Sovereignty and Struggle Africa and Africans in the Era of the Cold War, 1945-1994

Sovereignty and Struggle: Africa and Africans in the Era of the Cold War, 1945-1994 provides students with a deeper insight into African history during the period of decolonization and the Cold War. Examining Africa and Africans in the context of the global themes of liberation, economic development, and popular culture, author Jonathan T. Reynolds illustrates how Africans sought to define their own lives on a global stage.

The first three chapters of Sovereignty and Struggle offer a thematic approach, covering the politics of early liberation struggles, economics, and global Cold War complexities. They provide students with insight into the motivations and aspirations of Africans from around the continent during the Cold War period. The last two chapters focus on pop culture--music, nation building, and identity--and specifically on popular representations of mobility, modernity, and sovereignty in Ghana during the 1950s and 1960s.

Jonathan T. Reynolds was born in Boston, but draws on southern roots. He received his BA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with majors in Honors History, Anthropology, and Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations. He completed his PhD in African History at Boston University in 1995. Before coming to NKU he taught at Livingstone College in North Carolina (where he received the Aggrey Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1998). At NKU he has received the "Outstanding Junior Faculty" award, "Excellence in Sustained Research" award, and the Alumni Association's "Strongest Influence" award, and the Milburn Outstanding Professor Award. He has served on the Executive Boards of both the World History Association and Phi Alpha Theta and is an Associate Editor for World History Connected. Reynolds has published in various journals, including the International Journal of African Historical Studies, History Compass, Historically Speaking, the Journal of Asian and African Studies, and World History Connected. In addition to works on Islam and the Politics in Northern Nigeria, he (along with cool co-author Dr. Erik Gilbert) has published Africa in World History: From Prehistory to the Present a core text for African History survey courses. The Gilbert and Reynolds team have also published Trading Tastes: Culture and Commodity to 1750, and are currently finishing up a World History survey text entitled World in Motion: A Dynamic History of Humankind. He is a life member of the World History Association and the West African Research Association. He is also a member of the African Studies Association.