African Culture Essays (Examples)

African Culture

The novel by Ngugi wa Thiongo and Mariama Ba portrays the picture of African cultures in the colonial days. The novels are written based on the African society and practices, and how the colonial judges were to the black people. Both writers are African who base their story on the attitude of western people to Africans.

The iver Between focuses its practices on the African culture, how they did them and how the colonial rule changed them. Ngugi tries to explain the hardships that Africans underwent during the colonial period, and focuses his story on one African tradition, the Kikuyus of Kenya. He clearly brings out their practices in the novel, under the British era.

Mariama Ba in her novel also shows the struggles of Africans under the colonial rule era. She portrays racism and brings out clearly African practices, focusing on one community of the Wolof in…

When online, I can stream music from any number of sources or download new music I want to hear. Music has become more personal than it was in traditional African societies. In traditional African societies, music was more a communal activity or a function of religion than it was a personal escape. Now music has become a way to meditate or find peace while in a chaotic urban environment. With headphones on, I can isolate myself from the world and discover a sense of peace that the soundscapes provide. The use of music for personal reasons is new social development that depends on technology. In traditional societies like those of Africa, music can be brought into the personal sphere by live performers only. Any person who likes to sing or play an instrument can do so, but cannot control when and where to listen to the music made by others.…

systematical denial of culture by slaves on present day slave descendants?

his is a paper that bases its description on hornton's book Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1680 and theorizes that the systemic denial of the African cultural contribution is victimizing the African slave descendents as slavery victimized their forefathers.

he Africans nation has had a vast and positive influence on the Atlantic World. Yet, the attitude of the nations of the Atlantic with regard to the African people has been somewhat prejudiced. he Africans were forcefully taken from their land and underwent a transition that displaced their culture to such a degree that even today, the people have a hard time facing their own traditions. he systemic racism they have faced in the Atlantic world has caused their culture, values and needs to be undermined such that they themselves are unable to accept the…

African Culture in RwandaThe historical context of the film Hotel Rwanda gives an overview of the genocide that happened in Rwanda in April 1994, where about 800,000 Rwandese citizens were slaughtered brutally. This happened in a span of one hundred day period where people were put to death with machetes. The massacre occurred without seeking intervention from the rest of the world.Analyzing this film can allow one to explore or make reviews of their personal views about life. Reflecting on this film, especially the main character, will help us relate courage as part of communal interconnectedness. It will also give an image of African culture; therefore, the viewer can differentiate what the movie portrays from real life.The film Hotel Rwanda is centered on a true-life story that focuses on Paul Rusesabaginas actions, the protagonist in the film. By this time, he was the hotel manager of des Mille Collines located…

Westernization

African culture and the Western influence

Every community has it peculiar culture and norms that identify it and sets it apart from the remaining cultures. There are native cultures that the Africans were accustomed to and adored them as their noble way of life. However, there came the intrusion of the Western culture from Europe that grossly interfered with the African culture is several aspects. There was a massive "decentering" of cultures among the Africans and the consequences of these mass "decentering" are felt to date in very significant ways.

The 'decentering' of the culture and the cultural ways among the Africans was a peculiar one in the entire world, this is because Africa as a continent was ambushed by the European powers that were at that time and sub-divided it and shared it out among themselves in the form of colonies. The scramble was so intense that some…

No longer just used in battle situations, Zulu shields are used throughout the culture’s ceremonial traditions. Zulu shields are used throughout Zulu societies in southern Africa. There are about 9 million Zulu peoples, making them the largest ethnic group in the region (Stead, 2017). Although the ritual shields used by the Zulu warriors likely trace back centuries, records only date their use as far back as King Shaka Zulu (Stead, 2017). The use of similar ritualistic battle shields is common throughout other African societies including the Bantu, the Matabele, and the Amangwane (Tylden, 1946). Therefore, the Zulu shield lends insight into the culture, worldviews, religions, and art forms of various African peoples both before and after colonization.
Creating, designing, and using Zulu shields is a specialized art form undertaken with ceremonial and usually sacred intent, too. Originally, the shields were used primarily in battle situations, and their different colors and…

Social dissent and unrest should not be the result of multiculturalism, the authors point out, but nonetheless those are the social realities, in many instances, of the new global picture. There is now, like it or not, a "blurring of cultural borderlines," the authors report; and as a result, the notion of culture within the word "multiculturalism" no longer refers to habits and customs of a people in anthropological terms. Rather, "culture" in the term "multiculturalism" alludes to race, creed, sexual orientation, gender, and lifestyles of various and divers groups within the greater culture.

A very poignant quote is offered in the conclusion of the editorial, a quote which cries out to be read to those reporting on, studying and/or dealing with today's dramatic cultural changes in estern societies; it is a statement by Aijza Ahmad, who reflects the perspective of "the less-well-to-do colonial states," according to the editorial. "It…

African Culture: An Overview

As with other cultures, one may find that the African culture is quite different from the culture of the Caucasians, Asians, and Europeans. However, due to urbanization, improvements, and influences that they find in the continuous development of technology, there has been gradual similarities that were created between their culture and that of the other races.

