Few African countries have attracted the international attention that Ghana has. In the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the then-colonial Gold Coast emerged as a key political and intellectual hub for British West Africa. Half a century later, when Ghana became the first sub-Saharan state to emerge from European colonial rule, it became a key site for a burgeoning, transnational, African anticolonial politics that drew activists, freedom fighters, and intellectuals from around the world. As the twentieth century came to a close, Ghana became an international symbol of the putative successes of post-Cold-War African liberalization and democratization projects. Given these many fascinating developments, it is easy to forget that fundamental concepts such as "the Gold Coast," "Ghana," and "Ghanaian" have never been set in stone and themselves bear exploring. Here
