DOCSLIB.ORG

An Analysis of Adinkra Symbology on Traditional Clothing in Ghana

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
An Analysis of Adinkra Symbology on Traditional Clothing in Ghana Cynthia Adjovi Mawuli Transmission and Embodiment of Heritage: An Analysis of Adinkra Symbology on Traditional Clothing in Ghana MA Thesis in Cultural Heritage Studies; Academic Research, Policy, Management Central European University CEU eTD Collection Budapest June 2019 Transmission and Embodiment of Heritage: An Analysis of Adinkra Symbology on Traditional Clothing in Ghana by Cynthia Adjovi Mawuli (Ghana) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Cultural Heritage Studies Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ Examiner ____________________________________________ Examiner CEU eTD Collection Budapest June 2019 Transmission and Embodiment of Heritage: An Analysis of Adinkra Symbology on Traditional Clothing in Ghana by Cynthia Adjovi Mawuli (Ghana) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Cultural Heritage Studies Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ____________________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection Budapest Month YYYY Transmission and Embodiment of Heritage: An Analysis of Adinkra Symbology on Traditional Clothing in Ghana by Cynthia Adjovi Mawuli (Ghana) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Cultural Heritage Studies Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ____________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection Budapest June 2019 I, the undersigned, Cynthia Adjovi Mawuli, candidate for the MA degree in Cultural Heritage Studies: Academic Research, Policy, Management declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person’s or institution’s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree. Budapest, 26 May 2019 __________________________ Signature CEU eTD Collection Abstract Adinkra are symbols that convey philosophies of the Akan people of Ghana through stylized pictures/symbols. A group of symbols, or a symbol one wore on a local/indigenously knit material was used to reflect a person’s mood, ethnic group, status and even political affiliation and influence in Akan society in the past. Adinkra legitimizes itself by means of external communication, an aspect which traces how people think about the world they live in. Therefore, a shift in the paradigmatic use of the symbols over the years serves as a case study to understand the evolution of symbols and the context in which these tangible and intangible heritage relevant symbols can be collected for analysis. Hence the research, through qualitative methods of fieldwork and comparative analysis, focuses on the use of Adinkra within contemporary Ghana (specifically within Ntonso- Kumasi and its environs) and how their “detachment” from their traditional social and cultural contexts affect philosophical knowledge production/reproduction and transmission. CEU eTD Collection 1 Acknowledgements First and foremost, praises to the almighty God for his favor throughout my research work to complete the research successfully. This work will have not been possible without the financial support of the cultural heritage program. I am especially indebted to Professor József Laszlovszky, Dora Merai, Zsuzsanna Szalka and Zsuzsanna Reed who have been supportive of my career goals and who worked actively to provide me with the protected academic time to pursue those goals. I would like to express my sincere and profound gratitude to my research supervisor Professor Gerhard Jaritz for giving me the opportunity to do the research and providing valuable guidance throughout this research. His motivation, vision and dynamism have inspired me. It was a great honor to work under his guidance. I am grateful to all those with whom I had the pleasure to work with during this and other related projects. My dissertation committee has provided me an extensive personal guidance and I would especially like to thank my Associate Professor Alice Mathea Choyke for the constant time she has offered me. Nobody has been more important to me in pursuit of education for the future than members of my family. I have been lucky to have had Reverend Professor Jonathan Edward Tetteh Kuwornu-Adjaottor and Professor Daniel Mato as external supervisors who made time to read my work and offered helpful insights into making the work better. I would like to thank my parents Mr. Paul Mawuli and Emelia Yaa Djissenu whose love, CEU eTD Collection prayers, sacrifices and preparedness for the future has brought me this far. I am very grateful to my loving husband and mentor Mr. Eric Baffour Awuah for his love, understanding, advice, prayers