CONTENTS Part I Africa in the Configurations of Knowledge Part II

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

CONTENTS Part I Africa in the Configurations of Knowledge Part II Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 CONTENTS List of Illustrations vii Preface ix Introduction 1 One An Emerging Biography 17 Part I Africa in the Configurations of Knowledge Two African-Centered Conceptualization 43 Three Pluralism and Religious Tolerance 59 Four Postulates on the African State 77 Five Axioms of African Migrations and Movements 85 Part II The Yoruba in the Configurations of Knowledge Six A Mouth Sweeter than Salt : A Fractal Analysis 99 Seven Yoruba Gurus and the Idea of Ubuntugogy 121 Eight Pragmatic Linguistic Analysis of Isola 137 Part III The Value of Knowledge: Policies and Politics Nine The Power of African Cultures : A Diegetic Analysis 155 Ten African Peace Paradigms 185 Eleven Pan-African Notions 203 Twelve Using E-clustering to Learn and Teach about Toyin Falola 217 Conclusion: An Interpretative Overview 235 Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 vi Contents Appendix: Notation Conventions 241 List of Works by Toyin Falola 243 Notes 249 Bibliography 277 Index 293 Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 TOYIN FALOLA AND AFRICAN EPISTEMOLOGIES Copyright © Abdul Karim Bangura, 2015. All rights reserved. First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–1–137–49516–7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bangura, Abdul Karim, 1953– author. Toyin Falola and African epistemologies / Abdul Karim Bangura. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–1–137–49516–7 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Falola, Toyin—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Falola, Toyin—Infl uence. 3. Knowledge, Theory of—Africa. 4. Philosophy, Yoruba. 5. Africa—Study and teaching. I. Title. DT19.7.F35B36 2015 960.0722—dc23 2014032960 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: February 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 Introduction This book examines the contributions of Toyin Falola to the field of African Studies since 1960, providing readers with the opportunity to review his work and introducing theoretical and methodological approaches for assessing his scholarship. Toyin Falola has attracted con- siderable academic attention as a leading African historian of this gen- eration. Wide-ranging analyses of his career and contributions have been attempted in books and essays, most notably in five festschriften—two edited by Adebayo Oyebade, The Transformation of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola (2002) and The Foundations of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola (2003) ; one edited by Akin Ogundiran, Pre-Colonial Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola (2005) ; one edited by Niyi Afolabi, Toyin Falola: The Man, The Mask, The Muse (2010); and the most recent one edited by Akin Alao and Rotimi Taiwo, Perspectives on African Studies: Essays in Honour of Toyin Falola (2011). Thus, a pertinent question emerges: Is another book on Toyin Falola and his works needed? The obvious answer is that, as long as he continues to produce scholarship, there will be a need to keep writing about his work. The aforementioned books, though important in their own capaci- ties, leave many topics to be addressed. In the first three and the most recent festschriften, introductory essays attempt to survey and evaluate the significance of his work, but that is not always the purpose of the rest of the essays in those collections. The exception is the volume edited by Afolabi, where the primary objective is to explore his work and its sig- nificance, and the book attains a deserved eminence. The perspectives are many, in part because of the contribution of more than 20 different voices. But there is a need to go beyond these five books for several reasons. First, they have not fully captured the essence of Falola’s works in terms of philosophy and methodology. Second, since they were completed, Falola has produced additional writings, which need to be analyzed and connected with previous works. Third, a single-authored book provides coherence and greater analytical rigor. This book, therefore, seeks to add to these works by providing both new biographical and academic infor- mation on Falola as well as a systematic and updated analysis of his work as a contribution to the Black Intellectual Renaissance. Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 2 Toyin Falola and African Epistemologies Image 0.1 Portrait by Dr. Aderonke Adesanya, 2007. A Review of Works on Toyin Falola The five festschriften mentioned above and The Long Arm of Africa: The Prodigious Career of Toyin Falola (2010), edited by Vik Bahl and Bisola Falola, have all presented various ideas on Falola’s scholarship and the way his ideas have inspired a host of new work. 1 In The Transformation of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola (2002), the editor, Adebayo Oyebade, divides the volume “into four broad parts designed to explore the salient elements in the transformation of Nigeria, all of which are areas covered by the scholarship of Toyin Falola.” 