Le Savoir Africain


Book Description

Le Savoir Africain représente un parcours initiatique dans la maîtrise de l'Etre africain sans doute vécu de façon intuitive par certains d'entre nous, donc du dedans, mais incontrôlé du dehors, sur le plan rationnel, c'est-à-dire philosophique et scientifique. L'Africain moderne n'a pas conscience que son modèle de création est, en toute chose, conforme à la loi du cosmos et qu'en fait, il demeure un maître de l'Univers malgré la régression de sa pensée et de sa science traditionnelles. Avec l'ordre cartésien-capitaliste du savoir et de l'avoir, nous avons cessé d'être nous-mêmes. Cette coupure entre l'Etre du dedans et l'Etre du dehors explique à bien d'égards, nos errances spirituelles, morales, religieuses, culturelles et scientifiques, avec leurs cortèges de comportements paradoxaux. Une analyse des représentations scientifiques de la réalité laisse entrevoir la façon dont les sages d'Afrique ont pensé l'Univers et rendu sa complexité intelligible pour tous. Ce faisant, elle nous permet d'évaluer la portée fondamentale des mythes à partir desquels ont été édifiées la connaissance rationnelle (la science, la philosophie) et l'expérience de cette connaissance (la spiritualité, la religion, l'âme, la conscience, l'initiation). Notre constat est clair : la Connaissance rationnelle n'a jamais quitté la terre africaine. Ce qui a fait défaut à son essor, ce sont les contradictions engendrées par la greffe, contre nature, des modèles religieux, sociaux et culturels exogènes, naguère incapables d'en décrypter la Valeur (Maât, axiologie). En faisant écho à un Principe d'Ordre universel indépassable par la rationalité humaine, la pensée africaine formalise un mode d'accès à ce qui est (ontologie), sur le plan de l'organisation des phénomènes de création physique, chimique, biologique, humaine et sociale. Nous refondons, sur cette base, la Science de la science ou encore la théorie de la connaissance (épistémologie) appelée à s'imposer pour le salut de l'Afrique et de l'Humanité.




Society, State, and Identity in African History


Book Description

The Fourth Congress of the Association of African historians was held in Addis Ababa in May 2007. These 21 papers are a key selection of the papers presented there, with an introduction by the distinguished historian Bahru Zewde. Given the contemporary salience and the historical depth of the issue of identity, the congress was devoted to that global phenomenon within Africa. The papers explore and analyse the issue of identity in its diverse temporal settings, from its pre-colonial roots to its cotemporary manifestations. The papers are divided into six parts: Pre-Colonial Identities; Colonialism and Identity; Conceptions of the Nation-State and Identity; Identity-Based Conflicts; Migration and Acculturation; and Memory, History and Identity. The authors are scholars from Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Bahru Zewde is Emeritus Professor of History at Addis Ababa University, Executive Director of the Forum for Social Studies, and Vice-President of the Association of African Historians. He was formerly Chairperson of the Department of History and Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University. Amongst his publication is A History of Modern Ethiopia 1855-1991.




Living Together


Book Description

SUZANNE MAJHANOVICH and CHRISTINE FOX Originally published in the journal International Review of Education, Volume 54, Nos 3–4, 287–297. DOI: 10. 1007/s11159-008-9097-9 Springer Science+Business Media B. V. 2008 The papers in this collection have been selected from over 800 presentations given at the XIIIth World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, held at the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 3 to 7 September 2007. The Congress was hosted on behalf of the WCCES by the Mediterranean Society of Comparative Education and in association with the International Association of Intercultural Education. For such an int- national gathering, it was appropriate that the theme chosen was ‘‘Living Together: Education and Intercultural Dialogue’’, providing scope for c- tributions by participating scholars, policy makers and practitioners in e- cation from some 70 countries. The presenters approached contemporary educational issues with knowledge and insights about a world characterized by the tensions and demands of global and local interests, by regional c- ?icts and post-con?ict deliberations, and by the global diaspora, with c- tural, religious and linguistic diversity within both small and large states. Only a very few papers could be included for this collection, but they rep- sent some of the key topics under discussion during the Congress. The papers were selected from the recommendations of the convenors of the 13 Thematic Groups, the keynote addresses and several symposia.







Perspectives on African Witchcraft


Book Description

This volume draws on a range of ethnographic and historical material to provide insight into witchcraft in sub-Saharan Africa. The chapters explore a variety of cultural contexts, with contributions focusing on Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia and Eritrean diaspora. The book considers the concept of witchcraft itself, the interrelations with religion and medicine, and the theoretical frameworks employed to explain the nature of modern African witchcraft representations.




Church We Want


Book Description

Featuring essays from a broad range of contributors this book is a treasure for anyone interested in theological reflection from an African perspective and is a necessary resource for theologians and scholars working in a church that is steadily moving its center to the Global South.




Paris Africain


Book Description

The growth of African immigration to France at the end of the Twentieth Century wrought cultural change in this epicentre of the avant-garde in European art and music. James Winders presents the story of African immigrants to France as a unique chapter in the long history of the reception accorded expatriate artists in Paris.




The Changing Face of African Literature / Les nouveaux visages de la littérature africaine


Book Description

The Changing Face of African Literature combines both the large picture – a synopsis of current trends in African literature – and the small: studies of individual texts and of themes across several texts. The large and the small are linked by recurring themes, such as gender and sexuality, the nation-state and its collapse, AIDS, war, and suffering. The volume is comparative, bringing together literature in at least five languages and from at least ten national literatures. Such a large, comparative frame is implied by most discussion of African literature but is too seldom seen. At the same time, the collection also problematizes the comparison: the goal is to make clear what African literatures have in common but also where they diverge. What difference do distinct literary traditions, readerships, and publishing patterns make to literatures which share a common thematic and so many of the same questions and needs? By juxtaposing contemporary texts form several traditions, the intention of this collection is to bring out the themes that are currently dominant in African literatures generally. After a preface by Liz Gunner and a wide-ranging introduction by the editors, the collection presents keynote essays on new paradigms in African literature, before treating specific themes – recent crime fiction, the Afrikaans and anglophone novel, feminist literature, ‘migritude’ – and studies of recent works by individual authors such as André Brink, Henri Djombo, Pie Tshibanda, Bessora, Nadine Gordimer, and Paulina Chiziane, as well as the South African television series Yizo Yizo.







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Book Description