and providing an unending inspiration to complete this research work. Also, I express my thanks to my brother Mr. Michael Kofi Mawuli for his support and valuable prayers. I 2 acknowledge the spiritual support I received from Mr. and Mrs. Cudjoe, Mr. Senyo Okyere, my mother-in-law Ernestina Ayim Kankam and Twumasi- Ntiamoah for their keen interest and prayers for completing this research. My special thanks to the curator of the museum of Archeology, University of Ghana Mr. Ajare, curator of the bronze exhibition of the institute of African studies, University of Ghana Mr. Philip Owusu, my primary research consultant Mr. Paul Boakye and all artists at the Ntonso- cultural community center who contributed to my research for their selflessness. Lastly, my profound gratitude goes to my uncle Mr. John Djissenu for his words of encouragement which have been of great significance in my life. CEU eTD Collection 3 Table of Contents CHAPTER 1. APPROACHING A CULTURE ................................................................................................ 10 1.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE STUDY............................................................................................................... 15 1.3 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................................................. 17 1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT AND AIM OF THE STUDY ..................................................................................... 21 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................ 22 1.6 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................................... 23 1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH AREA ................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER 2. ADINKRA WITHIN IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION............................................................. 29 2.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 29 2.2 IN THE FIELD; THE ROLE OF ADINKRA SYMBOLS IN NTONSO-KUMASI ................................................... 32 2.3 AT THE FUNERAL .................................................................................................................................... 33 2.4 THE ADINKRA CENTER OF THE NTONSO COMMUNITY ............................................................................ 33 2.5 IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION THROUGH ADINKRA SYMBOLS ...................................................................... 37 2.6 NEGOTIATING “POWER RELATIONS” THROUGH ADINKRA SYMBOLS ...................................................... 41 2.7 “CURATING” IDENTITY: THE ROLE OF ADINKRA AS TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE “MUSEUMS” .............. 45 2.8 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 50 CHAPTER 3. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ................................................................................... 51 3.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 51 3.2 MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE APPROACH OF SEMIOTICS TO ADINKRA SYMBOLOGY ................................... 55 3.3 SEMIOTIC AND SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF ADINKRA SYMBOLS ................................................................. 58 CEU eTD Collection 3.4 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER 4. ISSUES OF HERITAGE PRESERVATION: ADINKRA SYMBOLS IN PERSPECTIVE 64 4.1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE ASANTE BEFORE 1700 Fay Kwasi Boaten*
    The African e-Journals Project has digitized full text of articles of eleven social science and humanities journals. This item is from the digital archive maintained by Michigan State University Library. Find more at: http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/africanjournals/ Available through a partnership with Scroll down to read the article. 50. •# THE ASANTE BEFORE 1700 fay Kwasi Boaten* PEOPLING OF ASANTE • •*•• The name Asante appeared for the first time In any European literature at the beginning of the eighteenth century. This was the time when some Akan clans came to- gether to form a kingdom with Kumase as their capital,, some few years earlier. This apparently new territory was not the original home of the Asante. Originally all the ances- tors of the Asante lived at Adansc/Amansle.' The above assertion does not agree with Eva Meyerowitz's2 view that the Akan formerly lived along the Niger bend in the regions lying roughly between Djenne and Timbucto. There Is no evidence to support such mass migrations from outside.3 Adanse is therefore an important ancestral home of many Twi speakers. The area is traditionally known in Akan cosmogony as the place where God (Odomankoma) started the creation of the world, such as the ideas of the clan <snd kinship. Furthermore, Adanse was the first of the five principal Akan states of Adanse, Akyem Abuakwa, Assen, Denkyfra and Asante (The Akanman Piesle Num) In order of seniority.5 Evidence of the above claim for Adanse is shown by the fact that most of the ruling clans of the Akan forest states trace their origins to Adanse.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rawlings Revolution in Ghana: Pragmatism with Populist· Rhetoric by Donald Rothchild