2 The chapters in the first part “deal with education, law, and various issues of political development.” In the second part, the chapters examine key economic and societal issues. The chapters in the third part investigate “discourses on gender and ethnicity.” In the final part, the chapters interrogate the themes of language, culture, and art. Together, asserts Oyebade, the chapters represent “a scholarly interpretation of the thematic issues that have defined Nigeria in the last hundred years.” Oyebade offers The Transformation of Nigeria “as the first tribute to rec- ognize and honor the immense contribution of Toyin Falola to the Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 Copyrighted material – 9781137495167 Introduction 3 development of historical scholarship on Africa in general and Nigeria in particular.” 3 According to Oyebade, “Falola belongs to the second generation of scholars whose unique contribution to academic history is to expand the horizon of the discipline through teaching . and research in new histori- cal terraine.” Oyebade notes that “Falola quickly established himself as a leading [scholar] in the new historical school [and] his remarkable profes- sional career [is] testimony to his immense contribution to the new African historiography.” Oyebade points out that “although Falola has written on a wide variety of African themes, his most significant contributions has been to Nigerian historical studies.” This is because, according to Oyebade, Falola “has a passion for Nigeria [coupled] with an ambition to cover all of the leading issues and find answers to the problems of under- development.” Oyebade notes that Falola “has written seminal work on Ibadan, the city of his birth, in addition to contributing many significant studies on the Yoruba.” Oyebade adds that Falola’s writings “not only cut across historical periods, ranging from precolonial to contemporary times,” but also investigate “a broad range of issues: politics, economy, religion, culture, and historiography.” 4 Oyebade dedicates the second festschrift, The Foundations of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola (2003), to Falola for his academic study of Nigeria in the era of British colonial rule. The themes covered in the volume “underline the foundations of modern Nigeria, notably national- ism, constitutionalism, politics, economy, culture, gender, ethnicity, and religion.” 5 In the second chapter of the book, Oyebade provides a critical analysis of Falola’s writings on the colonial economy in Nigeria. He argues that two major historiographical themes reinforce those writings. The first theme establishes that, for any analytical tool of inquiry and explanation to be fruitful, it must be anchored in valid connections among the economic, social, political, and religious characteristics of the state. The second theme is that modernization theory’s account of colonialism is untenable, since it denies the primacy of imperial economic interest in the colonial project. Oyebade concludes that, because of the sheer volume and originality of Falola’s work on colonial economy, it not only has an enduring legacy on the discipline of political economics as a whole but also advances the epis- temology about colonial economic history in particular. 6 Akinwumi Ogundiran, editor of the third festschrift, Precolonial Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola (2005), notes that this volume recognizes Falola’s work “on the historiography of precolonial Nigeria—the sub- ject on which he originally built his scholarly reputation.” Ogundiran explains that the book is “a return to where it all began for Falola”:7 that is, the political-economic perspective and socioeconomic dimensions of his work on precolonial Nigerian history, especially nineteenth-century Yorubaland, which also inform the analytical
Recommended publications
  • African Studies Association 59Th Annual Meeting
    AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION 59TH ANNUAL MEETING IMAGINING AFRICA AT THE CENTER: BRIDGING SCHOLARSHIP, POLICY, AND REPRESENTATION IN AFRICAN STUDIES December 1 - 3, 2016 Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, D.C. PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Benjamin N. Lawrance, Rochester Institute of Technology William G. Moseley, Macalester College LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Eve Ferguson, Library of Congress Alem Hailu, Howard University Carl LeVan, American University 1 ASA OFFICERS President: Dorothy Hodgson, Rutgers University Vice President: Anne Pitcher, University of Michigan Past President: Toyin Falola, University of Texas-Austin Treasurer: Kathleen Sheldon, University of California, Los Angeles BOARD OF DIRECTORS Aderonke Adesola Adesanya, James Madison University Ousseina Alidou, Rutgers University Souleymane Bachir Diagne, Columbia University Brenda Chalfin, University of Florida Mary Jane Deeb, Library of Congress Peter Lewis, Johns Hopkins University Peter Little, Emory University Timothy Longman, Boston University Jennifer Yanco, Boston University ASA SECRETARIAT Suzanne Baazet, Executive Director Kathryn Salucka, Program Manager Renée DeLancey, Program Manager Mark Fiala, Financial Manager Sonja Madison, Executive Assistant EDITORS OF ASA PUBLICATIONS African Studies Review: Elliot Fratkin, Smith College Sean Redding, Amherst College John Lemly, Mount Holyoke College Richard Waller, Bucknell University Kenneth Harrow, Michigan State University Cajetan Iheka, University of Alabama History in Africa: Jan Jansen, Institute of Cultural