The traditional African culture is basically composed of beliefs that they inherited from their ancestors. Mostly, this includes beliefs in gods and goddesses, as well as in different forms of idols. Their ways of living from day-to-day are based on the principles of their beliefs in gods and goddesses in which their objective is to always please their gods. If one is to visit a conventional African tribe, one can find different statues, valuable goods, and exotic foods that they consider as parts of their lives and are most of…

As with water methods of visually perceiving patterns, divination serves as a literal mirror for the cosmos. The visual cues of divination such as cowry shells or the patterns made by mice sometimes serves as a pictorial language spoken between nonhuman and human participants. That language is not one used in human communications, even though it may inform human social order and modes of cognition.

The language of divination represents communication between human and super-human forces. A diviner acts much like a translator would, communicating the perceived patterns of cosmic order to an individual or to the community. Divination is integral to all traditional African religions as well as to the religions of most other cultures. The function of divination is artistic, epistemological, and expressive. Divination also creates, maintains, and interprets social and spiritual order.

orks Cited

Bourgeois, Arthur P. "Insight and Artistry in African Divination - Book Review." African…

Culture and Health Care |

A eview of Culture on Health Disparities, Health elated Practices and Healthcare Outcomes

Social Status

The social status of an individual refers to the rank one holds within a group or community; and requires conformance to such rights, lifestyle, and duties as understood by prestige and social hierarchy (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016). Status may be attained or ascribed in different ways. One, for instance may inherit such status at birth as it happens in monarchies and Kingships. This kind of status climb has nothing to do with one's innate abilities or skills. Ascribed status is based on such factors as age, family relations, lineage, birth, sex, and similar considerations while acquired status is earned. It may be based on such factors as the level of education, marital status, occupation and similar factors that come with accomplishment of certain feats that required some practical effort.

Status is…

If anything, the more languages in which a book is published the better. This way there can be as much cross fertilization of ideas and solutions to pressing needs.

eferences

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Penguin, 2006.

____African Trilolgy. London: Picador, 2000

Ashcroft, Bill; Griffiths, Gareth and Tiffin, Helen (eds.). The Post Colonial Studies eader, London: outledge, (1995)

Bassnett-McGuire, Susan. Translation Studies. London: outledge, 1991.

Chevrier, Jacques. "Writing African books in the French Language L'Afrique littcraire et artistique 50 (1979): 49.

Janmohamed, a. Janmohamed, a. "Sophisticated Primitivism: The Syncretism of Oral and Literate Modes in Achebe, Chinua Things Fall Apart.." Ariel: A eview of International English Literature 15 (1984): 19-39.

Gikandi, Simon. "The Epistemology of Translation: Ngugi, Matigari, and the Politics of Language." esearch in African Literatures 22.4 (1991): 161-67.

Gyasi, Kwaku. Writing as Translation: African Literature and the Challenges of Translation.: esearch in African Literatures a.2. (1999).,…

S. The lives of the slaves were sharply divided from the whites on the plantation. The slaves lived away from the main house in the slave quarters, and only the house slaves were allowed in the main house. The slaves not only worked in the fields, they had to grow their own gardens for food, and they usually only got Sunday off. During planting and harvest, they worked long hours, from sunrise to sunset, and they faced harsh retribution if they attempted to complain. They were the most harshly treated of any of these groups of slaves, and they suffered the most, too.

During the four centuries of the Atlantic slave trade, an estimated eleven million Africans were transported to North and South America" (Notes), and as noted, millions of them died along the way, so it is really not known how many left Africa never to return. Slaves in…

African Masks

Masquerades are found in virtually all African civilizations, particularly those that are indigenous to this region of the world. Not surprisingly, these masquerades have different forms of significance for different cultures. Nonetheless, there are some basic cultural similarities pertaining to these rituals that transcend individual cultures and pertain to African deployment of this concept as a whole. Firstly, the definition of the very term masquerade can include "a masking performance, a masked performer, or the character embodied by the mask itself" (Uzo, 1997). Moreover, there is an element of spirituality that is strongly associated with this tenet of the masquerade. It is very rare for participants to be unmasked once they have donned a masque and are partaking in a particular ritual or dance. The actual masques themselves are typically emblematic of animals or people, and have a transcendent spirituality. As such, the very participants who don masques…

culture is playing on international business. This is accomplished by comparing cultural traditions of elgium and South Africa using Arcelor Mittal. Once this occurs, is when we are able to understand how the firm is able to utilize these factors to give them an advantage in the global marketplace.

Over the last several years, globalization has been having profound impact on firms. What has been happening is corporations, have been seeking out those areas that can provide them with the lowest costs. This is part of an effort to increase productivity and their overall profit margins. As a result, a variety of different firms have been establishing operations around the world to deal with these underlying challenges. Evidence of this can be seen by looking no further than the fact that 47% of American and European companies are outsourcing some aspect of their operations. (Sears, 2009) This is important, because…

African-American people from a qualitative perspective. The literature review will provide a brief background on African-American people and leading health problems they face along with a brief inclusion of census data to create a general picture of health from the perspective of an African-American person. One African-American man was interviewed. His answers provide a means of generating a construct that will be used to draw conclusions for nursing practice and standard of care development.

