JMU's first Annual Africana Studies Interdisciplinary Symposium is October 9, 2009. The keynote speaker is Professor Isidore Okpewho, State University of New York Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies, English, and Comparative Literature, Binghamton University. His address is entitled "The World of African Storytelling."
In lieu of a class meeting on Friday, you will attend one session of the symposium and post a short (one- to four-sentence) comment to this blog post that identifies who you are, the session you attended, and its connection to our course. Your post is due by the beginning of our class meeting time on Monday, October 12th.
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
Africana Studies Annual Interdisciplinary Symposium, 2009
“AFRICA AT THE CROSSROADS: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?”
James Madison University, October 9th, 2009.
Godwin Hall, Room 344
8.40 A.M.
SYMPOSIUM OPENING AND WELCOME
Dr. David Owusu-Ansah, James Madison University
9.00 A.M. – 10.15 A.M.
ENVIRONMENT
Prof. S. Njuguna, Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya
Impact of MAU Deforestation on Rift Valley Lakes in Kenya
Caroline Gitau, Kenyatta University, Nairobi
Kenya Ecotourism Development in the Mt. Kenya Region
Dr. Jennifer Coffman, James Madison University.
The Political Ecology of Climate Change: Kenya, Drought, Governance, and Higher Education
Prof. R. M. Muasya, Kenyatta University, Nairobi Kenya
Kenyatta University Higher Education Internationalization Program for
Now and the Future
10.30 A.M. – 11.45 A.M.
JUSTICE / GOVERNANCE
Dr. Brillian Besi Muhonja, James Madison University
When Motherhood is not Enough
Dr. Tammy Castle, James Madison University
An Examination of Nigeria and Ghana’s Processing of Women in the Criminal Justice System
Dr. Patrick Dikirr, Institute of Global Cultural Studies / Binghamton University
Democratic Tyranny
Terry Beitzel, James Madison University
Justice and Peace? Questions for the ICC and Uganda, and the Future
12.00 P.M. – 1.30 P.M.
CULTURE /IDENTITY
Dr. Cheikh Thiam, Ohio State University
Memory, Truth, and Nationalism in Oral African Literature
Dr. Caroline Tushabe, University of California Riverside
Culture in Mind: Identity, Personhood & Agency in Nativist and Anti-Nativist Scholarship on Africa
Stephanie Mireku, James Madison University
The Lost Generation of Zimbabwe
Jemimah Mwakisha, Binghamton University
Social-cultural Values: Parenting at the Crossroads in Kenya
Michael P. Wolfe, James Madison University
Hip Hop, Youth, Non-Violent Protest and Revolution in Africa
1.30 P.M. – 2.30 P.M.
SPECIAL SESSION
Dr. Nikitah Imani, James Madison University
Echo, Narcissus, and the Waterless Fish
Godfrey Vincent, Morgan State University / James Madison University
The People's National Movement and the Independence Project, 1956-1965
2.45 P.M. – 3.45 P.M.
EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Barrel Gueye, East Stroudsburg University
Dr. Ibra Sene, Wooster College
A Critical Approach of the Community College Model in the Global Order: The College Universitaire Regional of Bambey (Senegal) as a Case Study
Justin Broughman, James Madison University
Building from the Ground Up: Educating Africa's Youth
Dr. Seifudin Adem, Institute of Global Cultural Studies
China in Africa
Dr. Senanu Asamoah, CNA Analysis and Solutions
The Role of Human Capital and Infrastructure Development in Mitigating Consequences from Natural Disaster Risk and Epidemics in Africa
4.00 P.M. – 5.00 P.M.
KEYNOTE SPEECH
Professor Isidore Okpewho, State University of New York Distinguished Professor
of Africana Studies, English, & Comparative Literature, Binghamton University.
The World of African Storytelling
FILM SESSIONS
11.00 A.M. – 12.00 P.M.
2.00 P.M. – 3.00 P.M.
Harrison Hall, Room 102
Kobina Aidoo’s “The Neo African Americans”
I went to the 10:30 session about Justice and Governance. This session specifically talked about Nigeria and Ghana and their justice systems. Something key I picked up is the treatment of women and the how unfair the justice system is toward them. Like many of the readings we have done in class, women are often treated as inferior, and unjustly.
ReplyDelete-Lamar Walker
I went to the 12:00-1:15 session about Culture and Identity. The portion that I felt most closely related to class was Dr. Cheik Thiam's portion. He talked about how individuals bring history to life through story telling. He explained the importance of Sunyatas, because they show differences in people, yet show how people all have something in common too, helping create identity for communities.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Mary Figgatt and I am in the 11:15 class.
ReplyDeleteI went to the 11:00 showing of the film "THe Neo African-American". I thought this movie was very interesting because it explained how people have totally different opinions of what African-American really means. This widened my views on the definition of African-American because of how many different ways it can be taken. I think it is very important to understand that not every "black" person considers themselves African-American, so no immediate judgements are made towards the perosn.
