The nexus of power, literacy and conversion in colonial east-central Africa

What is it about?

An analysis of the diaries of Apolo Kivebulaya, a CMS ‘church teacher’ and Ugandan Anglican priest. It uses excerpts from the diaries and oral testimony to understand the Christianity that Apolo and those who read with him were creating and to better comprehend the role of evangelists as cultural brokers mediating change.

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Why is it important?

A contribution to the growing historiography of writings by indigenous African Christians. It examines the agency accorded to texts in the negotiation between literacy and orality at the point of conversion; the contested power of literacy in the context of evangelism; and the connection between reading and conversion.