    A publication of ihe African Studies Program of The Georgetown University Center for Strategic and International Studies No. 42 • May 2, 1985 The Rawlings Revolution in Ghana: Pragmatism with Populist· Rhetoric by Donald Rothchild When Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings seized power in taken in the economic sphere. The best that can be Ghana for the second time on December 31, 1981, his said is that the marginal improvement in the economic inspirational personality and the new government's picture has given him some breathing room. populist commitment raised a depressed nation's hopes. An elected but elite-dominated government was The Early Days replaced by a regime that held out the promise of full The first 18 months of the second Rawlings regime public participation in decision making, a redistribution were indeed a time of strong commitment to populist of wealth, a reduction of neocolonialist influence, and a change. In a January 5, 1982 radio broadcast to the crackdown on kalabule (hoarding, overpricing, smug­ nation, Rawlings dedicated his administration to mak­ gling, and other "corrupt" practices). "National ing democracy "really work for the ordinary man, not reconstruction" would encompass new international just for a small group of people to exploit them and alliances with other populist and radically-inclined ride over their misery." "Let the world know," he states (including Libya and Upper Volta), a reduction in affirmed, "that Ghanaians want a government with an the size of the central bureaucracy, and "the creation agenda,
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Matriarchal Traditions on the Advancement of Ashanti Women in Ghana Karen Mcgee
    The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Listening to the Voices: Multi-ethnic Women in School of Education Education 2015 The mpI act of Matriarchal Traditions on the Advancement of Ashanti Women in Ghana Karen McGee Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.usfca.edu/listening_to_the_voices Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation McGee, Karen (2015). The mpI act of Matriarchal Traditions on the Advancement of Ashanti Women in Ghana. In Betty Taylor (Eds.), Listening to the Voices: Multi-ethnic Women in Education (p. 1-10). San Francisco, CA: University of San Francisco. This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Education at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Listening to the Voices: Multi-ethnic Women in Education by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Impact of Matriarchal Traditions on the Advancement of Ashanti Women in Ghana Karen McGee What is the impact of a matriarchal tradition and the tradition of an African queenmothership on the ability of African women to advance in political, educational, and economic spheres in their countries? The Ashanti tribe of the Man people is the largest tribe in Ghana; it is a matrilineal society. A description of the precolonial matriarchal tradition among the Ashanti people of Ghana, an analysis of how the matriarchal concept has evolved in more contemporary governments and political situations in Ghana, and an analysis of the status of women in modern Ghana may provide some insight into the impact of the queenmothership concept.
    [Show full text]
  • Music of Ghana and Tanzania
    MUSIC OF GHANA AND TANZANIA: A BRIEF COMPARISON AND DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS AFRICAN MUSIC SCHOOLS Heather Bergseth A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERDecember OF 2011MUSIC Committee: David Harnish, Advisor Kara Attrep © 2011 Heather Bergseth All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT David Harnish, Advisor This thesis is based on my engagement and observations of various music schools in Ghana, West Africa, and Tanzania, East Africa. I spent the last three summers learning traditional dance- drumming in Ghana, West Africa. I focus primarily on two schools that I have significant recent experience with: the Dagbe Arts Centre in Kopeyia and the Dagara Music and