C. Patrick Burrowes - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by C. Patrick Burrowes

From Virginia Slave to African Statesman presents what is best appreciated as an intellectual bio... more From Virginia Slave to African Statesman presents what is best appreciated as an intellectual biography of Hilary Teage, a free African American who as a boy, at the age of sixteen, left the United States with his parents and sister as part of the first contingent of black repatriates sailing to West Africa, ultimately to establish the colony of

is a Liberian national treasure. He should also be a treasure for all those interested in public-... more is a Liberian national treasure. He should also be a treasure for all those interested in public-facing history. Trained in the United States in journalism (Howard, Syracuse, and Temple Universities), Burrowes published a number of articles on Liberian politics and on Liberian journalism in the 1980s and 1990s.

Journalism History, 2011

and African Colonization 1his article reassesses the career at Freedom's Journal of john B. Russw... more and African Colonization 1his article reassesses the career at Freedom's Journal of john B. Russwurm, co-founder of America's first black newspaper in New York City. Rather than being a convert to emigrationism, he counted among his long-term associates several who were actively engaged in promoting the colonization of blacks outside the United States, mainly in Freetown {West Africa) and Haiti. In contrast to the established literature, in which colonizationism is presented as antithetical to a civil rights commitment, he justified his decision to emigrate to Liberia precisely on the basis of a desire for civil liberties and citizenship. Perhaps his most original and lasting contribution was facilitating the emergence of a sense among African-Americans of a historical and spiritual connection to ancient Egypt. U nusually tall and erect in stature is how a lifelong associate described John Brown Russwurm (1799-1851). His most distinguishing features were his eyes: "large, keen and penetrating, lighting up under excitement with a remarkable brilliancy."1 Selected as a speaker at his graduation from Bowdoin College on September 6, 1826, he chose to focus on "The Condition and Prospects of Haiti," 2 which was a controversial choice given the economic embargo imposed on that island by the U.S. government and the frightful paranoia with which it was regarded by southern slaveholders. 3 The speech was well received by the press, which did not take note of the other readings and rhetorical exercises, and six days later, extracts of his address were published in the Eastern Argus in Portland, Maine. During the following two weeks, the Argus

Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies, 2012

Abstract As Liberia moved toward greater freedom of expression in 1971 after several decades of a... more Abstract As Liberia moved toward greater freedom of expression in 1971 after several decades of authoritarian rule, The New York Times credited a longtime critic of officialdom, Albert Porte, and a three-month-old magazine, the Revelation, with being pacesetters of the emerging trend (Johnson, 20 October 1973). Porte shared with several editors of the Revelation one commonality not noted in The New York Times article, and that was their West Indian origin. This article retraces the participation in Liberian journalism by persons of Caribbean descent, arguing that their specific contribution was a tradition of social criticism. The time frame extends from 1830, the year the nation's first newspaper was founded, to 1971, when Pres. William V.S. Tubman died, after serving as head of state for 27 years while dismantling protections for civil liberties (Wreh 1976). By examining behaviours and artifacts over such a long span, it is hoped that this study will better distinguish idiosyncratic patterns from those that are culturally determined.

Journalism & Communication Monographs, 2011

This paper employs a theoretical framework that combines political economy and cultural studies t... more This paper employs a theoretical framework that combines political economy and cultural studies to uncover the forces driving the development of press freedom in early modern England, the British North America and France from the launch in 1640 of the English Short Parliament, which temporarily abolished censorship, to the French Revolution in 1789. The factors it found to be determinant were a transnational print technology, the public sphere, social movements and egalitarianism, not liberalism, the liberal ideologues and the nation-state highlighted in the dominant press-freedom theory. Going beyond the rights of commercial news media owners, which is a focus of the traditional press-freedom literature, it examines other manifestations of press freedom, including the use and ownership of the means of publication by formerly excluded groups (including women and tradesmen), publication in vernacular languages, new styles of expression (including ironic treatment of religious and pol...

Liberian Studies Journal, 1989

Liberian Studies Journal, 1988

Liberian Studies Journal, 1993

Liberian Studies Journal, 1998

This paper argues that the Constitution reflected a fusion of black nationalism, Protestant Chris... more This paper argues that the Constitution reflected a fusion of black nationalism, Protestant Christianity and republicanism, which formed constituent elements of a Liberian ideology that came to be crystalized between 1822, when Liberian was established as a colony of free African Americans, to 1847, when the repatriates declared their independence from the American Colonization Society. Given a paucity of sources and lack of serious investigation, the 1847 Constitution has been the object of various speculations. Widely repeated, but easiest to disprove, is the claim that the U. S. Constitution served as a model for Liberia's. The most enduring myth in the scholarly literature holds that the Liberian document was written by Simon Greenleaf, an ACS supporter and Harvard University professor.

