On October 7 1999, Arizona Daily Wildcat published a remarkable article by Lora Mackel, a history Junior in the University of Arizona. In the article, Mackel expressed her views about the current state of the African continent as follows:
We have all seen the images before: Children with bloated bellies, rebels with assault weaponry, shanty towns that spread as far as the camera can pan. These images reflect our own modern conceptions of Africa, for it seems that these wretched conditions and the continent itself are permanently linked. (4)
Mackel’s article reminded this writer of a little anecdote told by a fellow countryman of mine named Kagiso, who is from northern Botswana and is currently studying in Alabama. Apparently, one of his American classmates innocently asked him how he had escaped from the civil war going on in Africa. According to Kagiso, this particular classmate of his has this notion that Africa is just one big country. Although it was easy for my countryman, Kagiso, to dismiss his classmate’s question as emanating from an individual on the lower side of the I.Q. scale, the point is that it connects to Mackel’s views and summarizes the perceptions of some Americans about Africa. Their perception is that the whole African continent is a basket case. On the other hand, there are some Americans who – unlike some of their countryman – may not dismiss Africa entirely out of hand. Such Americans may hold the view that Africa is a serious cause for concern. Once in a while, a sympathetic soul who holds the latter view more strongly may arise. Unfortunately, most of the time, such people feel so sorry for Africa that they end up being apologists for the African continent, never mind the fact that the continent is home to 61 countries with varying economic successes (“Atlas” 122). The generalized descriptions of Africa by writers such as Mackel fail dismally to present a true image of the continent.
Africa’s critics may single out the political instability prevalent in some African countries as a cause for their dismissal of Africa. These critics may use Rwanda to plead their case. In 1994, approximately 250,000 Rwandans crossed into neighboring Tanzania as refugees. This was after their village leaders forced them out just because they belonged to a different ethnic group (Shawcross 4). It is easy for Africa’s critics to gloat over these reports. However, one need not be reminded that political strife is not uncommon in this day and age.
Rodney, Walter, A.M Babu, and Vincent Harding. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Washington, D.C.: Howard UP, 1981. Print.
Gilbert, Erik & Reynolds, Jonathan T., Africa in World History. Third Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, 2012.
On the heels of war, new technology caused a decrease in prices of goods in the 1920’s and in the 1950’s the GI Bill increased income. The bureaucratization of business in the 1920’s meant that more people could be employed in higher paying white-collar jobs than before, including, for the first time, housewives. This new income combined with the reduced prices for goods that resulted from mechanized production, assembly lines and a general decrease of the cost of technology created a thriving consumerist middle class that went on to fuel the economy in all sectors, especially the upper classes. Likewise, during World War II Americans saved up around 150 billion dollars, and this sum combined with the income of the GI Bill allowed normal people to buy expensive things, from houses to cars to electronics to educations at a rapid rate, fueling the trademark prosperity of the 1950’s. The new automobile culture of the 50’s spawned new businesses that catered to mobile Americans, such as nicer and more standardized hotels like Holiday Inn, and drive-up restaurants like McDonalds. Just as the culture of the 1920’s was transfo...
Looking at the scholarship on Africa, Davidson reminds us that most published history is dominated by the colonial and post-colonial periods rather than pre-colonial as it is difficult to research. Moreover, the extent of languages, rare or non-existent sources including the need for professional services such as archaeological and geographic surveys are expensive and can over extend budgets for research. Davidson’s passion for communicating and informing the public about the great kingdoms of West Africa and its history is a fantastic and well thought out production.
Africa is the world’s poorest inhabited continent, with more than one third of its residents living on less than a comparative US dollar per day. Africa is often stereotyped as poor, overpopulated, and uncivilized. Africa is commonly interpreted as one united land mass rather than multiple independent nations. Africa’s limited use of technology, agriculture and market based economy, and independent self-governing prior to independence have made gathering data on the continent difficult. Africa as a whole has little data collected about its past and as a result many studies conducted and published refer to the continent as a whole rather than referring to individual nations.
Bryant H. McGill once said “Education should prepare our minds to use its own powers of reason and conception rather than filling it with the accumulated misconceptions of the past” (McGill ). There are misconceptions all around us; people look at certain things in a particular manner but what each person sees comes from their background. I have recently come to the realization that there are many misconceptions held about the African continent; my current class has helped me see these misconceptions and understand why they are incorrect and how I formed them. With the help of our Western society, I developed beliefs that Africa was a continent full of poverty, civil unrest, and in desperate need of help. Much of the media coverage in Africa showed droughts, famine, the need for clean drinking water; everything that was exposed to the American population about Africa through these channels carried a negative connotation. I was never taught or informed about the complex culture and fascinating traditions that make up such a diverse continent. The ancient kingdoms of West Africa were complex, developed civilizations that had rich culture, traditions, values, norms and skills that exceeded those of societies of the rest of the world such as European ones. In this paper, I will first further explain some of the common misconceptions that I had about African in general and about their ancient kingdoms.