Arts Center in Medie. While at Dagbe, I studied the music and dance of the Anlo-Ewe ethnic group, a people who live primarily in the Volta region of South-eastern Ghana, but who also inhabit neighboring countries as far as Togo and Benin. I took classes and lessons with the staff as well as with the director of Dagbe, Emmanuel Agbeli, a teacher and performer of Ewe dance-drumming. His father, Godwin Agbeli, founded the Dagbe Arts Centre in order to teach others, including foreigners, the musical styles, dances, and diverse artistic cultures of the Ewe people. The Dagara Music and Arts Center was founded by Bernard Woma, a master drummer and gyil (xylophone) player. The DMC or Dagara Music Center is situated in the town of Medie just outside of Accra. Mr. Woma hosts primarily international students at his compound, focusing on various musical styles, including his own culture, the Dagara, in addition music and dance of the Dagbamba, Ewe, and Ga ethnic groups.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fallen and Forgotten Hero of African Nationalism
    European Scientific Journal June 2014 edition vol.10, No.17 ISSN: 1857 – 7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857- 7431 KWAME NKRUMAH: THE FALLEN AND FORGOTTEN HERO OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM Dr. Etim E. Okon Senior Lecturer, Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, University of Calabar Abstract The purpose of this paper is to present an objective analysis of Nkrumah's distinctive contributions to African nationalism, especially his role in the Pan-African Movement. Nkrumah is a source of inspiration to all aspiring youths of African descent, both within the continent and in the Diaspora. Human right crusaders, social critics, prisoners of conscience and literary historians will always look on to him as a point of reference, and a paragon of circumspection in the sacred cause of redeeming humanity. Writing about Nkrumah is both a privilege and a meditation on history; It is hard to measure a giant. Keywords: Kwame Nkrumah, Pan-Africanism, Nationalism, African Politics, Ghana Independence Introduction We have in Africa everything necessary to become a powerful, modern, industrialized continent... Far from having inadequate resources, Africa is probably better equipped for industrialization than almost any other region in the world. (Nkrumah, 1977:40). In a study of this nature, one finds it very difficult to identify a specific area which can be treated in isolation as Nkrumah's bequest to Africa. The difficulty is not only because Nkrumah was a controversial personality, but because his biography shows that he was African nationalism-personified. There is no aspect of his life that did not have direct or indirect connection with the liberation struggle of African people.
    [Show full text]
  • “Sankofa Symbol” in New York's African Burial Ground Author(S): Erik R
    Reassessing the “Sankofa Symbol” in New York's African Burial Ground Author(s): Erik R. Seeman Reviewed work(s): Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 67, No. 1 (January 2010), pp. 101-122 Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.67.1.101 . Accessed: 15/02/2012 10:07 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The William and Mary Quarterly. http://www.jstor.org 98248_001_144 1/6/10 9:53 PM Page 101 Sources and Interpretations Reassessing the “Sankofa Symbol” in New York’s African Burial Ground Erik R. Seeman OR many decades scholars from disciplines including history, archaeology, and ethnomusicology have demonstrated the influence Fof African art, religion, music, and language on the cultures of the Americas. In the early years of this inquiry, scholars tended to identify dis- crete “survivals” of African culture in the Americas, pointing to a specific weaving pattern or syncopated rhythm or linguistic construction trans- ported from a particular African region to the New World.
    [Show full text]
  • Teenage Pregnancy and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Behavior in Suhum, Ghana1
