If reading Dead Men’s Path by Chinua Achebe felt familiar to you, it’s because this three-page short story so accurately captures histories of colonialism. Even through its brevity, it attacks the notions of “out with the old, in with the new”, juxtaposing education and spirituality. In this Left Shelf episode, we discuss the history of Nigeria n conjunction with this short story as Chinua Achebe’s writing is rife with politics and his life was spent in pursuit of forming a more equitable Nigeria. The hosts talk about how the British instituted their infamous “indirect rule”, christianized the country while aiming to extinguish native spiritualities, and left in their wake fault lines still present to this day. 

You can read Dead Men’s Path (free) here.

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