African History Commons^™

Sociocultural & Leadership Transmission In The Somali Diaspora: Community Values, Cohesion, Family Unity & Patriarchal Leadership, Farhia A. Abdi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This research explores the Somali Diaspora community in Ottawa, Canada’s intercultural understanding between their homeland and their host country. The task of this limited study is to assess the changes occurring in the contemporary Somali diaspora culture and changes in leadership perceptions, particularly those of male leadership, and changes in family integration, community cohesion and solidarity, and the transmission of cultural values across generations. This research confirms that changes did occur in the Somali Diaspora community in various ways, including family dynamics, community cohesion and the concept of transmitting cultural values to their younger generation. Themes are identified by the …

The Influences Of The Public Health Care System And Education System On The Economic Growth Of Swaziland, Grace Greer

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Kingdom of Eswatini, also known as Swaziland, has one of the youngest populations in the world with over 70% of citizens being under the age of 18 years old. This creates a substantial opportunity for economic, social, and educational growth in a country previously plagued with diseases such as HIV/AIDS, poor health care infrastructure cutting off thousands from basic care, and an educational system with a very low attendance rate and an even lower graduation rate. By evaluating the root causes of such issues dating back to the colonial era there is an opportunity to reprioritize health care and …

Courting American Capital: Public Relations And The Business Of Selling Ivorian Capitalism In The U.S., 1960-1980, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

This chapter is an invitation to reimagine the roles assigned to players in the history of capitalism on the global stage. It challenges aspects of the historiography of capitalism in the twentieth century, which tend to center on historical actors and institutions of the Global North. Even when actors in the Global South are discussed, it is usually to portray them as passive victims of an intractable system. By focusing on the Ivory Coast and its economic diplomacy toward the United States, I seek to destabilize this general picture.

Playing At The Crossroads Of Religion And Law: Historical Milieu, Context And Curriculum Hooks In Lost & Found, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

This chapter presents the use of Lost & Found – a purpose-built tabletop to mobile game series – to teach medieval religious legal systems. The series aims to broaden the discourse around religious legal systems and to counter popular depiction of these systems which often promote prejudice and misnomers. A central element is the importance of contextualizing religion in period and locale. The Lost & Found series uses period accurate depictions of material culture to set the stage for play around relevant topics – specifically how the law promoted collaboration and sustainable governance practices in Fustat (Old Cairo) in twelfth-century …

Trickle Down Nationalism: Interactions Between Liberal Nationalism And Colonialism In The Raj And Nigeria, Aaryaman Sheoran

CMC Senior Theses

The combination of nationalism and colonialism has remained understudied in academia, despite the important interaction between the two phenomena. European ideas bled over into their colonial empires and began to fill the power vacuum created by colonial enterprises. This study analyzes the impact of British colonialism on the development of national identity in British India and Nigeria.

British influences included large scale economic disruption, cultural reform through ‘westernizing’ the population and abolishing local customs, and creating a new set of institutions to replace traditional power centers. Inevitably, these factors created a nationalist surge across both the Raj and Nigeria, as …

The State And War On Poverty: British Welfare Development And Its Legacies For Malawi, 1930s-1983, Gift Wasambo Kayira

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation documents the struggles and dilemmas that the Malawian state endured as it attempted to achieve its developmental goals from the 1930s to 1983. It contributes to histories of development by focusing on the interventions both the colonial and postcolonial states made to improve the living standards of African rural communities, the ideas which shaped state programs, and the behavior of the state which such interventions reveal. Scholars typically argue that state policy in Malawi was necessarily destructive and limited the economic progress of the local communities. The state deliberately pursued land, market, and other agricultural policies that constrained …

Foreign Direct Investment In Kigali’S Special Economic Zone And Its Impact On Rwanda’S Economic Reconstruction, Sabrina Roberts

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Vision 2020 is a development strategy implemented by the Rwandan government. It aims to make Rwanda a middle-income country with a per capita income of $1240 USD. One pillar of this strategy is increasing regional and international integration. The Kigali Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) was created in direct response to this pillar.

