There is a dire need today to create spaces in which people can make meaning of their existence in the world, abiding by cultural frameworks and practices that acknowledge and validate a meaningful existence for all. People are not just isolated individuals but are connected in diverse ways with other persons within our natural and social environment which is part of the whole universe.

As Africana Studies celebrates its fiftieth anniversary throughout the United States, this invigor ating collection presents possibilities for the future of the discipline’s theoretical paths. The essays in Africana Studies focus on philosophy, science, and technology; poetry, literature, and music; the crisis of the state; issues of colonialism, globalization, and neoliberalism; and the ever-expanding diaspora.

This book is a case study of the political system and practices of the Baoulés, an Akan group in Côte d’Ivoire, who migrated from current Ghana in the 18th Century under the leadership of Queen Nanan Abla Pokou. Prior to French colonial rule in Côte d’Ivoire from the end of the 19th Century to its independence in 1960, Baoulé women, like other women of the global African world, constituted a significant, central and indispensable force in all spheres of society, including politics. They fought fiercely in all facets of anti-colonial struggles.