The Logic of Exclusion: Tales of Intimate Strangersby

written by Francis B. Nyamnjoh

The Logic of Exclusion is a powerful, deeply resonant collection of short stories that peels back the layers of contemporary African migration, citizenship, and the agonising pursuit of dignity. Moving fluidly from the volatile, alphabetical sections of South Africa’s uMlazi township to the chilly, bureaucratic streets of Botswana and the biting, midnight shifts of ‘Whiteman Kontri’, this collection explores the invisible walls built between brothers, neighbours, and lovers. Through a rich cast of characters – including an intellectual educator standing between a xenophobic mob and his migrant friends, a displaced woman navigating the psychological prisons of ‘relational asylum’, and an overseas worker strangled by the invisible leash of family expectations back home – these stories dismantle the comforting myths of national identity. Confronting the painful realities of modern scapegoating, the ‘disposable worker syndrome’, and the moral hierarchies that dictate who is allowed to belong imperfectly, this collection exposes the raw vulnerabilities of life on the economic margins. Piercingly insightful, culturally textured, and fiercely empathetic, The Logic of Exclusion challenges the reader to look beyond borders and populist rhetoric, offering a profound meditation on human mobility and the enduring, creative search for home.

£15.00

Publisher: Langaa RPCIG, Cameroon
Pages: 70
Year: 2026
Category: Literature
Dimensions: 203×127 mm
ISBN: 9789956004690
Shipping class: POD

Francis B. Nyamnjoh

Website

Francis B. Nyamnjoh joined the University of Cape Town in August 2009 as Professor of Social Anthropology from the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal, where he served as Head of Publications from July 2003 to July 2009. He has taught sociology, anthropology and communication studies at universities in Cameroon and Botswana, and has researched and written extensively on Cameroon and Botswana. In October 2012 he received a University of Cape Town Excellence Award for “Exceptional Contribution as a Professor in the Faculty of Humanities”. He is recipient of the “ASU African Hero 2013” annual award by the African Students Union, Ohio University, USA. He is: a B1 rated Professor and Researcher by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF); a Fellow of the Cameroon Academy of Science since August 2011; a fellow of the African Academy of Science since December 2014; a fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa since 2016; and Chair of the Editorial Board of the South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Press since January 2011. His scholarly books include: Africa’s Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging (2005); Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa (2006); “C'est l'homme qui fait l'homme”: Cul-de-Sac Ubuntu-ism in Côte d'Ivoire (2015); and #RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa (2016).