I went to the CULTURAL IDENTITY event. I totally liked this event. Having professors from different universities and parts of Africa helped the topic really come together. At the beginning, a JMU student presented about hip hop culture and how it has impacted in america as a voice as well as in africa entering as a voice for the people and politics. I really enjoyed his presentation because he used various video clips to make clear of what he was saying. (GENG 239)
ReplyDeleteI went to the 11:00 showing of "The Neo African Americans." It was about how people view the term African American. It started out by asking people the simple question of whether or not they are African American. The responses were interesting and varied from each person. This movie widened my view of the term African American, and showed that you can’t use the term African American to define everyone in America who is black. Meredith Karny
ReplyDeletePolitical ecology is defined by the Oregon State anthropological site as, “a theoretical focus that attempts to understand distributional factors in human interaction with the environment.” This term was raised by Dr. Jennifer Coffman as part of a discussion on environmental issues in Kenya. She further said how political ecology is tied to social relations and that this practice produces literature which enables scholars to track environmental effects. Additionally, it encourages people to take action and allows dedicated individuals to address the public about these issues. This practice allows scholars to connect environmental issues to social relations and politics, which is where the problem solving is most likely to occur.
ReplyDeletehttp://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth370/gloss.html#O
(I went to the 9am session about environmental issues.)
Katie Crandell
I went to the 9am session and during it I found something that connected to what we learned in class. It was during Caroline Gitau's speech on Kenya Ecoturism Development. She began talking about how white colonists had drastically changed the Kenyan culture many years ago. She explained that today, some natives are still angry about what happened to them, while others are grateful for what their society has gained. This reminded me of "Account of Things in Yucatan" in which De Landa praises his own services to the Mayans. It was interesting to see that even today, after the settling of whtes has stopped, the Kenyans are still angry and resentful even though they eventually benefitted from what the colonists did many years ago.
ReplyDeletePetrina Schoultis
I went to the 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. showing of "The Neo African Americans" by Kobina Aidoo. The film talks about the rapid immigration from Africa and the Caribbean and how it is transforming the idea of "African American". Brought on by a personal experience, the film brings attention to the impact American culture has on placing people into groups. For example, in Africa you are a regular person, but if you were to come over here you become a "black person". This film opened my eyes to the complexities of labeling/stereo types as well as how immigration is affecting culture. A wonderful movie!
ReplyDelete-Emily Long
My name is Patrick Meredith and I went to the Keynote Speech: The World of African Storytelling from 4:00 to 5:00 with Professor Isidore Okpewho. He bagan with by introducing himself and his work. Professor Okpewho then began talking about African storytelling, and stated that each session begins with riddles. He then mentioned a few he had remembered. His riddles seemed to be more comedic than any of those we had read in class. Professor Okpewho then said that people have this misconception that African stories can be told by any person in a village. He said that this was wrong, and compared it by saying any New York resident can write a Broadway play. Professor Okpewho then included some common themes within stories: young girls who find misguided love (The Girl Who Married a Crow) and explanatory myths (The Sun and the Moon), amongst others. Professor Okpewo then included some short stories involving animals, both cunning and dumb, and how their actions affect humanity. The session ended with some questions, one of which was for Professor Okpewho to recite a story in his native tongue from Nigeria. He recited a proverb, but said that the meaning is lost in translation. Something that is familiar in the works we read in class.
ReplyDeleteI am Nicole Fiorella, I went to the 9:00 session about the Environment. This lecture was very informative. I especially enjoyed the speech given by Professor S. Njugena from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya. He discussed the importance of biodiversity to help sustainability. The Mau Complex is made up of four rivers in Kenya. These rivers and the complex are suffering from massive deforestation, dying rivers, and sedimentation of the lakes. Biodiversity is working to create new paths to better the environment because the effects of these rivers not only effect Kenya, but many of the countries surrounding it. I found this information relevant to our class studies because many of the movies we have watched about Africa show how the people live and are effected by pollution and a poor water supply. The effects of a poor water supply keep these villages from further development. A clean water supply is a vital element to life, and without it people can not prosper.
ReplyDeleteThe Neo African Americans, shot and directed by Kobina Aidoo is a documentary exploring the use of the label "African American." Many people were interviewed throughout, each bringing their own perspective as to how they classify themselves in terms of ethnicity. I thought each person’s logic in how they classified themselves was interesting. Some said that because they were American citizens but of African descent, they were African Americans. However, some said that because they were not born in America, they still held ties to their home country. I think that is the most interesting, and the main theme of the documentary, that even if people share a heritage and other cultural factors, it is more the experiences that shape how we consider and label ourselves.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Wendels
I am Alley Heffern. I attended the Justice and Governance session at 10:30. I learned a huge amount about the judicial systems, in particular those in Ghana and Nigeria. Because one of our our latest readings, the piece by Miriam Tlali called "Fud-u-u-a," was about the women on the train being mistreated and having little to no rights, I seemed to pay closer attention to the description of the women's rights at the session this morning. The women were described as having minimal rights, even when mistreated by the men in the societies. It makes me think that if only the women in these countries stuck together like the three women in the passage, they would experience the change needed to get their rights.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Allie Rubino, I am in the 10:10 class.