The paper begins with an introduction to Rwanda’s post-conflict economic situation and goes on to describe and explain the role that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the KSEZ has played in reconstructing the Rwandan economy. The study focuses on the impacts of the KSEZ and the significance of …

The Spirit Is Willing, But The Flesh Is Weak: Contemporary Pan-Africanism And The Challenges To A United States Of Africa, Adesola Adeyemo

Master's Theses

Establishing a ‘United States of Africa’ to the average individual is deemed as a mythical idea in contemporary Africa, irrespective of the popularity of this idea several years ago. Today, the idea is idealized as overambitious – considering the balkanized state of the continent post-colonialization. Because of this, attempts made since then have favored enforcing regional integration over continental integration. Undeniably, this idea would not have come into being if it wasn’t for the concept of Pan-Africanism - which has for long guided the political and socio-economic policies created on the continent. The goal of this research is …

Mind Control In The Post-Colonial State: The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment In Tertiary Education In Senegal And Jamaica, Janiel Chantae Slowly

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the end of 17th to 20th century colonization, Senegal and Jamaica have been victims of the rhetoric of development. The economic, social, and political progress of these nations have always been overshadowed by their categorization as “developing countries”. Yet, this development rhetoric fails to acknowledge not only the wounds of colonization but the more modern manifestations of continued exploitation of these countries often by the same countries that “emancipated” their colonies. Senegal and Jamaica for example, are both dominated by large percentages of young adults, in both cases a large majority of the populations are individuals under the age …

Introduction: Sustainable Livelihoods, Conflicts, And Transformation, Brandon D. Lundy, Akanmu G. Adebayo

Brandon D. Lundy

Introduction to the Journal of Global Initiatives Volume 10, Number 2 "Sustainable Livelihoods and Conflict."

The Dark Past Of Rhode Island In New Light, Yulyana Torres, Marcus Nevius

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Un Nouveau Miracle Économique Ivoirien?, Vincent Hiribarren, Abou B. Bamba

History Faculty Publications

Questions à Abou Bamba, associate professor d’Histoire et d’Etudes Africaines à Gettysburg College (Etats-Unis). Il est l’auteur de African Miracle, African Mirage: Transnational Politics and the Paradox of Modernization in Ivory Coast (Ohio University Press, 2016).

Interview Of Richard Mshomba, Ph.D., Richard Mshomba Ph.D., Daniel Miller

All Oral Histories

Dr. Richard Mshomba is an economics professor at La Salle University. He was born in Tanzania and spent his early adult life working for the Tanzanian government. When he was 27 he came to the United States to attend school at La Salle College. While attending La Salle he lived with the brother of a local Bishop who helped to get Richard accepted to La Salle. Richard spent three years at La Salle College earning his degree in Economics. After talking with his professor Richard Garrison, he decided to apply to graduate school at the University of Delaware. While he …

Nigeria: The Matrix Between Fragility Of Livelihoods And Conflict, Abiodun Odusote

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In recent times, there has been an increased outbreak of conflicts across the globe, particularly in areas experiencing livelihood fragility. Available literature suggests that in a society where livelihoods are threatened, minimal, or non-existent, the people are generally more overwhelmed and prone to violence and conflict. This paper consolidates the available literature on livelihoods and conflict, with the aim of identifying the nexus between the two concepts. The author particularly interrogates the matrix between fragility of livelihoods and armed conflicts, with emphasis on Boko Haram and the Niger Delta conflicts. The article notes that there seems to be a large …

Introduction: Sustainable Livelihoods, Conflicts, And Transformation, Brandon D. Lundy, Akanmu G. Adebayo

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Introduction to the Journal of Global Initiatives Volume 10, Number 2 "Sustainable Livelihoods and Conflict."

Gendering Peacebuilding In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda, Amanda J. Reinke

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Approximately 1.8 million northern Ugandans were internally displaced during conflict between the Ugandan government and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels (1987-2006). The ethnographic and qualitative research findings presented in this article illuminate the need to address structural violence, not just physical violence, in the aftermath of conflict, and to pay particular attention to how conflict and peacebuilding processes are gendered. Although gender-sensitive approaches to peacebuilding have increased in recent years, especially among scholars, in practice these processes often still fail to adequately address the myriad needs of survivors and to understand the complex interplay between gender, conflict, and post-conflict rebuilding. …

An Assessment Of Rural Household Vulnerability In The Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands Region, Northeastern Nigeria, Ahmadu Abubakar Tafida, Mala Galtima

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Hadejia-Nguru wetlands have long been recognized as a World Heritage Site notably for its supportive role to wild birds from Europe, Asia, and Australia. At times the functions of the wetlands have been tremendously jeopardized due to dwindling resources and thus affecting the lives of more than 1.5 million people. A number of projects were initiated by different international communities, such as the Department for International Development (DFID), aimed at fostering sustainable utilization of the natural resource base to improve the well-being of the people. The interventions have rarely succeeded, perhaps due to the lack of understanding of rural …

Some Dimensions Of Farmers'-Pastoralists' Conflicts In The Nigerian Savanna, Mayowa Fasona, Eniola Fabusoro, Comfort Sodiya, Vide Adedayo, Felix Olorunfemi, Peter Omu Elias, John Oyedepo, Grace Oloukoi

