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Full-Text Articles in African Languages and Societies

The Ethiopian Conception Of Time And Modernity, Messay Kebede Nov 2016

The Ethiopian Conception Of Time And Modernity, Messay Kebede

Messay Kebede

If there is one thing that philosophers agree upon, it is that the meaning of time is a central philosophical question. If we take the Western world as an example, there is no famous philosopher who has not investigated time. The German philosopher Martin Heidegger, to indicate the centrality of time, writes: “all ontology is rooted in the phenomenon of time correctly viewed and correctly explained.”

Likewise, according to the French philosopher Henri Bergson, the main reason that philosophical questions are difficult is because “we do not think about real time.” The fact that the question of time is very …


The Ethiopian Conception Of Time And Modernity: Amharic Version, Messay Kebede Nov 2016

The Ethiopian Conception Of Time And Modernity: Amharic Version, Messay Kebede

Messay Kebede

If there is one thing that philosophers agree upon, it is that the meaning of time is a central philosophical question. If we take the Western world as an example, there is no famous philosopher who has not investigated time. The German philosopher Martin Heidegger, to indicate the centrality of time, writes: “all ontology is rooted in the phenomenon of time correctly viewed and correctly explained.”

Likewise, according to the French philosopher Henri Bergson, the main reason that philosophical questions are difficult is because “we do not think about real time.” The fact that the question of time is very …


What Is The Difference Between “Muslim” And “Islamic”?, Ahmed E. Souaiaia Nov 2016

What Is The Difference Between “Muslim” And “Islamic”?, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Social labels and categories are exercise in control. They describe opponents, create boundaries, exclude social groups, justify discrimination, and promote persecution. They are imbued with sociopolitical power. Muslims used labels, internally for the first time, during the formative period of the community to privilege the elite and marginalize dissenters. They called those who challenged the established order, Khawarij [Outsiders]. Today, Muslims living in Western societies are often labeled radical Islamic extremists. But aside from this politically charged phrase, even common adjectives, such as Islamic and Muslim, are misused. So in what contexts should these adjectives be appropriately used and …


Union Presbyterian Seminary Hosting African Odyssey Exhibit Feb 2016

Union Presbyterian Seminary Hosting African Odyssey Exhibit

Joanne Braxton

This article published by the The Progess-Index, speaks about Dr. Braxton's exhibit at Union Presbyterian Seminary. The free exhibit and gallery explores the history of the transatlantic slave trade, its resounding effects on Africans in the Americas, and its representation in literature and the humanities. The exhibit, titled African Odyssey, featured photographs taken by Dr. Joanne M. Braxton, director of the College of William & Mary's Middle Passage Project and its 1619 Initiative, during a visit to Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.


European Missionaries And Tswana Identity In The 19th Century, Stephen Volz Jan 2016

European Missionaries And Tswana Identity In The 19th Century, Stephen Volz

Stephen Volz

During the nineteenth century, 'Batswana' became used as label for a large number of people inhabiting the interior of southern Africa, and European missionaries played an important role in the evolution of the term's meaning and the adoption of that meaning by both Europeans and Batswana. Through their long years of residence among Batswana and development ofwrillenforms of Sets wan a, missionaries became acknowledged by other Europeans as experts on Tswana culture, and their notions of Tswana ethnicity became incorporated into European understandings of Africans and, eventually, into Batswana understandings of themselves. The development of Tswana identity passed through several …


Them Who Kill The Body: Christian Ideals And Political Realities In The Interior Of Southern Africa During The 1850s, Stephen Volz Jan 2016

Them Who Kill The Body: Christian Ideals And Political Realities In The Interior Of Southern Africa During The 1850s, Stephen Volz

Stephen Volz

This article considers the changing political significance of Christianity in the interior of southern Africa during the 1850s, focusing primarily on the views of Tswana rulers, converts and others within their communities, and secondarily on attempts by European missionaries to reconcile their service both to African communities and to European expansion, which compelled them to articulate a rationale for their civilising mission. The article historicises the process whereby Christianity lost its initial universalistic ideals and became politicised by African-European competition, with divine sanction being claimed by one side or another. That process was accompanied by considerable debate and doubt: the …


