African Languages and Societies Commons^™

Cetiana, Nahom Bekele

ATL

Honorable Mention

Inspired by the people and nations of Ethiopia.

What inspired you to enter this special competition to create a modern architectural language for Africa?

This competition is a chance for young Africans to build their own future, I for that matter was highly inspired to set my footprint on the history of Africa to be made!

What did you find most interesting or challenging during the research and development of your prototype?

The biggest challenge was the availability of accurately recorded historic data. It made the research more intensive

Why do you believe African homeowners will be interested …

Fusion Point, Zuhra Zuhair

ATL

Honorable Mention

Inspired by African cultural identity and modern convenience.

What inspired you to enter this special competition to create a modern architectural language for Africa?

Architecture in Africa today is a receding echo of our heritage. Africa's history and culture is rich and diverse, yet we often live in environments with imported architecture that don't reflect Africa's heritage and our identities. Architecture is the creation of spaces subjective to context, identity and the basics of life. Through architectural design that considers Africa's cultural context, history and materiality, a comprehensive, thoughtful and sustainable architecture can be developed for Africa.

What …

The Omo, Roman Gorshkov

ATL

Honorable Mention

Inspired by the Omo River in Ethiopia.

What inspired you to enter this special competition to create a modern architectural language for Africa?

A unique opportunity to celebrate people of Africa and their culture by providing a beautiful design of their future home.

What did you find most interesting or challenging during the research and development of your prototype?

The most challenging aspect of this project, but also one of the most fascinating things was the vast diversity of different cultures and ways people live in Africa that makes it hard to design but provides an ocean of …

Tata Fu, Seni Dara

ATL

3rd Prize Winner

Inspired by the cultures of Togo and Benin, West Africa.

What inspired you to enter this special competition to create a modern architectural language for Africa?

I participated in this competition because I am a young architect trained in Africa and who has always been lead to think about the traditional African architecture. The development of local architecture has always been a major concern in my training and my career.

What did you find most interesting or challenging during the research and development of your prototype?

The most interesting was certainly the search for elements of character, …

Ifa House, Eduardo Soto

ATL

2nd Prize Winner

Inspired by the culture of the Yoruba people.

What inspired you to enter this special competition to create a modern architectural language for Africa?

The inspiration to enter the CPDI Africa 2015 competition came from the desire to learn more about my own culture and my passion for modern architectural design. My cultural heritage is a blend of Spanish, African, and indigenous Taíno races. These three races contributed to the formation and traditions of the Puerto Rican culture. The CPDI Africa 2015 competition gave me the opportunity to learn more about my African heritage while exploring modern …

The Inna, My Dao Le Hong

ATL

1st Prize Winner

Inspired by the people and culture of Mali.

What inspired you to enter this special competition to create a modern architectural language for Africa?

African architecture always inspired me with amazing earthen architecture throughout the continent. This competition is a valuable chance for me to study and understand more about the architecture of the continent, it is also a chance for me to express my ideas about modern architectural language for Africa.

What did you find most interesting or challenging during the research and development of your prototype?

The most interesting is when researching for an image …

Competition Project Brief, Cpdi Africa

ATL

Project Brief for the 2015 CPDI Africa Design Competition.

Introduction To The Special Issue, Nmadili Okwumabua

ATL

Introduction to the Special Issue of ATL on the CPDI Africa Design Competition 2015 by organizer, Nmadili Okwumabua.

Editor's Introduction, Jesse Benjamin

ATL

Editor's introduction to the inaugural issue of ATL.

Foreword, David Hughes

ATL

Foreword to ATL Volume 1, Number 1 by David Hughes, renowned architect and professor.

