Imperialism and socialism in the context of Africa Essay Example for Free

Imperialism and socialism in the context of Africa Essay Cecil Rhodes Social Darwinism advocate states, â€Å"I contend that we are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better†¦Ã¢â‚¬  King Leopold of Belgium, To open to civilization the only part of the globe where it has yet to penetrate †¦is, I dare to say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress. From the above assertions, it is prudent to note that, colonial powers thought Africa to be devoid of an organization in social, political and economic perspective and therefore they wanted to make Africa, England. In that thought of naivety of the Africans, there were societal structures and organizations which British did not care to observe. However, it was not going to be easy as where two or three cultures interact a clash is inevitable. Although Africa was not a plain or bear continent, Africans had their way of life, structure of government, religion, economic activities, education, systems of marriage and development plans for their societies, nevertheless the British brought their systems which conflicted with Africans established way of life, this was because the British, as many other European powers were economically depressed and Africa appeared to be the only way out. The British wanted to pass the three C’s; Commerce, that is to make money through the acquisition of free labor form Africans, raw materials for their industries as industrial revolution back in Britain was rapidly taking place, a market for their surplus production; Christianity to save Africans.Explorers such as David Livingstone, Vasco Da Gama, Portuguese Diego Cam and Arabs with Muslim faith had missionary zeal. The last C is for Civilization, they wanted to civilize Africans in terms of education, culture and many other aspects. Thu s, to a larger extent, the activities of British heartened conflicts. African traditional religion is rooted in the African culture, it was difficult for Christianity to penetrate through. Portuguese tried in the fifteen century and failed. For Christianity to take the course the Africans had to abandon their culture which was hard so to say. The Missionaries in the nineteenth century, however, came up with an elaborate plan for them to spread Christianity. They introduced through religion, education and health centers which contradicted informal learning and the institution of medicine men. Africans gradually began to embrace Whiteman’s way of life but not without several clashes. These battles are seen in various forms such as spiritual, doctrinal, cultural and practical. The African religion has been given several definitions by different scholars, for instance, Mbiti has elaborated aspects of African religion. In his book African Traditional Religion, Mbiti (1991) African religion is very pragmatic and realistic (p2), he explains that it is applied in circumstances where the need arises. In addition, he states that religion is rooted in the local language, so to comprehend the religious life of an African society one has to understand the local dialect. He further affirms, â€Å"To be an African in the traditional setup is to be truly religious.† (p30) He states that the religion can be seen in five aspects of culture; beliefs, practices, ceremonies and festivals, religious objects and places, values, and morals and religious officials and leaders. He defines African religion as: â€Å"The product of the thinking and experiences of our forefathers and mothers that is men and women of their generations. They formed religious ideas, they observed religious ceremonies and rituals, they told proverbs and myths which safeguarded the life of individual and his community.(pp 13-14) Mbiti notes that African religion has no scriptures as compared to Christianity and other religions, it is written in peoples history, hearts and experiences of the people.(p14) Awolalu in his book Sin and its Removal in the African Traditional Religion defines African religion as â€Å"†¦largely written in the peoples myth and folktales, in their songs and dances, in their liturgies and shrines and in their proverbs and pithy sayings. It is a religion whose historical founder is neither known nor worshipped; it is a religion that has no zeal for the membership drive, yet it offers persistent fascination for Africans, young and old. The African traditional religion was not homogeneous as the communities had different ethnic background thus the religious practices such rituals varied one community to the other. It is worth noting that it was oral, not scripted or written and was passed from one generation to the other by word of mouth, as I earlier alluded in the definitions of religion. Within their organized societal structures, Africans believed in supernatural beings together with ancestral spirits. The ancestral spirits were believed to link the li ving societal members to the gods. Therefore, the African traditional religion was and still is interweaved to the African culture. From the above insights, one cannot talk about African religion without African values as they are intertwined and inseparable. African religion was embedded in moral values or codes or standards which were believed to originate from God through the ancestral spirits, these values when observed one would be rewarded with maybe good harvest from their cultivation of land or increased number of the flock of cattle. When these values have violated the culprits were reprimanded. The concept of values is a vital point as one talks of the African religion. For that reason, African religion is drawn from the African values and Culture. African Culture was the source of law through the moral codes and values passed from generation to generation. From the above description, we can see that law or rules of conduct were embedded in religion and that African religion was interweaved in the African culture. Local dialect was the medium through which African culture and religion were propagated. The African religion had some institutions as Mbiti points out in the aspects of African religion, who presided over religious functions, these institutions were believed to communicate directly to ancestral spirits (living dead) who in turn would communicate to the gods and grievances of the living societal members would be heard. In the Kenyan context, these