Essays on African Culture

Introduction

Human sexuality refers to the capacity for one to have sexual feelings. It can be expressed in differently including same-sex relationships, heterosexual interactions and even relationships among different partners. The form of sexuality one follows is guided by their life teachings and influences by culture, global interaction, and religion. These factors determine how one would choose to live their life. Over time sexuality has changed especially in the past century. Freedom to express one’s sexuality has increased, and people are more willing to transform due to reduced fear of persecution and reproductive limitations. This paper will explore the ...

Part One

Phillis Wheatley was an eighteenth century poet born in West Africa and was enslaved on American soil in 1761. Despite her slave status, Wheatley had received an unprecedented education on classicism, Christianity, and literature. Wheatley wrote two significant letters, the first was to her fellow servant friend from the Tanner’s estate in 1772. The letter had discussed her enthusiasm for Christianity and her positive view towards her African heritage. The following letter in 1774 was directed to Rev. Occom in appreciation for the reverend’s argument against treatment towards African people. Her writing often included Biblical references as ...

The following literature review evaluates scholarly research on the challenges of entrepreneurship, project management and sustainable development in Africa. Based on the discussion meaningful implications and suggestions are mentioned towards the end. Africa is a land of magnificent natural sceneries and resources but even in the 21st century it is still considered the Dark Continent, bearing metaphorical meaning. It is the least developed continent in the world. Despite major efforts in improving the lives of Africans there are many challenges that face the continent.

Sustainable Development in Africa

Africa has immense natural resources and precious minerals. For decades the practice of finding energy ...

Questions

Academic year Discuss the efforts and challenges made by people of African descent to reconnect with Africa since the start of the 19th century The emancipation of Africans in 1865 was a great historical period for African Americans in the United States. The African Americans contemplated on what to do with their newly acquired freedom and started reconstructing their lives. Certain black intellectuals at the time such as Rev. Blyden suggested that they leave America since white Americans were still hostile towards African Americans, and violence against them was common. Others like Martin Delany, who was an African American ...

Colonization is a process in which imperial power systems dominate a region and its components. It features, among other things, cultural domination, political subjugation, religious assimilation and economic exploitations. The colonists used these measures as tools of winning control of the helpless people. Colonization has a close link to massive exploitation and assimilations of new cultures and it further involves actual or threat of use of force. The colonizers were formidable icons and commanded loyalty through aggression. In light of colonialism, established cultures disintegrated. On the case of Britain emperialism,Tarique noted that, “as one of its legacieshas been ...

Many people have questioned the existence of multiple consciousness. In his book, The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches, W.E.B. Du Bois writes about the “double consciousness” of African Americans. In his views, the double consciousness of African American can be seen through their racial identity as well as the identity of what remains of slavery into which all African Americans are born. President Obama is an exampleof someone who had experienced a multiple consciousness. In many ways, one can say that African Americans live a multiple consciousness existences and in his book, Du Bois attempts to lift ...

_____________ University Many people question the existence of multiple consciousness. In his book, The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches, W.E.B. Du Bois writes about the “double consciousness” of African Americans. In his views, the double consciousness of African American can be seen through their racial identity as well as the identity of what remains of slavery into which all African Americans are born. President Obama had experienced a multiple consciousness during his term as President of the United States. In many ways, one can say that African Americans live a multiple consciousness existences and in his book, ...

Africa has traditionally been a continent of mixed fortunes, where real-life stories of hope and despair abound. African traditions, values and customs have been slowly influenced by colonization and eventual globalization that has turned the world into a global village. The novel, Things fall apart, is a reflection of the extent to which Africans were tied to their beliefs and customs, as a violation of those customs was regarded as being disrespectful to the gods. Resistance to the new values and beliefs as brought by the missionaries are resisted since the communities regard them as inclined on disrupting the ...

Two Arguments on Homophobia

Introduction The discrimination of individuals who identify as homosexual or are thought to be gay is a common occurrence across the globe. Cities, boroughs and states have passed legislation that outlaws homosexuality. Negative attitudes towards homosexual people usually lead to hostility that come in verbal and physical attacks which sometimes result in death. Homophobia or the fear of individuals who are gay has been associated with religious and cultural beliefs, general ignorance about sexuality and the need to make homosexuality a tool for political gain. Using the case of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill, this paper explores the causes of ...