The Journal of Negro History, 2001

As African-American repatriates in Liberia moved to declare their independence in 1847, Hilary Te... more As African-American repatriates in Liberia moved to declare their independence in 1847, Hilary Teage - the man who, as editor of the Liberia Herald, had done more than any other to further the drive toward independence - cited "a nation of colored people on the soil of Africa, ...

This paper traces the development of the functionalist position chronologically through its major... more This paper traces the development of the functionalist position chronologically through its major permutations, from the defining contributions of Emile Durkheim, Bronislaw Malinowski, and A. R. Radcliffe-Brown in its anthropological phase through its development in American sociology by Talcott Parsons and Robert K. Merton to its explicit formulation in communication studies by Charles R. Wright. Although necessarily cursory, this historical review highlights significant philosophical and conceptual differences within the tradition that have been effaced from recent discussions in the communication context, including an initial theoretical coupling of culture and praxis, as located by Durkheim in the collective moral code, as well as an aborted culturalist orientation in the works of Malinowski. A * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document.

While the notion of "cultural imperialism" has received significant attention in communication st... more While the notion of "cultural imperialism" has received significant attention in communication studies since the early 1970s, researchers have ignored analyses of message systems and audience cultivation in favor of institutional analysis. Likewise, researchers have concentrated on the technologies, media products and processes of Western exporting countries with little concomitant concern for importing countries. These biases stem from a mechanistic model of social processes along with a non-symbolic, materialist conception of culture, viewed as synonymout with technologies, ideologies, or commodities. Previous critics have also failed to question the radicalism of scholars who would preserve the Third World cultures from Western encroachment. Furthermore, the cultural imperialism paradigm presents some serious problems in terms of data measurement and research design models. In brief, the cultural imperialism model, while yielding extensive and often useful analyses, so far has explicated little on the specifically cultural dimensions of relations between nations or between media and their audiences. An examination of popular music in one Third World country, Jamaica, shows how human creativity, exercised even by politically powerless people, can wreak havoc with facile assumptions held by proponents and opponents of imperialism. The current debate revolves largely around moral questions, and unless significant methodological shifts occur, this debate is unlikely to be settled on an empirical basis. (Sixty references are attached.) (HB)

Maine History

Celebrated in life as co-founder of America's first black newspaper, John Brown Russwurm was the ... more Celebrated in life as co-founder of America's first black newspaper, John Brown Russwurm was the embodiment of an Atlantic Creole. Born in Jamaica to a white American father and a black Jamaican mother, as a young man Russwurm move to North America. Through his teens and twenties, his "home" was southern Maine, and he was given a good secondary education there. After finishing school, Russwurm taught in several black schools in Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. It was in those cities that he came into contact with America's free black leaders, some of whom supported the movement to colonize black Americans in West Africa and Haiti. After teaching for several years, he returned to Maine to attend college, and, in 1826, he became the first African American to graduate from Bowdoin College. By the time he graduated from college, he had become a staunch supporter of the colonizationist movement. Initially he helped to settle in Haiti, but, when that fell through, he moved across the Atlantic to the West African nation of Liberia, a settler colony for American blacks. In light of Russwurm's transnational background, his ultimate relocation to Africa was a logical extension of his life's trajectory.

Journalism History, 2011

This article reassesses the career at Freedom's Journal of John B. Russwurm, co-founder of Americ... more This article reassesses the career at Freedom's Journal of John B. Russwurm, co-founder of America's first black newspaper in New York City. Rather than being a convert to emigrationism, he counted among his long-term associates several who were actively engaged in promoting colonization of blacks outside the United States, mainly in Freetown (West Africa) and Haiti. In contrast to the established literature, in which colonization is presented as antithetical to a civil rights commitment, Russwurm justified his decision to emigrate to Liberia precisely on the basis of a desire for civil liberties and citizenship. Perhaps his most original and lasting contribution was facilitating the emergence of a sense among African-Americans of a historical and spiritual connection to ancient Egypt.

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 1997

Using data drawn from Liberia, West Africa (1830 to 1847), this study tested two propositions off... more Using data drawn from Liberia, West Africa (1830 to 1847), this study tested two propositions offered by historian John D. Stevens concerning
a possible correlation between legal restrictions on the press and cultural homogeneity on the one hand and a lack of economic development on the other. Although Liberia seemed to meet both criteria suggested by Stevens, an outbreak of social tensions in 1840 did not lead to restrictions on the opposition Africa's Luminary newspaper, despite the existence of a sedition law. In conclusion, it is argued that the weak predictive power of these propositions was due large to imprecise definitions of key terms.

