African Studies Commons^™

From Regionalism To Continentalism: Lessons From Ecowas For The Implementation Of Afcfta., Michael Agbo

Theses - ALL

Abstract: This thesis examines the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as a test for understanding Africa’s continental economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It argues that the persistent failures of state-led integration, in this matter, the ECOWAS, from the repeated inability to roll out a single currency for trade within West Africa to the deliberate infiltration of France and other Western capitalist interests in the economic lives of the people of West Africa, are not just incidental failures of political will or technical implementation setbacks. They are consequences of building Pan-Africanism and integration efforts …

Remembering Return: Diasporic Identity And The Tabom Community In Accra, Elizabeth Akosua Adobea Danso

Theses - ALL

This thesis examines the historical and cultural significance of the Tabom community in Accra, Ghana, as a case study in diasporic identity, collective memory, and return migration. As descendants of Afro-Brazilian returnees who arrived in the Gold Coast in the early nineteenth century, the Tabom occupy a distinctive position within Ghana's social and historical landscape, navigating multiple cultural affiliations across Brazilian, Yoruba, Hausa, Ga, and Ghanaian identities over generations. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Jamestown, Accra, including semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and oral history collection, this thesis argues that Tabom identity is neither static nor reducible to a singular …

Reparative Justice In Late Twentieth Century Africa: The O.A.U, Durban, And Accra Reparations Conferences, Franklin Donudenu Adorsu

Theses - ALL

This thesis explores the evolution of African-led transnational reparations campaigns from the final decade of the twentieth century through the early decades of the twenty-first. It examines how reparative justice initiatives have emerged in response to the enduring legacies of slavery, colonialism, and systemic racial oppression, and how these campaigns reflect both historical memory and contemporary demands for justice by Africans and people of African descent worldwide. While early reparations discourse often centered on the diaspora, this research argues that recent mobilizations on the African continent in attempts to seek redress for historical injustices, particularly the 1993 Abuja Conference, the …

Reckoning With An Icon: Exploring The Activism Of Mĩcere Githae Mũgo, Erica Charles Kiduko

Theses - ALL

This thesis examines the activism of Mĩcere Gīthae Mũgo, a distinguished Kenyan literary scholar, playwright, and feminist, whose works remain a vital part of twentieth and twenty-first century liberational struggles across Africa and the diaspora. Through a critical analysis of her literary projects, academic work, and political engagements, this study explores how Mũgo’s intellectual interventions challenged colonial, postcolonial, and patriarchal structures. It draws on feminist, Pan-Africanist, and decolonial theoretical frameworks, to situate career struggles for intellectual freedom, gender justice, and cultural reclamation. The thesis investigates foundational elements of Mugo activism, employing a multi-method qualitative approach: that includes textual analysis, oral …

From Haiti To Durban: Repairing The Crime Against Humanity, Aimee Beatrice Shukuru

Theses - ALL

Black people have been at the center of the liberation struggle since the transatlantic slave trade that saw black people as property. The various forms of resistance within the struggle have taken many shapes, from jumping off the slave ships in the Atlantic to breaking tools and refusing to work to outright organized resistance that led to a revolution in Haiti that defeated slavery, colonization, and white supremacy that made capital accumulation based on the dehumanization of black people possible. Because the transatlantic slave trade was a global project, black people have demanded nothing short of an international recognition of …

Culture And Practice Within The Construction Industry In Kenya And Its Contribution To Income Inequality, Zachary Obwora Osolo

Theses - ALL

This research focuses on providing findings on the level of income disparity among construction workers in Kenya. The research has placed much of its emphasis on laborers working within the Nairobi metropolitan area and its surrounding areas, which have the largest groups of people representing construction workers in Kenya. It galvanizes mathematical principles to calculate income disparity gaps that result from economic policies and business practices in Kenya. This research seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge that can be used to establish a minimum wage for the construction worker in Kenya, by demonstrating how awareness of the existence …