Developing Perceptions: Definitions Of Self In African Portrait Photography, Bridget K. Garnai

Africana Studies Student Research Conference (2013-2019)

“Developing Perceptions: Definitions of Self in African Portrait Photography”

Photography is a relatively new medium in the art world, and within this world, African photography is consistently excluded from the predominantly Western canon. Despite its introduction to Africa as a mechanism of colonialism, African photography carries with it distinct messages expressing Africa’s experience and global relationship with the world. In the cases of King Njoya, Seydou Keita, and Nontsikelelo “Lolo” Veleko, photography defines itself against the oppressive colonial and postcolonial modes of representation. In doing so, these examples of African portrait photography seek to capture a space that I refer …

Reframe, Reuse, Recycle: The Found Object In Post-Colonial Africa, Recontextualized By Contemporary Artists, Hanna L. Stanhouse

Africana Studies Student Research Conference (2013-2019)

In his essay, “The cultural biography of things,” Igor Kopytoff writes about the ways in which objects have and develop cultural biographies. From the time of their creation, and subsequent adoption into society, man-made objects acquire “social lives” through the various economic, historic, environmental and political intensities in which they “experience.” Current trends for global contemporary artists, especially those working from an African sensibility, explore the materiality of objects, examining their layered identities and social lives. Artists thus consider how materials have loaded and layered histories and biographies. While economic factors force consumers to reuse, it is the creative impulse …

Walk Next To The Wall: Images Of Martyrs In The Egyptian Revolution, Kirsten Stricker

Africana Studies Student Research Conference (2013-2019)

Prior to the Egyptian revolution citizens of Hosni Mubarak’s Egypt are taught to “walk next to the wall”; a phrase that means keep your head down, mind your own business, do not meddle in the affairs of those who outrank you, and feed your family. In the end, walking next to the wall is not enough to save them. They can no longer escape attention by blending into the walls of their cities. Khaled Said is not the first young man to die at the hands of Cairo’s police, nor is he the last. Said’s death could not be swept …

Prospero's Monsters: Authenticity, Identity, And Hybridity In The Post-Colonial Age, Dominique Pen

Africana Studies Student Research Conference (2013-2019)

Between April 17^th and May 17^th, 2008, London-born, Nigerian-raised artist Yinka Shonibare’s work was exhibited at the James Cohan Gallery in New York City in a show entitled Prospero’s Monsters. The show was organized into three galleries – “La Méduse”, “The Age of Enlightenment” and “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” – each of which contained works of the same name. This study will focus on the bookends of the show, the first and last galleries, which consisted of seven works in total, in the first: the La Méduse multimedia sculpture/diorama and chromogenic print and in …

Full Issue - Vol. 1, No. 1 - February 2016

ATL

The full issue of ATL's inaugural special issue on CPDI Africa's 2015 Competition, featuring the prototype designs and narratives from the 25 recognized submissions, from architects and designers of all around the globe.

Wendland, Claire L. A Heart For The Work: Journeys Through An African Medical School. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2010. 330pp., Iruka N. Okeke

Journal of Retracing Africa

No abstract provided.

Takougang, Joseph. Cameroonian Immigrants In The United States: Between The Homeland And The Diaspora. Maryland: Lexington Books, 2014. 143pp., Olanipekun Laosebikan

Journal of Retracing Africa

No abstract provided.

Resnick, Danielle And Nicholas Van De Walle, Eds. Democratic Trajectories In Africa: Unravelling The Impact Of Foreign Aid. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. 310pp., Chris W J Roberts

Journal of Retracing Africa

No abstract provided.

Muehlenbeck, Philip E. Betting On The Africans: John F. Kennedy’S Courting Of African Nationalist Leaders. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. 333pp., Danielle Sanchez

Journal of Retracing Africa

No abstract provided.

Carrier, Neil And Gernot Klantschnig. Africa And The War On Drugs. London: Zed Books, 2012. 176pp., Ogechukwu Ezekwem

Journal of Retracing Africa

No abstract provided.

Boucher, Claude (Chisale). When Animals Sing And Spirits Dance: Gule Wamkulu: The Great Dance Of The Chewa People Of Malawi. Mtakataka: Kungoni Centre Of Culture And Art, 2012. 276pp., Ibigbolade S. Aderibigbe

Journal of Retracing Africa

No abstract provided.

Beyond Political Islam: Nigeria, The Boko Haram Crisis And The Imperative Of National Consensus, Simeon Onyemachi Hilary Alozieuwa Dr.

