'Bernal forces classicists to confront the history of our discipline.' - Jeremy McInerney, History: Reviews of New Books As always, Bernal raises fascinating problems concerning what is ‘fact’ and who decides it in a complicated world.' 'he topic is important to a number of academic fields, politics, and different constituencies and thus until the issues are ‘resolved,’ the debate must continue.

'he book provides fascinating and informative reading, whether as a study of historical evidences and their interpretation, a methodological study, or an intellectual and cultural event.' - Yaacov Shavit, Journal of World History It should be in the reference sections of all serious scholarly libraries.' - Richard Lobban, International Journal of African Historical Studies ' Black Athena Writes Back is a definitive defense by Bernal. critics may believe that they are destroying his arguments, but in fact they are giving them new depth and subtlety.” - Thomas Harrison, TLS “The Black Athena controversy rumbles on. “ will garner wide readership and spark interest in previous books.” - Vanessa Bush, Booklist It will be essential reading for those who have been following this long-running debate, as well as for those just discovering this fascinating subject. In Black Athena Writes Back Bernal provides additional documentation to back up his thesis, as well as offering persuasive explanations of why traditional scholarship on the subject remains inaccurate and why specific arguments lobbed against his theories are themselves faulty.īlack Athena Writes Back requires no prior familiarity with either the Black Athena hypothesis or with the arguments advanced against it. In a report on 60 Minutes, for example, it was suggested that Bernal’s hypothesis was essentially an attempt to provide blacks with self-esteem so that they would feel included in the march of progress. The subsequent rancor among classicists over Bernal’s theory and accusations was picked up in the popular media, and his suggestion that Greek culture had its origin in Africa was widely derided. Moreover, Bernal asserted that this knowledge had been deliberately obscured by the rampant racism of nineteenth-century Europeans who could not abide the notion that Greek society-for centuries recognized as the originating culture of Europe-had its origins in Africa and Southwest Asia. Producing a shock wave of reaction from scholars, Black Athena argued that the development of Greek civilization was heavily influenced by Afroasiatic civilizations. In Black Athena Writes Back Martin Bernal responds to the passionate debates set off by the 1987 publication of his book Black Athena. Labor and Working-Class History Association.Association for Middle East Women's Studies.Author Resources from University Presses.Permissions Information for Journal Authors.Journals fulfilled by DUP Journal Services.

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