G. Pascal Zachary in Fanzine: The master narratives about Africa are inevitably political; art about Africa and Africans, especially art created by non-Africans, inevitably becomes intertwined with the historical use and abuse of the African imaginary. The political entanglements of literary artists engaged with African affairs are complicated by the emergence of a new humanitarianism,… Read More »
In her latest column, Gillian Tett draws attention to the research of Anne Jefferson, an anthropologist who is studying how mortgage foreclosures are unfolding in the United States. This caught my attention: In the past century, American culture has developed a well-entrenched, commonly shared national narrative to explain and justify success – the myth of… Read More »
Image via Wikipedia 1. Akin pulls out tissues for President Yar’Adua 2. Goodluck Jonathan makes his first address as president to the country (Video) 3. Reuters says Yar’Adua death leaves succession wide open 4. Next gives details of the burial 5. Discussions and speculations about who will become the new vice president 6. Is it… Read More »
I just read this on the Nigerian Village Square: The literary world is abuzz with the news that Achebe in 2010, on the fiftieth anniversary of Nigeria’s independence, and the fortieth anniversary of the end of the Biafran war; is working on a major opus – Reflections on the Nigerian Civil War 1967-1970. It will… Read More »
By Alexis Okeowo for More Intelligent Life. If you have not heard of Mexico’s native blacks, you are not alone. The story that has been passed down through generations is that their ancestors arrived on a slave boat filled with Cubans and Haitians, which sank off Mexico’s Pacific coast. The survivors hid away in fishing… Read More »
I wrote last week about violent conflict and modes of identification. It comes up again in this nice piece by FT’s Tom Burgis: Like previous outbreaks in 2001 and 2008, the latest bloodshed in Jos is wrought in the name of religion. Officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross said both Christians and… Read More »
1. Nigeria to Limit Domestic Banks’ Market Share to 20% 2. Nigeria in big scamster crackdown 3. Achebe calls for revolution in Nigeria 4. Berlin Wall: 20 years after the fall (with video) 5. Some (Possibly Heretical) Thoughts on Agriculture 6. Is UK Aid failing?
Yesterday I read a journal article on the hypersexualisation of blacks and the redefinition of citizenship in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In plain English, German women saw black men as exotic consumables – blacks here meaning both Africans and African American GIs. But the experiences in both cases are radically different.… Read More »
Eamonn Butler, director of the Adam Smith Institute is getting worried about methodological individualism: I’m getting worried about methodological individualism. Yes, I know that ‘society’ has no life or will or organizing mind of its own, as Marx seemed to assume, and that it is just the aggregation of individuals’ decisions and actions. I know… Read More »
Earlier today I drew attention to the announcement of the ASA Globalog series on the financial crisis. The first post in the series is already up. Alexander F. Robertson of Edinburgh University writes about Corporate Greed: The medieval burghers sought to dodge accusations of greed by political bluster or conspicuous acts of charity, but nothing… Read More »