“A lot of young black women are entering film schools on a mission to eradicate this whole “Yo, ho!” mentality. Everyone has had enough of it.”

—from Julie Dash's “Not Without My Daughters”

 

TRANSITION 57: Table of Contents

 

POSITIONS____________________

A Country in Exile
Somali has no word for exile, and yet the condition is now commonplace for the Somalians. Somalia's preeminent novelist muses on terror and territoriality. Nuruddin Farah

The Repeal of Enlightenment: Religion, Nationalism, and Civil Society
Beyond the resurgence of post-Soviet tribalism, a renewed partnership of religion and nationalism may be in the making. Democracy is likely to be its first victim. Conor Cruise O'Brien

Afrocentrism and the X-Factor
Are the emblems of Malcolmania a political statement — or a fashion statement? And is the new vogue for black nationalism more than skin deep? Robert Elliot Fox

Yearnings
It was an event that convulsed China, upended the lives of its participants, and compelled both intellectuals and Communist officials to take a stand. It was...“Yearnings,” the soap opera that captivated a country. Jane Ying Zha

UNDER REVIEW____________________

Taste and Distaste: The Canon of New African Art
Sidney L. Kasfir examines African objects, Western museums, and the great “tourist art” taboo.

The Collapse of Los Angeles
Richard Ford on the mean streets of America's multicultural metropolis.

The Myth of Billie Holiday
Russell Banks explains the allure of the legend.

The Evolution of Anti-Semitism
Laurence Thomas inspects both historical and conceptual features of a persistent malady.

Forward into the Past
Timothy Brennan shows how the political tumult of Central America has bred a culture of opposition — both on the screen and on the page.

Saint Paul-Michel Foucault
Saint or sinner? V.Y. Mudimbe reviews a life of contradictions.

Cameroonian Quest
Abroise Kom on literature, nationalism, and a model of the critical craft.

EXCHANGE____________________

The Dual Memory: Genetic and Factual. Ali A. Mazrui

Footnote to a Satanic Trilogy. Wole Soyinka

CONVERSATIONS____________________

Not Without My Daughters
Filmmaker Julie Dash talks with critic Houston A. Baker, Jr. about career, craft, and cultural memory.

Can the Teacher be Taught?
Rap artist KRS-One and writer Michael Lipscomb agree to disagree about truth, justice, and the African way

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