African masks are known all over the world. In a Western culture, the masks are basically used as a part of a house decoration, although, they are of a great importance for the African culture and are considered to be a great national and a cultural value, and they deserve to be studied well. There are no obvious facts about the origin of the masks. Some scholars believe that their history traces back to the Paleolithic era, others claim that the masks “have been used for at least 4,000 years” (csudh.edu). What proves that African masks have such ...

Chinua Achebe manages, in a highly entertaining and educative way, to present the theme of collectivism in the Nigeria before the merciless yet highly effective occupation of the British in Nigeria. The Ibo society that forms the setting of the book is a microcosm of not just Nigeria but also the rest of the Eastern countries. Chinua Achebe tells the story of the people of Igbo land of Eastern Nigeria before and immediately after their contact with the Western culture. The story revolves around the life of Okwonkwo, a tragic hero, depicting his birth, how he rises from a ...

Modernism in literature is said to have its roots in the late 19th century after World War I that took place from 1914 to 1919. Modernism in literary work is a shift from values, religion and tradition to isolation, identity crisis, fragmentation and relative truth. Modernism was catalyzed by World War I, as it led to mistrust in the ability of existing institutions to solve societal problems and maintain order in society. It also changed people’s perception of the world and society. World War I therefore influenced how writers wrote not just in terms of content of their ...

Women in African culture

Nowadays we live in times of women emancipation. Men and women are equal in their rights and any display of gender discrimination is punishable by law. However, such situation was not common less then hundred years ago. The role of women in any society is hard to reevaluate. Women give birth to new people, they take care of their relatives, are homemakers and muses. Moreover, in era of women emancipation they run business and even rule countries. Such statements especially true for women in developed countries. Let us find out women’s position in Africa. At the beginning of ...

Things Fall Apart is a book authored by Chinua Achebe whereas The Heart of Darkness is a novel written by Joseph Conrad. Chinua Achebe’s book is about the story of a man who was doing his best to prevent the white men from taking over his clan and traditions. On the other hand, Joseph Conrad’s book is about a white man’s trip to the Congo River or his journey to Africa. Even though the two books seem very different from each other, they are so parallel to each other from the setting, the characterization, the themes, ...

Different cultures have different beliefs, methods, communication, and medication used for different illnesses. Such medication and its methods in a particular contradict greatly with the modern medicine and procedures. In the Asian Culture, the Indians have a rich history of medication and practices. Some traditions that have passed the test of time in India and are today integrated with the medical practices today. For example, the Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha commonly referred to as folk traditions or the “Lok Parampara” is a tradition passed from generation to another (Gayatri Palat, 2012). Word of mouth is the most used method of passing ...

In the course of American history, Blacks had been the subject of injustice and social degradation. Much of it came from the notion that blacks are only good as a slave, which is evident from 18th to 20th century America. However, the "American Dream" lives on for the black Americans, they fought for their rights and certain key events in history shows several social movements to change society regarding racism and equal rights. Throughout the years, the country is forced to face the impact of racism and its social implications. People have realized that the reality of slavery back ...

‘Instructor’s name’

‘Subject’ European colonial influences on African culture in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and Achebe’s “Civil Peace Imperial powers employ different methods to control the nations ruled by them. Apart from force, they also use various ideological means as an indirect mode of attaining control over the colonized nation. Sometimes more than military prowess, ideological instruments makes the people of the colonies accept the power of the ruling imperialist nation, and make them receptive to the domination inflicted on them. Some of the ideological instruments include religion, literature, and education, and these instruments were used to ...

Scheid and Vasko’s Article on Racism

According to Scheid and Vasko’s article, white privilege mostly arises while in white universities; here, many students are unaware of their racial identity and they do not know how they fit in their own racial hierarchy. In America, many students assume that their races are superior to others. Hence, they use this to accomplish their racial malpractices. In white moral innocence, many white students fail to realize that they have racial prejudices, and they unknowingly engage in behaviors that could be seen as racist. This attitude has encouraged them to take racism to a high level through explaining ...

