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Abina and the Important Men
Getz, Trevor R., Clarke, Liz
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Description for Abina and the Important Men
Paperback. Num Pages: 240 pages, illustrations. BIC Classification: 1HFDH; 3JH; HBJH; HBTS; JFSJ1. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 180 x 254 x 20. Weight in Grams: 690.
Winner of the James Harvey Robinson Prize from the American Historical Association, and widely acclaimed by educators and students, Abina and the Important Men, 2e is a compelling and powerfully illustrated "graphic history" based on an 1876 court transcript of a West African woman named Abina, who was wrongfully enslaved and took her case to court. The book is a microhistory that does much more than simply depict an event in the past; it uses the power of illustration to convey important themes in world history and to reveal the processes by which history is made. The story of ... Read moreAbina Mansah--a woman "without history" who was wrongfully enslaved, escaped to British-controlled territory, and then took her former master to court--takes place in the complex world of the Gold Coast at the onset of late nineteenth-century colonialism. Slavery becomes a contested ground, as cultural practices collide with an emerging wage economy and British officials turn a blind eye to the presence of underpaid domestic workers in the households of African merchants. The main scenes of the story take place in the courtroom, where Abina strives to convince a series of "important men"--a British judge, two Euro-African attorneys, a wealthy African country "gentleman," and a jury of local leaders--that her rights matter. "Am I free?" Abina inquires. Throughout both the court case and the flashbacks that dramatically depict her life in servitude, these men strive to "silence" Abina and to impose their own understandings and meanings upon her. The story seems to conclude with the short-term success of the "important men," as Abina loses her case. But it doesn't end there: Abina is eventually redeemed. Her testimony is uncovered in the dusty archives by Trevor Getz and, through Liz Clarke's illustrations, becomes a graphic history read by people around the world. In this way, the reader takes an active part in the story along with the illustrator, the author, and Abina herself. Following the graphic history in Part I, Parts II-V provide detailed historical context for the story, a reading guide that reconstructs and deconstructs the methods used to interpret the story, and strategies for using Abina in various classroom settings. This edition adds crucial value to Abina's story and the reader's experience. These include: - new, additional testimony uncovered in the National Archives of Ghana - a gender-rich section in Part V that explores the Abina's life and narrative as a woman, focusing on such important themes as the relationship between slavery and gender in pre-colonial Akan society, the role of marriage in Abina's experience and motives, colonial paternalism, and the meaning of cloth and beads in her story. - a forum on the question of whether Abina was a slave with contributions by three senior scholars working from different perspectives: Sandra Greene, Antoinette Burton, and Kwasi Konadu . Show Less
Product Details
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Place of Publication
New York, United States
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
About Getz, Trevor R., Clarke, Liz
Trevor R. Getz is Professor of African and World History at San Francisco State University and the award-winning author or co-author of nine books and numerous articles. These include Empires and Colonies: A Global History (Oxford 2015), Slavery and Reform in West Africa (Ohio 2004), and African Histories: New Sources and New Techniques for Studying African Pasts (Pearson 2010). A ... Read morerecognized master-teacher, he holds the James Harvey Robinson Prize from the American Historical Association for the first edition of Abina and the Important Men (Oxford 2012). He is currently working on a primer for constructing African history courses and an edited volume on the history and legacy of slavery in Ghana. Liz Clarke is an illustrator based in Cape Town, South Africa. Her artwork has appeared in magazines, games and books, including Mendoza the Jew by Ronald Schechter (Oxford University Press 2014) and Inhuman Traffick by Rafe Blaufarb (Oxford University Press 2015). Show Less
Reviews for Abina and the Important Men
Abina and the Important Men makes a signal contribution to the teaching and learning of history by engaging students at multiple levels. The use of graphic representations and a compelling character-driven narrative succeeds in immersing students in a foreign time and place, and in doing so restores voice to a woman whose story would otherwise have been lost to history. ... Read more
Kenneth R. Curtis, California State University, Long Beach
Abina and the Important Men stands alone. It is neither a textbook nor a primary source reader, because unlike those types, it offers a discrete, contained, contextualized, and concentrated discussion/analysis of a single primary source, a remarkable document that serves naturally as a bridge to an equally remarkable discussion for students of what it means to "do" history, and to think and write historically. Thus, by so creatively contextualizing a historical corner of Africa, it is both a fantastic introduction to African history and an illuminating introduction to the cognitive challenges and benefits of historical thinking. Whereas standard textbooks are typically information driven and beholden to content coverage requirements - and, therefore, rather like the Platte River, a mile wide and an inch deep - Abina offers the great luxury of narrating and investigating a dramatic moment in time.
Chris Padgett, American River College
Abina and the Important Men is, without question, the best and most accessible introduction to historical thinking that I have encountered. Students are engrossed by the story and the illustrations; it excites them in ways that no other text has. It obviously tells an important story about slavery and colonialism in nineteenth-century Africa, of great use to any course that touches on these subjects. But, it's greatest contribution to the classroom is conveying to students, through Trevor Getz's encounter with Abina, what historians do and why our work is important. Reading this text makes students understand that history is more than a set of facts and dates; removing this mental barrier opens up new possibilities for engaging them in the excitement and value of studying the past.
Charles V. Reed, Elizabeth City State College
The quality of the illustrations in this text makes the life history of Abina Mansah more accessible to undergraduates with little experience in African history or the history of slaves. Additionally, by providing the court transcript in the book, this text enables professors to address the difficulties of methodologies and recreating historical contexts with piecemeal empirical evidence.
Sarah Zimmerman, Western Washington University
Abina's heroic efforts to gain her freedom and her moving trial provide a strong narrative that engages students in the young woman's struggle against the rich and powerful men who seek to control her. Getz's is a talented historian who does a wonderful job contextualizing the story. The book also provides readers with the transcript of the case which allows them to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources and the other teaching tools are equally useful and raise important questions for readers to consider.
Randy Sparks, Tulane University
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