Afrocentricity, African Agency and Knowledge System (original) (raw)
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Afrocentrism: A Desirable Pathway of Demystifying Misperceptions about Africa
Article, 2019
The concern of this paper is to examine the philosophy of Afrocentrism as a desirable way of demystifying Eurocentric misperceptions about Africa. Since Eurocentrism claims the universality and superiority of what is European, Eurocentrists evoke emotive terminologies about Africa, which oversimplify African perspectives. However, Afrocentrism contests the superiority assumption of Eurocentrism and debunk the misperceptions about Africa. The paper investigates the Eurocentric narratives that reduced everything African into savagery, barbaric, prelogical, and darkness, in general, and the misperceptions about Africa in particular. In so doing, qualitative method is employed by analyzing related secondary sources from books, journal articles, and book sections. Accordingly, the paper argues that Afrocentrism has played epistemological and historiographic roles in deconstructing Eurocentric narratives and demystifying the misperceptions about Africa. To this effect, the paper suggests that Afrocentric narratives, scholasticism, writings, etc. should transcend the limit of deconstructing Eurocentrism and present multiple alternatives to study the world reality.
The Image of Pre-Colonial Africa in European Circles
2011
Cultural relativism denotes the suspension of personal and moral or value judgements about other peoples and their ways. This is very essential for a successful and objective study of the past. It also enhances successful living in the modern, multi-cultural or racial world. It teaches that before forming an opinion, one should critically examine and understand the situation. It does not emphasise any requirement of embracing the beliefs or value systems of foreigners or giving up one's own values. Contrarily, it preaches the granting of respect to a society, people, or country, trying to see their world and behaviour from their own perspectives, rather than simply rejecting all viewpoints but one's own. European scholars who attempted to reconstruct the past of Africa did not take into consideration the tenets of the historical profession and wrote about Africa from their point of view. The result was that a whole lot of wrong impressions were created about Africa and its peoples. This study, using the multidisciplinary approach, examines some of the wrong impressions Eurocentric scholars have created about Africa and Africans.
“Interrogating Fallacies, Stereotypes and Denigrations of Africa in Eurocentric Discourse”
Greener Journal of World Peace, Security and Development, 2013
Africa is one continent that has suffered some of the worst forms of physical and psychological bashing in the hands of European explorers, Colonists and historians alike. Compared to other locations in the world, the rich annals of the continent have also been seemingly twisted out of rhythm with the intent to justify long years of exploitations and stereotyping of the people and their cultures cast in the imageries of barbarians and cannibals. Such a 'paradise lost' is also presented as a social abnormality that defies any form of redemption. This paper interrogates the logic of such bland Eurocentric misconceptions/stereotypes with a view to highlighting how such skewed imageries invariably have contributed adversely to the 'development of underdevelopment' across Africa over the years. The paper concludes that, there is now a dire need for the European interlopers to genuinely begin to partner with Africans with a view to correcting such skewed imageries that have thus far brought Africa to the precipice of imminent systemic collapse.
Moving away from Ethnocentricity towards the implentation of Afrocentricty
Historically, colonialism relied on a false sense of superiority to justify the domination of colonized people. What students of African descent confront today is that same false sense of superiority of European and American worldview and values and a denigration of the African. Akbar (1998) argued that a "legacy of competence" for students of African descent can liberate them from the shackles of Euro-centric history. For students in American schools, stereotypes, misperceptions and misinformation about Africa abound in the media and in the standard curriculum about Africa. Two studies inform this paper in which I argue for the power of reading to connect students of African descent to their African heritage, whether recently arrived or born in the United States. Students of African descent who are provided with access to materials written by African and African American authors find a direct connection to their history and culture that opens them to shared experiences that incite an eagerness to learn more. All students can benefit from reading about Africa and its peoples from those best positioned to tell the stories, African and African American authors.
Eurocentric Views of Africa and European Imperialism
The 10-page research paper in offshore journal examines how ideological imperialism expoused by Western Europe was extensively employed in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries to justify the economic and political activities of Europeans across the borders. The concept of imperialism critically studied by John Gallagher and Ronald Robinson among other scholars was revisited. In order to corroborate their conviction in the notion of imperialism, this paper discuss the knitty-gritty of Eurocentric views of Africa, European imperialism in Africa and the implications for the modern day relationship between Europe and Africa.
Eurocentric hegemony and African recolonisation
There is imperative need to understand the fact that Africa attained the flag and national anthem independence only. A critical analysis of 21st century Africa clearly indicates that Eurocentric principles, values and practices are still evident, it is clear that far too many African states have been captured and have become subjects of Eurocentric hegemony in a fashion that is reminiscent of recolonization. Admittedly, there is a fresh impetus to generic Eurocentrism globalization. History and contemporary information both demonstrates that US – European fascist's constructs are involved in sponsoring criminal war lords, wars and generic destabilization processes. These processes are in fact nothing more than opportunist criminal movements and corrupt political parties who are focused on the destabilization of Africa. The imperialist's goals, then, are the creation of disorder and general political-economic chaos. This process is intended to generate criminal opportunities for the fascistic super USA and their subordinate imperialist powers in Europe and beyond. The imperialist goal here is to continue the looting and plundering of Africa's resources for the benefit of metropolitan Europe and the USA. Therefore, it is clear that Africa's independence and sovereignty stands at the crossroads as Eurocentric hegemony prepares to take over once again the economic opportunities and means of production across the African continent..
Kaduna Journal of Humanities -A Publication of the Department of History, Kaduna State University, Nigeria, 2019
Poverty, corruption, bad leadership and violence among others have been identified as threats to the existence of the African race but none of these internal pathologies is more threatening than the Eurocentric construction of African history. While history gives a sense of belongingness, identity, belief and the historical processes needed to facilitate the productive capacity in a society as postulated by Karl Marx, African history has been maligned, denied, downplayed and to say the least, barbarically constructed through the machinations and neo-imperialistic grip of the world systems by the West, thereby weakening Africa’s indigenous knowledge and productive systems capable of facilitating its developmental aspirations. With little or no appreciable results recorded in Africa’s quest to deconstruct the western construction of its history, the deliberate denial of, and the barbaric construction of the African history by the West has negatively resulted in loss of faith in the historical uniqueness and productive capacity of Africa by the African people. This paper however concludes that the constant denigration and downplaying of African history by the West poses a greater threat to the continued existence of the African race than Africa’s domestic issues, and that unless conscious efforts are made to deconstruct the constructed African history by the West amongst its people, Africa’s development agenda may never see the light of the day. Keywords: Africa, African History, Constructed African History, Deconstructing the Eurocentric Construction of African History, Africa’s Development
Eurocentrism, Racism and Knowledge
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2015
List of Maps and Tables Map 9.1 World War I military activities in the Mozambique war theatre 167 Tables 8.1 Number of enslaved Africans deported from Africa during the Transatlantic Slave Trade 140 8.2 Estimates of the number of victims of the system of slavery in the Americas 148 11.1 1993 reform textbooks analyzed 212 11.2 2006 reform textbooks analyzed 213 vii