The Class Name

It`s hard even imagine our current musical life without such magnificent and diverse genre as jazz music, with its light tunes that are easy to listen, on the one hand, but with its possible complexities and progressive ways of composing and playing on the other. The aim of our current research is to discover the history and roots of jazz music, how the genre has developed in New Orleans, what it was influenced with, and what did the cultural and social variety of this city change in the cultures of various nations. Today we`re also about to ...

Technology could be defined as the ability to use scientific knowledge acquired for the purposes of communication, solving problems, to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, design and create information to improve learning in all areas of the everyday activities of the world. The scientific knowledge could be acquired through practicing or theoretical learning processes. The application of the knowledge gained by either process could be helpful in the development of the degradation of life's processes depending on how it is applied by different people. Technology is as a result of creativity and innovation. Learners must be creative thinkers and be innovative ...

Brazil is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of race and culture. The citizens of the country can trace their roots from almost every part of the globe from Japan to Africa and Portugal among other European and Asian countries. Trade and movement in the early years have resulted to the present demography of the country. There is a large population of people of African origin arising from the slave trade that was rampant in the 18th and 19th century. The development of coffee plantations in Brazil brought the need for cheap labor and with the ...

Artifacts are an important representation of culture and show the dynamics and growth in it. The popularity of an artifact is subject to different criteria. First, the artifact has to represent a culture that can be identified by a number of people. For the popularity of an artifact, everybody must be appreciative of the fact that it represents a part of their culture. In another context, the artifact could represent a culture that is widely accepted or recognized through a vast population. Many people have to recognize the culture for it to be popular, not only in one place or in a group it represents, ...

Part 1: Spaniards larger goals in the Americas

Bartolome de Las Casas, the catholic priest, wrote about a brief account of the devastation of the Indies in 1542. He wanted to enlighten his audience that slavery was wrong and the inhumanity that the innocent people experienced. In his writings, Bartolome claimed that the Indians were smart and peaceful. Bartolome argued that the Indians were mistakenly thought to be uncivilized because of their clothing. However, the Indians were undoubtedly civilized, well mannered, clean and intelligent people who opened up to the catholic religion without question. Unfortunately, the Spaniards continuously committed massacres and atrocities against the Indians between 1518-1532. ...

Throughout her short story, “Everyday Use,” Walker presents the recurring theme of harmony and conflicts. The story gives an insight into the struggles of the African – American people through the characters of Mrs. Johnson, Dee and Maggie. Arguably, “Everyday Use” delves into the issue of the changes that occur when individuals in rural areas become educated. Much of the events surround the actions of the only educated Johnson. Dee gains a formal education, but when she faces her past, one sees that this formal education brings out her innate, self-centered qualities. Nancy Tuten writes of Mrs. Johnson “awakening to one ...

Plan / Outline

In order to reflect the challenges that has been faced by the African-American literature, the paper plans to compare the content of two poems. One poem is written in the 1950’s era which was a difficult and crucial period for the African Americans, while the other one has been written in the contemporary era to highlight the work of the poet of that poem and how African American literature survived in Amercia. The essay has also quoted examples from the essay to make it more simple and explainable. - Introduction - This paper aims to compare and ...

In the current business environment, marketers face the particular challenge of managing different consumer tastes and preferences in relation to the products and services offered. The over-saturating marketing initiatives, and consumer hesitation and guarded behavior play a great role when it comes to achieving marketing goals that enhance long-term brand loyalty and customer attractiveness. Several environmental stimuli influence consumer behavior, but the psychological influence plays the most important role because of its association with marketing communication and consumer interpretation of brand and service value (Chiu, Hsieh, Li & Lee 1682-1683). Weight Watchers Company has a growing presence in South Africa. The ...

Conflict exists in our relationships with other people. Conflicts arise when people differ in terms of their ideas and opinions on issues that involve them. In reference to intercultural conflict, conflicts occur because of difference in expectations, values and processes between the two parties from different cultures. The intercultural conflicts often arise due to miscommunication, which leads to misinterpretations of the communicated ideas. I have experienced intercultural conflict before. I had conflict with my fellow classmate. The conflict was because of misunderstanding in the language. The student was an international student from Africa. The conflict happened in the ...

