Midterm 1 Flashcards
What is the Black Man’s Burden also known as The African Burden vs. The white man’s burden?
THE BLACK MAN’S BURDEN
To create a sense of belonging; To undo the effects of colonialism in Africa, especially in nation building
EXAMPLE: drawing boundaries of nations to help unify ethnicity groups once divided
vs.
THE WHITE MAN’S BURDEN
the “burden” to bring civilization to Africa
EXAMPLE: white-savior complex
What is the politics and violence of representation refer to in Africa?
-the intellectual tradition to see Africa as abnormal and pathological
-to see Africa as a place of difference and absence
EXAMPLE:
The Dark Continent- not described this way because of Africans’ skin color, but to depict Africa as a place of nothingness
What are 3 other examples of this violence of representation? (includes other depictions besides animalization)
1) ALIEN GEOGRAPHY
-animalizing a continent
-“white man’s grave”
2) THE SAVAGE
-noble vs. beastly
-lack of civilization
3) A WOMAN/FEMININE
-evil, but irresistible
-weak and conquerable
4) A CHILD
-infantilization of continent
What is meant by “decolonizing the mind”?
A concept that refers to unlearning (not wholly) the Eurocentric narrative of Africa and understanding, which requires the welcoming of the African narrative of Africa
EXAMPLE:
Chinweizu Ibekwe-Nigerian critic
“….decolonization does not mean ignorance of foreign traditions; it simply means denial of their authority and withdrawl of allegiance from them”
-The colonizer’s perspective is dismissed as being better
How did the idea of “cultural relativism” shape colonial rule and decolonization?
CULTURAL RELATIVISM-THE BRITISH
-the world is a collection of distinct cultures, thus there should be separate governments for distinct groups
-“to delay freedom until Black Africans are ready”
EXAMPLE: South Africa-Apartheid
-started with the 1913 Land Act, which made Black Africans live in reserves and made it illegal for them to work as sharecroppers
-leads to development of the African National Congress (ANC) against apartheid
-“Separate Development” pushed by Hendrik Verwoerd 1958 prime minister who separated Black South Africans from each other in order to claim there was no Black majority; created 9 separate nation states for each ethnic group
What do the “commonwealth” and the “Francafrique” signify in the post-colonial world?
COMMONWEALTH
-the post-colonial association of Great Britain and British colonies
FRANCAFRIQUE
-the post-colonial association of France and French colonies
SIMILARITIES
-asymetrical relations
-foreign policy tools
EXAMPLE: DRC- France’s influence on education
-in 1992, France aid to Cameroon rose from close to 200 million to more than 400 million, within 2 years
“The problem with modern state building is not that it is colonial, but it is not colonial enough”-Chesterman-Discuss this statement in relation to the apology for colonialism?
-basically means colonialism was not successful because it was not strong enough
-wants to see neo-colonialism occur
EXAMPLE:
-Rebuilding African institutions with English powers
-Sharing sovereignty policy making
Why was settler colonialism described as a violent and exclusionary experience?
-Means mass eviction; in some cases, genocidal
EXAMPLE:
Leopold & the DRC (LATE 19TH CENTURY TO EARLY 20TH CENTURY)
-Congolese people were worked for the sole profit of Leopold
-burned villages and cutting of hands and genitals
How did WW2 relate to the so-called “second colonization” of Africa?
-Britain and France saw Africa as necessary to prepare for the War; 1930S
-Africa provided the materials and human resources for WW2
-Africans forced to fight in the war
EXAMPLE: Uranium exploited from the Congo
How did the idea of “cultural universalism” shape colonial rule and decolonization?
CULTURAL UNIVERSALISM-THE FRENCH
-cultural difference could be eliminated through education; cultural assimilation
-“To deny independence altogether”
-in decolonization reflected linguistic colonization
EXAMPLE: France and Algeria-early 19th century
-Goal was the “civilizing mission”; duty to bring “civilization” to Africans and “enlighten them”
How did the post-war global order shape the decolonization of Africa?
