The Vastness Of The Field Of Africana Studies

Gomez magnifies the untold history of the African people throughout the book. The initial three chapters of this work are referred to as “Old World Dimensions” bring Africa’s independence, strength, and significance to the forefront. The remaining five chapters examines what he refers to as the “New World Realities”. In the beginning of the book he explains the grounds and power Africans possessed in the early Eastern (Mediterranean) world. Gomez stressed two key matters throughout the book. He makes prominent that the arrival of the Europeans in the fifteenth century and the transatlantic slave trade that followed, unfortunately resulting in African Diaspora, was but the tip of the iceberg of who the people and their story. Africa and its citizens did, in fact, have a strong history prior the European’s arrival. Gomez turns to acknowledge Africa(ns)

Throughout history, a common theme that can be seen is the stronger, acquisitive society preying on the weaker society for their own gain of land, people, materials, and more. The Atlantic Slave Trade had a profound effect on the way states were constructed and transformed in West Africa. Some societies became very powerful, militarized centralized societies, like Dahomey and Kongo, and others were decentralized societies, like Balanta and Igbo. Many scholars argue that the centralized societies targeted these decentralized societies and kidnapped people for the slave trade or for their own lineages, but this issue of strong and controlled preying on weak and dispersed is not as “black or white” as it may seem.

In the article ‘Black People in a White People’s Country’ by Gary Nash, he explains how slavery gave Africans a low role in America’s society, and how because slavery was allowed in the New World, they were “Socially and legally defined as less than people...”. It wasn’t just the fact that they were enslaved that made people treat them horribly, but also where they came from. In the eyes of a European, Africans were very different,

Europeans filled in the blanks of African history by using exoticism to come up with origin theories that made sense to them. Because the African population has a different physical appearance than Europeans, they were viewed as the “other” race, and therefore were inferior in the minds of Europeans. Africa, however, was a society that was equally as complex as any European nation, unique with their own kingdoms and customs. Because of this, it was incorrect for Europeans to label Africans as “savage” individuals. Africa’s culture is rich and deserves to be interpreted in the way that they see fit, rather than having European stereotypes of the past define their culture of

It is generally accepted by scholars and scientists today that Africa is the original home of man. One of the most tragic misconceptions of historical thought has been the belief that Black Africa had no history before European colonization. Whites foster the image of Africa as a barbarous and savage continent torn by tribal warfare for centuries. It was a common assumption of nineteenth-century European and American Whites - promoted by the deliberate cultivation of pseudoscientific racism - that Africans were inferior to Whites and were devoid of any trace of civilization or culture.

In this first-hand account, Blyden speaks directly to African American people encouraging them to embrace their Africa roots. He wants African Americans to feel a connection to Africa, as well as understand important information about Africa. In several places in this text he tries to dispel some myths that were commonly held in the 19th century, and even today. Myths like there was never any great society that existed in Africa, and Africa was completely uncivilized. However, even though Blyden dispelled many of these myths, he also played into them. He did this by stating that African Americans could go to Africa and help “furnish a development of civilization which this world has never seen” (201). He makes an argument that Africa is civilized, and

During the Age of Exploration, Africans did not designate themselves as Blacks; however, Europeans used the term “blacks” to differentiate themselves. At first, there were a number of competing images of Africans, eventually those images crystallized into a small set of overly simplified, negative stereotypes widely shared in the west (Battle & Wells, 2006). Early on, Africans were regarded on a relatively equal level to the Europeans. However, by the end of the eighteenth-century images of Africans as inferior were being used to justify the slave trade. Further complicating the characterization of Africans was the broad spectrum of definitions concerning Black identity. In the United States – after the age of exploration – Black was

Before Africans were brought to America during the slave trade, they had their own culture and society. They had their own language and dance.  They also had their own religion.  History tells us that the Europeans justified their abuse toward the Africans as helping them become more civilized because the Africans lifestyle appeared primal to them and not as developed and industrialized as theirs. What is often overlooked is that even though Africans were taken from Africa and Americanized and have been stripped of their religion, culture, language and even their name, the very essence of the African as a people did not go away.