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The savanna ecosystem covers about 48.5% of Nigeria’s land area. It is a national common for intensive cropping and extensive grazing. Fierce competition for land and water resources among the crop farmers and pastoralists is a common feature. This article shares insights from two separate, but linked, studies conducted in the Nigerian savanna on the livelihood and food security of the local peasant farming communities and the vulnerability of the settled Fulani agro-pastoralists’ livelihoods. Household interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews were employed among both the farming and agro-pastoralist communities. 191 respondents in 11 local farming communities and …

Agenda Setting In Uganda: Influencing Attitudes On Land Through Policy And Persuasion, Anne Pitsch Santiago

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The Government of Uganda (GoU) has been actively advocating land reform and modernization, as demonstrated in the National Development Plan 2010-2015 and other official documents. With the adoption of these policies, there has been a rise in contentious relations between different actors within society, and while widespread violence has been kept in check, reports of small-scale violence over land continues, and dissatisfaction with government land policy exacerbates land tensions and the potential for larger-scale violence remains a serious potential threat. The research questions explored in this article are: in what ways and through which strategies does the GoU attempt agenda …

The Laimbwe Ih'neem Ritual/Ceremony, Food Crisis, And Sustainability In Cameroon, Henry Kam Kah

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This article examines rituals and ceremonies associated with food sustainability, sufficiency, and/or insufficiency among the Laimbwe people of Boyo and Menchum Divisions of northwest Cameroon from earliest times to the 21st century. Food is important to sustainable livelihood in many rural communities in Cameroon and explains the organization of elaborate food-related ceremonies and rituals. Cameroon’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has recognized the importance of food and has recently embarked on the modernization of farming techniques and practices throughout the country in its “Second Generation” agriculture program. The population is mobilized annually through an official launching of the farming …

The Application Of Geospatial Analytical Techniques In The Assessment Of Land Use Conflicts Among Farmers And Cross-Boundary Nomadic Cattle Herders In The Gombe Region, Nigeria, Whanda J. Shittu, Mala Galtima, Dan Yakubu

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

In Nigeria, many land use conflicts among the teeming rural agrarian communities in the northern parts of the country are often wrongly attributed to ethno-religious differences while ignoring the salient role environmental degradation, climate change, and urbanization play in exacerbating the conflicts. The two traditional farming groups (crop producers and cattle herders) that contribute immensely to the country’s food security are in constant conflict, thereby threatening sustainable agricultural production. The objective in this article is to investigate the nature and extent of land use changes in the Gombe region using geospatial analytical techniques and assess the implications on land conflicts. …

Sustainability, Livelihoods, And Quality Of Life Of Older Retirees In Lagos State, Nigeria, Bola Amaike

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Later life is celebrated in Africa because it is seen as a blessing from God. Therefore, older people are generally treated with dignity. But with modernization, African senior citizens suffer diverse challenges and experience difficulty in meeting their basic needs. Hence, the need for sustainable livelihoods that will address life deprivations and improve the quality of life of Nigerian elders. This article examines the sustainability of retirement livelihoods and its impact on quality of life of formal sector retirees in Nigeria. It argues that beyond the conventional survival mechanisms, Nigerian retirees require resilient and sustainable livelihoods in order to enhance …

Groundings Volume Two, Issue Two

Groundings

This is the full issue of Groundings Vol. 2, Iss. 2. It includes a wrap of both the 12th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium and the 3rd Annual Walter Rodney Speakers Series; a piece by Jesus Chucho Garcia that honors the late Norman Girvan; the official Save the Date for the 13th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium; information on the republication of The Groundings with My Brothers; a photo-narrative by Julian Plowden on the student protests at the Atlanta CNN Center; we then have 3 pieces surrounding the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry by Wazir Mohamed, Anne Braithwaite, and Rohit Kanhai, …

Rodney Papers At Auc Robert W. Woodruff Library

Groundings

No abstract provided.

Remembrances

Groundings

No abstract provided.

Foundation News

Groundings

Updates from The Walter Rodney Foundations.

How Europe Underdeveloped African At 40, Michael O. West

Groundings

Michael O. West digests the impact of How Europe Underdeveloped Africa 40 years after its publication. He brings to the front the atmosphere that Rodney endured leading up to the publication of his seminal work.

Memorable Moments

Groundings

We highlight some of the memorable moments of that members of the Foundation have experienced since the last issue.

Announcement Of The Walter Rodney Press

Groundings

Introduction to and announcement of The Walter Rodney Press, which recently republished The Groundings with My Brothers.

Advertisement For The 12th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium

Groundings

The poster for the 12th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium to be held March 20th and 21st, 2015.