ReplyDeleteI attended the video session entitled "Neo-African-Americans" which explained the black vs. the immigrant. The movie opened up with the question, "Are you African-American?". The documentary showed how each of the different people answered the question according to their cultural background. For me, the movie opened my eyes to a new world of stereotypes that are placed on "black people". I felt that our readings all are about power struggles and labels in which the movie showed that depending where you are from and who you talk to people have different labels and call themselves different things even though they were all black. Its important to realize that each individual presented in the movie still had a tie to their home country, whether it be Ghana or the Carribean Islands. I found it especially interesting when the woman from South Africa told us she was told, "your not like the others" and she becamae deeply offended by this. This is a prime example how as Americans we have a set stereotype for African-Americans and as usually wrong.
This is Nicole Carter and I am in the 11:15 class. I attended the "Neo African-African" film viewing which was very interesting. It basically talked about the term "African-American" and how it is used so widely in America to describe black people. In reality, what Americans describe as "African-Americans" entails so many other different ethnicities, but we just look at the color of someone's skin and classify them immediately before getting to know them. It was also interesting because it mentioned the difference between native African-Americans versus immigrant African-Americans, and how these two groups clash due to not wanting to be placed into the same category for multiple reasons. It related to the topics we have looked at in class because it emphasized misconceptions and generalizations about certain groups of people that often lead to bigger conflicts and are very prevalent throughout the works that we read.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Mary Claire Pedagno and I went to the 9:00 session on Environment. During this session, Dr. Jennifer Coffman discussed the issue of global climate change, and she said, "The people promoting the problem are not necessarily the ones suffering." I thought this was a very powerful statement and one that pertains to our class. Though she uses this in reference to those who are contributing to global warming, it is those who don't contribute that are most affected, it can also be used when understanding colonialism in de Landa's "Account of things in Yucatan" when the colonialists were "beneficial" to the Mayans. Their "beneficial" could also be seen as very detrimental, but it's all about who is "causing the problem."
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is Saran Sukhtumur from section 2 of GENG239. I attended the 10:30 session that concentrated on justice and governance in African countries. Out of the four presentations, the one about Nigeria and Ghana's processing of women in the criminal justice system, presented by Dr. Tammy Castle, was most interesting to me. As we have been discussing in our class, about the gender issue, and how women are treated, this particular presentation was very helpful to understand the concept of African culture better. In her presentation, Dr. Castle compared the legal tradition, police, and the court system in Nigeria and Ghana. I was very shocked to find out that women in in Nigeria are sentenced to death for abortion. In those two West African countries, the police forces are highly corrupt and violent and they use torture as a common tool. Women are sentenced to death in Nigeria without being present at trial. In Ghana, the judicial system is so cruel to women that they take suspects straight to prison without even trials. I also learned that judges and the police force in both of two countries accept bribes. After hearing the presentations, I had left with a feeling that Africa definetely needs more time, as one of the presenters Stephanie Mireku pointed out.
ReplyDeleteI am Kaira Ewald from the 10:10 class. I too attended the session on justice and governance. I thought the most thought provoking item was when Stephanie Mireku said that children under the age of 14 make up 40% of the population of Zimbabwe and they were fleeing because they did not feel they could reach their highest potential. This made me think, what if that happened here in America. We would loose so much of our future it would be impossible to advance our culture. I really didn't understand the importance of what was happening becuase I didn't understand the level it was happening at. This session was very informative and I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThis is Daniel McCray and i attended the 11:00 AM film The Neo African Americans. I thought it was very interesting seeing the different perspectives of what it means to be African American. As well as the "idea of becoming black in America". The film helps open your eyes to the fact that those terms hold different significance to different groups, and you can't shoehorn an entire race under one label.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Stephanie Maguire and I went to the showing of "The Neo African American." I thought it was a wonderfully-done film that draws attention to what it means to be African-American, and how every person has a different idea of what the term means. This relates to class because we have discussed the issue of maintaining cultural identity. There are many African-Americans who have taken an interest in exploring their ancestry and going back generations to see where they fit in with Africa. I think it is good for people, regardless of race or ethnicity, to learn more about their cultural background.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Angela Lewis I went to the 2:45-3:45 session on education and development, It was during the question part of the session that there were some big relations to the class. One speaker kept throwing around the word Natural disasters and human development and someone asked could you define those because a Natural Disaster in America is different then a Natural Disaster in Africa, drought and floods are more common there because they are part of their seasons so are they really natural disasters when thats what the people are used to. I just think that the speakers and questions brought up the points that when we think about the things going on in other parts of the world we need to not put our cultures sterotypes on them
ReplyDeleteI attended the 10:30-11:45 "Justice and Governance" symposium. What struck me the most was Dr. Tammy Castle's presentation. She said "torture is intrinsic to law enforceme." She was talking about Ghana and Nigeria, but really this is the case for a lot of people in need of power or attention. In the film Witness to Apartheid we see the torture people were put through in order to maintain the Apartheid regime. Also in the film, In the Name of Liberation violience was used giving terrorists the name terrorists in order to get their message across.
