November Book of the Month

The SSL ‘Book of the Month’ feature highlights a book in our collection that has been chosen by one of our Subject Consultants. This may be a recent addition to our stock or an existing item that we would like to share with you.

 

African women under fire: literary discourses in war and conflict

Edited by Pauline Ada Uwakweh

Lexington Books, 2017

Shelfmark: PQ 3980.5.AFR 2017

 

 

 

The Book of the Month for November has been selected by Sarah Rhodes, Subject Consultant for International Development, Forced Migration, African and Commonwealth Studies.  It was chosen to tie in with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25th November)

 

Book Overview

African writers and literary critics must account for the changing political terrain and how these contribute to creating new sources of conflicts and aggression toward women. This book brings insight and scholarly breadth to the growing research on women, war, and conflict in Africa. The aftermath of wars and conflicts initiates new forms of violence and related gender challenges. The contributors establish compelling evidence for the significance of gender in the analyses of contemporary warfare and conflict. Articulating war’s consequences for women and children remains a major challenge for critics, policy makers, and human rights organizations. There is a need for deeper understanding of the new sources of violence and male aggression on women, the gendered challenges of reintegration in the aftermath, and the future consequences of gendered violence for the African continent. It also offers interdisciplinary utility for readers interested in literary representations of women’s experience in war and conflict.

Reviews:

Touching on the war experiences of African women, including combat, captivity, and rape, the nine essays in African Women Under Fire: Literary Discourses in War and Conflict, edited by Pauline Ada Uwakweh, engage female agency, resilience, trauma, violence, and the roles of memory and testimony. Bringing together a wide variety of theories and approaches, the contributors re-examine African war literature from a gendered, postcolonial frame that encompasses trauma studies, psychoanalysis, immigration studies, and the problems of representation.

Professor Joya Uraizee, Saint Louis University

Where can I find it?

We have one lending copy of the title in stock. It is currently on display on top of our New Books Display Area (located around the corner from our Library Issue Desk) but it can still be borrowed. The shelfmark for the title is PQ 3980.5.AFR 2017. 

In addition we have an electronic legal deposit copy of the title. Online access for this material is restricted to library computers in any of the Bodleian Libraries. A link to it can be found on SOLO.

What would your SSL Book of the Month be? Do you have a favourite book in our collection? If so, we would love to know what it is. Add a comment below or email us.

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