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Afrocentricity
Afrocentricity is an academic theory and approach to scholarship that seeks to center the experiences and peoples of Africa and the African diaspora within their own historical, cultural, and sociological contexts. First developed as a systematized methodology by Molefi Kete Asante in 1980, he drew inspiration from a number of African and African diaspora intellectuals including Cheikh Anta Diop, George James, Harold Cruse, Ida B. Wells, Langston Hughes, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, and W. E. B. Du Bois. The Temple Circle, also known as the Temple School of Thought, Temple Circle of Afrocentricity, or Temple School of Afrocentricity, was an early group of Africologists during the late 1980s and early 1990s that helped to further develop Afrocentricity, which is based on concepts of agency, centeredness, location, and orientation. Definition Afrocentricity was coined to evoke "African-centeredness", and, as a unifying paradigm, draws from the foundational scholarship of Africa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molefi Kete Asante
Molefi Kete Asante ( ; born Arthur Lee Smith Jr.; August 14, 1942) is an American professor and philosopher. He is a leading figure in the fields of African-American studies, African studies, and communication studies. He is currently professor in the Department of Africology at Temple University, where he founded the PhD program in African-American Studies. He is president of the Molefi Kete Asante Institute for Afrocentric Studies.Official site Biography http://www.asante.net/biography/ December 17, 2012 Asante is known for his writings on , a school of thought that has influenced the fields of sociology, |
Cheikh Anta Diop
Cheikh Anta Diop (29 December 1923 – 7 February 1986) was a Senegalese historian, anthropologist, physicist, and politician who studied the human race's origins and pre-colonial African culture. Diop's work is considered foundational to the theory of Afrocentricity, though he himself never described himself as an Afrocentrist. The questions he posed about cultural bias in scientific research contributed greatly to the postcolonial turn in the study of African civilizations. Diop argued that there was a shared cultural continuity across African people that was more important than the varied development of different ethnic groups shown by differences among languages and cultures over time.Cheikh, Anta Diop, ''The Cultural Unity of Negro Africa'' (Paris: Présence Africaine, 1963), English translation: ''The Cultural Unity of Black Africa: The Domains of Patriarchy and of Matriarchy in Classical Antiquity'' (London: Karnak House: 1989), pp. 53–111. Some of his ideas have been c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epistemologists study the nature, origin, and scope of knowledge, epistemic justification, the rationality of belief, and various related issues. Debates in epistemology are generally clustered around four core areas: # The philosophical analysis of the nature of knowledge and the conditions required for a belief to constitute knowledge, such as truth and justification # Potential sources of knowledge and justified belief, such as perception, reason, memory, and testimony # The structure of a body of knowledge or justified belief, including whether all justified beliefs must be derived from justified foundational beliefs or whether justification requires only a coherent set of beliefs # Philosophical skepticism, which questions the possibili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Performing Arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Performing arts include a range of disciplines which are performed in front of a live audience, including theatre, music, and dance. Theatre, music, dance, object manipulation, and other kinds of performances are present in all human cultures. The history of music and dance date to pre-historic times whereas circus skills date to at least Ancient Egypt. Many performing arts are performed professionally. Performance can be in purpose-built buildings, such as theatres and opera houses, on open air stages at festivals, on stages in tents such as circuses or on the street. Live performances before an audience are a form of entertainment. The development of audio and video recording has allowed for private consumption of the performing arts. The pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhythm In Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan African music is characterised by a "strong rhythmic interest" that exhibits common characteristics in all regions of this vast territory, so that Arthur Morris Jones (1889–1980) has described the many local approaches as constituting ''one main system''. C. K. Ladzekpo also affirms the ''profound homogeneity'' of approach. West African rhythmic techniques carried over the Atlantic were fundamental ingredients in various musical styles of the Americas: samba, forró, maracatu and coco in Brazil, Afro-Cuban music and Afro-American musical genres such as blues, jazz, rhythm & blues, funk, soul, reggae, hip hop, and rock and roll were thereby of immense importance in 20th century popular music. The drum is renowned throughout Africa. Rhythm in Sub-Saharan African culture Many Sub-Saharan languages do not have a word for ''rhythm'', or even ''music''. Rhythms represent the very fabric of life and embody the people's interdependence in human relationships. C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of African Mythological Figures
