INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN STUDIES

Duration: Two Lectures

 Course Description
 This introductory course aims to generate interest among students in African
Studies.

 It provides basic background information on Africa and perspectives on its

histories, peoples and cultures.

 This course serves as the springboard from which the subsequent elective courses
in African Studies will be launched.

 The African studies program is divided into three parts:

Introduction to Gender (4 weeks)
General introduction to African Studies (2 weeks);
and Electives (6 weeks)
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 2
 Course Objectives
I
1.To help students appreciate the contemporary value of African
Studies as an area of enquiry.

2.To help students engage with discourses on African realities.

3.To encourage students to appreciate African Identities.

4.To help students develop a sense of Self Determination in the

global world. © IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 3
 II
5.To make students aware of the negative stereotypes about Africa
and to encourage them to challenge these stereotypes.
6.To Develop appropriate methodologies and frameworks for
examining Africa and its past through multi-disciplinary approaches.
7.To highlight some of Africa’s contributions to world civilizations
and knowledge generation.
8. To enhance students’ knowledge in specific areas of African
Humanities and Social Sciences
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 4
 Course requirements
Assessments:  Course activities may include:

 Interim assessment-  Formal instruction

Introduction to Gender 20%
 Readings
Introduction to African Studies 10%
 Group discussions
Main Elective 30%
Assignments
 Final exam - 50%  Presentations
 Final exam

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 5

 LECTURE ONE

The value of
African Studies
in today’s world
6
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Learning objectives

• At the end of Lecture 1, students should be able to:

– Understand the distinctive nature of Africa
– Explain various (mis)representations of Africa
– Appreciate the significant contribution of Africa to world
civilization.
– Appreciate the African Identity
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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 WHO ?
IS AN
AFRICAN?
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 8
Are these (wo)men Africans?

Barack Hussein Obama

44th President of© the Unitedof Ghana,
IAS, University StatesLegon, 2020 9
Former Acting President (Oct 2014 – Jan 2015)
and Vice President of Zambia (2011 – 2014) 10
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
Bob Marley – Reggae Artist
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 11
Dr. W.E.B.© IAS,DuBois – Pan-Africanist Scholar
University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 12
 Are these women Africans?

Nneka Egbuna, Mayra Santos-Febres.

hip hop/soul/reggae singer Elizandra Souza, Puerto Rican author,
Born in Nigeria, writer and journalist. Poet, novelist professor
immigrated to settle in of Literature
Black (Afro) -Brazilian, based in
Hamburg, Germany at age
19 Săo Paulo, Brazilof Ghana, Legon, 2020
© IAS, University 13
 After interrogating these
personalities, especially on
whether they are African or not,
consider the following questions:
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 14
 An issue of identity: Who is an African?
• How are African identities constructed in the face of the
mosaic of identities that peoples of African ancestry living
within and beyond the continent bear?

• To what extent do all categorized as Africans or as having

an African pedigree perceive themselves as Africans?

• To what degree are all who perceive themselves as Africans

accepted as such?

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon,

15 2020
• Are there levels of “Africanness”, and are some more
African than others? – More or less?

• How does African identities interface with other levels

of identity and citizenship in Africa?

• And what are the implications of the contentious nature

of African identities and citizenship for the projects of
pan-Africanism, the making of the Africa-nation, and
Africa’s development trajectories? 16
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Defining Africanness is Multilayered!
• May depend on the factors under consideration, including:
• Legal - E.g. citizenship, parentage, naturalization
• Conceptual
– Philosophical - shared value systems and worldview
(precepts: “ubuntu “– I am because we are)
e.g. Beliefs in the ancestors

– Cultural - tangible (buildings, monuments, artifacts,

- intangible (skills; highly developed oral traditions; knowledge systems )
• Genotype (DNA sequence/the genetic makeup)
• Phenotype (Outward appearance)
• Allegiance
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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 What do you think about the concept of the African Diaspora ?
Eastern Diaspora Western Diaspora

Indigenous Black people of West

Papua New Guinea Black People of Brazil
Indigenous Black people of
Australia

Indigenous Black People of Black People of USA

Black People of Jamaica
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 18
Me’ekamui (Pacific Bougainville Island)
 African Diaspora
 Ancient Voluntary Migration
 First humans to populate the rest of the world including remote islands

 Forced Migration
 Maafa/Maangamizi/Neshni (So-called Trans-Saharan and Trans-Atlantic ‘slave trade’)
 Conflicts
 Colonialism (French Policy)

 Manipulated Migration
 Pursuit of economic interests
 Education
 Diplomatic postings

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 19

 Defining Africa
• Race? - range of racial types on the continent

• Descent? – People of African descent?