ReplyDelete-Catherine Clarke
At the 1:30 session, Dr. Imani emphasized the notion that it is not natural for humans to oppress each other. His analysis of the "construction" of oppression and dehumanization of African peoples provides a valuable background to the colonialism discussed in texts like A Mercy and Account of Things in Yucatan. Additionally, his assertion that Black History Month, Native American Week, and so on imply disregard of certain cultures during the rest of the year continues to resound with me.
ReplyDelete-Patrick Ragland, 10:10 class
At the 10:30 session, the first speaker decided to tell us about the history of Zimbabwe. She stated that the history of Zimbabwe is often misconstrued by western civilizations. I was shocked to learn that our country does not study the true history of Zimbabwe. I drew connections between the history of Zimbabwe and the film Witness to Apartheid. In both of these examples, the nations struggle through unfair treatment of their people, while other countries offer little relief. Do you think this is an act of neglect or oblivion?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Amanda Spafford and I attended the 10:30-11:45 session about justice and governance. The first speaker Stephanie Mireku spoke of the lost generation in Zimbabwe. She stated that the story of the country is misconstrued by the western world. In class we have seen this idea of misconstrued history in many of the films and readings that we have discussed. Why is it that we do not know the truth about a country? Perhaps it is because we live in a bubble with a low tolerance for other cultures unlike our own. Therefore leading us away from the truth of other countries.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Nideria Brown and I'm in the 11:15 class. I attended the film Neo-African Americans. I was actually really surprised at the film. I never knew it was so many ways to define an African American. There were over 7 different names to describe types of African Americans. And it so much more than just words. People immediately characterize people before they get to know them. Relating to the De Landa, it's easy to characterize someone before you really know them. You never can really understand another person fully without actually knowing them. People should take the time out to start a conversation.
ReplyDeleteNideria Brown
I went to the 1030 one about justice and I agree with the other people that posted, I think Dr. Castle's presentation was very eye-opening. Ghana and Nigeria's stance on the justice of women has a long way to come, and it's horrible that the women there are forced to stay in those circumstances, but they don't really have a choice. Also, I thought it was crazy that "the police are the most corrupt group," they're the one's your supposed to turn too with problems so if you can't trust them I can't even imagine how fustrating that would be.
ReplyDeleteErin Avery
I attended the Justice and Governance section of the seminar and was extremely interested in Tammy Castle's lecture about women in the criminal justice system in Western Africa. When hearing that the women are often abused and the police, like Saran in an earlier post said, use "torture as a common tool," it made me think back to Witness of Apartheid. The governments and enforcement agencies in Africa are so corrupt, they can do almost anything with no opposition. It makes me wonder how these people are supposed to escape oppression without any protection from the law or strong leadership. I wish these women in Ghana and Nigeria knew how to unite like the women in the story "Fud-u-u-a."
ReplyDelete-Katie Sensabaugh
I found that the 9:00 session on the (Kenyan) Environment contained a multitude of relevancies to our World Literature course. One simple parallel I drew from Professor Muasya’s inclusion of the campus mortuary in his discourse on Kenyatta University’s structural developments was to the work Death and the King’s Horseman. I believe that in the mention of this facility Muasya was beseeching the members of his audience not to let their respective cultural predispositions of death hinder their acceptance for the necessity of such a seemingly outlandish facility on a college campus; one which serves the double purpose of providing an outlet for scientific study and providing funeral services in a region of limited resources. Akin to the Mayan people in Account of Things in the Yucatan (in her brief speech on Ecotourism Development in the Mt. Kenya Region) Caroline Gitau demonstrated the ambivalent feelings of a community member who had suffered and benefited from colonial occupancy. As she explained, the intrusion of European settlers has proven a lasting disruption upon the human-wildlife dynamic with which Kenyan communities once held a harmonic balance, but the Europeans have also brought technologies which have facilitated an emerging Ecotourism market in the region and have given the Kenyans necessary exposure to people outside of their own communities.
ReplyDelete-Alex Litwin, section 3
My name is Marissa McGrath and I viewed the film "The Neo African Americans" from 11-12pm. I thought it was a very interesting film and I really enjoyed how it went back and forth between different peoples' opinions about the same subjects. There was one part in the film where an old woman said "My children are able to get an education here in America that they coudl not get in Samalia." It reminded me of how in "Africa: I Will Fleece You" education was not given freely to the children. Some parents even educated their own children instead of sending them to school. This was an interesting parallel that was shown in both films. It was intruiging because sometimes I think we as Americans forget how lucky we are to be educated.
ReplyDeleteI attended the 10:30 AM session which focused on justice and governance. A major issue discussed was the injustice of women. Women could be sentenced to death for having sex when not married. All a man had to do to prove innocents, was confess to not having sex with a woman. Even if she was raped, she could still be sentenced to death. This relates to many other discussions in class where women are considered inferior to men and how women are treated with almost no respect.
