Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

African Languages and Societies Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2013

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 1 - 30 of 37

Full-Text Articles in African Languages and Societies

Challenges Of African Languages In Education: The Case Of Kiswahili In Tanzania, Benedictor Phanuel Lema Dec 2013

Challenges Of African Languages In Education: The Case Of Kiswahili In Tanzania, Benedictor Phanuel Lema

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Tanzania presents a perfect case of former colonies that have strived to redress colonial legacies. The Africanization policy adopted after independence and cemented in the 1967 Arusha Declaration was a deliberate move to replace foreign workforce and practices with African values. Education was one of the sectors that needed and, indeed, received a lot of transformations. This paper particularly discusses language practices in the education system in Tanzania in that context. While both theory and practice favour Kiswahili as a medium of instruction at all levels of education, policy seems to work to the contrary. The discussion revolves around the …


Controversies Underlying The Genre Of Short Story: A Critique Of Perceptions On Kiswahili Written Short Story, Method Samwel Dec 2013

Controversies Underlying The Genre Of Short Story: A Critique Of Perceptions On Kiswahili Written Short Story, Method Samwel

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The genre of short story has been viewed by scholars as being very controversial and conflicting. The debates are on the proper way of defining short stories, their classification with supporting examples, and their actual distinctive features. This paper acknowledges the need to analyze literature into genres and even sub-genres, but shows how controversial literary genres can be. It mainly focuses on controversies pertaining to short story as a genre of Kiswahili literature. It presents varied perceptions of various scholars on issues related to Kiswahili written short stories. It also presents the ‘best’ way of resolving the controversies.


Re-Visiting Homosexuality In Cameroon: Effective Advocacy On The Path From Homophobia To Dignity And Equality, Jean Cedric Ndzomo Dec 2013

Re-Visiting Homosexuality In Cameroon: Effective Advocacy On The Path From Homophobia To Dignity And Equality, Jean Cedric Ndzomo

Master's Theses

Cameroon, one of the countries in the world that continues to criminalize homosexuality, has been on the news recently due to the torture and murder of young journalist and gay activist, Eric Ohena. This paper examines the discrimination faced by the LGBTI community in Cameroon by exploring the origins of homophobic violence, the role played by Cameroon's legal system, and the struggles of LGBTI Cameroonians in their fight for a better life. The analysis includes a review of the work by scholars on colonialism and sexuality in Africa, and questions the roots of violence and abuse against the LGBTI community …


Rethinking The Ideas Of Pan-Africanism And African Unity: A Theoretical Perspective Of Kwame Nkrumah’S Leadership Traits And Decision Making, Felix Kumah-Abiwu, James Ochwa-Echel Dec 2013

Rethinking The Ideas Of Pan-Africanism And African Unity: A Theoretical Perspective Of Kwame Nkrumah’S Leadership Traits And Decision Making, Felix Kumah-Abiwu, James Ochwa-Echel

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

The search for Africa’s political unity has been one of the underlying ideas drawn from Pan- Africanism for several decades. Besides political leaders such as Sékou Touré and Modibo Keita with similar ideas on continental unity, Kwame Nkrumah was the central figure who vigorously championed the cause for Africa’s political unity. The role of Nkrumah as the iconic personality for the unification movement continues to attract scholarly attention and debate. This article contributes to the literature on Pan-Africanism and African unity by examining Nkrumah’s ideas and decision making through the lens of his leadership traits and personality styles. Grounded on …


Rethinking The Ideas Of Pan-Africanism And African Unity: A Theoretical Perspective Of Kwame Nkrumah’S Leadership Traits And Decision Making, Felix Kumah-Abiwu, James R. Ochwa-Echel Dec 2013

Rethinking The Ideas Of Pan-Africanism And African Unity: A Theoretical Perspective Of Kwame Nkrumah’S Leadership Traits And Decision Making, Felix Kumah-Abiwu, James R. Ochwa-Echel

