Oxford Dictionary of African Biography

Oxford University Press and the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University would like to announce an ambitious new project, the Dictionary of African Biography (DAB). In the spirit of the Dictionary of National Biography, the American National Biography, and the African American National Biography, all three published by Oxford University Press, the Dictionary of African Biography will be a major biographical dictionary covering the lives and legacies of notable African men and women from all eras and walks of life. This groundbreaking resource will tell the full story of the African continent through the lives of its people. We currently expect to include at least 5,000 entries both online and in print editions.

The General Editors of the project are Henry Louis Gates and Emmanuel Akyeampong of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

As we begin this project, we encourage members of the African studies community to consult our provisional list of entries and to nominate for inclusion the name(s) of any Africans, past or present, not yet on the list. Our provisional list of entries can be accessed at:

http://oupreference.jot.com/WikiHome/African%20Biography/DAB%20Table%20o f%20Contents

The document is also attached in both Excel and PDF format. Please submit your recommendation of additional names to: dab@oup.com. It would be helpful if you could also supply dates of birth/death, gender, country of origin, and realm of renown (if known) for each name submitted. You are also welcome to recommend scholars for the articles that you propose and any others you find on our list. We greatly appreciate any suggestions you make to what we hope will be a major collective endeavor in the field of African studies.

If you are also interested in contributing an entry to the DAB, please tell us the name of that entry (or entries) and submit both a recent resume and a short (1000 word) writing sample.

Steven Niven, Executive Editor, Dictionary of African Biography, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African & African American Research

Robert Repino, Associate Editor Dictionary of African Biography, Oxford University Press

Robert Repino
Associate Editor
Reference Division
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212-743-8220

FAX: 212-726-6445

Page Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.