African-American People: Literature Review

A website called: 'Dimensions of Culture', examines cultural patterns existent in many African-American communities. Those that recently immigrated from Africa show an even different culture compared to African-Americans that have lived in the United States for generations. One common cultural pattern experienced by African-Americans is the 'Black' Experience, which is diverse, representing a wide array of skin tones and backgrounds. The next is the social structure. The social structure often takes on…

Before the Scramble for Africa of the late 19th century, Africa was hierarchical, authoritarian, and paternalistic, just like the European countries invading them. Insubordination and disobedience to the deference pyramids were punished by violence. Some tribes carried this violence out against their neighbors, from whom they stole cattle and other property. The strength of white settlers in Africa came from their technology. Before the nineteenth century, some African prophets and seers foretold of great human suffering at the hands of white invaders. There were many in tribes who resisted white settlement from the beginning, while other tribes studied the ways of the white man and tried to form alliances with the Europeans against their enemies. Many tribes were neutral, although their chiefs might accept gifts in return for cooperation. The presence of white man changed the dynamics of power in Africa in many ways.

New forms of power brought by…

cultures across time and geographical locations is the universality of symbols and rites, and the construction of social hierarchies. Furthermore, it was interesting to see how certain cultures, like the Luba, governed themselves and how religious, and sometimes supernatural, attributes are often associated with kings. For instance, Lubu kings worked to hide their human qualities, which appears to insinuate that these kings wanted their followers to revere them as gods, or to at least have power similar to a god or power derived from god. This is an interesting concept considering that in many monarchies around the world, kings have claimed that they are second-in-command, only to God. I am also highly impressed by the complex structure of the government and the role assigned to specific individuals. I think it would be interesting to analyze how different cultures (European vs. African) influenced each other or if the formation of a…

cultures you selected. Then describe two cultural attitudes, two cultural beliefs, and two cultural practices regarding HIV / AIDS in the cultures you selected. Finally, explain two factors that may impede the success of an HIV / AIDS prevention program in the cultures you selected and why. Support your response using the literature provided.

Attitude towards AIDS: Cultural differences

Although AIDS is an illness that knows no cultural barriers, the ways that cultures interpret the illness can be profoundly different. In the United States, when the illness first began to spread, there was a tendency to 'ghettoize' the disease. During the early years it was referred to as 'the gay plague' and the focus was solely upon its impact in the gay community. But as the illness grew more widespread to other populations, it became clear that this was not a useful paradigm through which to view AIDS. Additionally, the…

authors employ oral styles to convey the voices of individual characters and their unique jargon. Vocal inflections can be heard in print, imagined in the head as the reader loses him or herself in the novel. Kenyan author Ng-g? wa Thiong'o in his novel Devil on the Cross uses at least five different oral styles that contribute volumes to the complexity of his seminal work. The narrator begins and ends the novel with a unique oral style, as the "Prophet of Justice," providing poignant social and existential commentary: "The voice of the people is the voice of God," (p. 8). This particular narrative oral style becomes evident again from Chapter Ten onwards, at the close of the novel. Throughout Devil on the Cross, Ng-g? speaks directly to the reader, acting as a third-person omniscient point-of-view. The narrator thinking and talking to himself forms a second key oral style in Ng-g?'s…

African-Americans History And Culture

The false and misleading notion that "African-Americans created themselves" completely ignores and invalidates the rich history of those whose ancestry lies in the great African continent. While African-Americans have adopted and incorporated many cultures into their own (not unlike any other cultural group in America) that in no way signifies that African-American's have no culture or history of their own.

"Black people have no history, no heroes, no great moments," this was told to a young Arthur Schomburg by his 5th grade teacher. Schomburg, with both African and Puerto ican ancestry went on to become a great historian and curator of African-American history; helping to dispel the very "truth" that his teacher tried to feed him about his own history and culture many years prior. The statement that "African-Americans created themselves" simply means that the Black American is devoid of history and a culture to call…

e learn that art can indeed reflect life but it can also inspire it beyond what the human mind can dream.

orks Cited

Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, 1994.

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York: Penguin, 1982.

Levernier, James a. "Frederick Douglass: Overview." Reference Guide to American Literature, 3rd ed. 1994. GALE Resource Database. Site Accessed August 3, 2006. http://www.infotrac.galegroup.com

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.

Richard Powell. African-American Art. 2005 Oxford University Press. http://www.aawc.com

Rodriguez, Junius P.. "African-American Experience: Art." African-American Experience. 12 September, 2008. http://aae.greenwood.com

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a Nation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, (1990). 278.

Bailey, Thomas, et al. The American Pageant. Lexington D.C. Heath and Company, (1994). 69.

Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People and a…

At the same time, however, the ghettoes resulted from the people's desire to form a united community to which they could relate and that could offer comfort from a society that, despite its more opened views, still viewed blacks from the point-of-view of the segregation policy.

The ghettoes however represented an environment that would later offer one of the most important and relevant elements of the American culture: the music and religious atmosphere that was traditional for the black community. As a means of resisting the struggle against segregation and inequality, many communities saw music as the connection that united all black people in their suffering. The soul music thus became a means of expressing both sorrow and joy, hope and despair among the black communities. Even though such practices had been seen in the South as well, once the Great Migration started, the black people exported their core values…

.."1.