    [Show full text]
  • Liberian Studies Journal
    VOLUME XIV 1989 NUMBER 2 LIBERIAN STUDIES JOURNAL r 8 °W LIBERIA -8 °N 8 °N- MONSERRADO MARGIBI MARYLAND Geography Department 10 °W University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown 8oW 1 Published by THE LIBERIAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION, INC. PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor Cover map: compiled by William Kory, cartography work by Jodie Molnar; Geography Department, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor VOLUME XIV 1989 NUMBER 2 LIBERIAN STUDIES JOURNAL Editor D. Elwood Dunn The University of the South Associate Editor Similih M. Cordor Kennesaw College Book Review Editor Dalvan M. Coger Memphis State University EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Bertha B. Azango Lawrence B. Breitborde University of Liberia Beloit College Christopher Clapham Warren L. d'Azevedo Lancaster University University of Nevada Reno Henrique F. Tokpa Thomas E. Hayden Cuttington University College Africa Faith and Justice Network Svend E. Holsoe J. Gus Liebenow University of Delaware Indiana University Corann Okorodudu Glassboro State College Edited at the Department of Political Science, The University of the South PDF compression, OCR, web optimization using a watermarked evaluation copy of CVISION PDFCompressor CONTENTS THE LIBERIAN ECONOMY ON APRIL 1980: SOME REFLECTIONS 1 by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF AGRICULTURE AMONG THE KPELLE: KPELLE FARMING THROUGH KPELLE EYES 23 by John Gay "PACIFICATION" UNDER PRESSURE: A POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LIBERIAN INTERVENTION IN NIMBA 1912 -1918 ............ 44 by Martin Ford BLACK, CHRISTIAN REPUBLICANS: DELEGATES TO THE 1847 LIBERIAN CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION ........................ 64 by Carl Patrick Burrowes TRIBE AND CHIEFDOM ON THE WINDWARD COAST 90 by Warren L.
    [Show full text]
  • The Speculative Fiction of Octavia Butler and Tananarive Due
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Digital Commons@Wayne State University Wayne State University DigitalCommons@WayneState Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-2010 An Africentric Reading Protocol: The pS eculative Fiction Of Octavia Butler And Tananarive Due Tonja Lawrence Wayne State University, Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Recommended Citation Lawrence, Tonja, "An Africentric Reading Protocol: The peS culative Fiction Of Octavia Butler And Tananarive Due" (2010). Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 198. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. AN AFRICENTRIC READING PROTOCOL: THE SPECULATIVE FICTION OF OCTAVIA BUTLER AND TANANARIVE DUE by TONJA LAWRENCE DISSERTATION Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2011 MAJOR: COMMUNICATION Approved by: __________________________________________ Advisor Date __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ __________________________________________ © COPYRIGHT BY TONJA LAWRENCE 2011 All Rights Reserved DEDICATION To my children, Taliesin and Taevon, who have sacrificed so much on my journey of self-discovery. I have learned so much from you; and without that knowledge, I could never have come this far. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful for the direction of my dissertation director, help from my friends, and support from my children and extended family. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my dissertation director, Dr. Mary Garrett, for exceptional support, care, patience, and an unwavering belief in my ability to complete this rigorous task.
    [Show full text]
  • The African Diaspora: Slavery, Modernity, and Globalization Toyin Falola
    The African Diaspora: Slavery, Modernity, and Globalization Toyin Falola BOYE6 (2013) The African diaspora is arguably the most important event in modern African history. From the fifteenth century to the present, millions of Africans have been dispersed— many of them forcibly, others driven by economic need or political persecution— to other continents, creating large communities with African origins living outside their native lands. The majority of these communities are in North America. This historic displacement has meant that Africans are irrevocably connected to economic and political developments in the West and globally. Among the known legacies of the diaspora are slavery, colonialism, racism, poverty, and underdevelopment, yet the ways in which these same factors worked to spur the scattering of Africans are not fully understood— by those who were part of this migration or by scholars, historians, and policymakers. In this definitive study of the diaspora in North America, Toyin Falola offers a causal history of the western dispersion of Africans and its effects on the modern world. Reengaging old and familiar debates and framing new ones that enrich the discourse surrounding Africa, Falola isolates the thread, running nearly six centuries, that connects the history of slavery, the transatlantic slave trade, and current migrations. A boon to scholars and policymakers and accessible to the general reader, the book explores diverse narratives of migration and shows that the cultures that migrated from Africa to the Americas have the capacity to unite and create a new pan-Africanist movement within the globalized world. .
