Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves

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About Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves

Product Description First published in 1993, this is a new edition of the classic text in which Clenora Hudson-Weems sets out a paradigm for women of African descent. Examining the status, struggles and experiences of the Africana woman forced into exile in Europe, Latin America, the United States or at Home in Africa, the theory outlines the experience of Africana women as unique and separate from that of some other women of color, and, of course, from white women. Differentiating itself from the problematic theories of Western feminisms, Africana Womanism allows an establishment of cultural identity and relationship directly to ancestry and land. This new edition includes five new chapters as well as an evolution of the classic Africana womanist paradigm, to that of Africana-Melanated Womanism. It shows how race, class and gender must be prioritized in the fight against every day racial dominance. Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves offers a new term and paradigm for women of African descent. A family-centered concept, prioritizing race, class and gender, it offers eighteen features of the Africana womanist (self-namer, self-definer, family-centered, genuine in sisterhood, strong, in concert with male in the liberation struggle, whole, authentic, flexible role player, respected, recognized, spiritual, male compatible, respectful of elders, adaptable, ambitious, mothering, nurturing), applying them to characters in novels by Hurston, Bâ, Marshall, Morrison and McMillan. It evolves from Africana Womanism to Africana-Melanated Womanism. This is an important work and essential reading for researchers and students in women and gender studies, Africana studies, African-American studies, literary studies and cultural studies, particularly with the emergence of family centrality (community and collective engagement), the very cornerstone of Africana Womanism since its inception. Review "Clenora Hudson-Weems continues her robust theoretical and analytical inquiry into the nature of Africana Womanism with this powerful work. Unquestionably, Hudson-Weems is the most important theorist writing on this aspect of the African world. I recommend this book and suggest that it should be high on the list of valuable contributions to your syllabus and general reading. Salute!" Molefi Kete Asante, Professor and Chair, Department of African American Studies at Temple University; author of The History of Africa "Three things are primary to any discussion of Womanist thought: the people, the language and the land. In this New Edition, Clenora Hudson-Weems links these key features while reminding us of race, gender and family centrality to Black communal wholeness. As one of the originators of womanist thought, everything Hudson-Weems has to say about the subject is important to know. The book’s new section makes this text not only important but also essential to any serious study of Africana womanist thought and its contemporary development. She offers complex and provocative discussions that deepen our consideration of what an Africana womanist is, does, perceives, and preserves. I recommend it for courses and personal, intellectual gratification. Às̩e̩". Debra Walker King, Professor of English, University of Florida; author of African Americans and the Culture of Pain "Congratulations to Dr. Hudson-Weems for yet another pace-setting and mind-liberating volume. Africana Womanism (New Edition) is not just an idea in the academe. More important, it is a living part of the everyday energy and struggles for self-definition and self-naming that Africans, wherever they are, pursue with unmitigated commitment." Itai Muhwati, Professor and Dean of Arts, University of  Zimbabwe; editor of Dariro: African Theory of Participation and Performance "Clenora continues to advance Africana Womanism theory in this important volume, wherein the process began with self-naming and self-defining. This allows for a solid identifying and refining of an African