This book argues that Gabonese writer Sylvie Ntsame utilizes her novels to question certain patriarchal traditions and practices in African society (such as polygyny) that, in certain contexts, tend to silence the voice of the female. Through engaging with feminist theories, among other theoretical frameworks, the author demonstrates how, in some of Ntsame’s novels, the black female body is an object of voyeurism that reduces the women to eroticized, exoticized Others. The author further argues that Ntsame counters the dystopia of racism with a depiction of idealized love through an interracial relationship, presented against the backdrop of stereotypes and myths that stifle such relationships. Ntsame does this by going back to her cultural roots, and calling for understanding between peoples of diverse ethnicities and cultures. The book makes valuable contributions to the study of Gabonese women’s writing in particular, and African women’s writing in general.

Women Writers of Gabon: Literature and Herstory demonstrates how the invisibility of women (historically, politically, cross-culturally, etc.) has led to the omission of Gabon’s literature from the African canon, but it also discusses in depth the unique elements of Gabonese women’s writing that show it is worthy of critical recognition and that prove why Gabonese women writers must be considered a major force in African literature. This book is the only book-length critical study of Gabonese literature that exists in English and although there are titles in French that provide analyses of the works of Gabonese women writers, no one work is comprehensive nor is the history of women’s writing in Gabon considered in the such a manner. Throughout the various chapters, the book explores, among other things, contributions that are unique to Gabonese women writers such as: definitions of African feminisms as they pertain to Gabonese society, the rewriting of oral histories, rituals, and traditions of the Fang ethnic group, one of the first introductions of same-sex couples in African Francophone literature, discussions on the impact of witchcraft on development, and the appropriating of the epic poetry known as the mvet by women writers. The chapters explore works by all major voices in Gabonese women’s writing including Angèle Rawiri, Justine Mintsa, Sylvie Ntsame, Honorine Ngou, and Chantal Magalie Mbazoo-Kassa and the book concludes with brief introductions of a younger generation of Gabonese women writers such as Edna Merey-Apinda, Alice Endamne, Nadia Origo, Miryl Eteno, and Elisabeth Aworet among others.

You rely on your memories for who you are as a person, where you have been, and what you have experienced in your life to date. But, what if it turned out that these memories that you hold closely aren’t your memories at all? What if they were someone else’s memories? This book documents the results of a research project investigating the effects of interpersonal relationship factors on shared reminiscence. Although memory and the factors that influence it have been researched more in recent years, there has been limited research which has measured the specific interpersonal effects of familiarity, trust, confidence, and memory esteem on memory distortion. There are four empirical chapters in this book. Within these four chapters are four separate, but related, studies, which examine the effects of interpersonal factors on memory distortion for ordinary events and for flashbulb memory of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.

This book represents a synchronic sociolinguistic analysis of gender-related variation in the speech of English and Romanian adolescents. It is motivated by the belief that variation is a characteristic of natural language, and that a comprehensive understanding of language must include a grasp of the nature and function of variation. The book analyses sociolinguistic features of adolescent speech that occur in natural, spontaneous, everyday speech, thus representing a major contribution to the study of language in its social context.

Countering the perception that the humanities are unessential, this volume contends that their well-being has not only academic but also cultural, political, and existential ramifications. Our technologically-driven world possesses the means of its own destruction, while economic and financial policies undermine the very existence of our democracy. At the same time, the postmodern and post-human age fundamentally challenges our ability and legitimacy to conceive future ideals. It is within this context that the humanities provide essential paths through which the teaching and knowledge of other academic fields such as STEM and economics must be re-envisioned. In short, the humanities must be brought back to the center of academic life. The political and pedagogical implications of this interdisciplinary study thus entail a renewed critique to rethink the relation between higher education, society, and the world at large (politically, economically, scientifically, and technologically) and the importance of the humanities within it.At the heart of this reconsideration, the humanities’ and humanity’s fate and future become one.

This book explores the global development of contemporary racism and uncovers the complex manifestations and causes of racism. It critically draws upon and analyses the global economic and the legislative frameworks relating to racism. The boundaries of racism continue to shift and the authors critically analyse new developments in racism and unpack the points of intersection between the new and the old racisms. The impacts of factors such as fear, politics, the use of the “race card”, and nationalism are also explored. The book examines the changing dynamics of racism, manifesting itself in different spatial, economic and social situations but demonstrating similarities and differences in a globalized world. In light of these complexities, the book examines the challenges of theorizing, identifying, and challenging racism, as well as the challenges of developing an anti-racist future.