Large concentrations in Northern and Southern Americas, the Caribbean.
They are also found in India, the Middle East etc

• Political? -
citizenship in one of the 54 states of the AU – see the constitutive act;
long term residence in an African country?

• Geographic? – Countries on the African Continent/Map

Africa is not a country, but a continent

• Allegiance? – Dedication to African heritage and aspirations

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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 EXERCISE - Blank Map Activity
Identify the following countries on the blank map of Africa provided:

a. Sao Tome and Principe g. Cape Verde

b. South Sudan h. Uganda
c. Madagascar i. Kenya
d. Botswana J. Senegal
e. Rwanda k. Gambia
f. Western Sahara i. Eritrea
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 21
A blank map of Africa

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 22

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 MISREPRESENTING AFRICA
Africa has been and continues to be
misrepresented in many ways, including the use of
phrases, such as:

Africa has no history?

Africans have no civilization?
Africa is the dark continent? 24
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Africa the continent of crisis?
• Two types of narratives about Africa

1. Except Africa Narrative –

Development works everywhere in the world but in Africa.

Therefore Africa has to change rather than development policies
tailor themselves better to the needs of Africa

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 25

2. Doomsday narratives –

There is a crisis of overpopulation in Africa, poverty, drought, over

utilisation of scarce resources, environmental crisis, corruption, ethnic
tensions, civil wars.

All of which are resulting in a terrible crisis that requires external

interventions to halt.

The solution has to come from outside since African states are not
competent to solve problems they have created.
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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
Roe, Emery (1995). Except Africa: A postscript to a Special
Section on Development Narratives World Development ,
23(6): 1065-1069.

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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 How representative are these descriptions:

• Africa is a continent of poverty?

• Africa is a continent of conflicts?
• Africa is a continent of bad governance?
• Africa is full of bad cultural practices and outmoded
customs.

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 28

 Faces of POVERTY

A soup kitchen in the US Homelessness in Canada

Ethiopia

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 29

 What about Leadership and GOVERNANCE?

Charles Taylor

Mobutu Sese Seko Iddi Amin

Jean-Bedel Bokassa © IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020

Sani Abacha 30
 BAD GOVERNANCE?

Nelson Mandela Silvio Berlusconi

Iddi Amin

Hugo Raphael Chavez © IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 31

Slobodan Milosevic Kwame Nkrumah
 CONFLICTS?
Child soldiers

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 32

ISIL Foreign Mercenaries
DEBATE ON CULTURAL PRACTICES AND SYSTEMS?
How do you assess the following? Are they good or bad? Why?

• Extended Family System • Libation

• Herbal Medicine • Child marriage
• Child labour
• Ritual killings
• Bride wealth
• Circumcision
• Witchcraft
• Widowhood rites 33
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Representing Africa:

Dwenini mmɛn (Ram’s Horns)

What are some of the GOOD
representations of Africa?

Humility, Strength, Wisdom and Learning

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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 What are the GOOD representations of Africa?

World’s First mathematical tool

World’s First medical text
World’s First female
physician
World’s First female
ruler

World’s First monumental stone structure

World’s First archeo-
World’s First writing system © IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 35
 Contemporary Africa has contributed positively to global
knowledge production and civilization in the areas of:

• Global Development (Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General)

• Agriculture (E.g. Cocoa and Coffee production)
 Academia (E.g. Wole Soyinka)
 International Trade and Commerce (Prof. Frederick M Jones,
Ethiopian Airlines)
 ICT (Dr Thomas Mensah, Prof Nii Narku Quaynor)
 Mathematics (Prof. Francis Allotey)
 Science (Souleymane Mboup)
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 36
 Coffee: An African Tree Crop
• Coffee originates in Africa.

• There are three types of coffee

• Arabica (originates in Ethiopia)
• Robusta (originates in Congo)
• Liberica (originates in Liberia).

• The highest quality of coffee is Arabica.

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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Coffee: A Global Commodity
• Coffee was introduced into Dutch colonies in Java in the 1690s. In the 1720s coffee was
carried by the French and Dutch into botanical gardens in the Americas, Dutch Guinea
(Surinam), Haiti and Santa Domingue. Robusta and Liberica species were also carried into
South America.
• By the nineteenth century Brazil emerged as the major producer and world consumption of
cocoa grew more than 15 times. By this period Yemeni and Ethiopian production in
international trade had become insignificant.

