Book overview
For over sixty years, Ethiopia has endured political turmoil, economic stagnation, and deep ethnic fragmentation. Philosopher Maimire Mennasemay identifies a core cause: the loss of epistemic autonomy-abandoning Ethiopia's indigenous intellectual traditions in favor of imported Western frameworks that obscure its emancipatory potential.
Through the ancient Qine hermeneutics of Sem ena Worq (wax and gold), Mennasemay unearths Surplus History (Sewre Tarik): the suppressed ideas, voices, and aspirations woven into Ethiopia's cultural memory. From peasant uprisings in Gojjam to the critical commentaries of Debteras, this hidden history becomes a tool to challenge the "triple domination"-political, economic, and epistemic systems that stifle the nation.
More than academic theory, Surplus History & Emancipation calls Ethiopians to become the thinkers and architects of their own future. Combining analytical precision with poetic vision, it outlines a transformative path toward collective wellbeing.
Ideal for scholars, activists, and visionaries of a decolonial future.
Explore 36 foundational Qine concepts-like Arnet (emancipation) and Yewel (commons)-that reframe governance beyond ethnic or colonial paradigms. Reject "Gibbonism," the myth of Ethiopia as a civilizational blank slate. Embrace Ethioperspectivism-a confident synthesis of Ethiopia's legacy and global insight.
