Lee, Christopher J.: "Unreasonable Histories: Nativism, Multiracial Lives, and the Genealogical Imagination in British Africa."(Book review)

• Author: Nti, Kwaku

Lee, Christopher J. Unreasonable Histories: Nativism, Multiracial Lives, and the Genealogical Imagination in British Africa. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014.

Christopher Lee's Unreasonable Histories: Nativism, Multiracial Lives, and the Genealogical Imagination in British Africa is a welcome addition to the growing number of books that seek to redeem African History and, by extension, African Studies from the rigidly defined structure and scope shaped largely by the colonial experience. It seeks to challenge the pervasive ideological and teleological structure of post-independence African history; that is national liberation and nation-state as the universal end to colonialism with a commonly accepted historical meaning reflecting a rationalization that has shaped the intellectual framework for understanding Africa. This inherited colonial epistemology has largely privileged claims of black autochthony over all others. Lee, therefore, proffers the issue of racial minorities in Africa, particularly British Africa, as an important part of the post-national research agenda on subalterns. In essence he calls for a rethinking of the histories of race and racism beyond accustomed places and across time periods while drawing attention to the racial diversity of...