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World War II in Colonial Africa by
This is a history of the ENTIRE continent of Africa during World War II. It tells of the several wars in Africa and how they related to each other as well as to the conflicts in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the surrounding oceans. Also related in this book are the wartime experiences of the African people and how those experiences influenced the eventual de-colonization of the continent.
Location: D766.8 .O82 2001ISBN: 9780962832451Publication Date: 2006
Fighting for Britain by
During the Second World War over half-a-million African troops served with the British Army as combatants and non-combatants in campaigns in the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, Italy and Burma - the largest single movement of African men overseas since the slave trade. This account, based mainly on oral evidence and soldiers' letters, tells the story of the African experience of the war. It is a 'history from below' that describes how men were recruited for a war about which most knew very little. Army life exposed them to a range of new and startling experiences: new foods and forms of discipline, uniforms, machines and rifles, notions of industrial time, travel overseas, new languages and cultures, numeracy and literacy. What impact did service in the army have on African men and their families? What new skills did soldiers acquire and to what purposes were they put on their return? What was the social impact of overseas travel, and how did the broad umbrella of army welfare services change soldiers' expectations of civilian life? And what role if any did ex-servicemen play in post-war nationalist politics? In this book African soldiers describe in their own words what it was like to undergo army training, to travel on a vast ocean, to experience battle, and their hopes and disappointments on demobilisation. DAVID KILLINGRAY is Professor Emeritus of History, Goldsmiths, and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.
Location: D759 .K55 2010ISBN: 9781847010155Publication Date: 2010
Africa and World War II by
This volume considers the military, economic, and political significance of Africa during World War II. The essays feature new research and innovative approaches to the historiography of Africa and bring to the fore issues of race, gender, and labor during the war, topics that have not yet received much critical attention. It explores the experiences of male and female combatants, peasant producers, women traders, missionaries, and sex workers. The first section offers three introductory essays that give a continent-wide overview of how Africa sustained the Allied effort through labor and resources. The six sections that follow offer individual case studies from different parts of the continent. Contributors offer a macro and micro view of the multiple levels on which Africa's contributions shaped the war as well as the ways in which the war affected individuals and communities and transformed Africa's political, economic, and social landscape.
Location: D766.8 .A473 2015ISBN: 9781107053205Publication Date: 2015
Colonial Conscripts: the Tirailleurs Sénégalais in French West Africa, 1857-1960 by
This text examines the socio-political history of post-war Francophone West Africa, focusing on colonial conscripts from Senegal.
Location: UA703.T725 E28 1991ISBN: 0852556012Publication Date: 1991-01-01
The African Rank-and-file: social implications of colonial military service in the King's African Rifles, 1902-1964 by
Why did East Africans in the King's African Rifles serve a foreign power? By examining the military experiences of African soldiers, the author reveals the tensions and contradictions of British colonial rule.
Location: UA855.5 .P38 1999ISBN: 085255687XPublication Date: 1999
Soldiers of Misfortune by
This is a study of the African veterans of a European war. It is a story of men from the Cote d'Ivoire, many of whom had seldom traveled more than a few miles from their villages, who served France as tirailleurs (riflemen) during World War II. Thousands of them took part in the doomed attempt to hold back the armies of the Third Reich in 1940; many were to spend the rest of the war as prisoners in Germany or Occupied France. Others more fortunate came under the authority of Vichy France, and were deployed in the Defense of the "Motherland" and its overseas possessions against the threat posed by the Allies. By 1943, the tirailleur regiments had passed into the service of de Gaulle's free French and under Allied command, played a significant role in the liberation of Europe. In describing these complex events, Dr. Lawler draws upon archives in both France and the Cote d'Ivoire. She also carried out an extensive series of interviews with Ivoirien veterans principally, but not exclusively, from the Korhogo region. The vividness of their testimony gives this study a special character. They talk freely not only of their wartime exploits, but also of their experiences after repatriation. Lawler allows them to speak for themselves. They express their hatred of forced labor and military conscription, which were features of the colonial system, yet at the same time reveal a pride in having come to the defense of France. They describe their role in the nationalist struggle, as foot soldiers of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, but also convey their sense of having become a lost generation. They recognize that their experiences as French soldiers had become sadly irrelevant in a new nation in quest of its history.
Location: D761.9.T57 L38 1992ISBN: 0821410121Publication Date: 1992-04-14
Between Bombs and Good Intentions by
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have highlighted again the precarious situation aid agencies find themselves in, caught as they are between the firing lines of the hostile parties, as they are trying to alleviate the plight of the civilian populations. This book offers an illuminating case study from a previous conflict, the Italo-Ethiopian war of 1935-36, and of the humanitarian operation of the Red Cross during this period. Based on fresh material from Red Cross and Italian military archives, the author examines highly controversial subjects such as the Italian bombings of Red Cross field hospitals, the treatment of Prisoners of War by the two belligerents; and the effects of Fascist Italy's massive use of poison gas against the Ethiopians. He shows how Mussolini and his ruthless regime, throughout the seven-month war, manipulated the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - the lead organization of the Red Cross in times of war, helped by the surprising political naïvete of its board. During this war the ICRC redefined its role in a debate, which is fascinating not least because of its relevance to current events, about the nature of humanitarian action. The organization decided to concern itself exclusively with matters falling under the Geneva Conventions and to give priority to bringing relief over expressing protest. It was a decision that should have far-reaching consequences, particularly for the period of World War II and the fate of Jews in Nazi concentration camps. Rainer Baudendistel, a historian by profession, worked for more than 25 years in humanitarian affairs, first for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), then for the Swiss government. Since 1985 he has specialized in the Horn of Africa. He spent several years in Ethiopia and currently lives in Eritrea.