Liberian Studies Journal, 1989

This paper provides biographical sketches of delegates to the 1847 Constitutional Convention, wit... more This paper provides biographical sketches of delegates to the 1847 Constitutional Convention, with attention given to their actions and ideas. It shows that the Liberian delegates, as suggested by Brown (1980-1981), possessed the education and other wherewithal for writing such a document. This evidence challenges the view that the Constitution was written by Simon Greenleaf, a Harvard law professor. That thesis was first advanced in 1847 by a critic of the Convention and codified in modern scholarship by Charles Huberich, himself a Harvard law professor.

Liberian Studies Journal, 1998

Given a paucity of sources and lack of serious investigation, the 1847 Constitution has been the object of various speculations. Widely repeated, but easiest to disprove, is the claim that the U. S. Constitution served as a model for Liberia's. The most enduring myth in the scholarly literature holds that the Liberian document was written by Simon Greenleaf, an ACS supporter and Harvard University professor.

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 1997

... Carl Patrick Burraves is Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Mass Com... more ... Carl Patrick Burraves is Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University, where he is ... gift of heaven.”% The unraveling of Russwurm's political career in Monrovia came while the Reverend John B. Pinney was serving ...

Communication Theory, 1996

Functionalism practically disappeared as an explicit tradition in communications due to the radic... more Functionalism practically disappeared as an explicit tradition in communications due to the radical theoretical realignments of the 1980s. Three criticisms proved decisive to this undoing; political conservatism; problems of logic, mainly tautology and an inappropriate appeal to teleological explanations; and a tendency to impose psychological and sociological analyses on specifically cultural materials. Formulated in reference to systemic Parsonian functionalism, which dominated the broader social sciences, these criticisms are relatively easy to reconcile within the contextual, actionist Mertonian tradition, which took root in the communications context, but only through a constructive dialogue with the cultural studies and cultural indicators approaches, both of which have spent the last decade investigating a traditionally functionalist concern – the hypothesis of cultural systems integration. If functionalism offers to this cross-fertilization a focus on the normative orders of society, the cultural indicators approach provides a rigorous methodology and cultural studies cautions a greater sensitivity to social hierarchies.

Journalism History, 2011

Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies, 2012

Journalism & Communication Monographs, 2011

Liberian Studies Journal, 1989

Liberian Studies Journal, 1988

Liberian Studies Journal, 1993

Liberian Studies Journal, 1998

The Journal of Negro History, 2001

Maine History

Journalism History, 2011

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 1997

Liberian Studies Journal, 1989

Liberian Studies Journal, 1998

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 1997

Communication Theory, 1996

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 2005

Review by W. Joseph Campbell

Africa World Press, 2004

Power and Press Freedom in Liberia, 1830-1970 tells the rich and sometimes heroic story of the pr... more Power and Press Freedom in Liberia, 1830-1970 tells the rich and sometimes heroic story of the press in Liberia, from 1830, when the first newspaper was established, to 1970, the nadir of government control of the media. Early newspapers were infused with a broad race consciousness, reflected in names like Africas Luminary, the African Watchman, and New Africa, which gave way to a specific nationalism at the turn of the last century, as the curtain of European colonization separated Liberians from the rest of the continent. Initially, newspapers featured biting social commentary and enjoyed wide latitude to criticize officials. But, increased foreign investments in the 1940s brought stringent restrictions and a rise in government ownership of the media.

Between the Kola Forest and the Salty Sea reveals the long-hidden story of those who lived in the... more Between the Kola Forest and the Salty Sea reveals the long-hidden story of those who lived in the region before Liberia was created.

Here are a few of the inspiring revelations it contains:

• The different languages and ethnic groups in Liberia share a common root.
• The barkless hunting dog found in Liberian villages were a favorite pet of Ancient Egyptian pharaohs.
• Kola - once used as an ingredient in soft drinks - was discovered by the ancestors of Liberians.
• Early European explorers learned from early Liberian seafarers how to navigate some dangerous currents and winds of the Atlantic Ocean.
• Rice growers from West African's "Grain Coast" helped teach Americans how to grow rice. Today, the United States exports rice to West Africa, including Liberia.

