Barack Obama

Mazama and Asante explore the Obama era-the confluence of the political, technological, social, economic, and religious dimensions of Obama's campaign, election, and presidency. Culled from hundreds of articles in journals across the social sciences-in political science, sociology, African American studies, and communication--this illuminating collection deals with the complexities of the Obama phenomenon from critical research perspective, marking the era as a transformation brought about by a transitional leader. Part introductions offer needed framing and context to facilitate debate and discussion.

Ama Mazama is associate professor of Africana studies at Temple University. She holds a Ph.D. from La Sorbonne and has published 11 books including coediting the Encyclopedia of African Religion, The Afrocentric Paradigm, Africa in the 21st Century, L' Imperatif Afrocentricit as well as more than 40 articles in research journals. In addition, she has translated the political and social works of African American intellectuals into French. During the past twenty years Dr. Mazama has directed a dozen doctoral degree programs and educated thousands of students in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean. Her work is regularly cited by other scholars in Canada, England, France, Jamaica, and the United States. She is also the associate editor of the Journal of Black Studies, the premier journal in its field. Dr. Mazama edited the first scholarly special issue on the candidacy of Barack Obama. Molefi Kete Asante holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has published more than 70 books and is the creator of the first doctoral program in African American studies. Asante is author of As I Run Toward Africa, The African American People, The Afrocentric Idea, An Afrocentric Manifesto, and Afrocentricity. He is also the coeditor of the Encyclopedia of Black Studies and the Handbook of Black Studies. Asante has been called the most published African American scholar with more than 400 articles to his credit. Dr. Asante is an intellectual activist believing that one must use scholarship to humanize the world.