Written On Our Hearts: Tswana Christians And The 'Word Of God' In The Mid-Nineteenth Century, Stephen Volz Jan 2016

Written On Our Hearts: Tswana Christians And The 'Word Of God' In The Mid-Nineteenth Century, Stephen Volz

Stephen Volz

The adoption of Christianity by Tswana people in southern Africa during the nineteenth century generally involved being inspired in some way by stories and ideas presented in the Bible, but the role of Christian scripture varied according to local and personal circumstances. Although European missionaries introduced Christianity to the Tswana, they had little control over the different ways that early Tswana converts perceived, adapted and proclaimed the new teaching. This was particularly true among western and northern Tswana in the mid-nineteenth century before the extension of colonial rule into the interior, as many Tswana communities remained largely intact and were …


"New Strategies In Using Watermarks To Date Sub-Saharan Islamic Manuscripts" In Arts And Crafts Of Literacy In Sub-Saharan Africa, Brigaglia, A. And Nobili, M., Eds., Michaelle L. Biddle Dec 2015

"New Strategies In Using Watermarks To Date Sub-Saharan Islamic Manuscripts" In Arts And Crafts Of Literacy In Sub-Saharan Africa, Brigaglia, A. And Nobili, M., Eds., Michaelle L. Biddle

Michaelle Biddle

For more than a century watermarks have been used as an important component in cataloging, dating, and authenticating books, manuscripts, art work, musical scores, financial instruments and other paper items. The gains can be immense if watermarks and countermarks, not as singletons but in combination, are studied as only one aspect of a paper sheet and that examination is combined with study extending across many disciplines. The Andrea Galvani Pordenone paper mills provide a useful case study as to how we can deduce date ranges for their watermarks by using a holistic approach – combining paper sheet analysis with the …


"New Strategies In Using Watermarks To Date Sub-Saharan Islamic Manuscripts" In Arts And Crafts Of Literacy In Sub-Saharan Africa, Brigaglia, A. And Nobili, M., Eds., Michaelle L. Biddle Dec 2015

"New Strategies In Using Watermarks To Date Sub-Saharan Islamic Manuscripts" In Arts And Crafts Of Literacy In Sub-Saharan Africa, Brigaglia, A. And Nobili, M., Eds., Michaelle L. Biddle

Michaelle Biddle

For more than a century watermarks have been used as an important component in cataloging, dating, and authenticating books, manuscripts, art work, musical scores, financial instruments and other paper items. The gains can be immense if watermarks and countermarks, not as singletons but in combination, are studied as only one aspect of a paper sheet and that examination is combined with study extending across many disciplines. The Andrea Galvani Pordenone paper mills provide a useful case study as to how we can deduce date ranges for their watermarks by using a holistic approach – combining paper sheet analysis with the …


The Interaction Of Music And Dance In Africa, Dan Rager Dec 2015

The Interaction Of Music And Dance In Africa, Dan Rager

Dan Rager

This article examines the role of music and dance in African life and how it is intertwined with the culture. The author investigates many styles, elements and ngomas to show how they are used in daily life from the womb to the grave.

Music and other art forms are an inseparable part of African life and are culminated into everyday activities. Instrumental, singing and dance are art forms embedded in the diverse cultures of African peoples and their traditions, beliefs, values, religions and artistic expression.

According to the author, traditional arts practices can contribute to creativity, perception and understanding of …


La Conservation Des Manuscrits De L’Afrique Sub-Saharienne.Pdf, Michaelle L. Biddle Dec 2015

La Conservation Des Manuscrits De L’Afrique Sub-Saharienne.Pdf, Michaelle L. Biddle

Michaelle Biddle

Traduction "Conservation of sub-Saharan African Manuscripts", The Annual Review of Islam in Africa 2013-2014, 12/2, 61-68