Between the Kola Forest and the Salty Sea took 30 years of research and uses documents first published in Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish and French. It draws on oral traditions, archaeological digs, historical linguistics, studies of cultural patterns embedded in masks and other forms of material culture, regional and continental histories, and even biological anthropology.

Just as West African farmers burn a field to remove weeds, Between the Kola Forest and the Salty Sea demolishes many negative stereotypes. For centuries, African cultures have been portrayed as "strange," "weird," even "evil" through the use of words like "fetish," "witch," and "country devil."

This book will change Liberian history - and Liberians - for good!

The Half That's Never Been Told, 2019

Born a slave in Virginia, Hilary Teage emigrated to West Africa, where he became a Baptist pastor... more Born a slave in Virginia, Hilary Teage emigrated to West Africa, where he became a Baptist pastor, merchant, statesman and newspaper editor. Although long ignored, he produced an engaging and prodigious range of poems, personality profiles, ethnographic articles, and policy papers. Teage was an early exponent of pan-Africanism and a mentor of Edward Wilmot Blyden.

Early praise for the book:

"Hilary Teage is a fascinating figure, and you will definitely put him into our histories" - Joyce Appleby, president of the American Historical Society and a distinguished historian of liberalism and capitalism.

"I found the manuscript intriguing, and trust that you will get it published without undue delay" - Eugene D. Genovese, founder of The Historical Society and prize-winning historian of the antebellum South.

"You have done a great deal of impressive research, and you have a fascinating story to tell about a little-known man of some importance" - John B. Boles, former editor of the Journal of Southern History and William P. Hobby Professor of American History at Rice University.

The Half That's Never Been Told, 2019

Africa is deeply scarred by the capture and selling of million of its people over several centuri... more Africa is deeply scarred by the capture and selling of million of its people over several centuries. This is true to a greater extent for Liberia, a country created as a haven from slavery for blacks from the Americas.

In many important ways, the effects of the slave trade were similar to those of Liberia's recent civil war. Both engendered pains, traumas and losses that cannot be ignored out of existence. Driven beneath the surface, they corrode our conscience and erode our humanity. By pretending they don't exist, we destroy our ability to tell right from wrong, victims from villains.

Echoes of the slavery era can be heard in the derogatory names Liberians call each other. They include Gio (name for the Dan ethnic group, which means "slaves"), Belle (name for the Kuwaa ethnic group, which means "savages") and ex-slaves (applied routinely to Liberians of African-American descent).

Liberians living today face the challenge of building peace by doing away with relations of great inequality. As this book shows, the first generation of Liberians, both repatriates and indigenous, worked together to do just that. Their story was reconstructed using original letters and other documents, books translated from many languages, oral histories, and a range of other sources.

https://knowyourself.press/shop?olsPage=products%2Fliberia-the-quest-for-freedom

The Half That Has Never Been Told, 2019

Liberian citizenship has been restricted to people of African descent since the country declared ... more Liberian citizenship has been restricted to people of African descent since the country declared its independence in 1847. In 2018, President George Weah called that restriction "racist" and called for the Constitution to be changed because the threats from the nineteenth century "no longer exist." But was Weah was speaking, threats against people of color, especially those of African descent, were reemerging in the West.

This book reviews the history of citizenship and nationality in Liberia, including the origin of the "Negro Clause." Here are some highlights:

• Liberia, at its founding, was "a nationality in search of a nation."
• Due to Samori Toure's incursions and the European Scramble for Africa, the country shifted from a loose confederation of ethnic groups to a state with tight borders.
• As a result of globalization and the Civil War, Liberians are functioning less as citizens and more as clients of "big men" and, in some cases, "big women."
• The historic role of women as guardians of public morality continues, as was evident toward the end of the war when a group known as Women Crusaders for Peace shamed male leaders of warring factions to engage in negotiations.

https://knowyourself.press/shop?olsPage=products%2Fcitizenship-nationality-in-liberia

Occasional Paper No. 89, Institute for African and African-American Affairs, Department of African-American Studies, Temple University, 1989

has written a critique of political science literature on Liberia that sets a new departure for A... more has written a critique of political science literature on Liberia that sets a new departure for African-American Studies. As an ongoing research project it promises to open new and exciting vistas of debate in political science theory for the next cen tury. Burrowes' work also demonstrates the salutary effects of re thinking the conceptual descriptions of African and African-Ameri can social phenomena. While there are still terms in the paper such as "slave" and "tribe" that will require further rethinking, the sub stantive contribution of this paper and the promise of the research direction it heralds is a solid and meaningful contribution to the ad vancement of a critical application of an Africa centered perspective