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The Africa-Diaspora Orbit: Anani Dzidzienyo’s Contributions to African/Black Studies and Black Liberation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2022

Abstract

Drawing on interviews and archival and published materials, Gyamfi reinterprets Anani Dzidzienyo’s significance as a Black Studies scholar and activist. Dzidzienyo was a pioneer in academic African diaspora studies who institutionalized the inclusion of Africa and Brazil. For fifty years, Dzidzienyo created Black Studies and Afro-Latin American programs, designed Afro-Brazilian courses that expanded Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, and supported freedom struggles in Africa and Brazil. In so doing, he built a transnational network of scholar-activists and institutions. Yet, for all this, scholars have mostly neglected Dzidzienyo’s work and wide influence on multiple fields of study and liberation movements.

Résumé

Résumé

S’appuyant sur des interviews et des documents d’archives et publiés, Gyamfi réinterprète l’importance d’Anani Dzidzienyo en tant que chercheur et activiste des Black Studies. Dzidzienyo a été un pionnier des études universitaires de la diaspora africaine qui a institutionnalisé l’inclusion de l’Afrique et du Brésil. Pendant cinquante ans, Dzidzienyo a créé des programmes d’études noires et afro-latino-américaines, conçu des cours afro-brésiliens qui ont élargi les études portugaises et brésiliennes et soutenu les luttes pour la liberté en Afrique et au Brésil. Ce faisant, il a construit un réseau transnational d’universitaires-activistes et d’institutions. Pourtant, malgré tout cela, les chercheurs ont, en grande majorité, négligé le travail de Dzidzienyo et sa large influence sur de multiples domaines d’étude et mouvements de libération.

Resumo

Resumo

Com base em entrevistas, em materiais de arquivo e em publicações, Gyamfi reinterpreta a importância de Anani Dzidzienyo como académico dos Estudos Negros e como ativista. Dzidzienyo foi uma figura pioneira nos estudos académicos sobre a diáspora africana, graças a quem a integração de África e do Brasil se institucionalizou. Ao longo de 50 anos, Dzidzienyo criou os currículos norte-americanos dos Estudos Negros e dos Estudos Latino-Africanos, concebeu cursos afro-brasileiros que alargaram o âmbito dos Estudos Portugueses e Brasileiros, e apoiou as lutas de libertação em África e no Brasil. Ao fazê-lo, desenvolveu uma rede transnacional de instituições e ativistas académicos. No entanto, e apesar de tudo isto, o trabalho de Dzidzienyo tem sido largamente ignorado, bem como a sua vasta influência em diversas áreas de estudo e em vários movimentos de libertação.

Type
Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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References

Selected works by Anani Dzidzienyo

1971. The Position of Blacks in Brazilian Society. London: Minority Rights Group.Google Scholar
1978. “Activity and Inactivity in the Politics of Afro-Latin America.” SECOLAS Annals 9: 4861.Google Scholar
1985. “The African Connection and the Afro-Brazilian Condition.” In Race, Class and Power in Brazil, edited by Fontaine, Pierre-Michel, 135–53. Los Angeles: Center for Afro-American Studies University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
1995. “Conclusions.” In No Longer Invisible: Afro Latin Americans Today, 345–58. London: Minority Rights Group Pub.Google Scholar
1997. “Brazilian Race Relations at the End of the 20th Century.” In Race, Ethnicity and Gender: A Global Perspective, ed. Oliner, S.P. and Gay, Philip T.. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt.Google Scholar
1999. Africa-Brazil: “Ex Africa Semper Aliquid Novi?” In Black Brazil: Culture, Identity, and Social Mobilization, ed. Crook, Larry and Johnson, Randal. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center.Google Scholar
2002. “Triangular Mirrors and Moving Colonialisms. Etnográfica 6 (1): 127–40.Google Scholar
2005. “The Changing World of Brazilian Race Relations?” In Neither Enemies nor Friends: Latinos, Blacks, Afro-Latins, ed. Dzidzienyo, Anani and Oboler, Suzanne, 137–56. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2007. “Africana Studies: The International Context and Boundaries.” In A Companion to African-American Studies, ed. Gordon, L.R., and Gordon, J.A.. Oxford: Blackwell Pub. Ltd.Google Scholar
2011. “A Legacy to Brazil and the World: Remembering Abdias do Nascimento.” Callalloo 34 (3): 677–81.Google Scholar
with Turner, M.J.: 1981. “African-Brazilian Relations: A Reconsideration.” Brazil in the International System: The Rise of a Middle Power, ed. Selcher, W.A.. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar

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