    [Show full text]
  • Afolabi 00 Fmt Cx 1/29/10 11:57 AM Page Iii
    afolabi 00 fmt cx 1/29/10 11:57 AM Page iii Toyin falola the man, the mask, the muse edited by niyi Afolabi Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina afolabi 00 fmt cx 1/29/10 11:57 AM Page iv Copyright © 2010 Niyi Afolabi All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Toyin Falola : the man, the mask, the muse / edited by Niyi Afolabi. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59460-754-7 (alk. paper) 1. Falola, Toyin. 2. Falola, Toyin--Influence. 3. Falola, Toyin--Political and social views. 4. Africanists--United States--Biography. 5. Scholars--United States--Biography. 6. Historians--United States--Biography. 7. Africa--Historiography. 8. African dias- pora--Historiography. 9. College teachers--Texas--Austin--Biography. 10. Nigerian Americans--Biography. I. Afolabi, Niyi. II. Title. DT19.7.F35T69 2010 960.072'02--dc22 2010002268 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America afolabi 00 fmt cx 1/29/10 11:57 AM Page v Dedicated to my mother: Ogboja afolabi 00 fmt cx 1/29/10 11:57 AM Page vii Contents Prologue xiii Niyi Afolabi Notes on Contributors xvii Chapter 1 Toyin Falola: The Man, The Mask, The Muse 3 Niyi Afolabi PART ONE INVOCATION AND COMMENTARIES Chapter 2 Invocation 53 Iyalawo Oloye Aina Olomo (Igbo Iyalase, the Ajidakin) Chapter 3 Toyin Falola: A Poet “Within” and “Without” 57 Michael Vickers Chapter 4 Toyin Falola: Volcanic Force, Diasporic Muse 85 Paul Lovejoy Chapter 5 Toyin Falola: The African Historian and Scholar 89 Robert Dibie Chapter 6 Toyin Falola: The Master Teacher 97 Molefi Kete Asante Chapter 7 Professor Toyin Falola in His Intellectual Majesty! 101 A.B.
    [Show full text]
  • From Malcolm Little to El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Quote: I Am All That I Have Been
    THE MULTIFARIOUS JIHADS OF MALCOLM X: FROM MALCOLM LITTLE TO EL HAJJ MALIK EL-SHABAZZ QUOTE: I AM ALL THAT I HAVE BEEN. EL HAJJ MALIK EL-SHABAZZ, 1964 A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Professional Studies in Africana Studies by Keisha A. Hicks August 2009 © 2009 Keisha A. Hicks ABSTRACT Malcolm X is one of the most iconoclastic persons in the African American political and intellectual traditions. The challenge in performing the research for this thesis, was to find a way to examine the life of Malcolm X that is different from the scholarly work published to date. I contemplated on what might be the most impactful Islamic concept that has influenced American dominant culture during the past twenty years. The critical lens I chose to utilize is the Islamic cultural practice of Jihad. The attraction for me was juxtaposing various concepts of Jihad, which is most closely aligned with the manifestations of Malcolm’s faith as a Muslim. By using Jihad as my critical lens for analyzing his life and speeches I hope to present an even greater appreciation for Malcolm X as a person of deep faith. The forms of Jihad I will apply for contextual analysis are Jihad bin Nafs {Jihad of the Heart}, Jihad bil Lisan {Jihad of the Tongue}, and Jihad bin Yad {Jihad of Action}. Having read the Autobiography several times at different stages during my academic career I thought I had gained a good understanding of Malcolm X’s life.
