African Psychology: The Emergence of a Tradition

by Augustine Nwoye

Overview

This book aims to serve as a foundational text in the emerging field of African psychology, which centers the knowledge and experience of continental African realities and postcolonial concerns in psychology. Drawing from the author's key essays as a leading thinker in the field, African Psychology: The Emergence of a Tradition describes this discipline's meaning and scope, as well as its epistemological and theoretical perspectives. Part I presents the theoretical context for the book, proposing the Madiban tradition as a framework of inclusion for the study of psychology in African universities. Part 2 focuses on the epistemological, methodological, and theoretical perspectives in African psychology. Part 3 of the book introduces the reader to the field of African therapeutics, and Part 4 highlights the healing rituals and practices provided to the traumatised in contemporary Africa. The ultimate objective of the book is to give postcolonial Africans a fresh vision of themselves and their psychology and culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190932510
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/25/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	456
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Dr. Augustine Nwoye's work focuses on African Psychology as a postcolonial discipline. Professor Nwoye has held distinguished teaching positions in several universities in Africa, along with visiting fellowships and lectures at many international universities including the Universities of Cambridge, Toronto, Stockholm, Howard, and the Holy Cross.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author PART I BACKGROUND AND DEFINITION: A POSTCOLONIAL THEORY OF AFRICAN PSYCHOLOGY 1. Introduction: The Danger of a Single Story and the Problem of Speaking for Others 2. What Is African Psychology the Psychology of?: A Postcolonial Theory 3. African Psychology and Archaeology: Looking Through the Mirror of the African Past and Worldview PART II THEORIES, EPISTEMOLOGIES, METHODOLOGIES 4. Epistemological and Cultural Perspectives in African Psychology 5. Endogenous Principles and Concepts in African Psychology 6. An Africentric Theory of Human Motivation 7. A Synoptic and Multidimensional Theory of the Modern African Self 8. Dreaming in Africa: An Africentric Theory 9. Writing the Body: An Africentric Theory of the Gates of Stress 10. A Rainbow Theory of Marriage Development: An Africentric Perspective 11. Research Methodology in African Psychology: Epistemology, Theory, and Techniques PART III AFRICAN THERAPEUTICS: PERSPECTIVES AND APPROACHES 12. Moving Beyond the BPS: An Africentric Approach to Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment 13. A Collaborative and Narrative Approach to Child and Family Therapy in Africa 14. Building on the Indigenous: Theory and Practice of Marriage Therapy in Contemporary Africa PART IV PSYCHOLOGY, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY PRACTICE IN AFRICA 15. Psychological Processes and Rituals of Hope- Healing Communities in Contemporary Africa 16. Expectations and Dilemmas of African Immigrants in Europe and North America: Rewriting the Narrative 17. The Therapeutic Use of Songs in Apartheid South Africa: An African Example of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed 18. From Mind to Relationship: A Five- Stage Theory of Community Participation in Grief Work in Africa 19. Rituals of Cleansing and Repossession: An Africentric Approach to Treatment of Moral Injury Index

Editorial Reviews

"The volume certainly provides valuable insight into the complexity of reconstructing psychology as a postcolonial enterprise." — Choice

"African Psychology: The Emergence of a Tradition is an important contribution that can inform current practice and education, enhance understanding, and spur further research and theoretical development. It is the product of insightful, earnest, and reasoned reflection on the ethical, political, cultural, and societal realities and complexities of developing psychological theory and practice in African contexts. It is likely to generate discussion and debate, not only among psychologists who work, teach, and study in Africa, but also among all of us who are committed to the ongoing, multifaceted project of thinking through the decolonization and reconstruction of local and global psychologies." — Suzanne R. Kirschner, Theory & Psychology

"African Psychology: The Emergence of a Tradition is a ground-breaking foundational text for the new field of African psychology by one of the field's principal spokespersons. Augustine Nwoye has mapped the contours of this emerging field, assigning it a definition, and unravelling its scope and contents." — Eunice Njeri Mvungu, Journal of Psychology in Africa

From the Publisher