{"id":15870,"date":"2026-06-16T11:35:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/?post_type=product&#038;p=15870"},"modified":"2026-06-16T11:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T11:56:10","slug":"african-identities-absence-loss-and-the-quest-for-self-definition-by-toyin-falola","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/product\/african-identities-absence-loss-and-the-quest-for-self-definition-by-toyin-falola\/","title":{"rendered":"African Identities: Absence, Loss, And the Quest for Self-Definition, by Toyin Falola"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In <em>African Identities: Absence, Loss, and the Quest for Self-Definition<\/em>, Toyin Falola offers a nuanced, historically grounded exploration of African identities, showing that they are neither fixed nor primordial but are dynamically constructed through layers of history, culture, and political negotiation. The volume brings together interdisciplinary perspectives to show how identity emerges from interactions among local loyalties, colonial boundaries, diaspora experiences, and modern state formations, revealing tensions between communal belonging and broader ethnic or national consciousness. By weaving together narratives of the past and present, the book illuminates how African identities are continually reshaped by power, migration, and global encounters, making it a compelling intervention in debates about ethnicity, nationalism, and the politics of identity in Africa and its diaspora.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Toyin Falola is among Africa&#8217;s most prolific and influential historians, widely recognized for his expansive scholarship in African history, Yoruba studies, diaspora studies, and global intellectual history. He holds the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has trained generations of scholars and shaped the direction of African Studies worldwide. With an extraordinary body of work comprising hundreds of books and articles, Falola&#8217;s research spans precolonial Africa, colonial and postcolonial transformations, religion, culture, and the African diaspora. His writings, including acclaimed memoirs such as A Mouth Sweeter Than Salt, blend rigorous scholarship with literary depth, reflecting his commitment to bridging academic and public intellectual life. A recipient of numerous international honors and twenty-eight honorary doctorates, Falola remains a leading voice in advancing African-centered knowledge and global conversations on history, identity, and decolonization.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>ISBN: 978-1-943533-86-2 \u0399 Published 2026 \u0399 Pan-African University Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In African Identities: Absence, Loss, and the Quest for Self-Definition, Toyin Falola offers a nuanced, historically grounded exploration of African identities, showing that they are neither fixed nor primordial but are dynamically constructed through layers of history, culture, and political negotiation. The volume brings together interdisciplinary perspectives to show how identity emerges from interactions among [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[97,89,82,96],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-15870","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-africa","product_cat-culture-and-ethnicity","product_cat-history","product_cat-politics","first","instock","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-variable"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/15870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15870"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/15870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15880,"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/15870\/revisions\/15880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=15870"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=15870"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/panafricanuniversitypress.com\/company\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=15870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}