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

The search for Africa’s political unity has been one of the underlying ideas drawn from Pan- Africanism for several decades. Besides political leaders such as Sékou Touré and Modibo Keita with similar ideas on continental unity, Kwame Nkrumah was the central figure who vigorously championed the cause for Africa’s political unity. The role of Nkrumah as the iconic personality for the unification movement continues to attract scholarly attention and debate. This article contributes to the literature on Pan-Africanism and African unity by examining Nkrumah’s ideas and decision making through the lens of his leadership traits and personality styles. Grounded on …


Géotropisme De Chamoiseau, Jean-Louis Cornille Dec 2013

Géotropisme De Chamoiseau, Jean-Louis Cornille

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

There seems to be a strange parallel between the vegetable kingdom in which Patrick Chamoiseau sets his Biblique des derniers gestes and the way the narrative is being played out. The mangrove, with its entangled roots and stems, constitutes a perfect image of the novel, whose multiple branches are no longer anchored in any reality or in a centralised system, but seem moved by a principle which we could call “bibliotropic”, since in Biblique one could easily find traces of Perse, García Márquez, Glissant, Césaire and even of Rabelais. But certain “stems” are more difficult to track within this dense …


Livelihood Security Among Refugees In Uganda: Opportunities, Obstacles, And Physical Security Implications, Karen J. Norris Oct 2013

Livelihood Security Among Refugees In Uganda: Opportunities, Obstacles, And Physical Security Implications, Karen J. Norris

Student Publications

This research project was designed to investigate the challenges refugees face in securing a livelihood, to understand the extent to which the United Nations, the government of Uganda, and various aid groups are able to assist refugees in achieving self-reliance, and the capacity that refugees have to empower themselves. It also endeavors to expose any disparities between nationality groups, and the impact of these differences. Furthermore, this project aims to explore the impact of refugee livelihood security on regional physical security and community stability.


The study found that despite international and national policies, and efforts by both non-governmental organizations and …


Africa’S Contributions To Information Systems, Richard T. Watson Oct 2013

Africa’S Contributions To Information Systems, Richard T. Watson

The African Journal of Information Systems

Africans created the world’s first major information systems, gesturing and language. Now days, Africa is once again showing leadership in the area of frugal IS.


Morality, The Sacred And God In Ghanaian Hip- Hop, Harry N. K. Odamtten Aug 2013

Morality, The Sacred And God In Ghanaian Hip- Hop, Harry N. K. Odamtten

History

The adoption of Hip-Hop by the world’s youth is a turning point in the history of youth culture in particular and global public culture in general. The embracing of Hip-Hop in the West African country of Ghana is exemplary of this worldwide transformation. The indigenous Ghanaian version of Hip-Hop is Hip-Life. This Ghanaian musical genre is a combination of Hip-Hop and High-Life. High-Life is also a Ghanaian genre with West African and Afro- Diaspora roots. It emerged in Ghana as part of the anti-colonial struggle in West Africa, and has spawned of many varieties until the emergence of Hip- Life. …


The Children Of Amarna: Disease And Famine In The Time Of Akhenaten, Kathleen Kuckens Aug 2013

The Children Of Amarna: Disease And Famine In The Time Of Akhenaten, Kathleen Kuckens

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What is now known as Amarna, Egypt there once stood a grand city. Hastily built and quickly abandoned, this once capital city of Egypt was the brainchild of the Pharaoh Akhenaten. In 2002 the final resting place of the inhabitants who populated this ancient city were discovered. Since excavations began at the South Tombs Cemetery an unusual high number of individuals aged 3-25 have been excavated. Out of the 278 individuals excavated thus far, 45% of them fall to the adolescent and sub-adult category. Under normal circumstances this portion of the population tends to be the most robust and resilient, …


Ikalanga Derived Personal Names: A Functionalist Approach, Budzani Gabanamotse-Mogara Jun 2013