Marketing entails positioning products and services in the market through different strategies that focus on the marketing elements; mainly the product, pricing, promotion and place elements. However, the elements are determined by several factors which are in-turn dependent on the economic, social, political, cultural, legal and technological factors as well as the development stage of an economy. On the other hand, a less developed country is marked by persistent low economic growth as well as relatively low social welfare and life standards compared to the developed countries that have high economic growth, high life standards as well as significant aggregate ...

Deaf culture is associated to the behaviors, history, art, social beliefs, literary traditions, and shared institutions of people in the community, who use sign language as the main means of communication, due to the effect of deafness. The deaf people have their own habits, common experience, thought pattern, customs, values, and language that identify them as a unique cultural group (Yvette, Vincent, Elaine, 1996). Deafness is viewed by the members of the deaf community as a difference in human experience, but not a disability. The deaf people acquire their culture within the deaf social clubs and schools in which the deaf are ...

A discourse community refers to a group of people or communicators who share a common goal or interest and therefore choose to go by a selected way of participating in public activities. These people also have a way of engaging that distinctively sets them aside from the larger group of people in a particular setting (Bakhtin66). The preferred way of engagement is commonly referred to as discursive practices. These are the practices that a discourse community chooses to use and they include various genres. These genres can be books, academic papers, debates and even physical activities. In Oklahoma University, there are various discourse communities that ...

All cultures have similar life-cycle events that is; marriage, birth, the passage from childhood to adulthood and death. These transitions are generally influenced by culture. Culture can be divided into two; modernity and traditional culture. Modernity defines the type of culture in the Western counties in the developed world. Tradition culture on the other hand is the culture in the developing countries such as Africa. Unlike modernity, Africa for instance is pretty much rich in culture from birth to death, all these occasions are crowned with ceremonies to mark the event. Among Africans, every stage in life is crowned ...

Introduction

In earlier generations, the issue of divorce among the Christians and was not common in the general public. This is not like what is being experienced today. There is a rise in divorce amongst Christians and in the general public. Infidelity is something that is common among Christians and is the reason why divorce is being seen. The issue of divorce has sprung the church so much shocked that every Christian has encountered it at one point of their Christian lives. In the past, the effort to deal with divorce in the Bible has not been achieved as the issues ...

Effects of western culture on the African culture.

Culture is the way of people’s life. People always believe that their way of life is more unique and superior to others. For example, Africans believed in their culture so much that any attempt to introduce another culture was met with a lot of resistance. The social setting of any group of people suit such a group and introduction of anything into the setting causes misunderstanding and disunity. Before the coming of the Europeans to Africa, Africans held their culture above any other culture in the world. The role of women and men in the society were clearly defined. ...

Introduction

Oral literature in many societies has been a vehicle for preserving culture and memories. Traditionally, from the lips of an adroit narrator to the ears of keen listeners and eventually to their hearts, oral literature has played a major role in the traditional African set-up. Africa has acquired a unique place in world literature due to outstanding use of storytelling technique in their written literature. Africans have valued great storytellers and stories since time immemorial. Most of Africa literature is deeply rooted in oral traditions. Although ancient writings also exist in African literature, storytelling and oral literature takes a special place (Courlander ...

Cultural Rituals and death

Different societies and communities across the world are differently organized, based on their native settings, and the environments from which they evolved. One of the most essential things to note in this case is the fact that culture is one of the inheritable tenets of out day to day activities and living. At the same time, it is one of the strongest characteristics of each and every culture. As a result, it has been passed on from one generation to the other, for many centuries and millenniums. This is partly one of the reasons why it has come out to ...

Abstract

This paper is a review of the book “Things Fall Apart”, which are two overlapping stories surrounding Onkonkwo a strong man of Ibo village in Nigeria. In the first story the novel features Onkonkwo as a man who has fallen from the grace of his tribal world where he was brought up. This gives the reader an overview of the extent of conflict between an individual and the society. In the second fable, explores destruction of Onkonkwo’s culture through encroachment by the European colonies. The story illuminates the true nature of African society and how different remote villages responded to this.