Journal of Retracing Africa

The escalation of the Boko Haram crisis in Nigeria that peaked in 2010 has led to the emergence of many theories to explain its causes. These theories focus on the socio-economic/ human needs, vengeance, the Islamic theocratic state, and political dimensions. Beside the socio-economic perspective, which harps on the pervasive poverty in the North, the theocratic state analysis seems compelling not only because it fits into the sect’s mission to Islamize Northern Nigeria and carve it out as a distinct political entity, but it also resonates with political Islam, the driving ideology behind such Jihadi groups as Al-Qaeda in the …

The Dual Image Of The Aro In Igbo Development History: An Aftermath Of Their Role In The Slave Trade, Ndu Life Njoku

Journal of Retracing Africa

The Arochukwu people, popularly known as the Aro, are the most debated sub-cultural group in Igboland. The Aro, whose ancestral home is near the Cross River, and their co-Igbo neighbors were an integral part of the early history of the hinterland of the southeastern region of Nigeria. The Aro dominated commerce, politics, and religion in the region in precolonial times. With the introduction of the Atlantic slave trade in the fifteenth century, they emerged as significant players. The Aro’s role in the region in both precolonial and colonial times has shaped the way they are perceived in contemporary Igbo society. …

Leadership And African Agency For Development In Post-Fifty Africa, Chikwendu C. Ukaegbu

Journal of Retracing Africa

The year 2010 was a model year for the celebration of fifty years of political independence among African countries. Assessments of the human condition in Africa show that the continent, especially sub-Saharan Africa, has lagged behind other regions of the world in terms of development. Based on the analysis of the constants of development, this paper argues that effective development is fundamentally driven by the maximum deployment of organized endogenous human agency defined as the capacity of individuals or groups to think, act, and impact their social environments. Because African agency was not properly shepherded in the first fifty years …

Jora: Complete Volume 2, Issue 1

Journal of Retracing Africa

The Journal of Retracing Africa (JORA) is honored to publish the second volume dedicated to some of the issues surrounding Africa’s socio-political and economic development. The attitude in the West over the last three decades has been to exaggerate and generalize problems in Africa and ignore many positive news that typify modern Africa. This unreliable approach has continued to becloud proper understanding of the problems African countries face, the domestic and external forces that created them, and the efforts Africans h ave made to address them. The impression that Africa remains a lost continent persists in the minds of many …

The Editor's Preface

Journal of Retracing Africa

No abstract provided.

South African Marriage In Policy And Practice: A Dynamic Story, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

Law forms one of the major structural contexts within which family lives play out, yet the precise dynamics connecting these two foundational institutions are still poorly understood. This article attempts to help bridge this gap by applying sociolegal concepts to empirical findings about state law's role in family, and especially in marriage, drawn from across several decades and disciplines of South Africanist scholarly research. I sketch the broad outlines of a nuanced theoretical approach for analysing the law-family relationship, which insists that the relationship entails a contingent and dynamic interplay between relatively powerful regulating institutions and relatively powerless regulated populations. …

Eliciting Acts As Cultural Reflectors In Wole Soyinka's Childe Internationale, Moji A. Olateju

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.

The Origin And Development Of Tigrinya Language Publications (1886 - 1991) Volume One, Abraham Negash

Staff publications, research, and presentations

Tigrinya is a Semitic language spoken in Eritrea and in the Tigray Region of Northern Ethiopia. Tigrinya is one of the nine languages in Eritrea. It was one of Eritrea's official languages (along with Arabic) during the short-lived federation with Ethiopia (1952-1962). When Ethiopia officially annexed Eritrea in 1962, Amharic also formally replaced Tigrinya and Arabic; and was established as an official language by the imperial government of Ethiopia. In 1993, when Eritrea officially declared its independence through referendum. Tigrinya regained its status as a working language.

Tigrinya has its own alphabet of 32 letters adopted from Ge'ez, a language …

Mbiti And Achebe On The Forward Movement Through The Past, Chima Anyadike

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

No abstract provided.