Ikalanga Derived Personal Names: A Functionalist Approach, Budzani Gabanamotse-Mogara

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This article discusses the way a personal name is derived, the context in which a name is given in Ikalanga, as well as the meaning behind the name. It is argued that Ikalanga personal names are derived from different grammatical categories such as verbs, possessives, nouns, adjectives, etc. Ikalanga personal names have different meanings. These meanings are mostly related to incidents that happen before pregnancy, at birth and after birth. The article argues that most of the time the meaning is known to the namer, and not the one to whom the name is bestowed. The article also looks at …


« Banlieue Noire » : La Question Noire Dans La Littérature Urbaine Contemporaine, Stève Puig Jun 2013

« Banlieue Noire » : La Question Noire Dans La Littérature Urbaine Contemporaine, Stève Puig

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

Just as the “beur” movement started to flourish in France in the 80’s and the 90’s, a new question has emerged in French society in the last decade: the “black question”, which deals with the place of Africans and Antilleans in French society today. At the same time, a new literary genre has emerged: urban literature, which largely tackles themes related to the presence of Afro-caribbean people in metropolitan France. This article seeks to analyze three urban novels which take place in France, and more specifically how characters situate themselves regarding their Frenchness as the French government attempted to redefine …


Democratic Development And The Public Sphere: The Rights To Hear And Be Heard In Ghana, Duke Law School Seminar And Fact-Finding Trip To Ghana May 2013

Democratic Development And The Public Sphere: The Rights To Hear And Be Heard In Ghana, Duke Law School Seminar And Fact-Finding Trip To Ghana

Duke Law Student Papers Series

No abstract provided.


Ability And Willingness To Change Among African Immigrant Patients At Akwaaba, Marianne Sarkis, Temitayo Akinbola, Charise Canales, Hana Chamoun, Jacqueline Leaf, Elisabeth Nebie May 2013

Ability And Willingness To Change Among African Immigrant Patients At Akwaaba, Marianne Sarkis, Temitayo Akinbola, Charise Canales, Hana Chamoun, Jacqueline Leaf, Elisabeth Nebie

Local Knowledge: Worcester Area Community-Based Research

What are the challenges faced in treating Hypertension in the Worcester African Immigrant Community?

This study investigates the relationship between the understanding of high blood pressure, and the ability and willingness to modify behavior among African patients at Akwaaba, a free health clinic in Worcester, Massachusetts. In this research, our team specifically explores how the understanding of lifestyle risk factors of hypertension, such as diet, exercise, and levels of stress, influence the willingness and ability to modify behavior among African born patients at Akwaaba. What become clear was that language barriers, cultural differences, and approach to health care within the …


French In Madagascar: A Colonial Language After Independence, Christopher Roehrer-Macgregor May 2013

French In Madagascar: A Colonial Language After Independence, Christopher Roehrer-Macgregor

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The French first landed off the south-eastern coast of Madagascar in December of 1648. A little over two and a half centuries later they would land troops, marking the beginning of sixty years of colonization. The groundwork for government and education set during these years continues to the present day, including the use of the French language. In this study I look at the role of the French language in modern-day Madagascar. Using interviews from two major urban centers, I argue that French has a dualistic role, both as an opportunity for self-advancement for a select few, while also as …


Human Trafficking And Human Rights: The Movement Of Women From Nigeria To Europe, Chinenye Monde-Anumihe May 2013

Human Trafficking And Human Rights: The Movement Of Women From Nigeria To Europe, Chinenye Monde-Anumihe

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The phenomenon of human trafficking, especially the trafficking of young women and girls into exploitative and commercial sex labor, has recently attracted considerable local, national and international attention. This sex trafficking phenomenon exists against the backdrop of poverty, unemployment, and social instability, signaling a correlation between these elements. This research paper will define the concept of human trafficking in comparison to human smuggling and migration and will discuss the complexity in applying the definition. The magnitude and scope of the problem of human trafficking will be examined as well as its causes.

