Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    African Identities: a New Perspective
    African Identities: a New Perspective
    African Identities: a New Perspective
    Ebook75 pages1 hour

    African Identities: a New Perspective

    By Bert van Sloteren

    3/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This longread looks back at the past 130 years of African history. The period between 1885 and 1950 was the period of colonization. The period between 1950 and 2015 was a period of decolonization and independence. The book tries to answer the question why the progress in many parts of Africa has been relatively slow.

    Starting point is 'the curse of 1885': the Berlin Conference, where Africa was carved up without any African involvement. The book shows how Africa has always had to deal with ‘second-hand’ European ideologies and how Europe has introduced different words in dealing with its own people, different from what is being used for Africans. The longread examines these ideas and demonstrates their effects on Africa.

    It shows how even today, when talking about African cultures, outdated and partly racists concepts are used. It introduces a more modern definition of culture and discusses the Hofstede model of describing cultures using various dimensions. The book calls for a study of African cultures using these modern theories. It points to the importance of nurturing languages and linguistic diversity – something which is happening in Europe, much more than in Africa.

    The author points out how traditional anthropology and ethnolinguistics present a fragmented picture of African cultures. It calls for an African approach to social science that makes use of modern theories of culture and intercultural communication and that looks in an unbiased way at where the differences are between the peoples of Africa and where the commonalities lie.

    The book examines the origins and the content of the idea of the Right to Self-Determination and points out that in the decolonization process, that right was not respected. The author examines some of the reasons why things happened this way. He points to differences in the discourse about Africa and about Europe. In Europe, different ethnic groups are named as ‘peoples’ – whereas in Africa, such groups are called ‘tribes’ – an inherently racist form of reasoning that classifies Africans as being more primitive than Europeans.

    Geopolitical and (racist) cultural ideas combined with ideas on African socialism, together form a potent but toxic cocktail, leading to the current consensus that sees ethnically more or less homogeneous nation states as necessary and good in Europe and in many other parts of the world – but not in Africa. A central thesis of the book is that this is one important explanation for Africa’s lack of progress, explaining to a large extent the nepotism and corruption so prevalent in Africa to this day.

    The longread goes on discuss a few of the absurdities of African reality today, focusing on Nigeria, the Gambia, Botswana and the Hutu-Tutsi ethnic disaster. This latter is contrasted with the discourse about Croats and Serbs in Europe.

    In order to overcome the 'curse of 1885', the author calls for:
    -A study of African culture using modern theory of culture and intercultural communication;
    -A study of African languages from an African perspective, looking not only at differences but also at commonalities and at possibilities for convergence, at any rate leading to a renaissance of African languages;
    -A Panafricanist perspective that does not gloss over differences but that respects and cherishes them, seeking to heal the wounds that were inflicted by the curse of 1885 and that is grounded in an appreciation of the uniqueness of all of Africa’s many peoples.

    For some of Africa’s failed states, such as the Central African Republic, there seems to be no other option than to start to question the traditional borders. For some other countries, it might be possible to work towards models that would allow for increased regional autonomy. This requires a progressive type of nationalism, one that is not xenophobic, but that does not deny the fact that people are rooted in their own language and culture.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBert van Sloteren
    Release dateJan 14, 2016
    ISBN9781311435477
    African Identities: a New Perspective
    Author

    Bert van Sloteren

    Bert is a Dutchman who has many years of experience in working with (international) NGOs in the areas of environment and development. Bert first became active in the Dutch solidarity movement in the '70s. Later, he joined one of the Dutch anti-apartheid movements. In the '80s and '90s, he worked for several international environment and development organisations, with a strong focus on support to grassroots, citizen-based organisations. Bert has lived in the US and in Kenya. He studied community organisation and adult education at the University of Amsterdam. Currently, Bert is enrolled in a Research Master programme in African Studies at the University of Leiden.

    Related to African Identities

    Related ebooks

    African History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Conversation

      Apr 23, 2020

      The Conversation
      13 min read

    • Article

      Is Africa A Prisoner Of Its Past?

      Jul 16, 2020

      Is Africa A Prisoner Of Its Past?
      8 min read

    • Article

      Top 10 Books About Neocolonialism | Susan Williams

      Oct 28, 2021

      The nations of Africa waved a joyful goodbye to their European occupiers in the second half of the 20th century. But in many cases, their freedom was short-lived: for after the colonisers had left through the front door, they returned quietly round t

      5 min read

    • Article

      Mining Wrote South Africa’s History. Does It Have A Future?

      May 6, 2019

      The discovery of gold and diamonds transformed South Africa’s trajectory. Today the industry is in decline, and voters are hungry for solutions.