This is a list of African spirits as well as deities found within the traditional African religions. It also covers spirits as well as deities found within the Afro-American religions—which is mostly derived from traditional African religions. Additionally, prominent mythic figures including heroes and legendary creatures may also be included in this list. Akan *Abu-Mehsu *Amokye *Anansi *Asase Ya *Aso *Bia *Bobowissi *Bosomtwe *Intikuma *Katarwiri *Kwase Benefo *Kweku Tsin *Nyame *Owuo * Tano Alur * Jok Odudu Bambara * Bemba *Chiwara *Duga *Faro *Kontron *Muso Koroni *Ndomadyiri * Ninimini *Sanen *Suruku *Teliko Baganda * Katonda *Ggulu * Kibuka *Kitaka *Kiwanuka * Mukasa *Musisi *Nambi *Warumbe *Wanema *Wanga Bahumono *Owazi Boloki * Libanza * Njambe Dahomey * Agé *Ayaba *Da * Gbadu * Gleti *Gu *Lisa *Loko *Mawu *Nana Buluku *Salosteles *Sakpata *Xevioso *Zinsi *Zinsu Dinka * Abuk * Aiwel * Deng * Kejok * Nhialic Efik * Abassi *Atai Fang * Meb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Philosophy
African philosophy is the philosophical discourse produced in Africa or by indigenous Africans. The term Africana philosophy covers the philosophy made by African descendants, including African Americans. African philosophers are found in the various academic fields of present philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, moral philosophy, and political philosophy. One particular subject that several modern African philosophers have written about is that on the subject of freedom and what it means to be free or to experience wholeness. Philosophy in Africa has a rich and varied history, some of which has been lost over time. Some of the world's oldest philosophical texts have been produced in Ancient Egypt (Kemet), written in Hieratic and on papyrus, from ca. 2200 to 1000 BCE, one of the earliest known African philosophers was Ptahhotep, an ancient Egyptian philosopher. In general, the ancient Greeks acknowledged the Egyptian forebearers, and in the fifth century BCE, the philoso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Literature
African literature is literature from Africa, either oral ("orature") or written in African and Afro-Asiatic languages. Examples of pre-colonial African literature can be traced back to at least the fourth century AD. The best-known is the ''Kebra Negast'', or "Book of Kings." A common theme during the colonial period is the slave narrative, often written in English or French for western audiences. Among the first pieces of African literature to receive significant worldwide critical acclaim was ''Things Fall Apart'', by Chinua Achebe, published in 1958. African literature in the late colonial period increasingly feature themes of liberation and independence. Post-colonial literature has become increasingly diverse, with some writers returning to their native languages. Common themes include the clash between past and present, tradition and modernity, self and community, as well as politics and development. On the whole, female writers are today far better represented in Afr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legends Of Africa
The Legends of Africa reflect a wide-ranging series of kings, queens, chiefs and other leaders from across the African continent including Mali, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Africa. Sekhukhune, King of the Maroteng Sekhukhune, became king of the Maroteng also known as the Bapedi after the death of his father Sekwati I in 1861 and usurping the intended heir of the Bapedi nation, Mampuru II. He fought wars against the Boer of the South African Republic (Dutch: Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) British empire and the Swazi. After his defeat at the hands the British and 10,000 Swazi warriors, he was arrested in 1881 in the ZAR capital in Pretoria. He was assassinated by his half-brother Mampuru II, in 1882. Mampuru was later hanged in Pretoria by the ZAR the following year. The London Times, which was not known to write about African ruling affairs, wrote a tribute to the slain warrior King on August 29, 1882. Shango of the Oyo Empire Shango was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional African Religions
The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs, and festivals, include belief in an amount of higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme creator or force, belief in spirits, veneration of the dead, use of magic and traditional African medicine. Most religions can be described as animistic with various polytheistic and pantheistic aspects. The role of humanity is generally seen as one of harmonizing nature with the supernatural. Spread Adherents of traditional religions in Africa are distributed among 43 countries and are estimated to number over 100 million.''Britannica Book of the Year'' (2003), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2003) p.306 According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', as of mid-2002, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sub-Saharan African Music Traditions
In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the use of music is not limited to entertainment: it serves a purpose to the local community and helps in the conduct of daily routines. Traditional African music supplies appropriate music and dance for work and for religious ceremonies of birth, naming, rites of passage, marriage and funerals. The beats and sounds of the drum are used in communication as well as in cultural expression. African dances are largely participatory: there are traditionally no barriers between dancers and onlookers except with regard to spiritual, religious and initiation dances. Even ritual dances often have a time when spectators participate. Dances help people work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community, celebrate festivals and funerals, compete, recite history, proverbs and poetry and encounter gods. They inculcate social patterns and values. Many dances are performed by only males or females. Dances are often segregated by gender, reinforcing ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