Human trafficking will be analyzed by international standards …


James Joyce And Post-Imperial Bildung: Influences On Salman Rushdie, Tayeb Salih, And Tsitsi Dangarembga, Robert Michael Kirschen May 2013

James Joyce And Post-Imperial Bildung: Influences On Salman Rushdie, Tayeb Salih, And Tsitsi Dangarembga, Robert Michael Kirschen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" functions as an axis around which writers from former British colonies--Salman Rushdie (India), Tayeb Salih (Sudan), and Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe)--construct their own Bildungsromans. This nodal point is possible because Joyce's Bildungsroman represents a unique rendering of the genre which has proven useful for narratives of growth and development in newly independent nations. This dissertation focuses on a single narrative paradigm which acts as a common thread among the four authors. In each text (Rushdie's "Midnight's Children", Salih's "Season of Migration to the North", and Dangarembga's "Nervous Conditions"), the use of …


Baye Fadioul Niang: A Brief Biography Of An Ebeniste In Senegal, Katie Jo Niang Apr 2013

Baye Fadioul Niang: A Brief Biography Of An Ebeniste In Senegal, Katie Jo Niang

Interior Design Program: Student Creative Activity

Baye Fadioul Niang described himself as a traditional European designer of wood furniture, doors, and trim. In 1945, at age 22, Fadioul began designing furniture as an apprentice in the state labor department of Kaolack. He settled in Dakar, where Fadioul not only designed and constructed furniture, but was a popular informal educator in the business. His furniture shop became a center for education in Menuserie and Ebenisterie, which is the art of furniture making. In 2005 Fadioul retired from furniture making because of deteriorating eyesight. Includes photos taken in February 2013 in Dakar, Senegal.


[Sabbatical Report], Elizabeth Winkler Apr 2013

[Sabbatical Report], Elizabeth Winkler

Sabbatical Reports

I am working to develop a English-Kpelle dictionary database for use in the electronic world as well as various paper dictionaries to be published and used primarily in Liberia. I input over 2200 entries into a database. Entries include information about pronunciation, meaning, grammar, spelling, etymology and related words. This database will be uploaded to the website as well as formatted for paper publication of the dictionaries.


Key Strategies In Effective Pastoral Leadership In The Africa Gospel Church, Kenya: Biblical Foundations For Leadership And Healthy Church Growth, Philip Ngasura Apr 2013

Key Strategies In Effective Pastoral Leadership In The Africa Gospel Church, Kenya: Biblical Foundations For Leadership And Healthy Church Growth, Philip Ngasura

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this Thesis Project is to understand the strategies for effective pastoral leadership based on Biblical foundations necessary for leadership and healthy church growth in the Africa Gospel Church-Kenya. Research will be conducted through questionnaires and surveys of 15-20 Christian Leaders analyzing and evaluating the status of urban churches, rural churches, mission fields, and institutions of the Africa Gospel Church-Kenya. The main objective is to provide key principles for effective pastoral leadership and healthy church growth in terms of spiritual life, leadership, staff development, services, finances, and ministry potentials. Lastly, this project will suggest and outline strategic approaches …


Neo-Pentecostalism In Black Africa, Brian Siegel Mar 2013

Neo-Pentecostalism In Black Africa, Brian Siegel

Anthropology Presentations

No abstract provided.


Africa's Conflict Minerals, Toni Smith Mar 2013

Africa's Conflict Minerals, Toni Smith

Africana Studies Student Research Conference (2013-2019)

Conflict minerals are becoming a significant concern in the international community (as seen in the passage of legislature regulating and addressing them such as America’s Dodd Frank Act). Through the efforts of the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and grassroots organizations (among others), Africa’s conflict minerals are receiving an ever increasing amount of attention. Though conflict minerals are mined in a variety of nations around the world, one nation that is endowed with all four minerals (tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold) discussed in this paper is the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Along with being a nation highly endowed with …