      7 min read

    • Article

      As Kenyan Maasai Abandon Female Circumcision, Elders Lead The Way

      Mar 1, 2019

      On Feb. 6, cultural elders announced that the Loita Maasai, in Kenya, would abandon female genital cutting – the first such declaration in the country.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Tracing Our Economic History

      Jun 25, 2021

      published earlier this year, Johan Fourie’s Our long walk to economic freedom – Lessons from 100 000 years of human history, is a succinct and accessible piece of economic history. For the lover of history, the central importance of economics in how

      3 min read

    • Article

      In 'A More Beautiful And Terrible History,' Fuel For The Fight Ahead

      Feb 4, 2018

      Jeanne Theoharis' new book re-examines civil rights history and the way it's been manipulated. "It is used to make us feel good about ourselves, to make us feel good about our progress," she says.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Sobering Analysis Of A Democratic SA

      Dec 13, 2020

      IN NO White Lies: Black Politics and White Power, Kim Heller provides a razor-sharp critique of South African politics. In doing so, she takes no prisoners. The hypocrisy and privilege of white society screams out of every column. She knows this well

      4 min read

    • Article

      Tracing The Origin Of The Four-legged Serpent In SA Rock Art

      Sep 21, 2020

      In 1987, the former Xhosa homeland of Ciskei launched a series of first-day cover stamps and postcards depicting a giant mythical snake in the Keiskamma River. The malevolent snake or inabulele formed part of the ‘The Story of Sikulume’, recorded by

      5 min read

    • Article

      10 Forgotten African Empires

      Dec 31, 2020

      10 Forgotten African Empires
      8 min read

    • Article

      Not So New Arrivals

      Dec 23, 2020

      The long history of interactions between Africa and Europe has been subject to increasing research efforts by scholars and activists in recent decades. Yet this new publication offers an unusually intimate narration of many African individuals presen

      2 min read

    • Article

      Deconstructing Decolonisation

      Jan 26, 2023

      LAST OCTOBER, THE ACTING vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, Dr Anthony Freeling, made a confession, widely reported in the press. He confessed that he is baffled by “decolonisation”. The word, he said, “has been misused to such an extent that I

      12 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for African Identities

    3/5

    2 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Self-determination would do what war, foreign intervention and wealth cannot do for failed African states. But would the UN, OAS and corporate interests ever permit it?

    Book preview

    African Identities - Bert van Sloteren

    AFRICAN IDENTITIES:

    A NEW PERSPECTIVE

    Bert van Sloteren

    Smashwords Edition

    Copyright 2015, Bert van Sloteren

    ISBN: 978-13-11435-47-7

    License Note: Thank you for downloading this ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. Quotes can be taken from the book provided the book title and author are acknowledged. If you enjoyed (or hated) this book, please write a short review and/or mention it via the social media.

    Cover: ‘Alkebu-Lan’, imaginary map of what Africa could have looked like in the mid-nineteenth Century, if Europe had not become a colonizing power. Map reprinted by permission from its author, Swedish artist Nikolaj Cyon, http://www.cyon.se.

    Table of Contents

    1. Introduction

    2. Why is Africa still ‘the dark continent’?

    3. Modern theories on culture and their relevance for Africa

    Traditional theories of culture and their impact on Africa

    Modern theories of Culture – the Hofstede model

    The theory of intercultural communication

    Culture and language – a critique of ethnolinguistics

    Summary - modern theory of culture and its relevance for Africa

    4. Europe and Africa – the curse of 1885

    Nation states in 1885 and today, in Europe and in Africa

    The origins and development of the Right to Self-Determination

    From Tribe to Nation?

    African socialism?

    Why is ethnicity important for nation building?

    5. Some examples of the absurdities of African reality today

    The Rule of Law – and Nigeria

    Absurd countries of the World: the Gambia

    Let’s look at Botswana

    Ethnic disaster: the Hutu and the Tutsi

    6. Dealing with the curse: a new perspective

    Appendix: acknowledgements

    1. Introduction

    One of the things that has always struck me in my long history of reading and thinking about Africa and Europe is the big gap that exists between what is seen as ‘normal’ and ‘right’ for Europe – and what is ‘normal’ and ‘right’ for Africa, especially when it comes down to linguistic and cultural issues. To this day, thinkers about Africa and Europe seem to use two sets of standards, one for every continent. Why, for example, are the Yoruba or the Zulu referred to as ‘tribes’, but never the Catalans or the Scottish? What makes the Zulu so different from the Scottish that a different set of terms is needed? And what does that mean for the rest of the discourse about Africa?

    Consider this, for example. Minority languages and cultures are protected and cherished in Europe, to the extent that languages like Maltese (with fewer than 550,000 speakers) and Irish (Gaelic) (with fewer than 150,000 speakers) are treated as official languages in the European Union. Yet on the other hand, most African languages with many more speakers, such as Luganda (around five million speakers) or Gikuyu (around seven million speakers) enjoy no such status – they do not have official status in their countries and enjoy no formal protection or promotion. What is it, that makes Maltese more worthy of protection than Luganda?

    Likewise, the thinking part of Europe regards cultural diversity as something positive and feels minority cultures deserve support and protection. In Africa, on the other hand, we see that cultural differences, although very real, are being downplayed and suppressed at the national level, in favour of a national identity that in many cases is much more artificial than in most European countries.

    It goes beyond that: there is a strong belief in Europe that communities should have the right to make their own choices regarding education, culture, social welfare etcetera. Therefore, many multicultural countries in Europe have a strong federalist structure – think of Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, and increasingly the U.K. Even in Germany most decisions regarding education and culture are decentralized to the level of the ‘Länder’.

    Not so in Africa: decentralization is seen as a danger that will only lead to ‘tribalism’ and trouble. So in the general discourse on Africa, what is regarded as good and fine for Europe is seen as wrong and undesirable, even taboo, for Africa. Why? What does that mean?

    It should be noted that this double standard is not only a European thing: Africans also look at and think about their continent in a different way from how they look at and think about Europe. As I will show, there are

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1