Mobilization Of Women In Africa: The 2019 Sudanese Uprising, Mahder Serekberhan

Theses - ALL

In 2019 we witnessed the possibilities of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-racial, multi-cultural, and multi-gendered democracy and a bottom-up democratization process led by women. Sudanese youth and women led and participated in mobilization and demonstration that not only reflected the mass character of the social formation, but also managed to subvert the Islamist military dependent capitalist state (and its apparatus). Over the span of 30 years, the regime, under Omar al-Bashir, managed to entrench and escalate structures and systems of exploitation and oppression necessary for capital accumulation. The intensified neoliberalization and militarization, at the expense of women's super-exploitation, was made possible …

Gender And The Political Economy Of Oil In The Niger Delta: A Feminist Critique, Nneka Eke

Dissertations - ALL

The exploitation of women's labor is central to the international political economy. Since the 1980s, the trend has been towards a 'feminization of labor' in which women are confined to low-skilled, low-paying, and mostly part-time work. The exploitation of women's labor is not just confined to waged labor, as women's domestic and subsistence labor is necessary to make the economy function but remains unpaid and undervalued. Despite these findings, studies on the oil political economy have not sufficiently dealt with oil's impact on women's labor. These studies—albeit in different ways—undertheorize the link between oil, women's labor (waged and unwaged), and …

"Black And African Cultural Influences On American Pop Culture", Bennie Braswell Iii

Theses - ALL

The aim of this thesis is to show the impact that Black and African culture has on the entertainment industry specifically in the USA. The first portion of the discussion retraces Black and African cultural influences in the 1920's, beginning with Black-owned newspapers, then on to comic books, until arriving in the 21st century with an exploration of such influences in the film and musical industries. An introduction of relevant African mythology figures will follow this historical look at cultural influences on entertainment. We will discuss the adaptations of these mythological figures in modern-day heroic beings. Providing detailed information about …

Archaeology And Settlement Histories Along The Pra River, Southern Ghana, Circa 500 B.C. – Ad 1970, Samuel Amartey

Dissertations - ALL

Archaeological and historical data are used to examine transformations in settlement organizationand settlement patterns along the Pra River, southern Ghana, from the first millennium BC to the mid-twentieth century. The study’s focus is on Supomu Island and Wawase, two abandoned settlement sites located in the lower reaches of the Pra River, 15 kilometers north of the coastal trading and port town of Shama. Mapping of surface features, surface collections, shovel test pits, and test excavations are used to document intra- and inter-site artifact distributions. These lines of evidence are used in conjunction with historical sources to explore the processes of …

Mobilization Of Women In Africa: The 2019 Sudanese Uprising, Mahder Habtemariam Serekberhan

African American Studies - All Scholarship

In 2019 we witnessed the possibilities of a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-racial, multi-cultural, and multi-gendered democracy and a bottom-up democratization process led by women. Sudanese youth and women led and participated in mobilization and demonstration that not only reflected the mass character of the social formation, but also managed to subvert the Islamist military dependent capitalist state (and its apparatus). Over the span of 30 years, the regime, under Omar al-Bashir, managed to entrench and escalate structures and systems of exploitation and oppression necessary for capital accumulation. The intensified neoliberalization and militarization, at the expense of women’s super-exploitation, was made possible …

Innovative Solution For Energy Supply In Rural Communities In Africa, Shilda Cardoso

International Programs

This research is a proposition of an innovative solution for energy supply in rural locations across Africa to stimulate social and economic growth. In the continuing unsolved problems in energy supply for rural communities across Africa, an Innovative solutions like solar energy can help change this status quo, and improve the lives of many people throughout the continent.

Localizing The International: Examining How Fieldworkers Combat Adolescent Pregnancy In Northern Ghana, Alexandra C. Sloss

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

International aid is often ineffective because it is delivered without an understanding of local ideologies and contexts. My Capstone examined whether or not international aid in northern Ghana could be effective when addressing adolescent pregnancy. The Ghanaian programs I address in my Capstone are six non-governmental organizations, a government sub-district clinic and government junior high schools. The majority of my data was collected through interviews with individuals at all levels of the organizations, including directors, staff members, volunteers and individuals seeking the organization’s services. Alongside interviews I also spent time in the field, participating in youth group discussions, visiting regional …

Perceptions Of Safety Across Race, Class, Gender, And Location: A Study Of Women In Cape Town, South Africa, Ellen Blanche Moore