Although the movie does concentrate on saving the black people on being stereotyped there is a contradiction, it doesn't defend their violent nature. Again the audience is faced with a raw clan which commits murder. lack, violent, illiterate people it is negative image that has been presented several times through the media. In spite of this it is worth considering that the director desire was not at all to depict black people as being very cult people, but he wanted to show two different perspectives about black people, one of them is that some are smart and educated and others have a more furious nature due to the fact that they lack education. The media in any case should not present an elementary part of the black culture. It is rather dazzling to see on the screen such a complex black character as Delacroix. The reviews revealed that people…

African-American Heritage & the Amish

African-American people traditionally have different communication patterns and family roles than their white counterparts. They are more likely to have families headed by single parents (usually single mothers) and they are also more likely to have poor communication skills and not express their deepest feelings so that they can get help for the family problems they are facing (Franklin & Moss, 2001). Unemployment and underemployment runs high through the African-American community, although there are certainly exceptions. Because the culture of the majority of African-American people is different from the culture seen in the white community, the interaction between the two groups can sometimes be more complex than one would expect. African-Americans are more likely to be part of the high-risk population when it comes to health and well-being (both mental and physical), and they are more like to live in areas of the country and…

African-Americans are second only to Native Americans, historically, in terms of poor treatment at the hands of mainstream American society. Although African-Americans living today enjoy nominal equality, the social context in which blacks interact with the rest of society is still one that tangibly differentiates them from the rest of America. This cultural bias towards blacks is in many notable ways more apparent than the treatment of other people of color, such as Asian immigrants, as is reflected in disparate wages and living conditions experienced by these respective groups. Common stereotypes hold the successful, college educated black man or woman as the exception rather than the rule, whereas Asians are commonly thought of as over-achievers. Although any bias undermines social interaction in that it shifts attention away from individual merit, the bias towards African-Americans can be said to be worse than most, and lies at the root of discrimination and…

The 1950s was a time when the last of the generation of slaves were beginning to disappear from communities but their first generation children were attempting to make sense of the lives they led and the cautionary tales they had applied to their lives as a result. The work shows that for the 1950s African-American family it was a time of remembrance and resolution as well as a time to reflect on change and hope for even greater change in the future, with the inclusion of the fact that defacto segregation and suppression was still occurring in a rampant manner all over their lives.

Secondary Sources

Jewell, K. Sue. 2003. Survival of the African-American Family: The Institutional Impact of U.S. Social Policy. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Jewell develops a social history that demonstrates all the many disparities of the African-American vs. majority culture and how these disparities, legal, social and economic…

African-Americans in the News

From some of the articles that I have studied, it seems that many articles on the African-American community focus on their problems, on analyzing them and on suggesting possible solutions by which the community can improve its condition.

One of these articles, for example, addresses the problem of HIV / AIDS as it is reflected in the African-American community, suggesting that the best solution may actually revolve around taking responsibilities rather than pointing fingers to the people who are to blame. Taken from the Philadelphia Inquirer and quoting directors from the lack AIDS Institute, the article is keen to point out that "in 2005, AIDS in America is mostly a black disease"

. However, even more worrisome is the perception existing at the community level according to which HIV / AIDS was a white manmade disease, specially created to eradicate and/or control the community. In this…

African estaurant evival

New York is home to people from all over the world, and it is well-known that they often bring with them cuisine from their homelands. Foodies descend on food courts in subterranean malls in Queens, ussian bakeries in Brooklyn, and ethnic food trucks pretty much anywhere throughout the five boroughs. For being a cosmopolitan city with such cosmopolitan tastes, surprisingly little attention is paid to the diversity of African food. The continent of Africa is rich in food tradition and, increasingly, we are seeing these traditions manifest throughout New York. This trend is occurring in many places, in particular Manhattan and Brooklyn. In fact, several openings over the past few years have dramatically altered the African dining scene, and this development is very much worthy of coverage. This citywide exposure to the African food trend makes it an excellent topic heading into the summer eating season.

There…

African-American in the Media

The comedy Barbershop, starring Ice Cube juxtaposes the harshness of city life with the resiliency of the people living in the city. The movie with its black cast has an impressive standing in the movie industry for the year 2002. I'm not sure that I agree that this specific film means a breakthrough for African-Americans in the industry. The Black person has after all been part of the industry for a long time, and there are many African-American stars, not featured in this movie, who have made a great success of their movie careers.

The "integration period" for example is determined to be around the years 1949-1969. During this period there is an integration of Black people into the societies depicted in films. Thus the African-American is portrayed in a more positive way. Also, "black" themes and issues of conflict among races and peers are depicted…

I longed for a mother with a scarf on her head and a skin so dark that I never would have to be afraid at night again that the sun would ever burn me" (350). It is this sense of personal shame of having a white mother, caused by the teasing of her peers, that perhaps drives the daughter's longing to travel to Surinam someday to meet her extended family and learn of her black father's roots. "… I began to think about everything, about who my parents were, about my mother, about where my father is from, about what I am, about who were are together" (349).

