This book was originally published in 1981 and the theme of universals attracted a great deal of attention in the decade preceding publication. Psychologists and linguists in particular attempted to identify substantive universals that underlie the social diversity across cultures, which anthropologists and others documented. The contributors to this volume all focus on the relevant data in Africa to explain and test the major questions at issue. The book is divided into three main sections, dealing respectively with perception, cognitive development and language. There is also a general Review and Prospectus by Jerome Bruner, and a wide-ranging introduction to the philosophical background by Ernst Gellner. The volume will be of particular interest to cross-cultural psychologists, linguists, Africanists and anthropologists.

Marlene Dumas's work is widely admired for its emotionally-charged portrayal of the human figure and its potent combination of drama, humor and sexuality. Born in South Africa in 1953 and based in Amsterdam, Dumas is a highly-skilled ?painter's painter?; her work comments on the state of painting today while asking what it means to be a woman working within the predominantly male genre of Expressionist art. Dumas's work is collected and exhibited internationally, and since the publication of the first edition of this book, her following has continued to grow. This revised edition, with a new essay by Ilaria Bonacossa and new writings by Dumas, has been expanded by 80 pages to include the artist's most recent work.