Summary

Chinua ...

The myth of the Negro past a piece of literature by Melville J. Herskovits that seeks to defend the fact that the African Americans had a deep culture, which could not be drowned by the challenges of slavery. The origin and roots of the African Americans has been debated with some scholars suggesting that they are do not have roots they can associate with and hence being inclined to what their environment defines. Even though some of the existing black Americans may not have clear knowledge of where their ancestors came from, they are proud to be blacks and hence practice ...

Introduction

For this assignment I will be defining the tern Afrocentric. Many people around the world have had a negative connotation in reference to this terminology. However, it is important to look at the structure of our world today. The international system lacks a global police who can be able to regulate the actions of states. This means that the world lacks a central authority that can act as a control of different facets of the world. Nations have used their economic and military might to conquer other nations in order to access the necessary resources as well as fulfill other desired interests. Based ...

Classic English Literature

Marcp8, 2013

Thesis Statement:Du Bois argued that people from African decent live through a special double consciousnesswhere there exists a psychological challenge of integration of African heritage to the European cultural background and education. Walker used the mule as the representation of black women who surpassed the abuses and oppression they went through to establish African identity, territory, class, culture and kinship with other nations. King’s letter was used as the medium to expose his sentiments against racism and human conflict where he expressed optimism in his battle despite the extreme prejudices committed against the blacks. Race is proven to ...

What is humanity? I guess this is the question I have been trying to answer ever since I decided to take this class. So far, I haven’t found an answer yet but it is coming pretty clear that culture is one of the most important factors that make a human being human. Now, if culture is that important, how come African Culture or elements of it are absent in the contemporary world? Where is the place of African people all over the world? Where is the civilization of black people? Where is their religion? Where is there dignity? Is ...

Management

Culture varies from each other due to mainly three factors namely: geographical location of the people, language, and religion. Geographical location determines the kind of activities that people are going to do hence making there be a difference in culture. That is why people living near mountains have a different culture to those of living in a desert. Religion varies culture in a way that people in different religions have different cultures. These religions have their own cultures that their followers practice. Language varies culture in a way that people who speak different languages have different cultures while those speaking same languages have similar ...

Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife

The African culture has always been an enticing topic for the art lovers. It was believed that the African art provided much of the ancient geometric profiles which could rejuvenate the modern art. The remains of artwork and jewelry found in southern Africa are signs that there were organized societies there up to 100,000 years ago (Bowden, Wilson, 2009). The Art Institute of Chicago is one such encyclopedic museum that houses some of the finest collections of worlds various art and culture. Amongst these collections, the regal sculpture, “Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife (Opo Ogoga)” ...

African Art: An African Perspective is a video directed by Aminatta forna in 1995 in which she offers Africans a place to show to the westerners the art and traditions they embrace and cherish. It explains that African art is created by African people and includes mainly masks and figures. The African art is used world wide for decorations and other purposes. The video explains the nature and perspective of African art. Aminatta creates a platform whereby the nature and context of African art is explained to the outside world. In addition, Aminatta includes interviews of African artists in the video and ...

African Religions- Gods

Africa is a huge continent, which consists of numerous countries. Its population is diverse with different languages, beliefs and traditions. That is why it is not a surprise that Africa is a home for numerous religions. On the territory of Africa there are a lot of Christian and Islam followers. In addition, there are numerous native African religions. They are of peculiar interest, because they represent true African culture. Indigenous religions of African population are based on their believes and life experience.

It is necessary to understand that native African religions are much deeper than one may imagine. At the same time they ...

The African diaspora refers to emigrants of African descent living in Europe, America and the Middle East. Historically, the term African diaspora predominantly referred to African descendants enslaved in the Americas; currently, the term African diaspora even includes people who voluntarily migrated from Africa. At some point in human history, many black people from Central and West Africa were transferred to the Americas to serve as slaves. This group of people largely constitutes the African diaspora. In the last few decades, historians have differed in characterizing the African diaspora. This has led to the raging debate explained using the ...