Peace Education And Its Discontents: An Evaluation Of Youth, Violence, And School-Based Peace Programs In Northern Uganda, Jayanni Webster Mar 2013

Peace Education And Its Discontents: An Evaluation Of Youth, Violence, And School-Based Peace Programs In Northern Uganda, Jayanni Webster

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

This research paper discusses current efforts and programs designed to address the issues of peace and conflict resolution, post-war recovery and education in northern Uganda. Through the collection of stories of life after war, I examine the experiences of children and youth and pilot peace education programs in secondary and primary schools. Northern Uganda was the site of a brutal civil war waged between the rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army, and the government’s Uganda People’s Defense Force. The war resulted in the mass abduction of children and the forced displacement of the northern population into internally displaced persons’ camps. …


Class Movements In The New South Africa: Post-Colonial Politics, Neocolonialism, And Mimicry In Pieter-Dirk Uys’S Macbeki A Farce To Be Reckoned With, J. Coplen Rose Mar 2013

Class Movements In The New South Africa: Post-Colonial Politics, Neocolonialism, And Mimicry In Pieter-Dirk Uys’S Macbeki A Farce To Be Reckoned With, J. Coplen Rose

Modern Languages and Literatures Annual Graduate Conference

This paper uses Homi Bhabha’s theory of colonial mimicry to analyze Pieter-Dirk Uys’s MacBeki: A Farce to be Reckoned With. In doing so I posit MacBeki is a colonial mimic, a character who comically imitates European gestures and language. MacBeki’s behaviour throughout the play highlights the dangers of greed and corruption in post-apartheid South Africa and encourages the play’s audience to respond with ridiculing laughter. My paper concludes by arguing that Uys’s play should be read as a hybrid text that draws on European dramatic styles and South African political events, staging a critical response to national uncertainties ahead …


Session D-1: African Muslims And The Transatlantic Slave Trade, Steven Buenning Mar 2013

Session D-1: African Muslims And The Transatlantic Slave Trade, Steven Buenning

Professional Learning Day

African Muslims played central roles in the largest forced migration in human history; the transatlantic slave trade. This presentation employs primary sources from the online collection of the National Humanities Center and from the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database (Emory University). Participants will engage in close reading of two memoirs of Muslim slaves, as well as three newspaper articles written in 1828. In addition, participants will receive geography exercises. A Powerpoint and a full list of helpful resources are included.


God Loves Uganda, John C. Lyden Jan 2013

God Loves Uganda, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of God Loves Uganda (2013) directed by Roger Ross Williams.


Moments Of Freedom: Revolutionary Art From China, South Africa And Tunisia, Ikram Lakhdhar Jan 2013

Moments Of Freedom: Revolutionary Art From China, South Africa And Tunisia, Ikram Lakhdhar

Self-Designed Majors Honors Papers

No abstract provided.


Scholar Introduces Siue Students To Yoruba, Aldemaro Romero Jr. Jan 2013

Scholar Introduces Siue Students To Yoruba, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.


Migrant Stories And Italian Colonialism: A Report On Two Documentaries, Simone Brioni Dr. Jan 2013

Migrant Stories And Italian Colonialism: A Report On Two Documentaries, Simone Brioni Dr.

Department of English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Review Of Repertoires And Choices In African Languages By Friederike Lûpke And Anne Storch, George Tucker Childs Jan 2013

Review Of Repertoires And Choices In African Languages By Friederike Lûpke And Anne Storch, George Tucker Childs

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Repertoires and Choices in African Languages (RCAL) will interest not only Africanists but also specialists in other geographical areas and those generally concerned with language endangerment and language documentation. In short, this is a timely book for readers of this journal. The authors, Friederike Lüpke and Anne Storch, are two of the finest scholars working on African languages today and two of the most reflective thinkers in this field. The breadth and depth of their research records (they call themselves, somewhat modestly, ‘fieldworkers’) are both exemplary, and together constitute a whole that any two other scholars would find difficult to …