Carol Sicherman, Becoming an African University: Makerere 1922-2000. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press
For four decades, Makerere University--the "Oxford of Africa"--was the sole university-level institution in all of East Africa. A fabled mecca for aspiring youth, it trained many of the region's first generation of intellectual and political leaders, including the present presidents of Kenya and Tanzania, and remains today one of Africa's most important universities. This book, the first comprehensive look at an African university, tells the story of Makerere's colonial beginnings, its efflorescence during the 1950s and 1960s, its calamitous decline during nearly two decades of tyranny and civil war, and its resurgence following the restoration of peace and relative stability. Throughout this history, Makerere has grappled with the fundamental question asked in this book: how to create a a truly African university in an increasingly globalized world.
Based on extensive research in libraries and archives in Africa, England, and the United States, Becoming an African University analyzes Makerere's connection with East African national aspirations, its role in the formation of an African intellectual class, and its present dilemmas as it strives to become an African university of the twenty-first century. Divided into three sections, the book begins with analysis of colonial education policies and policy planning at independence. The first section goes on to provide a detailed account of Makerere's history. The second section consists of case studies of the Medical School, the Art School, the Faculty of Agriculture, the Library and the School of Librarianship, and the Department of Women and Gender Studies. The third section is devoted to three themes: relationships with governments, staff development, and outreach to the larger community. Two chronologies--of Ugandan history and Makerere's own history--round out the book. The bibliography, which records nearly a thousand sources of this book, will also serve as a treasure trove for other researchers.
As other African universities "build for the future" (to quote Makerere's famous motto), they may draw locally appropriate inferences from Makerere's accomplishments over time, from the disappointed hopes that figure in much of its history, and from its renewal in recent years. Touted by international experts as a continental leader, Makerere offers valuable lessons to anyone interested in education in developing nations.
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