Production as a Social Institution; Explaining Actions and Beliefs;
Reappraising 'Development'; Measuring the Human Condition; Recalling
History; 'Africa' as a Subject of Academic Discourse; Debating
Democracy, Community, and the Law; Revisiting Artistic Expression; and
Regaining the Voice of Authority.