• However, in recent years coffee production has rapidly expanded in Africa with Ethiopia,
Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya becoming significant producers of Arabica and Côte d’Ivoire
of Robusta (mainly used in producing nescafe).
• While producers get a small percentage of the total price if the coffee value changes, in
recent years the government of Ethiopia has successfully got different varieties in Ethiopia
internationally recognised for their heritage and gained a premium price paid for these
varieties in European markets (See documentary – Black Gold).
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 38
 Cocoa: A South American tree crop
successfully cultivated in West Africa
• Cocoa is largely produced in West Africa, with over 80 percent of global production originating from
West Africa (the two dominant producers are Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana (producing around 70 percent of
global supplies)).

• However cocoa is a South American crop, which was originally introduced into Sao Tome and Principe
off the coast of Cameroon, where it was subsequently smuggled into the Gold Coast by Tetteh Quashie.

• By the 1820s the Gold Coast emerged as the most important producer contributing between 70-80 percent
of Global supplies. Cocoa was largely produced by farmers for export rather than domestic consumption
and provides an early example of successful agrarian capitalism in Africa (Polly Hill 1960).

• During the 1970s Côte d’Ivoire overtook Ghana as the major producer. Competition also came from
Brazil and Malaysia, however as international production became increasingly competitive the West
African producers were able to out compete others.

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 39

 Coffee and cocoa
• Examine the differences and similarities of the coffee and cocoa
stories?

• How has Africa benefited from these two commodities?

• How have the rest of the world benefited?

• Where does most of the wealth in the creation of these commodities

go?

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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Positive Representation Africa
• Wole Soyinka is a Poet, playwright, and novelist from Nigeria.
• He has written many plays, poems using the mythology of the Yoruba. He addresses
social and political issues in Nigeria and Africa
• In 1967, he was jailed for 22 months for
secretly meeting with Ojukwu of Biafra
to try and prevent civil war.

• In 1986 he won the Nobel prize for

Literature, the first African to win
the prize for new literatures.

• In 1994, he had to flee into exile Wole Soyinka

to escape imprisonment by Abacha.
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 41
 Positive Representation Africa

Chinua Achebe
Ama Ata Aidoo

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 42

Wole Soyinka Wangari Maathai Kwabena Nketia
 Positive Representation of Africa:
Inventors Country of Origin Inventions/Projects
Prof. Souleymane Mboup Senegal HIV-2 Virus (discover)
Dr. Oviemo Ovadje Nigeria Blood Auto-transfusion
Samuel Todo Togo Humanoid Robot
Jean-Patrice Keka Democratic Republic of Congo Space Rockets
Prof. Francis K.A. Allotey Ghana The Allotey Principle
Victor and Johnson Obasa Nigeria Armoured Vehicle
Simon Mwaura Kenya Multipurpose Mobile Remote control

Prof. Nii Narku Quaynor Ghana One of the Pioneers of designing and
developing the internet

Abdoulaye Toure Senegal Solar Oven

Philippe Yoda Burkina Faso Plastic Recycling

Phillip Emeagwali Nigeria© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 43

Connection Machine Supercomputer
 Prof. Monty Jones: Renowned African Scientist

• Prof. Monty Jones is a renowned plant breeder

from Sierra Leone who in 2004 won the World
Food prize for leading a team at West Africa
Rice Development Association (WARDA)
successfully crossing West African rice (Oryza
glaberima) with Asian rice (Oryza sativa)
creating the Nerica varieties (New Rice for
Africa), a rare and successful hybridisation of
rice.

• His approach is recognised to be innovative in

its use of participatory methods linking
farmers, extension agents and scientists
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 44
 Ethiopian Airlines: A Successful Commercial Venture

• It was established by the Ethiopian government “With its ten modern 787s and its confident global
in 1945. ambitions, Ethiopian Airlines has not just Africa,
but the whole world, in its hands.”
• It has survived the many crises that has plagued
the airline industry since its establishment and
has grown to become one of the major airlines The Economist 3rd September 2012
in the world flying a wide range of routes the
world over. © IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 What is African Studies
• A formally organized multi-disciplinary academic study of the continent
of Africa and the African diaspora.
• The study of African Studies is three- dimensional:

i) research/knowledge production
ii)dissemination of knowledge and teaching
iii) the application of knowledge/transformation of knowledge into
policies and social action.