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Policing in South Africa has a long, twisted history that is still evident in some current police practices and especially in the public’s perceptions of the police. In addition to historical factors such as colonial rule and apartheid, people’s perceptions of the police are affected by their race, class, gender, and geographic location. Although these factors have an individual effect on perceptions, it is through a complex analysis of how they relate to one another that a true understanding of a person’s perception can be reached. The goal of this research was to discover perceptions women in Cape Town have …

Deepening Democracy At The Grassroots Level: Citizen Participation In State Devolved Funds (Cdf) In Kenya, Fredrick Omondi Otieno

Pan African Studies - Theses

That democracy is the most suitable form of government is no longer contested. However many questions shaking this global consensus continue to abound. Why is there a growing cynicism and apathy with the notion of democracy across the globe? Why has the concept of democracy had to attract adjectives that attempt to qualify or categorize it in different parts of the world? And perhaps most importantly, if in deed democracy is such a good "thing" how can it be made meaningful? This thesis looks at citizen participation in a state devolved fund (CDF) in Kenya as a space through which …

Disrupting Discourses Of Failure: Counter Narratives Of Black Male Students And Academic Success, Brandi N. Williams

Pan African Studies - Theses

In the twenty-first century, African-American males continue to be significantly "left behind" academically in comparison with other ethnicities and even compared to their female counterparts. Nonetheless, there appears to be one school that has been situated to have the "antidote" for this gap. This working case study draws on an interview methodology to investigate the programming experiences of alumni, former faculty, current faculty, and administration from a predominantly all-Black male school with a reported 100 percent graduation rate that is situated in the nation's third largest school district. Through a critical race theoretical lens, the interviews present narratives that counter …

"Thaai Thathaiyai Ngai Thaai": Narratives Of Rituals, Agency, And Resistance In The Klfa (Mau Mau) Struggle For Kenya's Independence, Henry Muoki Mbunga

Pan African Studies - Theses

The purpose of this project is to examine the role of rituals in the Mau Mau struggle for Kenya's independence. Traditionally, research on the Mau Mau has focused on the political and socio-economic aspects of Kenya's anti-colonial struggle. As a result, the place of spirituality and, in particular, the role of rituals in the Mau Mau struggle has largely been ignored in existing literature. Initially, when KLFA rituals were studied at the height of the Mau Mau struggle, the task was undertaken by colonial anthropologists and psychologists who were often unable to escape the snare of racist and Eurocentric prejudices …

Guide To The Secretariat Circulars: Kenya National Archives Microfilm, Robert G. Gregory, Richard E. Lewis

Kenya National Archives Guides

The Secretariat Circulars are made up of five reels of microfilm that comprise Section 7, the last section of the Guide to the Kenya National Archives. Included in the collection are circulars or circular letters issued by the British colonial Administration from 1916 through 1962.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

Guide To Daily Correspondence Of The Coast, Rift Valley, Central, And Northeastern Provinces : Kenya National Archives Microfilm, Robert G. Gregory, Richard E. Lewis

Kenya National Archives Guides

The daily correspondence of the provincial and district officers of the East Africa Protectorate and Kenya Colony were microfilmed during the 1960s as part of a cooperative project between the Kenya National Archives and Syracuse University. This guide was prepared at Syracuse University during 1982-84 under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is an index to the follow collections of daily correspondence: Cost Province, 2nd series, 1894-1965: 150 reels -- Central Province, 1888-1964: 71 reels (1-40, 61-91) -- Rift Valley Province, 1894-1959: 61 reels -- Northeastern Province, 1909-63: 46 reels.

For more information, refer to the …

Guide To Nyanza Province Microfilm Collection, Kenya National Archives, Part Iii: Section 10, Daily Correspondence And Reports, 1930-1963, Vol. I, Alan C. Solomon, Kenneth P. Lohrentz

Kenya National Archives Guides

This guide to the Nyanza Province microfilm collection of the Kenya National Archives consists of daily correspondence and reports for the Province from 1930 to 1963. It pertains to Section 10, the third and most substantial section of the Nyanza Province Archives, and is to be published in two volumes. Like Section 10B, also a predominantly post-1930 collection of documents, the records are arranged and filed according to the departments within the provincial administration to which they pertain.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