Her parents are reluctant to allow their daughter to go, but finally give in when it is the summer of the grandmother's eightieth birthday. The father and daughter make the long trip to Surinam. "I knew that we were flying away from…

African Restaurants Outline

Ooops! Sorry, please disregard!!

Begin by describing one or more than one of the restaurants in Harlem. Include a bevy of sensory details (this is a piece about food, after all). Discuss the colors, scents, the particular types of food being served to people (meats, vegetables, etc.) Also focus briefly on the customer base, note its diversity, add this to the sensory details where possible (for example the click of the utensils as a Russian company enjoys the ambiance of the restaurant, etcetera). The key is to show, don't tell. You don't want the reader to know what you're talking about in the first few paragraphs.

Delivery of the ho, here, hat, hy, How, etcetera

Explain that the aforementioned details can be seen taking place at any variety of African restaurants in Harlem. Denote the vast influx of such restaurants in the past couple of years, including…

2.

In keeping with the theme of individuality highlighted above, each of the main characters in the assigned readings struggle to define his or her identity in terms of the dichotomies in the society they observe. Each point-of-view differs according to the person's stage of life and background, and each person seeks to establish an identity by means of the cultural and social tools they have at their disposal. At times these tools comprise family members, friends, or teachers, and at others they are something much more focused and personal, such as the intellect or determination.

Sylvia, the main character of "The Lesson," establishes her identity in terms of the financial contrast between her own social construct and those who can spend $1,000 on a toy. For her, the concept of financial security provides a platform for constructing an identity. Her determination to contend with the rich for a place…

988).

Perceived and real institutional barriers, a lack of awareness and real availability of need-based aid thus have a clear effect upon many students' perceptions about the role of the medical profession. Medicine is a demanding but rewarding field, and it is necessary that students dare to dream about becoming doctors, to ensure that African-American health outcomes do not continue to fall short of those of other minority groups, and to ensure that community concerns are addressed by the profession as a whole. Role models can be made more available by increasing access of African-American youth to African-American physicians, through visits to schools like the young doctors. Social barriers can be overcome by increasing educational awareness about scholarships and programs to help minorities navigate the challenges of medical school. Specific, culturally aware education about the barriers and ways to overcome financial barriers to medical school is essential to change the…

African Slavery

Slavery has existed since the beginning history, and references can be found throughout the Old Testament and other ancient writings from around the globe. Slaves were often the spoils of wars and battles for the victors, and usually were a different ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race from those who enslaved them (Slavery pp). In the majority of cases, intermarriage, granting of liberty, and the right to buy one's own freedom have caused slave and slave-owning populations to merge throughout the world (Slavery pp). Slavery is almost always practiced for the purpose of securing labor and in the strictest sense, slaves have no rights (Slavery pp). The 1926 Slavery Convention described slavery as "the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised," thus, a slave is someone who cannot leave an owner, master, overseer, controller,…

African-Americans and Western Expansion

Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, very little was written about black participation in Western expansion from the colonial period to the 19th Century, much less about black and Native American cooperation against slavery. This history was not so much forbidden or censored as never written at all, or simply ignored when it was written. In reality, blacks participated in all facets of Western expansion, from the fur trade and cattle ranching to mining and agriculture. There were black cowboys and black participants in the Indian Wars -- on both sides, in fact. Indeed, the argument over slavery in the Western territories was one of the key factors in breaking up the Union in the 1850s and leading to the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. In the past thirty years, much of the previously unwritten and unrecorded history of the Americas since 1492 has been…

There is a fascinating history with this cuisine in New York, as it used to be made surreptitiously in SO hotel rooms to meet the needs of the underground laborers from West Africa who craved food from home (Sietsema, 2011).

More evidence of the power of this trend comes from New York African estaurant Week, a bi-annual event that just completed its run, with 17 participating restaurants. The African community in New York has become quite active in promoting its heritage and culture, and this starts with food. The NY African estaurant Week has become the centerpiece of that effort, highlighting the exception standard of African food in New York.

I propose to produce a multimedia package for the New York Times that includes the following: There will be a 1200-word story focusing on the growth of African dining in New York, the variety of options and the characters involved.…

Not meeting them is not only a sin according to the tenets of the religion, but it also causes damage to the spouse with whom a partnership was made and the children that are a result of that partnership.

More precisely, failing to live up to familial obligations is a sin because it causes damage to the spouse and children. Jewish daily life, as Mrs. Baron explains, is built around a constant devotion to God. Cooking, eating, sleeping, waking, bathing, and almost every other common task of everyday life is associated with some ritualistic elements and/or prayer to remind each person that every bit of good done is in service to God. Making sure your family is cared for in the best manner possible is part of this, and this explains the different roles that exist in her family. She acknowledges that the roles have changed somewhat since her grandparents…

African Women Slavery

What was life like for African female slaves?

When most people hear the word slavery they will often associate it with the harsh living conditions and the demoralizing atmosphere they were going through. While this is true, the reality is that many slaves endured even more suffering. For women, this became worse in comparison with men. Part of the reason for this, is because they were considered to be inferior to men.