In the last 50 years much has been done to combat the entirely false and negative views about the history of Africa and Africans, which were developed in Europe in order to justify the Transatlantic Slave Trade and European colonial rule in Africa that followed it. In the eighteenth century such racist views were summed up by the words of the Scottish philosopher David Hume, who said, ‘I am apt to suspect the Negroes to be naturally inferior to the Whites. There scarcely ever was a civilised nation of that complexion, nor even any individual, eminent either in action or in speculation. No ingenious manufacture among them, no arts, no sciences”. In the nineteenth

There was a misconception that African people did not have any culture and they were not civilized. But they had a culture that was similar to that of the Europeans and other races. However it was interrupted when the Europeans decided to take them from Africa and transplant them in America as slaves. As a result, their authentic cultures were drastically changed from the way of life in their native Africa to life in the plantation society of the Americas. In this essay, I will attempt to show how the conditions of enslavement disrupted all dimensions of the African’s authentic culture. To aid in my analysis, I will be using the “Reid Culture Conflict Model” as a guide and also drawing upon the works of Olaudah Equiano, Venture Smith,

Since as early as the fifteenth century and continuing to the present day, European colonies have always viewed Africa as an economic object with a wealth of resources waiting to be extracted and exploited through colonization or by what ever means necessary. The recent history (500 years) of the world justifies the conclusion that Europeans have always sought to assert superiority over people of darker pigmented complexions (all of who just happen to be non-Europeans) by the free and unrestrained assertion of their will and authority, unfettered by any moral constraints on human conduct. As a substitute for any notion of a “humane” code of conduct, the European psychology operated a regime based upon the principles and practices used to control and domesticate lower forms of animal life. In the beginning, the slave trade was the main attraction of these European nations because they saw a law filled with cheap labor and always felt that Africa was uncivilized country begging for colonization. There was undeniable thirst for Africa, deeply rooted in racism. The European nations saw Africa as empty and undiscovered land simply because there were no Europeans present. Judging by the particularly heinous treatment of the Congolese people, it is far to posit that these Europeans believed

This essay focuses on the various theories to develop a unifying utopia despite revisiting the past. “One cannot study Africans in the United States or Brazil or Jamaica without any appreciation for the historical and cultural significance of Africa as source and origin.” In the case of Mary Prince, the Europeans appreciated the fact that they could enslave Africans and separate them through the social concept of race by the skin color. The Europeans appreciated the fact that they could steal resources and dominate a continent with their own culture. Evidence shows that Africans had culture and appreciated nature; therefore, how did all of this begin?

Racism is said to exist when one ethnic group dominates or excludes another. Discrimination of race has been prevalent throughout every culture and has been documented since the thirteenth and fourteenth century, when Europeans began to come into contact with people with different shades of skin.1 Racism is universal. It isn’t confined to one race or culture; it spreads with ignorance and intolerance of others. More recent cases of racism include the persecution of Native Americans when groups of Europeans traveled to America. Many of the settlers called the Native Americans “savages” for their different customs and ways of life. In the time period roughly through 1880 and 1914, European powers claimed areas of Africa causing European colonization in different areas. This ultimately lead to the “Apartheid” in South Africa from around 1913 to 1990.1 The Apartheid was a legal act that effectively segregated blacks and whites, to decrease political influence of blacks.

The famous historical movie “Roots” represents the colonial Africa during the age of Exploration.As European nations competed with each other to facilitate imperialism across the world, collective societies in Africa lead a simple life with limited contact with foreigners. Tribes in Africa established a community that preserved cultural and traditional values; therefore, they had limited knowledge of European schemes for expansion and corrupt business tactics.Moreover, the tribes in Africa had conflicts with other tribes and thus, encouraged slavery as form of reward for the victorious tribes.Europeans utilized this system in Africa and deceived tribes to benefit themselves during the colonial era; however, European slavery and slavery within Africa was extremely different.

Dr. Kwasi Konadu’s course “Intro to Contemporary Africa” covers a wide range of topics relating to the continent of Africa. Throughout the course, students become aware of how the continent of Africa has arrived at this present time in history. From the beginning chapters about geography and historical context all the way to the final chapter on the trends and prospects for Africa, there are a few conclusions that students can soundly arrive at. As far back as scholars have researched, a range of different cultures have come into contact with Africa including European and Islamic cultures. A lot of the interaction has been forced upon the continent, and has been accompanied by violence, physical and otherwise. However, it is clear