Africa Commons is a collection of archives, streaming media, newspapers, journal articles, and other types of documents and records that is uniquely expansive in both its size and geographical breadth. The UC Berkeley Library has purchased access to the 4-part collection from Coherent Digital, which provides coverage of news and events as well as research publications from the east, west, and south of the African continent. The multidisciplinary nature of this database’s content makes it useful to a wide variety of researchers working on all things African.
Complementing Berkeley’s strong African print holdings, here are three French language journals included in the most recently purchased module – West African Journals:
L’Afrique Littéraire et Artistique (also called L’Afrique Littéraire in some issues) was a French-language literary and cultural magazine published by the Société Africaine d’Édition in Paris. Most issues focused on a specific aspect of African literature, cinema, and art, and include in-depth analysis and commentary on books and films created in or about Africa. This collection includes fifteen issues of the magazine, including a special film edition. Dates range between 1972 and 1989.
La Vie Africaine was a cultural and political magazine published between in France between 1959 and 1965. The publication covered many important events in 1960s Africa, at a time when many countries were gaining independence and working to define themselves anew. It also explored cinema, literature, and music by or about Africans. This collection includes 44 issues of La Vie Africaine, ranging from 1959 to 1965.
L’Afrique Actuelle was a bilingual French/English monthly magazine, and succeeded La Vie Africaine. It covered political, economic, and cultural issues, including independence movements and the relationship of newly formed African governments with European and American states. This collection includes 19 issues of L’Afrique Actuelle, covering the years 1967-1969.
Coherent Digital brings the values of academic publishing to real-world information—organizing, curating, and digitizing—so that information is preserved, trackable, stronger, and more impactful. In collaboration with libraries, archives, NGOs, and subject experts, they ensure that preservation is ethical, representative, and aligned with community needs.