Book excerpt: Extrait de la couverture : "Over the last twenty years, gender has become a major research focus in Africa studies, resulting in a surge of rich material. Yet men have rarely been the subject of gender research in Africa, and africanist scholars have yet to fully address how shifting meanings of gender have affected African men or how the understandings and practices of masculinity have been contested and transformed during the colonial and postcolonial eras. This collection is the firt to analyze the concepts and issues involved in exploring African men and the constructions of masculinity in sub-Saharan Africa. An introduction establishes the major themes of the anthology : -men as gendered actors -the social construction of masculinity -masculinity as a relational category hegemonic and subordinate masculinities This book challenges stereotypes of African men as savages, patriarchs, or emasculated colonial victims. Essays establish the centrality of gender to the social and political transformation of the 20th-centrury Africa. Chronologically and regionally diverse, the collection moves from the early colonial period through the era of independence and inclludes local studies throughtout the continent, as well as the work of both junior and senior scholars. Anyone interested in scholarship on gender and Africa will find this collection invaluable and thought provoking."