Bøger af Trevor Getz

Abina and the Important Men is a compelling and powerfully illustrated "graphic history" based on an 1876 court transcript of a West African woman named Abina, who was wrongfully enslaved and took her case to court. The book is a microhistory that does much more than simply depict an event in the past; it uses the power of illustration to convey important themes in world history and to reveal the processes by which history is made. Winner of the James Harvey Robinson Prize from the American Historical Association--and widely acclaimed by educators and students--the third edition features a new section considering the place of race in the story. The story of Abina Mansah--a woman "without history" who was wrongfully enslaved, escaped to British-controlled territory, and then took her former master to court--takes place in the complex world of the Gold Coast at the onset of late nineteenth-century colonialism. Slavery becomes a contested ground, as cultural practices collide with an emerging wage economy and British officials turn a blind eye to the presence of underpaid domestic workers in the households of African merchants. The main scenes of the story take place in the courtroom, where Abina strives to convince a series of "important men"--a British judge, two Euro-African attorneys, and a jury of local leaders--that her experiences and perceptions matter. "Am I free?" Abina inquires. Throughout both the court case and the flashbacks that dramatically depict her life in servitude, both the defendants and members of the court strive to "silence" Abina and to impose their own understandings and meanings upon her. Alongside the graphic history, the book includes a historical context section, a reading guide, primary sources, discussion questions, further research suggestions, and a gender-rich section exploring Abina's life and narrative as a woman. The third edition features an essay by award-winning scholar Carina Ray. "Race and Intersectionality in Abina and the Important Men", which considers the role race and racialism played in Abina's experience and explores the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality in the nineteenth-century Gold Coast. An additional section, "Race and the Tensions of History", redresses the omission of the theme of race in the previous two editions, responds to students' reactions to the graphic history, and considers the ethics of telling stories of suffering. This new edition further positions Abina and the Important Men as an excellent resource for considering the ways in which history is constructed, challenged, and revised.

For undergraduate or graduate courses in World History This impressive collection of readings illustrates that the history of the world is as much about the relationships among societies as it is about transformations and continuities within societies. Exchanges: A Global History Reader is designed as an introduction to the discipline of world history. Unlike other source collections, Exchanges helps students look beyond strictly delineated regionalism and chronological structures to understand history as a product of ongoing debate. Structured around a series of interconnected themes and debates, and pairing both primary and secondary sources, Exchanges challenges both students and teachers to rethink history. Praise for Exchanges: A Global History Reader The authors have successfully produced a text that will allow students to explore the ways in which historical writing hasgenerated important debates about world history.... It offers a rich and diverse compilation of reading materials that providestudents with ideas about world history, but also with models of historical writing.... Moreover, it offers examples from a widerange of geographical areas, something that will help broaden the horizons of the average student.Esperanza Brizuela-Garcia, Montclair State UniversityThe method of placing competing narratives side by side is one of the best strategies for demonstrating the nature of history asan interpretation.... I am very excited about the possibilities that this text could provide for transforming my World Civilizationscourse. An attentive student will find his or her basic assumptions challenged on every page, and it is this kind of intellectualtransformation that I seek to facilitate as a teacher.Carolyn R. Dupont, Eastern Kentucky UniversityI think this textbook goes a long way toward helping students to think more deeply and more historically about the state of theworld today.... The fact that the book is focused upon the five big questions of world history is a great plus. Too many worldhistory readers have a diffuse focus and dont really add up to a book that promotes sustained, focused inquiry.Mark Jones, Central Connecticut State UniversityI would describe the book as an introduction to being a world historian. Through a selection of thematic case studies,students are able to compare theories, test historians interpretations against the primary evidence, and access the rangeof material that allows them to develop their own interpretations of the worlds they inhabit and inherit.Lesley Mary Smith, George Mason UniversityExchanges focuses more than any other reader on the interconnectedness of regions and the debates pertaining to the newworld history.... The authors successfully demonstrate that history is contested to this day. Not only is this a more accurateportrayal of historical scholarship than most readers provide, it is also more interesting for the students, who are more likelyto appreciate history if they see it as contested, often for reasons closely connected with the state of the world today.A. Martin Wainwright, University of Akron