Ranuga, Thomas
Dr. Thomas Ranuga is Chancellor Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He teaches courses on social movements and comparative ethnic relations, and has published extensively in these areas. Some of Dr. Ranuga’s publications include South Africa under Majority Rule and The New South Africa and the Socialist Vision.
2015 1-4955-0318-6This is a memoir whose ultimate objective is to trace in forthright terms the trying and painful odyssey of the author before, during and even after Apartheid. It is a uniquely personal story about the long nightmare of the trials and tribulations of white supremacy/Apartheid that marked the life of the writer from infancy through the teenage stage to adulthood.
2006 0-7734-5898-0For most liberation movements, the primary vehicle has historically been an armed struggle. This was true for the American Revolution, and is true for the various independent movements that campaigned against foreign rule in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Seldom has a liberation movement given primacy to theory over military confrontation. Amilcar Cabral was, however, an exception to this rule. While Cabral did not totally eschew armed insurgency, he campaigned fervently to hinge the liberation of Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau on philosophical underpinnings. Arguing for what he describes as the “weapon of theory,” Amilcar Cabral, founder of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde and Guinea (PAIGC) and a major figure in the struggle against Portuguese colonial rule in Africa, highlights the pivotal role of culture in national liberation and nation building. This book is the product of a collection of scholars who have come together to interpret, synthesize and give new meaning to the life and philosophy of Amilcar Cabral. While the focus here is on Cabral and his thoughts, the lesson, like all philosophical lessons, is universal and immortal. For any people victimized by oppression, there is an alternative to armed conflict. Cabral informs us that that alternative is “the weapon of theory.”