The African Experience

by Khapoya, Vincent B.; Khapoya, Vincent B

• ISBN13: 9780205851713
• ISBN10: 0205851711
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-02-21
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Updated in its 4thedition, The African Experienceis the only interdisciplinary survey to examine this region of the world from geographic, linguistic, social, historical, and political perspectives. Drawing on research from all of the social sciences, this text captures Africa in its complex totality. The African Experiencehelps readers develop a comprehensive and critical understanding of Africa, one that allows them to grasp the region's internal dynamics and its evolving place in the world.

Author Biography

Vincent B. Khapoya is Professor of Political Science at Oakland University.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xiii
Africa: The Continent and Its People	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Geography	p. 2
Demography	p. 7
Language and Culture	p. 11
African Traditional Institutions	p. 19
Introduction	p. 19
Kinship	p. 23
Forms of Marriage	p. 26
Nonkinship Groups	p. 32
The Individual in African Societies	p. 36
Family Life and Socialization	p. 41
Family Life	p. 41
Socialization	p. 42
Traditional Religious Beliefs	p. 45
Belief in God	p. 46
Belief in Spirits	p. 49
Belief in Ancestors	p. 49
Religion as a Way of Life	p. 50
Politics and Government in Traditional Africa	p. 52
Segmental Systems	p. 53
Hierarchical Systems	p. 54
Pyramidal Systems	p. 55
Political Development in Historic Africa	p. 59
Introduction	p. 59
Prehistoric Africa	p. 63
Ancient Africa	p. 66
The Kingdoms of Egypt	p. 66
Other Ancient African Civilizations	p. 70
Medieval Africa	p. 71
Early Modern Africa	p. 81
Nineteenth-Century Africa	p. 83
North Africa (c. 1800-1900)	p. 84
The African Sudan (c. 1800-1900)	p. 85
West Africa (c. 1800-1900)	p. 87
East Africa (c. 1800-1900)	p. 92
Conclusions	p. 96
Colonialism and the African Experience	p. 99
Introduction	p. 99
Reasons for Europe's Interest in Africa	p. 100
Imperialism in Africa: The Rationale	p. 103
Race and European Colonizers: "The Civilizing Missions"	p. 106
The British Mission	p. 107
The French Mission	p. 108
The French and the British Contrasted: Senghor and Khama	p. 109
Fanon's Theory of French Racism	p. 111
The Portuguese Mission	p. 112
The Belgian Mission	p. 114
Colonial Administrative Styles	p. 116
Indirect Rule	p. 117
Direct Rule	p. 119
Company Rule	p. 122
Indirect Company Rule	p. 123
The Economics of Colonialism	p. 125
Expropriation of Land	p. 125
Exploitation of Labor	p. 127
Hut and Poll Tax	p. 128
Labor Conscription	p. 129
Cash Crops and One-Crop Economies	p. 130
Prohibition of Inter-African Trade and Communications	p. 131
Immigrant Labor	p. 132
Lack of Industrialization	p. 134
Colonial Rule: Did the Africans Benefit?	p. 134
African Nationalism and the Struggle for Freedom	p. 139
Introduction	p. 139
Modern African Nationalism	p. 141
Colonial Oppression	p. 142
Missionary Churches	p. 143
World Wars I and II	p. 149
Pan-Africanism	p. 151
The League of Nations and the United Nations	p. 157
Independence Movements	p. 160
Conclusions	p. 165
African Independence: The First Thirty Years	p. 169
Introduction	p. 169
Decolonization and the Transfer of Power	p. 170
Centralization of Power	p. 170
Regionalism and Separatism: Nigeria	p. 172
Regionalism and Separatism: East Africa	p. 173
Decolonization in French Colonies	p. 174
Problems at Independence	p. 176
Popular Expectations	p. 176
Lack of Economic Development	p. 177
Arbitrary Borders	p. 179
Political Instability	p. 181
Policy Choices after Independence	p. 183
One-Party Systems	p. 183
African Socialism	p. 187
Tanzania	p. 189
Ghana	p. 193
Guinea	p. 195
Senegal	p. 196
African Capitalism	p. 197
What Went Wrong in Independent Africa?	p. 200
One-Party Systems	p. 200
Personality Cults	p. 201
Coups d'etat and Civil Wars	p. 201
Refugees	p. 203
Centralized Economies	p. 203
International Debt	p. 204
Corruption	p. 204
HIV/AIDS	p. 205
The Gains of Independence	p. 206
The African Struggle for Democracy and Free Markets	p. 209
Introduction	p. 209
The Struggle for Democracy	p. 210
Kenya: Flirting with Democracy	p. 211
Mugabe: "Zimbabwe Belongs to Me"	p. 213
Democratic Republic of Congo	p. 214
Cameroon: Paul Biya's Democracy	p. 215
Economic Reforms	p. 219
NEPAD	p. 225
Conclusions	p. 227
Africa in World Affairs	p. 233
Introduction	p. 233
The Cold War	p. 236
The Non-Aligned Movement	p. 238
The Organization of African Unity	p. 241
The African Union	p. 248
Objectives of the African Union	p. 249
Organs of the African Union	p. 250
Financial Institutions of the AU	p. 251
The United States and Africa	p. 252
The Soviet Union and Africa	p. 255
Conclusions	p. 261
Index	p. 267
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