    [Show full text]
  • Fallou Ngom, Phd Professor of Anthropology Director, African Studies Center Boston University, 232 Bay State Road Boston, MA 02215, Email: [email protected]
    Fallou Ngom, PhD Professor of Anthropology Director, African Studies Center Boston University, 232 Bay State Road Boston, MA 02215, Email: [email protected] EDUCATION PhD, French Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2002 MA, French (with emphasis on linguistics), University of Montana, 1997 Maîtrise d’anglais, Grammaire et Linguistique, Université de Saint-Louis, Sénégal, 1996 Licence d’anglais, Grammaire et Linguistique, Université de Saint-Louis, Sénégal, 1994 DEUG d’anglais, Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis, Sénégal, 1993 PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT Professor of Anthropology and Director of the African Studies Center, Boston University, September 2017-present Professor of Anthropology and Director of the African Language Program, Boston University, March 2017-July 2017 Associate Professor of Anthropology (with tenure) and Director of the African Language Program, Boston University, January 2008 – February 23, 2017 Affiliated faculty, Global Development Policy Center, Boston University, Jan. 2019-present Affiliated faculty, Linguistics Program, Boston University, 2015-present Fulbright Lecturing and Research Scholar, Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis, Senegal, October 2007 – July 2008 Associate Professor of French and Linguistics (with tenure), Western Washington University, Fall 2007 – January 2008 Assistant Professor of French and Linguistics, Western Washington University, 2002-2007 RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTS African Ajami sources of knowledge African intellectual traditions African Arabic & Ajami writings
    [Show full text]
  • Blyden's Philosophy and Its Impact on West African Intellectuals
    AWEJ for Translation & Literary Studies, Volume 4, Number2. May 2020 Pp. 143 -156 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awejtls/vol4no2.11 Blyden’s Philosophy and Its Impact on West African Intellectuals: Case of J.E. Casely Hayford of the Gold Coast (Ghana) Ahmed Bouchemal Department of English Faculty of Letters and Foreign Languages Dialogue of Religions and Civilizations in the Mediterranean Basin Laboratory Abou Bekr Belkaid University, Tlemcen, Algeria Faiza Meberbeche Senouci Department of English Faculty of Letters and Foreign Languages Abou Bekr Belkaid University, Tlemcen, Algeria Abstract This study examines the impact of Blyden’s philosophy on J.E. Casely Hayford of the Gold Coast (Ghana). It exposes Blyden’s ideas, a philosophy on Africans physical and intellectual emancipation, and points out the similarities in the thought of both men. Blyden toured different parts of West Africa and spoke with great intensity about the African problem and ways of its remedy. His ideas had a lot of influence at the time and precipitated the emergence of nationalist messiah who undertook a mission to redefine the African universe. This study examines the ideas and intellect of J.E.Casely Hayford and revealed that his thoughts were a potency of Edward Wilmot Blyden’s philosophy. An examination of his ideas reveals how Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford took an uncompromising stand against the derogatory and the glaring abuses of European colonialism. He shaped cultural nationalism that disdained the apparent repulsive and despotic colonial hegemony and fashioned a new outlook for fellow Africans to stand up as humans. This article concludes that Hayford, drawing on Blyden’s philosophy, succeeded in fashioning a culture of protest against all forms of black degradation and thus presented a continuity in black political thought that remained up to present.
    [Show full text]
  • Selected Black Critiques of Western Education 1850-1933
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1985 The politics of knowledge : selected black critiques of western education 1850-1933. P. Oaré Dozier University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Dozier, P. Oaré, "The politics of knowledge : selected black critiques of western education 1850-1933." (1985). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 4155. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/4155 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE: SELECTED BLACK CRITIQUES OF WESTERN EDUCATION 1850-1933 A Dissertation Presented By P. OARE DOZIER Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION February 1985 School of Education P. Oare Dozier All Rights Reserved THE POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE: SELECTED BLACK CRITIQUES OF WESTERN EDUCATION 1850-1933 A Dissertation Presented By P. OARE DOZIER Approved as to style and content by: cy\ s Dr. Asa Davis, Member Mario D. Fantim Dean School of Education i i i To my pillars of support Cita and Pop-Pop, and my sheltering arms. Kamayu, Tasmia, and Asegun ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A complete dissertation is never the product of any one person. In this case there are many people that I am indebted to. First and foremost, my family gets the singular prize for lovingly supporting me through this.