-the emergence of a bipolar world structure: The US & USSR (1940S,50S, AND 60S)
-it was favorable to the idea of self-determination
-Europe is weak during this time & African resistance is strong
What is the linguistic colonialism in Africa?
-The continued use of colonizer languages as official languages
EXAMPLES: Senegal-France, Mozambique-Portugese
Is the project of decolonization complete and if not, why?
-No
EXAMPLE: Mali-France
-Mali is established as a French Colony (late 19th century)
-Mali gains independence (mid 20th century) BUT still has close relationship
-colonialism made Mali unable to establish own strong institutions; still today, relies heavily on France for military and economy
-Operation Barkhane (2014-2022)-French military operation against Islamic groups
-anti-France protests erupted and morepolitical strife
How is neo-colonialism different from colonialism?
-neocolonialism does not involve the military occupation of a country
-exercises influence through the economy, policy, foreign aid, use of military bases
EXAMPLE: Mali-France (Francs (CFA) still used today)-French monetary imperialism
“Modern Africa is partly a product of Europe’s cultural and political imagination”-What does this mean?
-Africa was split up into states by colonizers without an regard to the existing groups at the time
-This led to more disagreements among people in those nations, which made unity increasingly difficult
-Without this strong unity, hard to build a strong government
What was late decolonization in Africa like described in 4 stages?
- 1) THE PARTY STATE (1955-1968)-mid 20th century
build
-control
-integration (horizontal and vertical)
-centralization - 2) THE EFFICIENT STATE (1982-1993)-late 20th century
-big to small government
-economic liberalization
-state contraction (decades of SAPS-aid, loans) - 3) THE DEMOCRATIC STATE (1993-PRESENT)-late 20th century to 21st century
-“democracy then development”
-experiments with capitalism and socialism
-4) THE DEMOCRATIC VS. AUTHORITARIAN DEVELPMENTAL STATE (PRESENT)-21st century
-“first development, then democracy will follow”
Who is Frantz Fanon and why is his politics important in the discussions on decolonization?
WHO?
-Francophone Afro-Caribbean psychoanalyst and social philosopher
-Marxist and radical thinker
-in MID 20TH CENTURY
-wrote “Wretched of the Earth”
WHY IS HE IMPORTANT?
-psychoanalyzed the dehumanizing effects of colonization
-wrote about how violence was an important tool against colonization
-inspired national liberation movements and other movements, such as:
-Malcolm X-US
-Steve Biko-South Africa
-Che Gueverra-Cuba
How is the notion of “selective memory” relevant to the critique of the case for colonialism?
-It lets colonizers “off the hook” for what they did because they “forgot”
-holocaust denial
-lessens both their guilt and their personal financial obligation to pay reparations
EXAMPLE: France’s refusal to apologize and give reparations to Algeria
How does Europe deal with the memory and history of its colonial experience in Africa?
EXAMPLES:
France-refuses to apologize and give reparations to Algeria
Germany-formally apologized and gave $1.361 billion in reparations for the genocide in Namibia-This was rejected however as it was given to government rather than descendants.
What is the dependency school of thought and how does it explain Africa’s post-colonial development predicament?
WHAT IS IT?
-sees it as a symbiotic relationship between the colonizer and the colonized
-says colonialism developed Africa, introducing “modernity” to Africa
HOW DOES IT EXPLAIN?
-states colonialism was not strong enough, if it were it would have been more “successful”
-encourages neocolonialism in regards to policy-making
What constitutes the most formidable challenges for post-colonial Africa?
-Nation building
-Unification
-Democracy
“Colonialism is an intimate enemy”-What does this mean in context of colonial and post colonial Africa?
-decolonization is not a simple negation of colonialism
-two types of colonization:
1) the physical
2) the mental
-mental colonization pushed racist ideologies onto Africans, which became ingrained within all aspects of life
