Bibliography

Adam, H. M., & Geshekter, C. L. (Eds.), 1992
Proceedings of the 1st International Congress of Somali Studies. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

75 scholarly papers that include legal studies, history, linguistics, literature, development studies, and the natural sciences.

Andrzejewski, B. W., with Andrzejewski, S., 1993 Somali Poetry. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Extensive collection of traditional and modern Somali poetry.

Andrzejewski, B. W., & Lewis, I. M., 1964 Somali Poetry: An Introduction. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Evaluation of Somali poetic forms, with many examples, by a preeminent linguist and anthropologist.

Cassanelli, L. V., 1982 The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

A thorough overview of Southern Somali history by a leading scholar.

Farah, N., [1979] 1992 Sweet and Sour Milk. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press.

[1981] 1992 Sardines. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press.
[1983] 1992 Close Sesame. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press.

A trilogy of novels providing excellent background on Somali culture and politics.

Farer, T., 1979 War Clouds on the Horn of Africa: The Widening Storm. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

A guide to the history of the Horn from the colonial era through the bloody conflicts of the 1970s, with recommendations for policymakers.

International Labour Office, 1989 Generating Employment and Incomes in Somalia. Addis Ababa: JASPA.

Comprehensive investigation of the rural economy, urban informal sector, women's employment, and education needs. Five technical papers examine private opulence amidst public poverty in Somalia.

Jamal, V., 1988 Somalia: Survival in a 'Doomed' Economy. International Labour Review, 127(6), 783-812.

Brilliant revisionist analysis of the Somali economy. Shows how previous studies underestimated the production, caloric, and nutritional value of milk (vital in a nomadic economy) and neglected remitted earnings from Somalis working abroad.

Laitin, D. D., & Samatar, S. S., 1987 Somalia: Nation in Search of a State. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

An historical and political analysis of Somalia which examines the root causes to the conflict in the Horn of Africa.

Lewis, I. M., 1961/1982 A Pastoral Democracy. New York: Africana.

The classic anthropological study of Somali culture focusing on the northern pastoral clans.

Lewis, I. M., 1988 Modern History of Somalia: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa (3rd ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Standard history of the Somali people by the leading social anthropologist. Covers prehistory to modern period with emphasis on political development and social change.

Loughran, K. S., et al. (Eds.), 1986 Somalia in Word and Image. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Authoritative essays on poetry, architecture, handicrafts, jewelry, and nomadic lifestyles. Contains numerous color photographs.

Massey, G., 1987 Subsistence and Change: Lessons of Agropastoralism in Somalia. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Written from a sociological perspective, this book examines the production system of Digil and Raxanweyn living in the Baay Region in southern Somalia.

Nelson, H. D. (Ed.), 1982 Somalia: A Country Study. Washington, DC: U.S. Government.

Provides a general overview of Somali history, economy, and society.

Putman, D. B., 1985 A Cultural Interpretation of Development: Developers, Values and Agricultural Change in the Somali Context. Isku Kalsoonaan Baa Horumar Lagu Gaaraa (Trust Leads to Success) (Ph.D. dissertation, Bryn Mawr College, 1984) Ann Arbor: University Microfilms. 85.

Case study materials from the Baay Region illustrate the perils of development programs which fail to fully understand the local production systems.

Samatar, Ahmed I., 1988 Socialist Somalia: Rhetoric and Reality. New York: Zed Press.

Devastating critique of the Siyaad Barre years that provides important background material on the political anarchy and cultural disintegration of the early 1990s.

Samatar, Abdi I., 1989 The State and Rural Transformation in Northern Somalia, 1884-1986. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

Shows how colonial governments transformed rural production and social relations in northern Somalia, increasing wealth for some but undermining traditional methods of conflict resolution and ethical behavior.

Sheik-Abdi, A., 1993 Divine Madness: Mohammed Abdulle Hassan, 1856-1920. London: Zed Press.

Far-ranging treatment by a Somali historian of the Somali Dervish Wars of resistance led by the so-called "Mad Mullah."

www.culturalorientation.net
For more information contact sanja@cal.org .
Designed by SAGARTdesign
This site looks best when viewed using Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher. Last Updated:02/18/04