ReplyDeleteSteven Lippman
My name is Brittany King from the 10:10 class. I attended the 4:00 Keynote Speech, "The World of African Storytelling" given by Professor Isidore Okpewho. Much of his presentation correlated with our studies on African Oral Literature this semester, especially how storytelling is a collective activity of riddles and fables. I really appreciated Okpewho's concluding remarks that fables are intellectual stories metaphorical with daily life and men can no longer ignore these metaphors of rewards and consequences. This really rings true with "The Sun and the Moon" because if spouses treat each other bad there will be always be consequences.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Daniel Kim and I went to the 11:00 showing of "The Neo African Americans." I found this film interesting because it basically asked the question, "Are you African American?" This stuck with me because as an Asian American, I find myself asking the same question. Am I a Korean or an American? This film stuck with me because of that question.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Melissa Price and I attended the 2:45 speech about education and development in Kenya. One of the speakers told about how the education system isn't as great as it could be because it is being held back (maybe because of funds, space, etc.). The speaker mentioned that many of the kids in Kenya can't go to school because they don't speak French (which is a requirement). She said people should promote local languages instead of smothering them. This reminds me of "Africa: I will fleece you".
ReplyDeleteMy name is Nicole Sassaman and I attended the justice/governance session at 10:30. One of the themes discussed was the treatment of women in Nigeria and Ghana prisons. Dr. Castle stated how women are abused and torture is common. This made me think of the movie Witness to Apartheid because that also talked about how prisoners were abused and treated.
ReplyDeleteI went to the 1:30 to 2:30 session. I found it very interesting and liked it a lot better than I expected. One speaker emphasized the fact that we view cultures from our own perspectives. Europeans placed Africa in Europe and often disregarded the fact that Africa developed on its own and at its own pace. He mentioned a book he read near the end of the session that really interested me. The author apparently claimed that African dance and ballet had similar roots. The speaker noted that we feel the need to compare cultures and asked why ballet and African dance (two very different things) needed to be compared at all.
ReplyDelete-Julia Nashwinter, 10:10 class
I, Toni Kimbriel, attended the Environment discussion. Caroline Gitau's presentation on Kenya's ecotourism most connected to what we have studied in class, for me. I learned the luxurious hotels built for tourists sit close to towns/villages of poor, indigenous people, shadowing what the country probably looked like during colonization. (i.e. rich white people living in luxurious homes, possibly in close proximity to the poorest indigenous people of the country.) She discussed her hopes that programs will be created soon to collaborate with the youth of the villages and tourist hotels to create jobs for these young people, rather than leaving them isolated in poverty.
ReplyDeleteMichael P. Wolfe's presentation non-violent protest and revolution in Africa was very interesting. I previously had little respect for hip-hop culture, but now that I've seen how it has brought the people together in Africa and that they found a voice within hip-hop music. These protests are against the continued oppression after white colonization.
ReplyDeleteAdam Robinette, 11:15 class
I went to the Neo-African American film at 11:00. It was mainly about how Americans have to put labels on people of different races. We often assume that because a person is black, he or she is African American when often times, he or she does not consider himself to be African American. It seems that nacional identity is ignored because of racial identity. We do not even consider a person could be, for example, Japanese African American or Latino African American. Something I thought was interesting was a white man considered himself to be African American because he grew up in Africa and he was American.
ReplyDeleteLiam Gallagher in the 11:15 class
ReplyDeleteI attended the 11:00 showing of "The Neo African Americans" This film showed how the aspects and views of being African American are constantly changing and how this affects the lives of African Americans. There are many different forces that set up these changes but they come from the views of society on African Americans. This connects with the stories in class of racism and oppression in African countries that are brought about from these changing views. This film made clear many new ideas and thoughts on these changing views and what brings about this change.
I went to the 11 o'clock film session to see the movie called The Neo African American. I found this movie to be very interesting. I never really knew that that many blacks did not totally consider themselves African American. In society today if we see a black person we usually just consider them African American, but in reality that person probably does not consider himself or herself an African American. Throughout the movie they go through the different terms that the people would like to be called or known as. I found this to be very interesting to see all the different terms that these people like to be known as.
ReplyDeleteI went to the 11:00 showing of the film "The Neo-African Americans". It brought awareness to the fact that, in America, people feel the need to label everything, or to classify people. The people in the film talked about where they really came from and whether or not they thought they were African American. The purpose of the documentary was to get people out of the habit of putting others in racial categories and stereotypes. We're all just people.