institutions include Orkoyot of the Nandi, Oloibon of the Maasai, Seers, Diviners, and Rainmakers depending on the ethnic communities which they came from. These institutions apart from the veneration of the ancestors, they blessed warrior before going for war, advised the political leaders, offered sacrifice to god and conducted rituals for the culprits who violated moral values in the community. The gods had some specific names for instance, in Kenyan context, we had Enkai for the Maasai, Encore for the Abagusii, Mulungu for Akamba, Asis the Nandi, Ngai for the Agikuyu and Nyasaye for the Luo. There were specific worship plac es which were regarded as holy, this places included shrines, mountaintops some special trees such as mugumo, hills, and some caves. The diversity of the names given to gods and places of worship, show the lack of uniformity in the African Religion. Consequently, Africans were of different ethnic background and had their own religion, gods, and religion as a community. The clashes can be seen in the five aspects as earlier alluded in Mbiti’s work that is beliefs, practices, ceremonies, festivals, religious objects and places, values, and morals, religious officials and leaders. These aspects of African religion differ from those of Christianity. The Africans believed that their religion was sourced from god, who they believed long before their ancestors’ existence. The British Missionaries conflict with Africans by telling them about the existence of a God who had a son and lived among them many years ago. The religion of British was written (Bible) thus one had to have the ability to read and write in order to understand it, whereas that of African was passed from generation to generation by oral tradition. There is an introduction of a new system of identifying the origin of religion which conflicts with the African system. Language is also conflicted as Africans could not comprehend English, hence missionaries such as Ludwig Krapf translated the Bible into the local dialect. The Africans revered in special caves, Mountaintops, hills, Forests, Special trees (mugumo) and shrines. The British tell Africans that they should worship God places called Churches. This encounter shows that there is a bit of clashing as the African places were very clearly defined and preserved by the community members. The British also seized African land to construct churches or chapels, Africans, as a result, became very hostile as they had distinct worship places which occurred naturally. They believed that their land was in cultivation and a gift from their gods. The Africans practiced their religion by reverence to their ancestors, offering human and animal sacrifices and invoking the ancestral spirits, for instance, the Umira Kager clan believed in spirits in the S.M Otieno case. They offered sacrifices in order to get favors in terms of harvest. The African worship was communal that is, all community members used to convene to pray for rain and ask for the wellness of the community. The British religion had an aspect of confession of one`s sins before worship, repentance, and forgiveness of sin are granted. This aspect of forgiveness of sins lacks in the traditional African religion, one had to be punished for wrongdoing. British missionary religion brings out an aspect of offerings in terms of money and tithe which is ten percent of one`s total earnings. The British advocated for human rights and therefore disregarded and condemned human sacrifices. In African religion, worship was led by Diviners, Rainmakers, and Seers who were considered righteous. The work of religious leaders was taught through apprecentiship and was hereditary from specific clans in the community. There were certain clans from whom diviners would descend. They were highly respected in the community. The British Christian religious leaders attend school to be trained mainly in theology. They study formalities of worship and nature of God. Any member of Christian family can become a religious leader although there are some myths which say one has to be ‘called by God. A Christian leader has to have the ability to read and write so as to pass the scriptures to his congregation. African traditional religion was diverse from one ethnic community to the other due to the linguistic differences, migration patterns and origin. Christianity is introduced as a homogeneous religion as the author of it is Jesus Christ, a common ancestry and reference point for all Christians. The diversity of worship is dismantled by the British introduction of this even religion. Africans were notoriously religious as it was found in each group. Africans who lived as per the traditional way of life were regarded as very religious.it is also worth acknowledging that Africans are at crossroads due to the fact that religion is embedded in the African culture and language. It is thus difficult for Africans to fully be committed to Christianity as being fully whole-hearted means they will have to abandon some of the partaking of African culture and indigenous dialect by embracing the Whiteman’s language and culture. This has already happened as some dedicated African Christians according to Quarcoopome (1987), refer to traditional religion as paganism, fetish, and animism. References. Awolalo, JO, Sin and Its Removal from the African Traditional Religion (1976) History and Government Form One to Four, KLB Fourth Edition. The People of Kenya Up to the 19th Century Kwasi W, Towards Decolonizing African Religion and Philosophy, African Studies (1998) Quarterly volume 1 Issue 4. Ojwang’ JB and Mugambi JNK (eds), The SM Otieno case, Death and Burial in Modern Kenya, (1989) Nairobi University press Mbiti, JS, African Religion and Philosophy, Oxford, England, (1999) Heinemann Educational Publishers. Mbiti, JS, Introduction to African Religion Oxford, England, (1991) Heinemann Educational Publishers. Uchenna O, African Crossroads: Conflict between African Traditional Religion and Christianity, (2008) The International Journal of Humanities vol 6 No. 2 Quarcoopome, TNO, West African traditional religion. Ibadan, Nigeria: (1987) African Universities Press. NAME: MUNYALO, DANIEL MUTHENGI REG.NO: G34/102614/2017 COURSE: GPR 100 LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING CONVENER: DR. NKATHA KABIRA â€Å"The encounter between the British and Africans was a case of two worlds colliding.† Discuss†¦

