50 Years of Africa Spectrum

Abstract

This article offers a portrait of the journal Africa Spectrum (known through 2008 as Afrika Spectrum), which just celebrated its 50th birthday. The essay outlines both the political and institutional context of its founding and traces its major transformations in format and content. Africa Spectrum's metamorphosis also reflects significant changes and trends in African studies in Germany and beyond. One of the journal's main features has been its strong interdisciplinary character and its geographically wide coverage. Over the last decade, Africa Spectrum has successfully transformed itself from a mainly German enterprise into a highly visible international journal.

Keywords

• history
• African studies, journals (periodicals)
• 050, 070, 320, 327
• Germany, Federal Republic of Germany (1949–1990)
• 1963-2015