This is troubling because, it meant that they would be exposed to a wide variety of abuses at the hands of their slave masters and other slaves. To fully understand what took place, we will look at the underlying levels of privation that were occurring. Once this happens, it will offer specific insights about the overall amounts of difficulties that they had to deal with.

The Typical Life for a Slave Woman

In America prior…

Conclusion

Local governance in Africa: the challenges of democratic decentralization provides a great deal of insight into the manner in which individual nations in Africa have coped with a decentralized democratic structure. The purpose of the book was to examine under what conditions decentralization reforms in Africa evolve into effective local governance. The authors consistently explain the political structures of the local governments. In doing so the text illustrates the conditions that lead to successful decentralization efforts. The research presented is lucid and presents readers with a different perspective than other books and scholarly articles on this particular subject. The authors found that factors such as legitimate authority and adequate resources are conditions that are needed to ensure that decentralized democratization can occur.

In addition, the information presented in the text is essential for the continent of Africa, other nations that are undergoing similar changes and the international community as…

Therefore, the beliefs of ancient writers cannot be taken as evidence in the same way as the finding of archaeological evidence can. If Egyptians or Phoenicians had permanently colonized Greece, it is likely that someone would have found the remnants of Egyptian or Phoenician buildings, as well as Egyptian writing, tombs, and other physical evidence of their colonization activities. One would expect that if there was an Egyptian influence in the origins of Greek civilization, the Greeks may have built in the Egyptian style, instead of creating a completely unique style of architecture. There has been no evidence discovered that would indicate a large scale, permanent Egyptian or Phoenician colonization.

Martin Bernal does a very good job of analyzing the sociological forces that influenced the creation of the "Aryan" model, however, the fact that the Aryan model has been misused is not evidence that disputes the idea that Greek civilization…

Culture & Religion

Roman Catholic: The Roman Catholic religion believes in the Holy Trinity of a creator God the Father; Jesus Christ, His Son; and the Holy Spirit. Other beliefs that characterize the religion are the original sin; the forgiveness of sin; the second coming of the Lord; and life after death (CIM, 49). Given its belief in sin, the religion offers the hope of salvation through its sacraments and baptism. Infant baptism is encouraged to erase the original sin and as a start to a spiritual life through the Church. In addition, the Roman Catholic Church holds that the mass is a continuation of the sacrifice made by Christ and thus teaches the doctrine of transubstantiation or that the bread and wine at communion actually become the body and blood of Christ (Biblical Discernment Ministries, 1997). Generally, the religion has no dietary restrictions. However, it advocates abstaining from meat…

6% of the respondents stated that this was what they did. This number however is not reflected in lower numbers for life style disease and so it must be given greater scrutiny at another time (See table below).

Fruit and vegetable consumption by ethnicity

Lifestyle diseases

There are a number of diseases and health conditions that have been linked to life style behaviors and belief systems. The prevalence of these diseases demonstate that while persons may report a certain behavior emperical evidence suggests that another behavior may be taking place. This may occur principally because respondents may over estimate what they do on a daily basis since they are not taking active records of their behaviors.

On several indicators African-Americans have higher rates of the disease and death as a consequency than White populations. The data for diabetes shows that African-Americans are twice as likely to report having diabetes than…

S. news magazines between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1998. They concluded that the images of the poor in these news magazines "do not capture the reality of poverty, but instead provide a stereotypical and inaccurate picture of poverty that results in a misconception of beliefs about the poor, antipathy toward blacks and lack of support for welfare programs.

Similarly, Dixon and Linz (2000) researched the content of a random sample of local TV news programming in Los Angeles and Orange counties to determine representations of blacks, Latinos, and whites as lawbreakers and law defenders. "Intergroup" comparisons of perpetrators found that blacks and Latinos are significantly more apt than whites to be shown as lawbreakers. "Interrole" comparisons, lawbreakers vs. law defenders, similarly found that blacks and Latinos are more likely to be shown as lawbreakers than as defenders, whereas whites are significantly more apt to be portrayed as defenders…

The major concern is the effect of violence, due once again, to studies that show a connection between watching violence and participating in it. For example, Bushman and Anderson (2002) conducted as study in which they determined that playing violent video games can "engender hostile expectations, leading one to expect that others will respond aggressively" (p. 1679).

The Grand Theft Auto series of video games has undoubtedly been a major instigator in the backlash against the gaming industry. Not surprisingly, most parents are not too thrilled about the idea of their children taking on the persona of a character who commits crimes to earn rewards, and runs over prostitutes so he doesn't have to pay them. There was also a major parental backlash against the PS2 game Bully before it was released, because parents assumed that it would glorify bullying. The frenzy turned out to be unfounded as the game…

By nationalism they meant not only the cultivation of love for their land and nation but also the development of an identity -- A sense of who Africans were and what they stood for which would be based on nothing that white people had been teaching but on something that would be exclusive to Africa and African consciousness.

The new sense of self would then reflect in all the actions of African people including their writings. It was believed that oppressors so dominate the minds and souls of the conquered people, that the latter start believing in their inferiority and try to please their oppressor by producing work that would be more universal in its subject. However that had to change if Africans wanted to believe in themselves. They would need to address their own people, their own problems and their own cultures and write for their own audiences which…

As the vast majority of African-Americans do not know where their ancestors came from, it is difficult to trace one's roots back to the African continent. At the same time, the United States, while certainly the nation that nearly every African-American would consider to be home, has hardly been hospitable to African-Americans throughout history. Even today, nearly a quarter of all African-American families in the United States live below the poverty line.

