" The Historical Roots of African Underdevelopment ," Proceeding of the Annual Social Science Conference of the East African Universities, 1970 ; University of Dar es Salaam, mimeograph, 1970-1971

Walter Rodney’s writings examine issues such as race, class, slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism, capitalism, imperialism, economic development, independence, and empowerment. He is especially noted for his writings on and analysis of the pre-colonial and colonial Africa and Guyana. This series is comprised of a significant number of Dr. Rodney’s writings – published and unpublished. Included are speeches, lectures, journal articles, book reviews, chapters in books, and drafts of books he authored. Some folders include full text, others are outlines, notes, drafts, bibliographies, and citations. There are a few copies of Dr. Rodney’s published books in the series, such as the children’s books - Kofi Baadu Out of Africa, and Lakshmi Out of India. All the published books written by Dr. Rodney are available in the Archives' book collection and can be identified by searching RWWL’s online catalog. Photocopies of many of Rodney’s published articles and chapters in books have been added to the papers for the convenience of researchers and to facilitate comparison of the drafts and the published work.

The writings are arranged alphabetically by title, with the exception of A History of the Guyanese Working People1881-1905, which has been taken out of alphabetical sequence and placed at the end of the series due to the volume (5 boxes). There are four drafts of this book, with numerous handwritten edits and rewrites.

The container list indicates the format of the content of the folder: typescript, carbon copy, handwritten, mimeographed, and photocopy. Many of these formats include handwritten edits made by Walter Rodney. Most of the writings are drafts and include Dr. Rodney’s handwritten edits that reveal his writing process. There are occasional pieces of correspondence, evaluator’s comments, and books reviews in the folders.

For related documentation see Series I: Notes, Drafts, and Research Materials; Series F: Speaking Invitations/Engagements; Series G: Teaching Materials; Series K: Audio Tapes; and Series L: Oversize Items.