Guest Editors' IntroductionAuthor(s): Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban and Richard LobbanSource: Africa Today, Vol. 28, No. 2, The Sudan: 25 Years of Independence (2nd Qtr., 1981), pp.4-6Published by: Indiana University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4185990 .

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Guest Editors' Introduction

Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban and Richard Lobban

This special issue of AFRICA TODAY celebrates twenty-five years of Sudan's independence. We are pleased to be guest editors of this issue which recognizes that historic event. We hope that this issue may become a part of the history of the independent Sudan as it continues the tradition of scholarly studies of Africa's largest country. At the very outset we must say that we are indebted to Mr. Osman Hassan Ahmed, Cultural Counsel- lor of the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Sudan in the United States, for the initial suggestion to undertake this project. His concern and support are very much in keeping with his own research in the develop- ment of Sudanese educational policy.

We are, of course, extremely grateful to Edward Hawley, Executive Editor of AFRICA TODAY, for his enthusiastic support of the idea. This is the second special issue of AFRICA TODAY on the Sudan; the first being AFRICA TODAY 20:3, 1973. This anniversary issue thereby carries

with it a special meaning and a special mission. The Sudan's indepen- dence in 1956 was a landmark and an important symbol for African and Afro-Arab peoples of the continent, most of whom were still struggling for freedom from the yoke of colonialism. As the Sudan celebrates its quarter- century of independence the issue of the full emancipation of African peoples is still not fully resolved.

When the banner "Sudan for the Sudanese" was raised, the intelli- gentsia of the Sudan were immersed in the process of writing and re- writing their own history, and of constructing their own social science. Characteristic of this new scholarship is a non-Eurocentric view of the Sudan; this is now the dominant trend in Sudan Studies today. In short, the historic break with colonialism signalled important intellectual breaks with colonialist thought and scholarship.

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The articles, reviews, and graphics which we have collected in this Special issue of AFRICA TODAY are, we believe, a just contribution to the Silver Jubilee of the Sudan's independence. We have tried to give distinc- tion to the collection with the works of William Adams and Peter Shinnie. We think that the high caliber of these interlocking articles gives the tone we wish to set and they offer the paradigmatic appraisal and framework in which works which are not archaeological may also be placed. We are likewise honored by the contribution from Mohamed Omer Beshir, truly one of the Sudan's most distinguished scholars and ded!^ated advocates of research on the Sudan.

There has been a transformation in the scholarship of the Sudan from the reports of the passing European travelers interested in the "quaint" customs of "primitive" peoples to the more rigorous approaches. These were often distinguished in their own time but were distorted by the notion of the "colonizing mission" not to mention the biases of racism and ethno- centrism which were not fully. extirpated from their works. Apart from the senior scholars already cited, most of the rest of the contributors to this issue are younger scholars of the Sudan who have done their research in the last 15 years. While the themes and subjects are divergent we believe that they all are unified by the freshness of their perspectives and by their re-evaluation of colonial and other sources. The struggle for the indepen- dence of the Sudan laid the base for these revitalized studies. The present task is to accept the benefits and responsibilities of looking at the Sudanese and their history on their own terms. The articles by Johnson, Huntington, Ackroyd and Deng, and Burton are all tackling new problems, or, at least, old problems and data with a refreshing outlook. The studies of the archaeology, history, and social realities of the south have really just begun again and we hope that these offerings will only trigger more investiga- tions.

Conscious of the unity and diversity of the Sudan, we sought to attract articles focusing on aspects of the Islamic and northern regions of the nation as well. Here Spaulding, Fluehr-Lobban, El-Tijani and Lobban seek to appraise aspects of the northern Sudan's culture and history, past and present. The role of persisting Islamic values is one of the integrating themes in this section. The unity of north and south has also been stressed in many of the book reviews.

So often, social scientists who teach in Faculties of Arts and Sciences, forget the essential function of the arts. We have tried to overcome this deficiency with the works of Hale and Berkley who deal sensitively with these related questions. The graphics by Muhammad Bushara which adorn the pages are also particularly enriching in this respect and are typical of the fine artistic work and potential now seen in the modem Sudan. 2nd Quarter, 1981 5

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Let us also add a note of self-criticism. While we have sought to have some balance between the topics which are presented ranging from the archaeological to the historical, from the north to the south, and from the arts to the sciences, we do not believe that we have succeeded in achieving the proper balance between Sudanese and non-Sudanese scholars. This failure on our part is not for the lack of effort, since the questions of transport and communication with the Sudan have given us more than a few headaches. However, there are many works in English written by Sudanese which should really be in these pages. Future studies will also bring to light a number of old manuscripts and recent papers in Arabic and other languages which should be translated and made available to scholars who do not have access to those materials.

Finally, we note that the current interest in the Sudan has not only made this special issue of AFRICA TODAY a possibility, but there is now the journal of NORTH EAST AFRICAN STUDIES published at Michigan State University. This journal provides substantial space for Sudanist research. This context has also made it possible for the creation of the Sudan Studies Association in the Spring of 1981 following its organiza- tional meeting at George Washington University and its founding conven- tion at Fordham University where the Secretariat now resides. Strategic assistance by Mr. Osman Hassan Ahmed is again gratefully acknowledged in forming this Association and its newsletter. As founding officers we encourage all interested in the Sudan to become members and attend the up-coming meetings and programs which are planned.

In short, a lot is now going on in Sudan studies. While the areas of current research are far greater than those in this collection, we trust that this will provide a glimpse of where Sudanist scholarship has been and where it is headed.

We would very much like to acknowledge the assistance of Irma Morettini and Frances Taylor who provided very accurate typing for some portions of this special issue. In a closing personal note this issue of AFRICA TODAY is being edited while we have become parents of our second daughter, Nichola Felicia Fluehr-Lobban, born on 2 July 1981.

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