Source: Gordon J.U (2013). Inaugural lecture, Kwame Chair, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana.
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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Accessing sources on Africa (1)
Documentary & Non-documentary

•Archaeology
– Provides information about how humans
adapted to their environment

– Archaeological information is obtained

through the excavation of specially selected
sites
E.g. Ife Bronze works in 1938, Zimbabwe ruins,
Pharonic pyramids

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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Accessing sources on Africa (2)
• Linguistics
– Study of the origin, structure, and changes of a language

– Languages that are closely related

• E.g. Ga and Dangme or Waale and Dagaare may be deemed to have
developed out of a single parent language – e.g. eat di.
• Twi yoma 'camel', Mande nyoromã, Dagaare nyogma
• Twi bu ‘to break (off)’, Yorùbá bù ‘to break (off)’, Proto-Bantu *-
bú̧ n- ‘to break’, Common-Bantu *-búd-, *-bú̧ g-, *-bú̧ n-, *-bú̧ nj- ‘to
break’
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© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 Exercise

What is the word for kill, die,

dance, walk, etc in different
languages?
NOTE: A comparative study of languages can provide valuable
historical information. E.g. a study of Bantu and W/African
languages provide evidence of a common ancestor
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 49
 Accessing sources on Africa (3)
• Oral traditions
• the lore (traditional knowledge and beliefs) of cultures having no written
language.
• Transmitted by word of mouth and consists, as does written literature, of
both prose and verse.(narratives, poems and songs, myths, dramas, proverbs).
• Often transmitted by specialists/experts
• Can provide valuable facts and profound perspectives on life, e.g. court
historians
• Nearly all known peoples, now or in the past, have produced it.

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 50

 Accessing sources on Africa (4)
• Ancient Written Sources

• First writing developed in Africa: Mdw Ntr (Hieroglyphics), source for

writing systems that emerged later (Latin, etc.)

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 51

 Accessing sources on Africa (5)

New Media: new media offer information in multiple and provide

a wide variety of sources
E.g. Internet, websites, computer multimedia, video games, CD-
ROMS, and DVDs.

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 52

 Accessing sources on Africa (6)

Written sources:
• Primary sources
– official reports, files, court documents, financial papers, newspapers, old family papers or
official files.
• Secondary sources
– Books (of analytical & scholarly articles)
• Tertiary sources
– encyclopaedia, bibliography
• Institutional sources
– museums and libraries

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 53

 Summary

In this lecture we have:

• Been given an overview of Introduction to African Studies
• Examined the distinct nature of Africa and its people.
• Identified some misrepresentations and negative stereotypes
about Africa.
• Enumerated some significant contributions by Africans that
(may) have been excluded in the dominant narrative about world
civilisation.
• Identified several sources of data and information on Africa. 54
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020
 WHAT YOU DO FOR YOURSELF…
Dr. Runoko Rashidi (1954 CE – present)
‘What you do for yourself depends on
what you think of yourself and what
you think of yourself depends on
what you know of yourself and what
you know of yourself depends on
what you have been told.’
-Dr. Runoko Rashidi
http://bit.ly/2dw3l7H
Xam sa bopp moo gëna nu wax la ko - "Self-knowledge is
better than being told about oneself."
© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 55
“We need to keep hope alive and strive to do better”
Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 56

 References
• Adibe, Jideofor (ed.) (2009), Who is an African? Identity, Citizenship and the Making of the Africa-Nation.
London, Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd.
• Roe, Emery. (1995). “Except –Africa: Postscript to a Special Section on Development Narratives” in World
Development Vol. 23 No 6 (pp. 1065-1069)
• Sekyi H.V.H. 1994 Colour Prejudice Past Present and Future. New York, Vantage Press
• Nuijten, E., van Treuren R,, Struik, P.C., Mokuwa, A. Okry, F. Teeken, B., Richards, P. “Evidence for the
Emergence of New Rice Types of Interspecific Hybrid Origin in West African Farmers’ Fields” Plos One, 4(10):
2009, pp. 1-9. Source www.plosone.org
• The Economist 3rd September 2012  http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/09/ethiopian-airlines)
• http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm
• http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
• http://www.kumatoo.com/african_inventors.html
• http://www.black inventor.com

© IAS, University of Ghana, Legon, 2020 57