The name is absent

By the 1960s academic and intellectual scholarship produced writings that
were in many cases responses to the nationalist movements that profoundly
impacted the field.¹⁸ For African scholars writing on Mau Mau such as Josiah
Kariuki, Karari Njama, and Waruhiu Itote, written texts, usually in English,
showcased the strengths and values of Africa against the perceived and often
superior civilizing constructs of Europe. The writings were aimed at recreating a
“new historical view” rooted in unique African qualities, achievements, and
glory.¹⁹ This period represents an awakening in African consciousness and a
desire to reaffirm African writings mostly by restoring the African voice to the
narrative. The historiography during this period is consistent with the re-writing of
history and restoring the lost African voices. The writings, therefore, echo a fervor
and passion that was a product of the nationalist years. However, the concurrent
and persistent Eurocentric view was still prevalent, and even African scholars
found themselves bound by the categories, language, and structures created by
the British.

What is most significant about the writings of the 1960s is that scholars
clearly understood the major debates and themes in the field, and the pioneers of
this period created a new energy that was hard to match in the subsequent
decades. As a result, we know much more than ever before about Kenyan
knowledge production, and we are positioned through fresh perspectives to use
existing literature to learn and ask even more about the past.

¹⁸ Abolade Adeniji, “Universal History and the Challenge of Globalization to African Historiography,”
Radical History Review 91 (Winter 2005): 98-103. Citation based on p. 100.

¹⁹ Adeniji, “Universal History,” 100.

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