Fran Dorn :: Free Essays

Fran Dorn is the host of Literary Visions, a telecourse video. Dorn is an intelligent person with a love for literature and reading. After watching just one of these telecourse videos, I’ve come to learn a lot about Miss Dorn. With that said, I would like to share with you some of the bits and pieces I have come to learn. What kind of person is this Fran Dorn? Do these videos tell you anything about her personal life? Most interestingly, what are her thoughts on literature?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I sat, notebook and pen in hand, watching these videos, I kept asking myself, â€Å"Who is this person? Is she nice? Mean? Compassionate?† The one thing you could tell about Miss Dorn right away was that she was a very intelligent woman. Dorn read many books, she has a Master’s degree – and that wasn’t the only way you can tell she is an intellectual. The way she talked with such knowledge about literature, and confidence. Miss Dorn graced the television set with such poise. She’s the type of person most people aspire to be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many things you can learn about Fran Dorn’s personal life. Dorn states that she has her Master’s degree in theater. She also said that she went to a Graduate School in New York for three years. Miss Dorn always loves to read books. She also collected them. Some of the books in her collection include â€Å"Busy Timmy†, and the â€Å"The Velveteen Rabbit†. On the day Dorn graduated from Graduate School, she bought herself a book to celebrate. The book was â€Å"The Velveteen Rabbit†. The store’s clerk asked her if she wanted it wrapped as a gift for someone. She explained it was only for her, and the clerk wrapped it up. Then the clerk stated â€Å"It was indeed a gift, a gift I was giving myself†.