Nation plays a more prominent role in Hispanic-American communities, as these communities tend to organize themselves around national heritage. For example, the Puerto ican community in the United States is distinct from the Mexican-American community.

It should be kept in mind, however, that both Hispanic-Americans and African-Americans tend to identify their national heritage with the United States of America - despite their troublesome relationship with their home country over the centuries.

Institutional Networks

Institutional networks continue to play…

This can be traced to the conservative view that lacks have in fact no real history in comparison to the richness and significance of European history. "As astonishing as it seems most of the prestigious academics and universities in Europe and America have ridiculed the idea that blacks have any substantive history."

This derogatory view has its roots as well in the colonial attitude that tended to see all lack people as inferior in status and 'ignorant' in order to justify the intrusion and invasion of their lands and territories.

In other words, the justification for conquest and what was in reality the theft of African land and wealth was provided to a great extent by the ' rewriting' of iblical texts. lacks were cast as 'heathen' people who had not achieved the enlightenment that the white group had attained through the ible and Christianity and therefore lacks were seen…

Of course, a separation of the races meant really the preservation of white superiority at the expense of those formerly enslaved. The law mandated distinct facilities for hites and Blacks. Everything from schools, to transportation, movie theaters, hotels, and even public restrooms were carefully segregated. Few Black only facilities approached white ones in quality or amount of money expended on their upkeep. Black public schools were notoriously inferior as were hospitals and other essential services. As arguments about the disparities became more apparent toward the mid-Twentieth Century, the South sought to defend its segregationist policies by - in the case of medical schools - expanding and consolidating its physician training facilities so as to avoid providing more facilities for Blacks. A plan was actually floated, not to increase Black enrollment at the South's twenty-six medical colleges, but rather to consolidate all training of Black medical personnel at a single facility.…

The phrase that was popular in 1965, when Johnson got his legislation passed, was "Cultural deprivation"; that phrase, and the culture of poverty became what Stein calls "central constructs" around a policy that hopefully would help children that were "shackled by the chains of disadvantage which bind them to a life of hopelessness and misery" (Stein, 2004, xiv).

Schools were a "promising site for government intervention" because the field of education could "…interrupt the otherwise intractable poverty culture," Stein continued, reviewing the federal government's attempt to end poverty. By funding programs to help low income students, the government set out to "…impart middle-class norms, and break the chains of poverty and disadvantage," for poor students, blacks, Latinos, immigrants and others who were seen as "victims of cultural deprivation," Stein continues on page xv. But the problem with the government's intervention was that the "very characterizations of 'disadvantaged youth'…functioned in ways…

Notwithstanding its roots in African dance, in actuality, it was a fighting style designed by African slaves as a means of protecting themselves from government agents searching for them after their escape from enslavement. Likewise, Levine focuses heavily on the connection between the slave culture that was evident in the American South, while much of it may actually have been shaped by the need to conceal it from white society.

The mere fact that Christianity, and more specifically, Southern Baptism, became the predominant religion of the millions of descendants of the Africans enslaved in America would seem to provide the most support for Rock's position. It is difficult to know how many of the slaves who eventually (and ironically) adopted the very religious traditions of those who enslaved them and held them captive for generations. Certainly, there are elements of contemporary black religious culture that can be traced back to…

Healers

Much has been said about the history of Africa, and the centuries of slave trade which occurred at the expense of the African peoples. From the time of early colonization by the Portuguese, Dutch, and later the ritish, the African people were taken advantage of, and sold as slaves to fuel the growing economies around the western world.

While nothing can ever be said to correct, or make full reparations for the contempt shown to the black peoples, Ayi Armah's book The Healers takes a deeper look at the cultural issues which arose on the African continent which fueled the disintegration of the African culture.

When we look back at a difficult, unjust, or painful situation we have encountered, the tendency is to look for reasons outside of ourselves in order to explain the pain. When a child is caught smacking another playmate on the playground during recess, the…

Decline of African Heritage in America

hen Africans were uprooted from their homes and their land and forcibly brought to the Americas

at first they retained many of their cultural traits and values; however, as time passed and they were assimilated into the Euro-American culture, those cultural traditions and values were lost. In hindsight, the ugly scar on the history of the founding of the United States

can't ever be healed, but the dignity of the history of the Africans who were brought here should be part of history, and be honored.

The first premise of this research is that languages and culturally identifying traits brought to the American shores by Africans stayed in play during slavery years -- but a great deal of that aspect of African culture is gone today. Secondly, historians have "lost" African heritage and culture through incomplete recounting of African and slave history.

