Open Book Publishers
Oral Literature in Africa
- Ruth Finnegan (author)
- Mark Turin(foreword by)
Export Metadata
| Title | Oral Literature in Africa |
|---|---|
| Contributor | Ruth Finnegan (author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0025 |
| Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0025 |
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
| Copyright | Ruth Finnegan |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Publication place | Cambridge, UK |
| Published on | 2012-09-17 |
| Series |
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| ISBN | 978-1-906924-70-6 (Paperback) |
| 978-1-906924-71-3 (Hardback) | |
| 978-1-906924-72-0 (PDF) | |
| 978-1-80064-452-6 (HTML) | |
| 978-1-906924-73-7 (EPUB) | |
| 978-1-906924-74-4 (MOBI) | |
| Short abstract | Ruth Finnegan’s Oral Literature in Africa was first published in 1970, and since then has been widely praised as one of the most important books in its field. Based on years of fieldwork, the study traces the history of storytelling across the continent of Africa. This revised edition makes Finnegan’s ground-breaking research available to the next generation of scholars. It includes a new introduction, additional images and an updated bibliography, as well as its original chapters on poetry, prose, ‘drum language’ and drama, and an overview of the social, linguistic and historical background of oral literature in Africa. |
| Long abstract | Ruth Finnegan’s Oral Literature in Africa was first published in 1970, and since then has been widely praised as one of the most important books in its field. Based on years of fieldwork, the study traces the history of storytelling across the continent of Africa. This revised edition makes Finnegan’s ground-breaking research available to the next generation of scholars. It includes a new introduction, additional images and an updated bibliography, as well as its original chapters on poetry, prose, "drum language" and drama, and an overview of the social, linguistic and historical background of oral literature in Africa. Oral Literature in Africa has been accessed by hundreds of readers in over 60 different countries, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and numerous other African countries. The digital editions of this book are free to download thanks to the generous support of interested readers and organisations, who made donations using the crowd-funding website Unglue.it. Oral Literature in Africa is part of our World Oral Literature Series in conjunction with the World Oral Literature Project. |
| Print length | 614 pages (xliv + 570 ) |
| Language | English (Original) |
| Dimensions | 156 x 32 x 234 mm | 6.14" x 1.24" x 9.21" (Paperback) |
| 156 x 33 x 234 mm | 6.14" x 1.31" x 9.21" (Hardback) | |
| Weight | 1879g | 66.28oz (Paperback) |
| 2280g | 80.42oz (Hardback) | |
| Media | 39 illustrations |
| 1 table | |
| OCLC Number | 969711848 |
| LCCN | 2019467807 |
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Contents
- Ruth Finnegan
The Perception of African Oral Literature
(pp. 29–49)- Ruth Finnegan
- Ruth Finnegan
Poetry and Patronage
(pp. 83–110)- Ruth Finnegan
Panegyric
(pp. 111–143)- Ruth Finnegan
Elegiac Poetry
(pp. 145–163)- Ruth Finnegan
Religious Poetry
(pp. 165–200)- Ruth Finnegan
Special Purpose Poetry - War, Hunting, and Work
(pp. 201–234)- Ruth Finnegan
Lyric
(pp. 235–263)- Ruth Finnegan
Topical and Political Songs
(pp. 265–290)- Ruth Finnegan
Children's Songs and Rhymes
(pp. 291–304)- Ruth Finnegan
Prose Narratives I. Problems and Theories
(pp. 307–325)- Ruth Finnegan
Prose Narratives II. Content and Form
(pp. 327–378)- Ruth Finnegan
Proverbs
(pp. 379–411)- Ruth Finnegan
Riddles
(pp. 413–429)- Ruth Finnegan
Oratory, Formal Speaking, and other Stylized Forms
(pp. 431–464)- Ruth Finnegan
Drum Language and Literature
(pp. 467–484)- Ruth Finnegan
Drama
(pp. 485–501)- Ruth Finnegan
Conclusion
(pp. 503–506)- Ruth Finnegan
Contributors
Ruth Finnegan
(author)Fellow at British Academy
Honorary Fellow of Somerville College at University of Oxford
Ruth Finnegan FBA OBE was born in 1933 in the beautiful fraught once-island city of Derry, Northern Ireland, and brought up there, together with several magical years during the war in Donegal. She had her education at the little Ballymore First School in County Donegal, Londonderry High School, Mount (Quaker) School York, then first class honours in Classics (Literae humaniores) and a doctorate in Anthropology at Oxford. This was followed by fieldwork and university teaching in Africa, principally Sierra Leone and Nigeria. She then joined the pioneering Open University as a founding member of the academic staff, where she spent the rest of her career apart from three years – and more fieldwork – at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, and is now, proudly, an Open University Emeritus Professor. She was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1996, and is also an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.