"The authors in this inspiring volume focus on the socially transformative potential narrative has to shape understandings of albinism in Africa. Scholars and activists, they reflect on how traditional beliefs, literary fiction, radio, music, photography, film and the arts can bring about social change, and also educate publics about albinism." (Carli Coetzee, Editor, Journal of African Cultural Studies) "Highly intriguing and skillfully nuanced, this book evaluates several methods of advocacy on behalf of people with albinism from Africa, who often face stigma and physical attacks. The result is a rich commentary on what has worked, what didn't and why. This is recommended reading for anyone engaging in advocacy for any marginalized group in parts of Africa and elsewhere." (Ikponwosa Ero, Former UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism) The challenges currently faced by people with albinism in many African countries are increasingly becoming a focus of African writers, storytellers, artists and filmmakers across the continent. At the same time, a growing number of advocates and activists are taking account of the power of cultural representation and turning to the arts to convey important messages about albinism - and disability more broadly - to audiences locally and internationally. This volume focuses on the power of cultural representations of albinism, taking into account their real-world effects and implications. Contributions from academics and albinism advocates range across traditional beliefs, literature, radio, newsprint, the media, film and the arts for public engagement, contending that all forms of representation have an important role to play in building sensitivity to the issues related to albinism amongst national and international audiences. Contributors draw attention to the implications of different forms of cultural representation, the potential of these different forms to open up new discursive spaces for the expression of identities and the articulation or critique of particularly difficult issues, and their potential to evoke far-reaching social change.

Ontologized Ethics: New Essays in African Meta-Ethics examines an often neglected meta-ethical issue in African philosophical discourse: the extent to which one's orientation of being, or idea of what-is - as an individual or as a group of persons - does, or should, determine one's concept of the good. To what extent is ethics, or our idea of what is permissible or impermissible, grounded on ideas of what fundamentally exists or what it means to be? The aim of this collection of essays, with emphasis on an African philosophical context, will be to establish more firmly and vigorously whether there is an intrinsic link between ontology and morality - that is, whether, and, if so, how the proper norms for human actions can be explained and validated once we make lucid ideas about metaphysical topics such as human nature, community, relationality and spirituality. The essays included in this volume focus rigorously on ethical issues such as communalism, adultery, environmental ethics, and bioethics with the primary aim of showing whether the link between such issues and metaphysical beliefs is trivial or intrinsic.

Albinism is one of the foremost disability and public health issues in Africa today. It often makes headlines in local, national and international medias and forms the basis for intense advocacy at all levels. This is primarily due to the harmful representations of persons with albinism deeply entrenched in African traditions. These deeply rooted ideologies about albinism in African thought have largely promoted the continuous discrimination, stigmatization, harming, killing, commodification and violation of the human rights of persons with albinism in African places. How has albinism emerged as a thick concept in African traditions? What are these deeply entrenched ideas about the ontology of albinism in African thought? What epistemic injustice has been done to persons with albinism in Africa places? Why do harmful beliefs about albinism still persist in modern African societies? How does the African communalistic ethic justify the harm done against persons with albinism? What is the duty to, and burden of, care for persons with albinism? What peculiar existential challenges do persons with albinism in general and females with albinism in particular face in African societies and how can they be overcome? What can be learnt from the education philosophy of reconstructionism and genetic engineering in improving the wellbeing of persons with albinism? African Philosophy and the Otherness of Albinism: White Skin, Black Race digs deep into these philosophical questions revealing fascinating but latent aspects of how albinism is understood in African places as a necessary step to take in improving the wellbeing and integrity of persons with albinism in Africa today. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of African philosophy, sociology, African studies and disability studies.

The Question of the Rationality of African Traditional Thought provides an introductory analysis of the primary concerns of the debate on the rationality of African traditional thought viewed through science's conceptual lenses. It shows that there is a fundamental problem with the manner in which the discussion on the rationality issue has ensued in the last six decades or so. Among other things, there is the fundamentally wrong assumption that the Western model is strictly scientific and the African model paranormal. Elvis Imafidon shows, however, that both Western and African societies are permeated with both the scientific and transcendental models. The difference however, lies in the fact that a particular model gains more ground than the other in a place, often to the detriment of the other model. In the West, the scientific model gains more grounds to the detriment of the transcendental model. This accounts for scientific and technological advancements in the West more than in Africa but radical depreciation in value systems, moral, cultural, religious and the like. On the other hand, in Africa, the transcendental model is more popular than the scientific model resulting in a completely opposite effect from that of the West.