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Olaudah Equiano and the Igbo World  (Africa World Press) examines aspects of
the history, society and Atlantic Diaspora connection of the Igbo people of
the Bight of Biafra hinterland. The large presence of the Igbos in the
Americas and the role of enslaved Africans of Igbo origin were important in
shaping the larger history of slavery, patterns of enslavement, and new
identity formations in the Americas. In this regard, the intellectual
contribution of the most famous Igbo sons, Olaudah Equiano, remains
outstanding. The book addresses several issues including: Igbo history and
cultural values as glimpsed from Olaudah Equiano's narrative, as well as the
later Igbo encounter with Western imperialist forces, including the
missionary and the colonizing efforts, their response to slavery in the New
World and aspects of Igbo impact on the Atlantic diaspora. The contributors
draw from history, literature, philosophy, and anthropology to address the
intersection between the Igbo and the outside world and how this encounter
shaped the currents of  slavery, colonialism and the accompanying social
transformations in Igboland and across the African Diaspora. Placing the
African background of the Igbo in the context of Atlantic history presents
an alternative conceptual approach that teases out the nuances of
interconnection between Africa and the broader Atlantic/global history. The
value of this approach is that it recasts our understanding of African
continuities in the Atlantic World by situating such experiences in their
African backgrounds. This approach sheds light on the interconnections
between different parts of the Atlantic world and what specific regions of
Africa brought to the complex economic and social formations that began with
European exploration of the West African coast in the fifteenth century.

Chima J. Korieh teaches African History at Marquette University, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. He holds a PhD in African History from the University of Toronto,
Canada. Prior to joining Marquette, he was associate professor of African
history at Rowan University in New Jersey. He received the prestigious
British Academy Visiting Fellowship at Oxford University, Oxford, UK in
2008. He has authored many articles and essays in journals, books, and
encyclopedia. His publications include the following co-edited volumes: The
Aftermath of Slavery: Transition and Transformation in Southeastern Nigeria
(Trenton, NJ: African World Press, 2007); Missions, States and European
Expansion in Africa (New York: Routledge, 2007; Gendering Global
Transformations: Gender, Culture, Race, and Identity (New York: Routledge,
2008). He is associate editors (Africa) of Encyclopedia of Western
Imperialism and Colonialism since 1450 (New York: Macmillan Reference USA,
2006). He is the founding editor of Mbari: The International Journal of Igbo
Studies.