Arguably, modern day historians are justified in attributing the economic and sociopolitical attributes of the present Brazil to the past. The history of Brazil began in the early 15 century when a Portuguese navigator called Cabral Pedro Alvares arrived at the Brazilian coast. The population of Brazil is tremendously diverse, comprising of various ethnic and racial groups. Generally, Brazilian people trace their originality from four main sources, which include Europeans, Asians, Amerindians, as well as Africans. The diversity and complexity of Culture and societal characteristics of Brazil reflects cultural and racial mixing that took place during the colonial period that ...

Jamaica is a country located in the Caribbean Island which was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494(Wilson, 2004, p.6). The country enjoys a diverse population of about 2.9 million people. This country is known by many a cultural hub of the culture of Rastafarianism, named after King Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and the art of reggae music. However, the richness of the Jamaica moves from the mere notion of Rastafarianism and the art of reggae music. This paper intends to support the fact that the Jamaican culture is rich in diverse by exploring the heritage, history, food and other fundamental facets ...

QUESTION ONE

Introduction Africa is very dynamic in culture which has a rich history in arts. Considering the dynamic status in the African culture, the African art took a very different direction in that because of the different cultures, there were different considerations in their arts. Precisely, every culture or ethnicity could be possibly having its own art. In this paper I will take I to account some specific objects and may be practices that were evidenced in specific African communities to try establish the African art. In Africa, there are some objects that are used for religious purposes. The fetish ...

1.0 introduction Western civilization can be traced back in history. Slave trade, missionary work, exploration, imperialism, colonialism and more recently globalization created a platform for western culture to go viral and influence other cultures to the extent of almost overshadowing them. From that historical perspective, it is thus clear that most affected societies are mainly from the developing world. The native cultures mostly affected include the Asian, African and Latin American cultures. Though to some extent western culture has been instrumental in improving life conditions in the developing world, this has come at a very steep price. With time, cultural ...

Introduction

This paper will analyse and discuss early American cultures of Africans, Europeans, and Native Americans with a view of understanding the impact of African culture on American society. The institution of slavery in the 17th and 18th Centuries will also be highlighted coupled with its effect on American society. Practices of slavery in the colonies and later in the United States before it was abolished will also be discussed. The topics will be discussed with a view of proving the thesis that slavery did indeed affected and impact colonial America.

Early American History of Three Cultures

The three cultures that were present in early America were Europeans, ...

Introduction

Talking of cultural diversity we refer to the various human societies and cultures that do exist in a region or a country. Cultural diversity can also be used to refer to the multicultural concept within our societies or a specific organization.

Among mainstream anthropologists, they are convinced that generally the cradle land for human beings is in Africa. This is agreed to be several years ago approximately two million years, after which there has been a wide spread throughout the world. This is one dimension of the so called cultural diversity Cultural diversity also refers to the normal differences that are evidenced ...

What is it that Mwindo wants? How does Mwindo go about getting it and how are others affected by the results?

Mwindo is the son of the king Shemwindo and Nyamwindo, who was the king’s seventh wife. At the time of his birth, the king, Shemwindo had already given a decree that he did not want a son instead he wanted girls. Therefore when the king learnt of his birth, the king wanted to kill him immediately. Funnily enough, the king was not aware that Mwindo was born with some supernatural powers. Therefore when he tried to kill him all ...

“Everyday Use” By Alice Walker

Introduction

On the book review of “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, different authors have expressed their views on the themes and symbolism expressed in the novel. I will discuss on the viewpoints of the different authors and compare to see whether there are any similarities and differences. The novel is written by an African American. It is set at a time in American history when the black community was trying to understand its identity.

Analysis of the Book Reviews

David White in 2001 published an article titled, “Everyday Use: Defining African-American Heritage” in the Purdue North Central Literary Journal where he discussed the theme of ...

Introduction

Discipline is said to be one of the methods that is supposed to instill the desired behavior in the child. The issue of discipline towards the children differs from one culture to another and the meaning attached to it also differs. The bottom line however is that all cultures agree on the importance of condemning bad behavior in the children. The difference is brought about by the differences that arise on the basis of the social environment as well as the rules and norms of the society. The following discussion shall focus on the differences between the approach of ...