Africa in American Sociology: Invisibility, Opportunity and Obligation

In the social sciences, sociology is almost unique in its silence on Africa. Political science, economics and anthropology have a much better developed interest in the continent. In this article the authors first try to explain why American sociology has excluded Africa from its vision; second, they...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social forces 2005-09, Vol.84 (1), p.595-600
Main Authors: Dodoo, F. Nii-Amoo, Beisel, Nicola
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
African Americans
Coup detat
Demography
Female fertility
Foreign Countries
History and organization of sociology
History of Sociology
History, theory and methodology
Intellectual Disciplines
Men
Organization of profession, research and teaching. Deontology. Sociology of sociology. Epistemology
Public sociology
Research facilities
Scholarship
Sexuality
Social aspects
Social issues
Social research
Social Science Research
Social sciences
Sociological Research
Sociology
Sub Saharan Africa
United States of America
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Summary:In the social sciences, sociology is almost unique in its silence on Africa. Political science, economics and anthropology have a much better developed interest in the continent. In this article the authors first try to explain why American sociology has excluded Africa from its vision; second, they discuss what sociology as a discipline could gain from turning its gaze to Africa; and third, they suggest how sociology can facilitate a conversation about Africa both with the American public and among ourselves. A caveat for readers: the authors admit they are biased in their discussion in the direction of the literatures they know best, those concerning gender, sexuality and reproduction.
ISSN:0037-7732
1534-7605
DOI:10.1353/sof.2005.0095