ReplyDeleteI went to the 11:00 a.m showing of "The Neo African Americans" by Kobina Aidoo. First, I found it awesome that the man that made the film was actually there. This made me appreciate the movie even more, to have him standing before me presenting his own film. In the movie they film different "African Americans" and ask them what they label themselves as. It shocked me to hear each of them give a different term, White-African American, Hispanic-African American, West Indian Non-American, never once calling themselves just African American. I couldn't believe that society just labels every black human, African American when in fact they are far from that. It definitely has made me look at people differently now and not just throw them into one category to actually give them the identity they deserve. I personally believe they deserve the title of where they truly are because it gives people a more understanding of the individual. -Megan Dygon (11:15 MWF)
ReplyDeleteCaroline Johnson 11:15 class
ReplyDeleteI went to the 11:00-12:00 showing of Kobina Aidoo's film, "The Neo African Americans." This film brought light to African culture that I never thought about before. For many Africans, it is a hard question to answer when asked, "Are you African American?" Many Africans who live in America, like to call themselves things other than African Americans. These people are proud live in America, but are more proud of their natural heritage and the customs that have been instilled upon them. Some take great pride in being called African American. They believe this title shows their belonging to our society, and the dedication they and their ancestors have put into becoming citizens. Others believe that the word African American is used by the white establishment in order to describe their race. These people are angered and appalled by this generalization. Many people of this culture prefer to be called African, because this title is factually accurate. This film is created to enlighten people about the societal classifications, that many welcome and others do not. However, all these people, no matter their desired classification, are proud to be American citizens.
I went to the film session of Kobina Aidoo's "The Neo African Americans." I thought the film was brilliant and I really learned alot about how people of different races struggle to find their identity when other people thrust them into pre-assumed categorys and slap labels of "african american" on them for instance without asking if they are even from africa. Many people who gave interviews for the film were immigrant from the bahamas, aruba, or various countries in africa. This movie gave me a lot to think about and I think many people in America would benefit from watching it.
ReplyDeleteI am Liz Kline MWF class 11:15
ReplyDeleteI found the Justice and Governance seminar from 10:30 to 11:45 to be very interesting. The first speaker was a student who interviewed two students from different parts of Zimbabwe. She was discussing the lost generation of this country and how many have left in order to reach their full potential. She explained that these students intend to return to their country to make a difference. When interviewed, these students discussed how the history of their country is not accurate because the only written history was compiled by the colonizers. Although we have learned about the effects of colonization in class, it hit me harder hearing it from natives of African colonies. Hearing the fact that natives cannot embrace their own customs and traditions from the past if they are discarded or not compiled is frustrating. It is as if an important part of these people has been stolen from them.
ReplyDeleteThe other speakers were interesting as well, covering the topics of criminal justice in Ghana and Nigeria, the tyrannical approach to democracy in African countries, and the relationship between peace, justice, and the ICC. But I would have to say the first two speakers were the most interesting to listen to. I enjoyed the first speaker because she addressed issues present in African governments through interviews. First hand experience is the most reliable and fascinating to me. The second speaker was interesting because her information seemed very accurate and she explained in depth the injustice that takes place on a daily basis. One fact that really made me frustrated with Ghana's system was the depiction of an overcrowded prison housing 2,500 inmates when it was built for 800 inmates.
Listening to these speakers really widened my perspective of injustice. Becoming better aware of different countries and their struggles is important to me because it reminds me that there is a lot more to life than our JMU campus, or even life back at home. It makes me appreciate our government and life in America more, as well as pushes me to desire to change injustice.
I am Ryan Downs, MWF class 10:10. I attended the 12:00 "Culture/Identity" session. One of the most interesting things I learned was about how social and political unjustness in Africa is being expressed through Rap and Hip-Hop. Through video clips and lecture, Michael Wolfe explained how Africans adopted rap and hip-hop from America and are using it to spread and express knowledge about the unfairness and inequalities of colonialism.
ReplyDeleteI attended the 11-12 movie. I thought it was extremely interesting to hear all of the different terms people use to describe themselves and each other. I found it most interesting to hear about the views African Americans and the more recent emigrants of african descent. My familiy moved here from Kenya in the 70's, and it was interesting to hear other points of view from people with similar backgrounds. Also, the part about college admissions showing the high percentage of african-descendant acceptances in comparison to their representation in the total population was very interesting. It was definitely an interesting movie.
ReplyDeleteWill Forde-Mazrui, MWF 11:10
I (Jennifer Chevalier) attended the 11:00 film viewing. I thoroughly enoyed hearing from people from various different backgrounds and cultures talking about America's attempt to categorize them all. African American includes whites, blacks, people who used to live in Africa then came to the US, family ties, etc. It ends up being based on individual opinion of what that person decides they are. With so many diverse people leaving in America can we ever have a term that satisfies everyone?
ReplyDeleteI (Felecia Quesenberry)attended the 9 o'clock session on The Environment and the speaker talked about deforestation in Kenya. This connected with Afrique: je te Plumerai because in the movie they talked about how colonialism caused deforestation in Cameroon.
ReplyDeleteI attended the 2:45PM "Education and Development" seminar. I found this particular presentation quite interesting, since I plan on pursuing a career in education. One speaker talked about his experience teaching in a Kenyan secondary school and the shortcomings of the education system there. The second speaker addressed the community college system in Africa (based on the American and Canadian systems) and its recent growth. The third speaker presented a power point concerning the "statistics" of Sub-Saharan Africa's causes/effects of natural disasters and their impact on the vulnerability of the people. This seminar brought to attention the needs, aspirations, and growth charts of the African education system.
