Leadership In The Deep River

E.E Evans-Pritchard once said, “I have often been asked whether, when I was among the Azande, I got to accept their ideas about witchcraft. I suppose you can say I accepted them. I had no choice. In my own culture, I rejected Azande notions of witchcraft. In their culture, I accepted them. In a kind of way, I believed them.” In the documentary Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard: Strange Beliefs, the research of British social anthropologist E.E. Evans-Pritchard on the Zande tribe of central Africa and the Nuer tribe of Sudan is highlighted. As a good anthropologist should, Evans-Pritchard immersed himself in his fieldwork and attempted to look at foreign cultural values from the perspective of the culture he was observing.

Unfortunately, Rachel Price’s narrow-minded attitude remains stagnant into late adulthood. The Equatorial where Rachel’s “proudest achievement[s]” lie alludes to the imaginary line that divides up the world, establishing how Rachel’s accomplishments lie on a unjust foundation (462). Fittingly, her “own little world” (462) is upheld by her “standards of white supremacy” (28).The word “world” suggests to the reader the illustration of a European explorer charting the globe for unknown lands to redeem as his own. It frames the painting of colonialism and segregation to the reader, as Rachel “can run [her world] exactly however [she] please”, further alluding to the image of a white colonist dictating and exploiting the lives of “local boys” and “punish [them] with a firm hand” (462). Rachel’s self-appointed responsibility of policing her African staff with violence only gives more weight to her internalized ignorance, prolonged by her stay in the Congo and unwavered by the years. Unlike her siblings’ change of heart over the years, Rachel’s exposure to Africa only reiterates her initial belief of how “these people here can’t decide anything for themselves” (480), suggesting how she sees them as lesser than her, as a docile child who remains incapable of assertion. All in all, Rachel’s unfazed ignorance

In Basil Davidson’s video “Different but Equal,” he outlines the European perception of Africa upon their discovery of the continent. Claims that the Europeans were making about African culture, however, were far fetched and did not depict Africa in a positive manner. History according to pre-European Africa was rich and diverse, but once Europeans saw for themselves how different their continent was from Africa, they began to make up their own version of African history.

In Watership Down I think the theme of the book is leadership. Leadership played a big role in the book. Hazel was the leader of the group and he was tested throughout his adventures. Everyone leads differently and has different ways to. Just like how every coach coaches their team differently, but those that make the better decisions win the game. For example Bigwig may be more strong than Hazel, but Hazel's ability to think and make the smart decisions never failed the group which makes him and much more better leader. Hazel even risked his life to save the rabbits at one time so people respect Hazel and look up to him. Hazel faced many problems such as Woundwort. Although it seemed it was the end for Hazel and his group, he thought of a

The description of women provided in Olaudah Equiano's and Venture Smith's narratives compared to the European's descriptions of indigenous and African women provided in Jennifer Morgan's paper are distinctive. Equiano and Smith write highly of their mothers while Europeans talk repulsively about African and indigenous women. As a reader, one can infer many opinions about each of the writer's attitudes about the expected gender norms for women at that time such as caretaking, breastfeeding or working. The European perspective utilizes their claim to authority on women through dehumanizing different races and converting them into Christians.

Around the time of Katie Makanya’s childhood, South Africa was beginning to change rapidly due to the discovery of diamonds, which ultimately kept bringing Europeans into their territory causing their cultures and race to blend together. This book illustrates the black South African life that Katie lives and how she uneasily adapts to the incoming European culture during those years of colonization.

From a young age, Lawrence Hill was immersed in the history of black Canadians because of his parents. In 1978, his parents co-founded the Ontario Black History Society with the aim of fostering a greater awareness and appreciation of the history of people of African descent in Canada (Ashenburg, par. 9). As a result, Hill discovered the real Book of Negroes which was a document that listed the names of the Black Loyalists who were granted freedom and settled in Nova Scotia following the American Revolutionary War (Ashenburg, par. 26). This document would later become the basis of his own novel of the same name. Wanting to learn more on the subject, Hill made three trips to West Africa as a volunteer with Canadian Crossroads International. There, he lived and worked in small villages alongside the local population (Crossroads International, par. 8). He immersed himself into the various cultures around him and met a Muslim polygamist family who introduced him to Islam (Crossroads International, par. 8). The insights that he developed forms an integral part of his novel, The Book of Negroes. The main character, Aminata Diallo, is from the small village of Bayo in West Africa and prior to her enslavement, leads the same simple village life that Hill experienced. Aminata is also Muslim and although she is not in a polygamous relationship, the “[village] chief has four wives” (Hill, 19). In addition to this, Hill’s in-depth understanding of West African cultures is evident throughout the novel. The serving of mint tea when Aminata and her parents want to share stories together is a common tradition in many West African villages and Hill himself most likely encountered it. He also includes passages such as: “I could tell by the way the pail was balanced near the front of her head…that she was a Bamana” which demonstrates his ability to