    European Journal of Educational Sciences, EJES March 2017 edition Vol.4, No.1 ISSN 1857- 6036 Teenage Pregnancy and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Behavior in Suhum, Ghana1 Charles Quist-Adade, PhD Kwantlen Polytechnic University doi: 10.19044/ejes.v4no1a1 URL:http://dx.doi.org/10.19044/ejes.v4no1a1 Abstract This study sought to investigate the key factors that influence teenage reproductive and sexual behaviours and how these behaviours are likely to be influenced by parenting styles of primary caregivers of adolescents in Suhum, in Eastern Ghana. The study aimed to identify risky sexual and reproductive behaviours and their underlying factors among in-school and out-of-school adolescents and how parenting styles might play a role. While the data from the study provided a useful snapshot and a clear picture of sexual and reproductive behaviours of the teenagers surveyed, it did not point to any strong association between parental styles and teens’ sexual reproductive behaviours. Keywords: Parenting styles; parents; youth sexuality; premarital sex; teenage pregnancy; adolescent sexual and reproductive behavior. Introduction This research sought to present a more comprehensive look at teenage reproductive and sexual behaviours and how these behaviours are likely to be influenced by parenting styles of primary caregivers of adolescents in Suhum, in Eastern Ghana. The study aimed to identify risky sexual and reproductive behaviours and their underlying factors among in- school and out-of-school adolescents and how parenting styles might play a role. It was hypothesized that a balance of parenting styles is more likely to 1 Acknowledgements: I owe debts of gratitude to Ms.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of Distortion of Akan Cultures in Kumawood Movies in Ghana
    International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies Volume 4, Issue 5, 2017, PP 8-16 ISSN 2394-6288 (Print) & ISSN 2394-6296 (Online) http://dx.doi.org/10.22259/ijrhss.0405002 Aberration of Cultures: A Study of Distortion of Akan Cultures in Kumawood Movies in Ghana Kquofi, Steve (PhD) Department of General Art Studies, Faculty of Art Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Croffie, Godfred Kojo (PhD) Department of General Art Studies, Faculty of Art Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana *Corresponding Author: Kquofi, Steve (PhD), Department of General Art Studies, Faculty of Art Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Received Date: 14-06-2017 Accepted Date: 23-06-2017 Published Date: 28-06-2017 ABSTRACT Kumawood movies are very popular in Ghana now with the decline of films produced in the English language, which patrons have tagged ‘Glamour’ films, to show contrast to those produced in Kumasi to satisfy the ‘film taste’ of the masses, which mostly are disconnected from the ‘Glamour’ films. Despite their popularity because of their production in the local language, Akan Twi, these movies aberrate Ghanaian cultures, especially the arts, customs, lifestyles, background, and habits that characterize the traditional Akan society, which the movies largely portray. Based on qualitative research approach, six Kumawood movies were selected for critical review. The study sought to ascertain how Kumawood movies presented the cultural values of the people. The results indicated that Kumawood movies showcased diverse Akan cultural elements such as proverbs used for ensuring positive moral conducts, welfare, and acquisition of wisdom; rich traditional body adornments; Akan traditional festivals, folksongs, drumming and dancing, games; as well as sense of communal welfare, hospitality and traditional courtesies.
    [Show full text]
  • Slave Wars and the Prerevolutionary Landscape
    177 praktyka teoretyczna 2(36)/2020 ŁUKASZ} ZAREMBA Translated by ANNA MICIŃSKA Slave Wars and the Prerevolutionary Landscape On Vincent Brown’s book Tacky’s Revolt. The Story of an Atlan- tic Slave War, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA—London 2020. Review of Vincent Brown’s book Tacky’s Revolt. The Story of an Atlantic Slave War (2020). Keywords: slavery, slave war, slave rebelion, Jamaica, Tacky’s Revolt praktyka teoretyczna 2(36)/2020 178 Markus Rediker concludes his story of a modern slave ship—a medium of Western slavery—by recounting a 1791 court case brought against captain James D’Wolf in Newport (Rediker 2008, 343–347). He had just sailed back on the two-masted Polly, having completed one of the variants of the triangular trade: he purchased and loaded 142 persons aboard at the Gold Coast (part of the Gulf of Guinea, today’s Ghana), 121 of whom he delivered to Havana alive (in Cuba people were traded directly and indirectly for sugar), before traveling back to his home in Rhode Island. The fifteen percent loss of human “cargo”—more than the average at the time1 —could have meant that D’Wolf, who not only commanded the ship, but also co-financed the operation, ended up making less than intended. It is also known, however, that he insured himself against losses above twenty percent—he may have thus remained within the range of expected profit. Meanwhile, in the United States, he was charged with murder. The court case of course did not deal with the deaths of slaves resulting from disease, anxiety, malnutrition, suicides, or disastrous conditions on the ship.