ReplyDeleteI, Morgan Wells, attended the speeches about Culture/ Identity at 12:00. The speaker, Jemimah Mwakisha, discussed the concerns Kenya has been having with teenagers not taking the advice of their parents and elders, which is an important part of their culture. She said that this was due to the influence of media, internet, and television. This reminded me of Africa : I Will Fleece You and made me wonder if there was any connection between the number of native artists, authors, and the influences these teenagers are seeing. If the books and media is Western and European based, as in Cameroon, then would attitudes change if there were more native influences in art and media?
ReplyDeleteMy name is Andrea Kopstein from the 10:10-11:00am class. I attended the 10:30am justice/governance session, at which there were three speakers. The first speaker made a special point of talking about how both Ghana and Nigeria are making commitments to tackle injustices in the criminal justice system to end violence against women. I think the first step is to change the general societal attitude towards women-that is, not to view them as subordinate to men. If such a view is taken, it will correctly be viewed as wrong to commit such acts of violence. In Tony Morison's "A Mercy" (I don't know how to underline), one of the slaves, Sorrow, is pregnant because of rape. While rape is definitely an act of violence done to woman, unfortunately, it is in many places hardly viewed as such because it is common practice. There is still a lot of common acceptance of such behaviors (violent acts against women), and this needs to change.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Allison Lehman and I went to the 11:00 film showing in Harrison Hall. I thought this film was very interesting because it talked about all of the different types of "African Americans". As a society I feel that we don't realize how many different ethnic groups are put under the term "African American". The movie talked about White African Americans, African Non Americans, Hispano African Americans, West-Indian Native Americans, and many more. It was definitely an informative film that I thoroughly enjoyed and feel like I learned a lot from.
ReplyDeleteSchuyler Whelan-
ReplyDeleteI attended the special session and listened to both Godfrey Vincent and Dr. Nikitah Imani. They talked separately about different topics, but the one that interested me was Dr. Imani's speech about the problem of oppression and how it is spawned in societies. His first point was that oppression is not a natural will of human nature. It is a design created by people. He argues that once a group of people have dehuminized another group, oppression follows. Because at the very moment a group of people accept the fact and beleive the fact they are lesser than another group, they are being oppressed.He went on to talk about other aspects of oppression, but I felt that this one was most closely related to many of the readings we have had in class. It was very interesting and reccomend anyone to take his class.
I'm Lindsey Wohning and I am in the 10:10 class. I went to the 11:00 showing of the movie Neo Afriacan Americans. It was a documentary that opened with the filmmaker asking his participants, "Are you and African American?" It was shocking to see that almost all of them paused to think about how to answer the question. This shocked me because prior to watching the movie, I would have expected them to simply say yes. The film explored all the different variations of the term "African American." I liked the movie a lot. In the discussion following the movie, Kobina Aidoo stressed the fact that when telling a story, noting a persons race or ethnicity rarely ever changes the meaning of the story so we should leave it out altogether. I found the discussion to be very interesting and he brought up many good points.
ReplyDeleteI am Tricia Bulger and in the 10:10 class. I went to the 2:45 session about Education. I thought that Justin's paper about Educating the Youth was very interesting and tied into the film "Africa I am going to Fleece You" when they talk about the school system and how it was taken over by the French missionaries. Justin talked about how it has been hard in Kenya for the Africans to build and education system, much like what was said in the video. It was also refreshing to see someone so young have such a heart for Africa and changing the ways there.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Nichole Davison and I attended the Culture/Identity session. I found that Dr. Cheikh Thiam's speech was the most interesting and related to our class best. He explained that the biggest problem in Africa is reacting to the West and that they need to focus on the identity of the problem of the crossroads, not just where to go from here. He referred to oral literature which reminded me of many of the readings in this class as he mentioned that this literature theorizes the African nationality as a whole. Dr. Thiam also reminded me of the recent film, "Witness to Apartheid" when he discussed the problems of silencing African public schools. This session gave me a new perspective of literature and it's impacts on the world.
ReplyDeleteI am Erin Pearsall and I went to the Government and Justice seminar at 10:30. It seems that in the majority of African societies the citizens struggle with their own form of government. The theory in a government is that they lead their people and guide their societies to organization and fairness. In Zimbabwe the suppression of the government caused almost a whole generation to flee the country in hope of finding freedom. In Ghana and Nigeria the police forces were weak and European driven. In movies such as "Africa: I will fleece you", and "A Witness to Apartheid" we see how corrupt and chaotic a society can be with discrimination. Torture was a popular tactic to confessions and rebellious control. There seems to be a pattern in African countries and how they are ruled. Why is it that citizens are discriminated against in their own societies by their own government? They rely on the guidance of these governments but in reality these leaders take away their voices and basic human rights. How can a community work with such violence and oppression? It breaks up the people, culture, and community itself but in most cases it is difficult to create a balance. Power is not easily given up by anyone which causes all the problems.