The historical novel Segu by Maryse Condé is set in the African country of Segu during a time of great cultural change. The African Slave Trade, the spread of Islam, and personal identity challenges were all tremendous and far-reaching issues facing Africa from the late 1700s to early 1800s. Condé uses the four brothers of the Traore family, Tiekoro, Malobali, Siga, and Naba, to demonstrate the impact that the issues of Islam, slave trade, and identity had on African people through the development of each character. The oldest of the sons, Tiekoro exemplifies the influence and spread of Islam through out Africa at the time.

Melville Herskovits, the author of The Myth of Negro Past, spoke of many cultural characteristics shared between Africans in his book. His main goal was to tackle the myth of the past of African Americans, which is that we have no past at all. Herskovits uses this book to go into detail about the African traditions that have survived the years. The most prominent African cultural aspects that have endured time are evident in African American family life, as well as in marriage traditions seen in the New World.

There is no perfect government. All of them have their flaws, and all of them have their benefits. What makes one better than another? Is it wealth? Power?

Generations pass down cultures and traditions. In literature, African writers share the pain and struggle experienced by their ancestors. Key literary elements such as allusion, symbolism, and metaphors express such hardships. Through the use of stories, poems, and folktales many cultures share traditional morals. Indeed, the folktale “The People Could Fly” by Virginia Hamilton verifies the truth of strength and tradition for a more promising viewpoint.

In the film, Crimson Tide, First Captain -Ramsey, and First Lieutenant Commander, Hunter- Second Captain in command displayed opposite communication and leadership styles. Ramsey’s leadership style exemplified “Fiedler’s contingency Theory of Leadership.” Ramsey’s behavior was manipulative, vindictive and dictatorial. He took advantage of his “superiority” to persuade and influence the men in getting what he wants them to do. Shearouse, pointed out in the podcast that “conflict is not always destructive and that most managers do not realize the messages they are sending. Most often, they want what they want, need and expect, it is the agreement that gets in the way of what the other person wants, needs or expects. Ramsey’s arrogant personality had most of the team

In Olaudah Equiano’s narrative, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African, he publishes it with a European name in the title. Before he begins his story he pens a message to readers and signs “My lords and gentlemen, your most obedient, and devoted servant, Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa.” This shows that although he received freedom from enslavement, Equiano still saw himself as a servant and signs his message with two names as if he had a spilt personality, the African man, and the Negropean servant-man. Unlike Albert, Equiano wrote his own narrative, and one theme he discusses in it is names (Equiano, 30). Equiano being captured from Africa, provides readers with accurate representations of his perspective of Africa. In his narrative he states “our children were named from some event, some circumstance, or fancied foreboding at the time of their birth. I was named Olaudah, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude or fortune also, one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken.” (pg. 30-31). In this quotation, Equiano is discussing the rich cultural practices in Africa, when it came to naming. Equiano’s narrative offers some great insight to Africa before his village was invaded, the journey through the middle passage, and the harsh realities of

Through the Falsification of African Consciousness, Wilson relays that it is those who control the understanding of history, who control the reality of people’s culture. In the book, Wilson starts off by introducing that without any knowledge of the past permits the authorization for cultural misrepresentation. Specifically, he emphasizes the creation of an unfamiliar Afrikan culture by Europeans. Wilson states, “History has been down played in this society…I often say in this regard that if there were

This chapter in Africans and Their History by Joseph Harris presents some of the roots of the stereotypes and myths about Africa in the past and for the most part are still held today. Harris discusses how the “greats” of history, geography, and literature starting a path of devaluation of Africans that writers after their time followed. Harris also denounced the language that these “greats” used to describe and talk about Africans. He asserts that this language inherently painted Africans as inferior and subhuman.