Greetings colleagues,
I am
thrilled to announce the release of my first academic book,
https://press.umich.edu/Books/O/Out-for-Glamour-in-Africa2. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="0" data-ogsc="">
Out for Glamour in Africa: A History of Black Urban Femininities in Drum Magazine, by the University of Michigan Press.
This book uncovers new histories of Black women in Drum magazine, which originated in South Africa in 1951 but gained pan-African prominence over the following 20 years, and proposes a novel theoretical framework to understand mediated transnational urban Black and African femininities. Using archival research on advertising, film, government records, and close analysis of Drum's various editions (South Africa, West Africa, and East Africa) and its print contemporaries, the book underscores the active role of urban Black women as they sought to enhance their opportunities for advancement.
Table of Contents:
-
Introduction
-
Chapter 1: Architects of Femme UrbAfricana
-
Chapter 2: African 'Sirens'
-
Chapter 3: Commodity Queens
-
Chapter 4: Globalizing Femme UrbAfricana
-
Chapter 5: Freedom Beauties
-
Conclusion
Editorial Reviews:
"Deeply researched and lushly illustrated, Out for Glamour in Africa is an exhilarating read, revealing Drum's truly transnational character by attending to the East and West African editions of the magazine so rarely paired with its better known South African edition. What's more, Mbure is as meticulous when analyzing images as when excavating the active role that women played in shaping the editorial content rather than only as readers. Mbure's femme urbAfricana is sure to become an indispensable concept across global Black, gender, and urban studies."
-Tsitsi Jaji, Duke University
"Out for Glamour in Africa is a very well-researched and informative book that offers a comprehensively detailed treatment of the ways in which African women's femininity was negotiated through media discourses aligned with specific moments in colonial and postcolonial history."
-Patricia Davis, Northeastern University
"Out for Glamour in Africa contributes to the lacunae in postcolonial African history research. It centers the subjectivities of African women to show that African women were co-creators in the post-independence nationalist project."
-Hilary Jones, University of Kentucky
"This innovative and accomplished study moves beyond the rubric of Black erasure to investigate the role of glamour in the making of novel urban femininities in Drum. Combining meticulous archival work and close analysis, this study makes visible the material and discursive forces which structured women's presence in popular magazine culture in the period."
-Corinne Sandwith, University of Pretoria, South Africa
You can request a desk copy or order the book from the
https://press.umich.edu/Books/O/Out-for-Glamour-in-Africa2. Click or tap if you trust this link." data-linkindex="1" data-ogsc="">University of Michigan Press (30%
discount code "UMWEB30"), on Amazon, and from major book retailers. The book is also available open access.
Here are some ways you can support:
-
-
With appreciation,
------------------------------
Wanjiru Mbure
William & Mary
VA
United States
------------------------------