African Experience, The:An Introduction

Description

Features

• considers in detail the diversity and convergence of African people in the cultural and linguistic patterns.

  • emphasizes norms, values, and historical experience as the key variables that define who the people are, rather than labeling them as "tribes."

• describes the main traditional cultural forms and institutions found in Africa-e.g., those forms that are shred in such matters as kinship, marriage, socialization, and non-kinship groups.

• explores the geography and demography of the African continent.

• interprets African history in terms of state building, alliance formation, and the rise and decline of various kingdoms.

  • examines several pieces of archaeological evidence which disprove Western myths about the marginality of African history.

  • discusses the African experience under European colonial rule -- analyzing reasons for colonization, "the civilizing missions" of the various European powers, colonial policies and administrative styles.

• examines the African resistance to colonial rule and the role played by external forces and internal factors in that resistance.

• takes a critical look at how the Africans have done since they inherited or recovered political power from the European colonial masters -- the problems they have encountered, the forces that have influenced leaders in their choice of strategies in nation-building or economic development, political and economic reforms.

• analyzes the role that Africa has played on the world stage.

Table of Contents