Remembering My Childhood On The Continent Of Africa By David Sedaris Summary

While reading Dancing Skeletons: Life and Death in West Africa by Katherine Dettwyler, all you can think is “what if I had had to live in a culture like this?” Katherine Dettwyler is an ethnography that primarily study how children feeding and weaning customs, and continuing malnutrition directs to a higher likely hood of children being more likely to perish from life threatening childhood illnesses, for example: malaria, tetanus, diarrhea, diphtheria, kwashiorkor, marasmus and measles in Mali. She also talked about a wider array of topics ranging from culture shock, breastfeeding, population control, child care, female circumcision, women’s role in the house and communities, and the dangers of fieldwork. This novel really makes you think about what it would be like to live in a world without common knowledge of disease and how to prevent them. It also really gets your attention about the different culture customs, for example female circumcision, I feel like that would be a culture shock to any American.

When I began reading Chapter 1 of “Mistaking Africa,” it reminded me of our first class meeting. Professor Crowley asked us to do the same exercise Curtis Keim talks about in the text. Professor Crowley asked us what comes to mind when we think about Africa. It is a great exercise and allow us to express our perceptions of Africa. Even in class, it took me time to think about what comes to mind when I hear the word Africa, because I have not really heard much about it besides the common misconceptions: “Africa is a primitive place, full of trouble and wild animals, and in need of our help” (5). I frequently see the UNICEF commercial with Alyssa Milano, who asks her viewers how it would feel to be able to save a child’s life for fifty cents a day. The commercial precedes to play really depressing music and shows a slideshow of undernourished children, who fend for themselves in

People of the early African kingdoms were able to create successful trade routes with Europe and Asia, become very wealthy from conquering and gaining land, and were able to have a strong central government. All of this was done before the Europeans had reached Africa. Trade flourished on the East African coast, especially when trading was established with India and Arabia. African kingdoms were prosperous, because of their success with not only trading but also with their ability to conquer land. A governmental structure is key to allowing any kingdom to thrive, and the African people were able to achieve this.

In the comparison and contrast essay, “Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa,” by David Sedaris, the author talks about the jealousy he feels towards the excitement present in his friend Hugh’s life. David Sedaris explores the contrast in the dullness of his own childhood with the adventurous lifestyle of his friend’s childhood. Using descriptions, personal experiences of his friend and himself, and language, Sedaris explains why he takes satisfaction in passing his friend’s stories as though they were his own since the stories were more interesting. The field trips, environment, and activities all contribute in the development of the difference in lifestyle between them.

Focusing on micro examples in order to explain a macro concept is the basis of what Donald Wright wanted to do with his book “The World and a Very Small Place in Africa”. In this text, Wright explores the concept of globalization in the small country of Niumi, a country in West Africa with the Gambia river flowing through it’s land. With it’s position in Northern West Africa, Niumi was a major part in the expansion of Europeans for a great part of world history. This expansion impacted the civilization of Niumi during the European Colonial era, and after the colonial era. Globalization, a major theme in our lectures, was a controlling theme and major concept Mr. Wright discusses throughout this book. His micro connection with Niumi & globalization can apply to other

Europe and Africa have been linked together in evaluating the state formation process. Both regions have similarities, strengths, weaknesses, and room for improvement. To this day both regions are far from perfect. Some light can be shed on this subject, by evaluating Europe and Africa’s state formation process, evaluating what party benefits, and briefly explaining two economic consequences of European colonialism in Africa.

“Ghana’s history is a metaphor for what occurred in the immediate aftermath of independence in Africa,” is a quote by Kofi Awoonor, Ghana’s leading literary figure and one of Africa’s most acclaimed authors. Three of his poems illustrate the hardships and trials that the Africans faced after their claim of independence from Britain. As said by Awoonor himself, “...high hopes were crushed by the greed, corruption, and lust for power…”. The author uses multiple literary devices as a way to emphasize the adversities they faced. Kofi Awoonor symbolizes the downfall of Ghana after independence through the use of theme, mood, and symbolism in his Three Poems.

