The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge (African Systems of Thought)

"... groundbreaking... clear, straightforward, and economical.... seminal... " ―American Anthropologist

"This is a challenging book... a remarkable contribution to African intellectual history." ―International Journal of African Historical Studies

"Mudimbe’s description of the struggles over Africa’s self-invention are vivid and rewarding. From Blyden to Sartre, Temples to Senghor, Mudimbe provides a bold and versatile resume of Africa’s literary inventors." ―Village Voice Literary Supplement

"... a landmark achievement in African studies." ―Journal of Religion in Africa

In this unique and provocative book, Zairean philosopher and writer V. Y. Mudimbe addresses the multiple scholarly discourses that exist―African and non-African―concerning the meaning of Africa and being African.

• The Idea of Africa (African Systems of Thought)
• Orientalism
• The Wretched of the Earth
• The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution
• Black Skin, White Masks
• On the Postcolony (Studies on the History of Society and Culture)
• Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
• Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature
• Discourse on Colonialism
• A Critique of Postcolonial Reason: Toward a History of the Vanishing Present