ReplyDeleteThis is Michael Evangelista from your 11:15 class. I went to the 11 am showing of "The Neo African Americans" by Kobina Aidoo. The film was about the rabid immigration from the Caribbean and Africa. Watching the movie, it brought about a question from a past author that we have studied, De Landa and that question is about racial superiority. De Landa talked about the differences between the natives and his own culture from his perspective (white). It was intriguing to notice that once a "black man" crosses over from a dominantly black country to a "white" country, he is suddenly different. He isn't a father, a worker, or a friend; he turns into the "black man or woman" by the predominantly white community. How do the white people "earn" or "achieve" such given dominance over non-white people? Who has the right to make such judgments? The movie brought back this idea from our previous studies, other than that, it was a good educational movie to watch.
ReplyDeleteI went to the 10:30 session about Justice and Democracy in Africa. What I found most interesting was the presentation on the justice system in both Ghana and Nigeria and the brutalities towards men and especially women. The corrupt system and brutalities towards its own African citizens was a very appalling to me. This can be related to the film we just viewed about the brutalities and injustice is some democracy and justice departments.
ReplyDelete-Hannah Eldredge, 10:10 class
This is Sarah Groves, 11:15 class - I went to the 11:00 showing of Neo African American.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really interesting because I had never really thought about the all the different definitions that could be applied to the term "African American". Something that particularly interested me was the white man from Africa who technically was African American. After watching it I really couldn't make up my mind about how the term should be applied. I also had to wonder what preconcieved judgements I had about the words. I realized that the end of the movie where the girl says that she would like to be called by her name was really one of the most important parts because I probably shouldn't be concerned with defining people but instead with getting to know them. It was really a great movie.
I attended the 9:00am session on the environment. I found the presentation to be both interesting and thought-provoking, even if the environment isn't exactly an attention grabbing subject. At one point during her piece Dr. Jennifer Coffman emphasizes the fact that the Wildlife Conservation Center is directed by locals who speak the native language. I was curious as to why she believed there to be a disparity between natives who speak the native language and natives who speak english. Perhaps the difference is created where the natives in question are educated. If they are educated in Western schools then they would learn not only western customs but Western ways of thought as well. Which could potentially be reflected in any decisions made by the Wildlife center.
ReplyDelete-Cameron Carey, 10:10 class
I attended the presentation on Justice and Government. What interested me was the views one speaker had on democracy for Africa. He discussed how the question of what type of democracy should be installed needs to become the primary issue (rather than the more basic question of is democracy the correct form of government to use). He explained that several African nations, such as Kenya, are composed of many different ethnic groups. Therefore when one group is elected to leadership, it is a minority ruling over the majority. A form of democracy that allows a voice for all the minority groups at once needs to be formulated in order for the people to be properly represented by their government.
ReplyDeleteOlivia Lawson
I went to the 10:30 presentation on justice and government. I was interested how similar the class system was in some African states to those in A Mercy and Fuduua, specifically the status of woman. Woman, desptie being an important part of their society are abused and treated as inferiors; also they are in no position to change this which is sad.
ReplyDelete-Alex Chin section 3
Caroline Gitau's speech during the 9am session was very intriguing, because she discussed the different views held by the Kenyan natives who sometimes are still resentful of the colonists' invasion of their culture and land, but also some who are grateful for the more modern changes that have occurred because of the white colonists. The session reminded me of the various topics discussed in class, including the film Africa I Will Fleece You, because of the way foreigners have impacted African countries. However, it was interesting that she mentioned some positive aspects that were brought forth with the colonization process.
ReplyDeleteAlyse DiNapoli
I went to the 11:00 movie on Neo-African Americans. The movie was very interesting and showed the different views that African Americans have on themselves and other cultures. The part of the movie that was very significant to me was how African Americans who spoke spanish were usually made fun of. I do not understand why African Americans who do not fit into the "norm" of the society and culture need to be treated as unequal or seen as inferior just because they speak a different language. People need to stop focusing on race and the differences among cultures and judge people on who they are, not what they look like, or what language they speak. Everyone is human, everyone is equal, and everyone deserves the same chance to succeed and be respected in this world.
ReplyDeleteKayty Grissler
11:15-12:05
This is Harris Weaver in the 11:15 class, and I attended the special session at 1:30 that had Dr. Imani as a speaker. He contradicted the common idea that humans naturally oppress each other and defended the idea that it is a social construction. I found this to be an especially relevant topic since a handful of the works and films discussed in class directly deal with oppression. He also talked about how the designation of months for the celebrations of a single ethnicity is wrong and counterproductive, since no one race should be designated over others.
ReplyDeleteMadeline Salesses
ReplyDeleteI attended the movie session. The movie that I viewed was really interesting. It explored the diffrences between recent immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean and other places compared to immigrants from Africa that arrived in America many, many generations ago.
The film descirbes how many percieved "African Americans" really dont consider themselves in that way. They define themselves more specifically based on where there families or where they individually came from. I really liked how the video tried to introduce all the diffrent types of Americans who could be considered "African Americans" becuase it further exemplified his point. It really made me think diffrently about the labels placed on diffrent people's races.