In my research, to understand how we undertake the study of the African experience you have to start in the beginning of time which dates back hundreds of thousands years ago and go into one of the first civilizations known as ancient Egypt. Understanding where the people come from and where they are at today does not even cover a quarter of understanding the true African experience. To understand truly how to undertake the African experience you must understand the social structure, governance, ways of knowing, science and technology, movement and memory, and cultural meaning (The six conceptual categories). With these concepts you understand that in a cosmograph known

Andrea Roman tells her story, “We’re Not…,” to demonstrate how Bolivian culture has influenced her life. In her essay she informs the reader about the many things her mom, a native Bolivian, would scold her for. These atrocious acts included: borrowing sweaters, doing homework on Sundays and wanting to attend sleepovers. None of these things would be judged as wrong in America, they are American customs or traditions that Roman tried to follow. Roman followed these, unknowingly disrespecting her family’s Bolivian values. David Sedaris wrote “Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa” to share his dissatisfaction of growing up in America after he heard about Hugh’s adventures of growing up on the continent of Africa. In his essay he shared the many adventures Hugh, his boyfriend, experienced while living his exciting life in Africa. In America many of Hugh’s adventures would have been harshly judged and considered as wrong. Hugh does many things that Sedaris can only dream of doing. David Sedaris’ “Remembering my Childhood on the Continent of Africa” and Andrea Roman’s “We’re Not…” are told with a similar style but the audience receives different messages from each of them.

Consider how Africa’s geography has changed over time. What positive and negative effects would these changes have had on human populations on the continent? As their new homes changed they were able to adapt due to their innovative mindset. This can be attributed to the new found organization thanks to language. Allowing Africans to grow and expand throughout the entire continent. Other factors that can be attributed are the change in geography for some parts such as the Sahara drying out and swamps and lakes disappeared.

David Sedaris tells an anecdotal story about his childhood struggle with a speech impediment in his essay, “Go Carolina” from his book, Me Talk Pretty One Day. His witty and good natured humor is apparent throughout the essay but is significantly emphasized in regards to his sexual identity which he chooses to take a comedic approach towards as he writes about his childhood experiences. Sedaris’s use of humor, anecdotal evidence, military diction and hidden dark tones all add depth and interest to his story by grabbing the readers interest and revealing depth of character through the images he creates with his descriptions.

“African Perspectives on Colonialism” is a book written by A. Adu Boahen. This book classifies the African responses to European colonialism in the 19th century. Boahen begins with the status of Africa in the last quarter of the 19th century and follows through the first years of African independence. This book deals with a twenty year time period between 1880 and 1900. Boahen talks about when Africa was seized and occupied by the Imperial Powers of Europe. Eurocentric points of view dominated the study of this era but Boahen gives us the African perspective. There are always two sides of the story and Boehen tells us the side less talked about informing us of what he knows.

The true genius of The Story of an African Farm is not in the unusual way it is constructed, although critic Patricia Murphy praises author Olive Schreiner's non-linear, feminine time in the novel and the ways cyclical time influences the story's development. Neither does the novel's true achievement lie in its artistic allegories, though Schreiner is commended for her mythological uses of South Africa's landscape (Marquard, 294), and for the meaningful "Hunter Tale" told by Waldo's stranger in the novel's center ("Politics of Power," 585). The most remarkable, complex aspect of the work has to be the way that it attempts to define gender norms for women, enlarging their potential role in society to equal the scope of a man's station. This facet of Schreiner's best-known book is the reason that she has become famous as, "a feminist who hated being a woman" (Showalter, 195), and the reason that African Farm has endured as an early feminist manifesto.

This reflection will discuss the concept of colonialism and post-colonialism, with a particular focus on the impact in planning. Although both concepts are not new, Ania Loomba in her book “Colonialism and Post Colonialism” provides a more exhaustive research on the regards. She argues that colonialism is the physical occupation of territory whereas post colonialism deals with effect of colonization on culture and societies. She also expanded the concepts including two new terms imperialism and Neo-colonialism. This is not only a semantic discussion but also a way to raise awareness of the (over)simplification that many authors have applied to studies in this field.

The scramble for Africa represents the most thorough and systematic process of colonialism in world history. The European colonial powers managed to conquer and control almost the entire continent of Africa in a short, twenty-five year period from about 1875 to 1900. Some of the European states involved were already well-established global powers; the others were up and coming nations that desired to emulate and compete with the dominant imperial states. Various factors allowed for and contributed to the conquering of the whole of Africa by European states. The slow, but ever-growing European presence on the perimeter and the completion for dominance between the major European states acted as the platform for the inevitable quest for