Location: DT387.8 .B38 2006ISBN: 9781845450359Publication Date: 2005-06-01
The Sons of Sheba's Race by ISBN: 0253351265Publication Date: 1993-02-01
Mistaking Africa by
For many Americans the mention of Africa immediately conjures up images of safaris, ferocious animals, strangely dressed "tribesmen,” and impenetrable jungles. Although the occasional newspaper headline mentions genocide, AIDS, malaria, or civil war in Africa, the collective American consciousness still carries strong mental images of Africa that are reflected in advertising, movies, amusement parks, cartoons, and many other corners of society. Few think to question these perceptions or how they came to be so deeply lodged in American minds. Curtis Keim's Mistaking Africa looks at the historical evolution of this mind-set and examines the role that popular media plays in its creation. Keim addresses the most prevalent myths and preconceptions and demonstrates how these prevent a true understanding of the enormously diverse peoples and cultures of Africa. Updated throughout, the third edition includes a new chapter, "Where Is the Real Africa," discussing the multifaceted nature of the question and the importance of not grasping onto stereotypes of Africa's mythical past. Keim also includes new examples and new images to expand the visual narrative of western views about Africa. Mistaking Africa is an important book for African studies courses and for anyone interested in unraveling American misperceptions about the continent.
Location: DT38.7 .K45 2014ISBN: 9780813348940Publication Date: 2013-08-06
British Imperial Policy and Decolonization, 1938-64 by Location: JV1018 .P66 1987ISBN: 0312005547Publication Date: 1987-09-01
Browse/Search for Films
- African Troops in Service of the British Empire British wartime footage showing African troops fighting in British military campaigns during the Colonial era. These include troops from the Royal West African Frontier Force (Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone) and the King's African Rifles (Kenya, Uganda, Somaliland).
Searchable catalogs & databases for films:
- Kanopy This link opens in a new window Kanopy is a provider of documentaries, training films, and theatrical releases available as streaming video. Clips from the videos can be embedded in presentations or shown in class. Films in the Boston University Libraries catalog are licensed to Boston University for educational and research use only, for BU students, faculty, and staff.
- African Media Project A project of the African Studies Center at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. AMP provides an on-line comprehensive reference guide to more than 10,000 films, videos, and other audiovisual materials concerning Africa (both Sub-Saharan and North Africa). It includes film and video productions made in Africa and around the world.
Search for Articles
History
- Africa-Wide Information This link opens in a new window Africa-Wide Information searches across bibliographic databases from around the world to provide citations and abstracts on all facets of Africa and African studies. This includes content from South African Studies, African Studies, and African HealthLine, which focuses on all aspects of health relating to Africa and other developing nations.
- African Journals Online This link opens in a new window Provides free access to full text articles from over a hundred journals published in Africa. (Some titles are open access while others are abstract only or require registration and payment.) Subject areas covered include: agriculture, life sciences, medicine (AIDS, HIV) and the social sciences (education, politics, African international relations, anthropology and public health).
- Humanities Full Text / Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window These combined databases provide access to journal articles, book reviews, performance reviews, interviews, bibliographies and more from a broad range of humanities and social sciences journals.
Search across disciplines
- BU Libraries Search This link opens in a new window BU Libraries Search provides a single place to search for a wide variety of research material provided by the library. Resources covered by the search includes books and eBooks, journals, scores and sheet music, video and audio recordings, and other physical and electronic items held by the library. Coverage encompasses materials relating to the prehistoric and antique world through to the present.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window This database provides full text access to the back issues of core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Book reviews are included as well as journal articles. Abstracts are available for some of the articles.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new window Project Muse provides digital access to scholarly journals and books in the humanities and social sciences. The scholarly content comes from non-profit scholarly publishers, including university presses and societies. The full text resources include journal articles, book reviews and book chapters.
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses This link opens in a new window This database contains indexing and abstracts of American doctoral dissertations accepted at accredited institutions since 1861 and a selection from other countries. Masters level theses are included selectively.
Social Sciences
- Social Sciences Full Text This link opens in a new window Social Sciences Full Text provides access to hundreds of English language journals in the social sciences. About two-thirds of the journals are peer-reviewed.
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window Sociological Abstracts indexes and abstracts the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews. It also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Forty percent of the content is published outside of North America.
- APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window Provides access to articles, books and book chapters, and dissertations that cover the scholarly literature in the psychological, social, behavioral, and health sciences. Includes material of relevance to psychologists and professionals in related fields such as psychiatry, management, business, education, social science, neuroscience, law, medicine, and social work.
- Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window CMMC indexes journals covering communication, mass media, linguistics, discourse, rhetoric, sociolinguistics, communication theory, language, logic, organizational communication and other closely related fields of study.