    [Show full text]
  • DECOLONIZING BLYDEN by ANTAR FIELDS
    DECOLONIZING BLYDEN by ANTAR FIELDS (Under the Direction of Diane Batts Morrow) ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to “decolonize” Edward W. Blyden, educator, diplomat, and black nationalist, by isolating three of his most controversial and contradicting ideologies—race, colonization, and religion—within the context of his “multiple consciousness”: the Negro, the American, and the African. Historians criticize Blyden for his disdain for mulattoes, pro-colonization and pro-imperialist stance, and his idealistic praise of Islam. The inaccuracy of these ideologies has received considerable attention by Blyden historians. The objective of this study is not to add to the criticism but to demystify and deconstruct Blyden’s rhetoric by analyzing the substance and intent of his arguments. Concentrating on his model for a West African nation-state allows more insight into the complexities of his thought. Studying the historical environment in which Blyden formulated his ideologies provide a more in-depth analysis into how his multiple consciousness evolved. INDEX WORDS: American Colonization Society, Edward W. Blyden, Colonialism, Colonization Movement, Colorism, Emigration, Liberia, Multiple Consciousness DECOLONIZING BLYDEN by ANTAR FIELDS B.A., Augusta State University, 2003 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2005 © 2005 Antar Fields All Rights Reserved DECOLONIZING BLYDEN by ANTAR FIELDS Major Professor: Diane Batts
    [Show full text]
  • Pan-African History: Political Figures from Africa and The
    Pan-African History Pan-Africanism, the perception by people of African origins and descent that they have interests in common, has been an important by-product of colonialism and the enslavement of African peoples by Europeans. Though it has taken a variety of forms over the two centuries of its fight for equality and against economic exploitation, commonality has been a unifying theme for many Black people, resulting for example in the Back-to-Africa movement in the United States but also in nationalist beliefs such as an African ‘supra-nation’. Pan-African History brings together Pan-Africanist thinkers and activists from the Anglophone and Francophone worlds of the past two hundred years. Included are well-known figures such as Malcolm X, W.E.B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon, Kwame Nkrumah, and Martin Delany, and the authors’ original research on lesser-known figures such as Constance Cummings-John and Dusé Mohamed Ali reveals exciting new aspects of Pan-Africanism. Hakim Adi is Senior Lecturer in African and Black British History at Middlesex University, London. He is a founder member and currently Chair of the Black and Asian Studies Association and is the author of West Africans in Britain 1900–1960: Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and Communism (1998) and (with M. Sherwood) The 1945 Manchester Pan-African Congress Revisited (1995). Marika Sherwood is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London. She is a founder member and Secretary of the Black and Asian Studies Association; her most recent books are Claudia Jones: A Life in Exile (2000) and Kwame Nkrumah: The Years Abroad 1935–1947 (1996).
    [Show full text]
  • Migrations and Creative Expressions in Africa and the African Diaspora 00 Falola Final Cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page Ii 00 Falola Final Cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page Iii
    00 falola final cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page i Migrations and Creative Expressions in Africa and the African Diaspora 00 falola final cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page ii 00 falola final cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page iii Migrations and Creative Expressions in Africa and the African Diaspora Toyin Falola University of Texas at Austin Niyi Afolabi University of Massachusetts at Amherst Adérónké Adésolá Adésànyà University of Ibadan-Nigeria Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina 00 falola final cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page iv Copyright © 2008 Toyin Falola, Niyi Afolabi, and Adérónké Adésolá Adésànyà All rights reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Migrations and creative expressions in Africa and the African diaspora / edited by Toyin Falola, Niyi Afolabi, Aderonke A. Adesanya. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59460-460-7 (alk. paper) 1. African diaspora. 2. Africans--Migrations. 3. Africa--Civilization. 4. Africa--Intellectual life. 5. Blacks--Intellectual life. 6. America--Civilization--African influences. 7. Caribbean Area--Civilization--African influences. 8. Arts, Black. I. Falola, Toyin. II. Afolabi, Niyi. III. Adesanya, Aderonke A. IV. Title. DT16.5.R45 2008 304.8096--dc22 2008002578 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America 00 falola final cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page v dedicated to Dr. Julius Adekunle for his contributions to Nigerian History 00 falola final cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page vi 00 falola final cx 6/18/08 3:20 PM Page vii Contents Preface xi Notes on Authors xiii Chapter 1 Introduction: Migrating Souls, Resistant Spirits 3 Toyin Falola, Niyi Afolabi, and Adérónké A.
    [Show full text]