Literature Review…

Brazilian Culture

Brazil's culture is a fascinating blend of European, African and Amerindian influences. Portuguese settlers brought with them strong influences in religion, later Europeans such as Italians and Germans arrived bringing 20th century ideas about government, Africans brought drums and dance, and Amerindian influences can be found in a number of spheres. Over the course of the past five hundred years, these influences have been shaped by the vast and varied landscape, the climate and political events. Even though different parts of the country developed almost in isolation from one another due to geographic distance, some elements of culture bind all Brazilians. Carnival is one of those. The combination in dance, music, costume and religion into a single event is one of the defining elements of Brazilian culture. At once, it takes deep roots and social significance, while maintaining a lighter popular side that pays only superficial homage to…

Assembling Culture

Assembling Southern Appalachian Belief Culture from the Foxfire Archive

This project looks at the belief structure of people in the Southern Appalachian mountains as recognized through the Foxfire archival project, documentary evidence and artistic interpretation. Through an examination of belief systems it is believed that unique cultural aspects of this isolated group of people can be determined. The Foxfire project is an archive that documents how the people lived prior to the mass introduction of outside influences that happened concurrent to the ability of residents to electrify their houses which occurred from approximately 1935 and into the 1950's. Prior to this time the residents of these southeastern mountains were isolated due to the remoteness of villages, and they were able to remain relatively self-contained even though some sections were being encroached by industry. The belief systems in this examination include religion and healing, but mainly relate to how…

Slave Culture

The trans-Atlantic slave trade shackled together persons from disparate cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Forced contact and communion, pervasive physical and psychological abuse, and systematic disenfranchisement became the soil in which a unique subculture would be born. Slave subcultures in the United States were also diverse, depending on geography, the nature of the plantation work, the prevailing political and social landscape of the slave owner culture, and factors like gender and ethnic backgrounds of the slaves. Presence and type of religion in the community also impacted the evolution of slave culture. Common factors that link disparate slave subcultures include religion, music, crafts, food, social norms, and political philosophies. In spite of the tremendous variations in theme and tone of slave cultures, such as those in Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, or the Carolinas, there did emerge some consistencies that draw attention to commonalities. The forced bondage of slavery created the means…

European culture in Africa

Published in 1958, the book Things Fall Apart is an influential piece of work by Achebe that portrays, in most conventional style, the life and culture in a very traditional village in Africa. This book is about restoration of traditional values and identification of identity of African people in the wake of European cultural dominance and acceptance. This report is about how the writer has projected upon the life and revived the African culture as against the treat of European cultural imperialism.

In this novel the writer tries to enlighten the foreign world as regards to the cultural traditions of Ibo and in doing so the writer is also reminding the African people of their own traditions and cultural values. The writer is of the notion that the African people must not forget their old values, customs and cultural norms in this changing verve of the…

Nok Culture

The Mystery of the Nok Culture

Only within the last century years has the Western world realized the extent of civilization present in ancient Africa. Up until this time, and throughout most of the colonization of Africa, Europeans had been able to overlook the remarkable civilizations of this continent, quietly believing that the only artifact-producing ancient civilizations were isolated in such known locations as Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the Middle East. Then, in 1936, in a small tin mine near the village of Nok, excavators found a small terra cotta sculpture, apparently the head of a monkey. As Gadalla reports, "We do not know what the people called themselves, so the culture was named after the town of Nok where the first object was found." (Gadalla, 143) This early name, drawn from a speculative ignorance, prefigured the decades of ignorance to come. To this day, despite the fact…

est African Griots played highly significant roles in traditional est African societies, and were charged with a number of responsibilities that rivaled even those of kings. Although kings were responsible for the safe-keeping and custody of their subjects on a daily basis, griots were charged with the preservation of the knowledge and the history of those people, and that of their ancestors. Griots were responsible for remembering and disseminating -- at prudent times -- information from generations gone past that could both advise kings and provide benefit to the people that those kings governed. Griots simultaneously encompassed the role of advisor, historian, and guardian of worldly and sorcerous knowledge that was equivalent to the sum of the wisdom attained through particular tribes of people, which an examination of D.T. Niane's story, Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali, sufficiently demonstrates.

In a literal sense, griots were masters of the oral tradition…

The textbook definition of virginity presumes a guy is no longer a virgin once he has inserted his penis into a woman\'s vagina and ejaculates or a woman is no longer a virgin once they have taken a man\'s penis inside their vagina, which results in the breaking of the hymen (Bearman & Brückner, 2015). This definition is flawed in that it presumes that we live in a perfect society where sex only takes place between men and women. However, we have lesbians and gays and the also have sex, which means that they would be virgins even if they have enjoyed sex with each other. Lesbians would not allow a guy to penetrate their vagina, but they would enjoy sex with another woman and this would mean they would no longer be virgins. The same applies to men who have sexual relations with other men, they are no longer…

eligion in Human Transformation of the African-American topic with a focus on the African-American Christianity experience. The writer explores the transformation to Black Christianity and uncovers some of the underlying features of its existence. The writer examines the patterns and experiences of spirituality for the Black Christian experience in North America as well as the ways that the particular historical experiences of Blacks in the United States assisted in creating distinct forms of spirituality in the communities. There were five sources used to complete this paper.

The Christian movement in North America is a large one. Millions of Christians worship in churches across the continent each week and the numbers continue to climb. African-American Christians have a faith and spiritual path that is somewhat different than white Christians follow. The terms "black church" and "black Christian" can be heard periodically in theological discussions. From the music to the underlying beliefs,…