Gifted Learners in Diverse Classroom Essay

As our nation becomes more culturally diverse we our schools need to begin modeling and preparing for this diversity. The importance of learning about diversity in culture and stereotypes is of particular concern with gifted learners. This article discusses the Ford and Harris model (2000) which combines higher order thinking skills with culturally relevant content to engage students in analysis, synthesis, and evaluation as they examine different perspectives and become involved in social action. There are several different methods to this model that can be used a social studies classroom to engage gifted learners. The first is the transformational approach where the curriculum is set up to show contributions and perspectives of many groups. This allows students to see various perspectives across the spectrum of cultures. Next, the social action approach has students identify issues that they think might need to be changed and make action plans. They are empowered in both of these approaches. Blooms Taxonomy is used at the highest level in both of these models and students are able to learn from themselves, inwardly, and from each other in order to hopefully develop positive relationships. Along with using these two approaches discussions, infusions of literature and poetry, role-playing, examining primary documents, ethnographic research, photojournalism, and service learning are easily applied to middle and high school classrooms. The importance of keeping gifted students engaged has been well documented. High qualities discussions have in the classroom are a great way for student to share, debate, develop original thinking and analyze various perspectives of other gifted students. In a multicultural classroom discussions could become significant learning experiences for young people by allowing participants to challenge the points of view held by others while reexamining their own beliefs Parker (2001). Multicultural literature infused into the classroom and curriculum can give many cultural perspectives for students to reflect upon. Teachers reported gains in self-esteem and academic achievement in diverse students when given literature in which they felt reflected their own culture. Another good technique that teachers can use in a multicultural classroom is role-play. When students place themselves into the role of another it is found that they internalize the culture while also learning about the content. This use of critical thinking skills, along with cooperative learning is a big part of a multicultural classroom. Role-play is one strategy that enriches instruction and supports the unusual sensitivity to the feelings of others evident in gifted learners (Clark, 2007; Piechowski, 2006). Teachers, who have used the process of ethnographic research, or the study and systematic recording of human cultures, have found that gifted students are enriched with the process. Ethnographic research includes interviews, artifacts and observations. Along with Ethnographic research the use of primary documents is an important part of a multicultural classroom. Examples include manuscripts, diaries, letters, photographs, postcards, posters, audio or video recordings, oral histories, speeches, or official documents (Bogdan & Biklen, 2006). Primary documents are increasingly becoming a part of the questioning process on the end of course exams so it is vital that gifted students are given access to them and understand their importance. Photographs, or photojournalism can be impactful for the visual gifted learners. Photojournalism supports numerous characteristics of gifted learners, including their emotional depth and intensity, as well as their strong capacity for processing information, generating original ideas, and comprehensively synthesizing ideas and solutions (Clark, 2007; Davis et al. 2011). Finally, service learning is an area were gifted learners are provided the opportunity be creative with their ideas. In service learning students can find a need in the community and find a method to assist. Because many gifted learners have high levels of empathy this suits them well. Terry (2008) noted that service learning can help gifted learners reach their creative potential as they seek solutions to society’s problems, while also assisting them in their journey toward self-actualization. There are many methods that creativity and diversity can be brought into a multicultural classroom. With gifted students choice and variety is important so that the student remains engaged. The gifted learners needs will drive much of the instruction. This is just a few of the ideas that would work in a social studies classroom in particular. As with all things creativity, curriculum and enrichment are the key to keeping students engaged with gifted learners.

Independent Literacy Essay - 1758 Words

Independent Literacy When I went to the movies for the first time with Bobby, the person who I now consider a close friend, I chose the wrong seat to sit down in. Bobby, who has been deaf in his left ear since birth, occupied the seat to the right of me that night. We enjoyed the film, â€Å"Meet the Parents† thoroughly, yet the movie is certainly not what sticks out in my mind about that evening. Each time we shared a laugh, or one of us wanted to say something to the other about an event in the movie, Bobby had to swing his head around like some kind of bird so that he could hear my whispers. It was actually rather funny to see him twist his neck that way. I remember him saying to me as soon as the lights went down and the†¦show more content†¦For Bobby, this wasn’t an option due to the fact that he could hardly hear. When Bobby was about to turn three years old his parents had become increasingly concerned about his progress with speech. He was making sounds, but wasn’t f orming words correctly, and he slurred a mass of noises together when he got excited or needed something. His family realized that he would only respond to their words if they put their faces right in front of Bobby’s when they spoke to him. After his parents’ concerns grew and they spoke to doctors, they determined that Bobby had been reading lips since age one, and had been trying to make words, but was unsuccessful due to the fact that he had no sense of hearing in his left ear, and his right ear was impaired as well. After multiple surgeries, the hearing in his right ear was significantly strengthened, and he was immediately put in to many special programs to help him catch up on his speech, and equally important, his ability to read. Due to the fact that he did not have a relationship with words for the first two years of his life, â€Å"independent literacy† became a task that would haunt him for the rest of his school days. I have used the phrases, â€Å"independently literate† and â€Å"independent literacy† to illustrate my main point. What I haveShow MoreRelatedEducation And Skills Development : A Flagship Programme For Rural Poverty Alleviation1262 Words   |  6 Pagesenhance employability and livelihood opportunities, mitigate poverty, increase productivity and for laying a lasting foundation for sustained economic growth. The economic and social development of a country to a great extent hinges on the literacy of its people. Literacy has become an indispensible tool for liberating the rural populace from the vicious grip of poverty, deprivation, misery and suffering. Many of agricultural products come from rural areas. However, the quality and shelf life of the productsRead MoreKnowledge, Understanding and Skills in Literacy, Numeracy and Ict and Their Impact on My Practice1117 Words   |  5 Pagesunderstanding and skills in Literacy, Numeracy and ICT impacts on my p ractice. 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