Guide To Nyanza Province Microfilm Collection, Kenya National Archives, Part Iii: Section 10, Daily Correspondence And Reports, 1930-1963, Vol. Ii, Alan C. Solomon, Kenneth P. Lohrentz

Kenya National Archives Guides

This bibliographical list constitutes Volume II of Section 10 of the Nyanza Province daily correspondence and reports, 1930-1963, of the Kenya National Archives.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

Guide To Nyanza Province Microfilm Collection, Kenya National Archives, Part I: Section 10b, Correspondence And Reports 1925-1960, Alan C. Solomon, C. A. Crosby

Kenya National Archives Guides

The Nyanza Province microfilm collection of the Kenya National Archives consists of microfilmed reports and correspondence produced by the British colonial administration in the Nyanza Province from 1925 to 1960. These documents, filmed by the Archives' technical staff, are arranged, numbered and filmed according to the functional responsibilities of the colonial administration.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

Africana Microfilms At The E.S. Bird Library, Syracuse University : An Annotated Guide, David L. Easterbrook, Kenneth P. Lohrentz

Kenya National Archives Guides

Beginning in 1964 with three successive grants from the National Science Foundation, the Program of Eastern African studies of Syracuse University has acquired an extraordinary collection of microfilms relative to eastern Africa. Most of the microfilms pertain to Kenya, where the project was begun, but records now are being received from Ethiopia, where the project is currently being administered. The records on Kenya, extending through the entire period the British Colonial Administration, 1895-1963, and consisting of private as well as official sources, comprise the fullest and most valuable collection anywhere in the world on a developing country. Moreover, included in …

Guide To Nyanza Province Microfilm Collection, Kenya National Archives, Part Ii : Section 10a, Correspondence And Reports, 1899-1942, Alan C. Solomon

Kenya National Archives Guides

This Nyanza Province microfilm collection of the Kenya National Archives consists of microfilmed reports and daily correspondence produced by the British colonial administration in the Nyanza Province from 1899 to 1942. The great majority of the records pertain to the period prior to 1930. These documents, filmed by the Archives' technical staff, are arranged, numbered, and filmed according to the system outlined in the Provincial and District Catalogs of the Kenya National Archives.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

Protest Movements In Colonial East Africa : Aspects Of Early African Response To European Rule, Robert W. Strayer, Edward I. Steinhart, Robert M. Maxon, Robert G. Gregory

Kenya National Archives Guides

Concepts of protest in Africa, like historical concepts elsewhere, have undergone considerable change through the last half century, and it is possible at present to distinguish three schools of thought. These are the colonialist school, the nationalist, and, for want of a more specific term, the revisionist.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

Microfilms Related To Eastern Africa Part Ii (Kenya, Asian And Miscellaneous) : A Guide To Recent Acquisitions Of Syracuse University, David Leigh, Rodger F. Morton

Kenya National Archives Guides

Occasional Bibliography #21, Program of Eastern African Studies, Syracuse University. Guide to microfilm related to Eastern Africa.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

Microfilms Relating To Eastern Africa Part I (Kenya, Miscellaneous) : A Guide To Recent Acquisitions Of Syracuse University, Rodger F. Morton, Harvey Soff

Kenya National Archives Guides

Occasional Bibliography #19, Program of Eastern African Studies, Syracuse University.

Guide to microfilm related to Eastern Africa.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

A Guide To The Kenya National Archives To The Microfilms Of The Provincial And District Annual Reports, Record Books, And Handing-Over Reports; Miscellaneous Correspondence; And Intelligence Reports, Robert G. Gregory, Robert M. Maxon, Leon P. Spencer

Kenya National Archives Guides

The Guide is a compilation of 6 sections accessing approximately 157 microfilm reels of documents within the collection of the Kenya National Archives. Documents in the collection include archival material of the British colonial government in Kenya up to the mid 1960’s.

For more information, refer to the Kenya National Archives subject guide.

A Guide To The Kenya National Archives To The Microfilms Of The Provincial And District Annual Reports, Record Books, And Handing-Over Reports; Miscellaneous Correspondence; And Intelligence Reports, Robert G. Gregory, Robert M. Maxon, Leon P. Spencer

Librarian Publications

The Guide is a compilation of 6 sections accessing approximately 157 microfilm reels of documents within the collection of the Kenya National Archives.