Mark Twain had to drop out of school to help his family financially. He had to move out of town and traveled until he finally settled in Virginia City, Nevada. Where he than decided to try mining but failed. He than again moved to San Francisco where he worked as a journalist and lecturer for quite a while. But he decided to travel as much as he could and left that as well. Mark Twain later married to a woman named Olivia Livy Langdon. They then became blessed with their first child, who unfortunately was only alive for 19 months due to diphtheria. After finally getting over such a loss they managed to have three more daughters. And they lived a happy life, until Mark Twain died of a heart attack at the age of 74. But he did not leave this world until he had left a great impact in the United States.
In the modern day, Africa is seen by the world around it as a relatively underprivileged continent. Since its independence from colonial rule, Africa 's economic performance has been less than stellar and its advancement has been slow, which could be argued through a myriad of different ideologies. Nathan Nunn, the author of “Historical Legacies: A model linking Africa’s past to its current underdevelopment” believes that the slave trade and colonial rule, brought on by the Europeans in the past, is the reason for Africa’s economic hardships, that are still lingering to this day. What he sets out to answer in this academic paper is an interesting question, “Why do these events, which ended years ago, continue to matter today?” Through the
The writer known as, Mark Twain, was actually born with the name Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, to John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton Clemens on November 30, 1835. While Samuel Clemens was very young the Clemens family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, the inspiration for most of Samuel Clemens novels. John Marshall Clemens worked as a lawyer, but he was very successful, so he also did some work as a land speculator. The Clemens family was never very wealthy but they were middle class. John Marshall Clemens was agonistic and his wife, Jane Lampton Clemens, was a strong Presbyterian. This is influenced much of Samuel Clemens religious beliefs and also his satirical attitude in his novels. Samuel Clemens had a relatively normal childhood until the age of twelve when his father died. The same year his father died Clemens ended his formal school and became his brother Orion's, who was a printer, apprentice. He was a printer's apprentice until his eighteenth birthday. He then learned to be a river pilot for the price of $500. Even though Clemens had become a riverboat pilot he still wrote but under pseudonyms such as Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass, W. Epaminandos Adrastus Blab, Sergeant Fathom, and Josh. Clemens worked as a river pilot...
Mark Twain uses humor, irony and satire in his short stories. Also known as Samuel Clemens, he was a writer of the late 19th century of America. Most famously known for his work The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain was born on November 30th, 1835, in the state of Florida, Missouri. He was the sixth child in his family, making him the youngest child. Twain is also remembered as an “American humorist and novelist, [who] captured a world audience with stories of boyhood adventure... with commentary on man's shortcomings that is humorous...” ("Mark Twain"). He was well complemented by various other novelists.
Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri. When Samuel Clemens was four years old, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, where he spent his childhood. Clemens first approach to literature was through typesetting for a newspaper in 1851. At the time Orion, his brother, was a newspaper publisher in Hannibal. From 1857 until 1861, he served as the pilot of a riverboat on the Mississippi River. He later used this experience in creating his novels. His first writings appeared in a newspaper on February 2, 1863 under the pen name “Mark Twain.';
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of a man of meager wealth who chases after his dreams, only to find them crumble before him once he finally reaches them. Young James Gatz had always had dreams of being upper class, he didn't only want to have wealth, but he wanted to live the way the wealthy lived. At a young age he ran away from home; on the way he met Dan Cody, a rich sailor who taught him much of what he would later use to give the world an impression that he was wealthy. After becoming a soldier, Gatsby met an upper class girl named Daisy - the two fell in love. When he came back from the war Daisy had grown impatient of waiting for him and married a man named Tom Buchanan. Gatsby now has two coinciding dreams to chase after - wealth and love. Symbols in the story, such as the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, the contrast between the East Egg and West Egg, and the death of Myrtle, Gatsby, and Wilson work together to expose a larger theme in the story. Gatsby develops this idea that wealth can bring anything - status, love, and even the past; but what Gatsby doesn't realize is that wealth can only bring so much, and it’s this fatal mistake that leads to the death of his dreams.
Gilbert, Erik, and Jonathan T. Reynolds. Africa in World History: From Prehistory to the Present. Boston: Pearson, 2012.
Queiroz, Mario de. "AFRICA: A Continent of Orphans - IPS ipsnews.net." IPS Inter Press Service. N.p., 13 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. .
Bohannan, Paul, and Philip Curtin. Africa & Africans . Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc. , 1995.