History Books

"Collecting essays by fourteen expert contributors into a trans-oceanic celebration and critique, Mamadou Diouf and Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo show how music, dance, and popular culture turn ways of remembering Africa into African ways of remembering.  With a mix of Nuyorican, Cuban, Haitian, Kenyan, Senegalese, Trinidagonian, and Brazilian beats, Rhythms of the Afro-Atlantic World proves that the pleasures of poly-rhythm belong to the realm of the discursive as well as the sonic and the kinesthetic."---Joseph Roach, Sterling Professor of Theater, Yale University"As necessary as it is brilliant, Rhythms of the Afro-Atlantic World dances across, beyond, and within the Black Atlantic Diaspora with the aplomb and skill befitting its editors and contributors."---Mark Anthony Neal, author of Soul Babies: Black Popular Culture and the Post-Soul AestheticAlong with linked modes of religiosity, music and dance have long occupied a central position in the ways in which Atlantic peoples have enacted, made sense of, and responded to their encounters with each other. This unique collection of essays connects nations from across the Atlantic---Senegal, Kenya, Trinidad, Cuba, Brazil, and the United States, among others---highlighting contemporary popular, folkloric, and religious music and dance. By tracking the continuous reframing, revision, and erasure of aural, oral, and corporeal traces, the contributors to Rhythms of the Afro-Atlantic World collectively argue that music and dance are the living evidence of a constant (re)composition and (re)mixing of local sounds and gestures.Rhythms of the Afro-Atlantic World distinguishes itself as a collection focusing on the circulation of cultural forms across the Atlantic world, tracing the paths trod by a range of music and dance forms within, across, or beyond the variety of locales that constitute the Atlantic world. The editors and contributors do so, however, without assuming that these paths have been either always in line with national, regional, or continental boundaries or always transnational, transgressive, and perfectly hybrid/syncretic. This collection seeks to reorient the discourse on cultural forms moving in the Atlantic world by being attentive to the specifics of the forms---their specific geneses, the specific uses to which they are put by their creators and consumers, and the specific ways in which they travel or churn in place.Mamadou Diouf is Leitner Family Professor of African Studies, Director of the Institute of African Studies, and Professor of History at Columbia University.Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo is Associate Professor of English at Vanderbilt University.Jacket photograph by Elias Irizarry

Introducing COUNTRY JUMPER, a young world traveler, with an engaging personality. He will guide readers on a tour around the world and expose them to many different cultures.Children can step on board with COUNTRY JUMPER as he educates them on each country with a brief synopsis of its history, national treasures, places to visit, etc. Each book will inspire their curiosity in visiting each country and inform them of fun activities for kids to do if they get an opportunity to venture into one of these countries. The series, consisting of 205 books, is targeted toward children ages 9 through 16 years old; however, the information is relevant for anyone looking for a quick overview of other countries.KIDS: Educate and exercise your minds by jumping around the globe with COUNTRY JUMPER. Allow him to show you the world through his eyes.EDUCATORS: This is a new, fun, and unique way to stimulate students’ interest in learning more about the world around them.PARENTS: Help your child to learn about the history and culture of countries all over the world.EVERYBODY: In just around 30 easy to read pages, you can learn about another country. Don't just confine yourselves to where you live. Get to know your international neighbors.BUY THIS BOOK AND SPARK YOUR INTEREST IN OTHER COUNTRIES TODAY!