    [Show full text]
  • Emmanuel Nicholas Abakah. Hypotheses on the Diachronic
    1 Hypotheses on the Diachronic Development of the Akan Language Group Emmanuel Nicholas Abakah, Department of Akan-Nzema, University of Education, Winneba [email protected] Cell: +233 244 732 172 Abstract Historical linguists have already established the constituent varieties of the Akan language group as well as their relationships with other languages. What remains to be done is to reconstruct the Proto- Akan forms and this is what this paper sets out to accomplish. One remarkable observation about language is that languages change through time. This is not to obscure the fact that it is at least conceivable that language could remain unchanged over time, as is the case with some other human institutions e.g. various taboos in some cultures or the value of smile as a nonverbal signal. Be that as it may, the mutually comprehensible varieties of the codes that constitute the Akan language group have evidently undergone some changes over the course of time. However, they lack adequate written material that can take us far back into the history of the Akan language to enable any diachronic or historical linguist to determine hypotheses on their development. Besides, if empirical data from the sister Kwa languages or from the other daughters of the Niger-Congo parent language were readily available, then the reconstruction of the Proto-Akan forms would be quite straightforward. But, unfortunately, these are also hard to come by, at least, for the moment. Nevertheless, to reconstruct a *proto-language, historical linguists have set up a number of methods, which include the comparative method, internal reconstruction, language universals and linguistic typology among others.
    [Show full text]
  • Sankofa: Cultural Legacies and Afro-Futures – Syllabus
    Sankofa: Cultural Legacies and Afro-Futures AFRS 3000 (3 credits) Ghana: Globalization, Cultural Legacies, and the Afro-Chic This syllabus is representative of a typical semester. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of unique learning opportunities, actual course content varies from semester to semester. Course Description This seminar revolves around a central question: how are visions of the present and future of Africa crafted through a thoughtful interrogation of its past? The central motif that undergirds this seminar is Sankofa, a Ghanaian concept that encourages a strong engagement with the past in order to ensure informed and sustained progress into the future. Sankofa is often associated with the proverb, “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi" ("It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.") After framing an African epistemological relation to Africa’s multiple presents and futures in light of the concept of Sankofa (Module 1), we will revisit our the complex political history of Ghanat in order to create a framework for understanding the cultural, socio-political, and economic particularities of Africa, Africans, and diasporic Africans (module 2). Students will, subsequently, rethink the political particularities of Ghana and the continent in light of the concept of Sankofa (module 3). In the concluding module, we will use the concept of Sankofa to engage with one of the most timely frameworks for thinking Africa today: Afrofuturism. Students will explore the cultural hybridity, socio-political vitality, and economic dynamism of Ghana in light of indigenous cultural particularities, negotiations with Western modernity, and contemporary cultural creolization.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Africa Center Stage in Peace Corps Celebrations
    alliancesFall 2010 University of Michigan No. 3 Member of the University of Michigan International Institute AFRICA CENTER STAGE IN PEACE CORPS CELEBRATIONS n the early hours of Thursday, October of the Peace Corps and of newly independent 14, 2010, some 1,500 U-M students and African states—was surely not coincidental. I faculty gathered on the steps of the The hope, enthusiasm and ideals for a peaceful Michigan Union to recreate a semblance of world held by youth and a youthful president the 5,000 that had gathered there that same mirrored the widespread hope, enthusiasm day, at that same 2 a.m. hour, 50 years earlier and sense of triumph in nations recently to be inspired by presidential candidate liberated from colonial rule. Since 1961, over Senator John F. Kennedy. In an impromptu 200,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served speech, Kennedy in 139 host countries assisting in the realms threw down a gauntlet of education, health, business, technology, before the U-M campus environment, agriculture and youth/ to test whether idealism community development. Over one-third still flourished and have served in countries in Africa whether youth would be willing to sacrifice A yearlong series of celebrations honoring a small portion of their the 50-year history of the Peace Corps begins lives to improve the and ends in Ann Arbor, its acknowledged lives of others in birthplace. Later on October 14th, a symposium distant lands. He entitled “Spending Your Days in Ghana” took asked: “How many of place (see pg. 15) highlighting current work you who are going in Ghana being pursued by U-M faculty.
    [Show full text]