Final project-My Lesson Plan

For my final project in this class I chose to create a curriculum based on African Literture. Since I am hoping to become a teacher after I graduate I based this on the grade I want to teach. My course is geared towards junior AP English students who which to pick up my class as an elective. I had many ideas for this project but my true feelings and concepts came out when I was typing my final draft up.
For this course I have made the class a writing intensive class with a lot of emphasis on current events and common issues. I would like my students to complete two current events a week which would be similar to how we have done blogging in this class. My students would have to write half a page about they read about or learned about and submit it to me, the teacher. My students would also have a paper due a week with an exception of the first week. The papers that they write for this class are all part of the final project I have developed. So in total my students will have written five papers by the end of the semester. I chose four of the five topics: introduction to Africa, a paper on a certain country, a paper on child soldiers which they should tie the books they have read into, a paper on what is being done to help the people of Africa, and then I left the final topic up to my students.
Though there may be a lot of write for this class there will also be other activites for them to enjoy. I have planned to have a guest speaker come in and talk to my class. The speaker I have "lined up" has lived in Africa and wants to discuss with them who it is like to live there, what the housing is like, the crime, and social issues like AIDs awareness. On top of that I will also be taking my students on a field trip to Chicago. Like I mentioned in one of my exploration the Field Museum in Chicago had a large exhibit on Africa. So I planned to take my students there for the day and let them see first had some artifacts and pictures from Africa. My curriculum has many more elements these are just a few that I wanted to share with you. This assignment was a great learning experience and I enjoyed writing it.

Child Soldiers

Child soldiers are not a no idea in todays' world. This concept has been in places for way to long and finally people are starting to talk out about it and do something. In the past few years there have been many orginizations set up to try and help the youth of Africa. These groups provide help to those who have been attacked, those who were child soldiers, and also they are working on bring to justice those rebels who have allowed youth in combat.
I say these groups but who do i mean...There are many out there but here are just a few:
1. "SOS Childrens Villages" which helps children in need and tries to give them the love and care they need. They have four prinicples and those are every child needs a mother, every child grows up most naturally with brothers and sisters, each child has a home and each child grows up within a supportive village environment.
2. "Outside the Dream" which works in Uganda and offers edcation to orphans, the homeless, and former child soldier. This project is based on volenteer support.
3. "International Medical Corps." this project was the most interesting not only do they try and help child soldiers overcome there horrible times and battles with mental health but they also focus on other areas. They also help spread awareness for AIDS/HIV and health care.

These programs may not be the answer to this problem but they are a start.

Johnny Mad Dog

Johnny Mad Dog illistrates for us the horror of the rebel army child soldiers but also gives us a look at the other side. This book is effective because of the dual narrators showing you both sides of the story. The two main characters Johnny Mad Dog and Laokole are both about the same age but have very different views on life. Johnny just wants to be an intellectual and in charge while Laokole just wants finish high school and keep her family safe. They both present of us with inner stories which adds to the big picture.
Johnny Mad Dog was very intersting. Since we got to look into his inner thoughts it was easy to tell something wasn't quite right. Mad Dog would convince himself of something that wasn't true and this happened on numerous occasions. We really don't learn a lot of truths from him; we don't even know how long he really was in school.
This novel not only was able to show us both sides of the story but it also enlighted us with what was really happening in the attacks. It was bothersome that the people there seemed used to the attacks and raids. Because of Laokole story we are able to see how they hid the things they can't carry and had decoys for important things. Mad Dog shows us the crulty of raids when he rapes women and shoots people down in the middle of the road. The life these children are leading are hard unchanging lives. These attacks need to end.
What gets me the most is that these things actually happen and there isn't an end in sight. Young children are given guns and basically told go have fun shoot anything. This abuse of children and life needed to be stopped. This novel is eye opening.

The Bleeding of the Stone

This was my first time reading this book and it has turned into one of my favorites of the semester. I found this novel to be a bit confusing at times with the mixed up timeline and the unusual names. Asouf, the main character, was my favorite character and the life he lead was inspiring.
It was odd to read about Asouf and his family when it's compared to the other readings we have done this semester. Most of the other novels we have read were about the community or showed aspects of it. This novel was more about the individual and ones inner thoughts and turmoil. Asouf and his family lived in the desert and had little to no interaction with other people. This was his fathers belief and doing. From what I understood it seemed that he found this the only way to escape the evils of others. Based on this life of secluction Asouf did not know how to deal with other people and when he did he was to shy to talk. For this is mother called him a girl, it didn't really help the situation.
Another theme I found in this novel was that of biblical thought or comparison. The author Ibrahim Al-Koni could have based this story off of the bible. There are stories or references to things such as the great flood, Cain-the murderous brother of Able, crusifiction, the endless deserts and there were also many biblical quotes. Al-Koni did a spendid job intigrating these examples into his novel. I liked it because it shows us that Christianity has been picked up in Africa and with things such as this novel, it is spreading and being accepted.

Energy Consumption in Africa

When Africa is compared to other continents we can see that it has the lowest energy comsumption rate. Even thought Africa uses energy in all of its day to day activites it's rank as a third world country places it at the bottom of the totum poll in comsumption. But that doesnt mean it's not the rest of the world they to have to deal with economic development, basic living standards and the need for energy.The rates of energy consumption are constantly changing due to things such as advances in technology or population growth. Since technology isn't as advanced in Africa many still rely on wood and charcoal as a source of energy. But, even with those changing rates Africa just can't compete with the more developed continents. Africa also holds the rank as lowest in the world average TOE (ton of oil uquivalant) they only have 0.6 ton per capita. "This is three times less than the average, seven times less than in Europe and fifteen times less than America." (ADEA-ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY IN AFRICA)

According to the US Department of Energy (1991):Per capita modern energy consumption has been declining over the last 10 years and is set to decline even further as population continues to increase and electricity generation continues to show a downward trend. The generation of hydrogen-based electricity has dropped by more than 20 per cent in the past decade.

According to the ADEA: If one considers that the Republic of South Africa accounts for 40% of Africa's energy consumption on its own and that North African countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) also have a relatively high level of demand, this means that the average consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa is so low that it does not make possible the economic development required to reduce poverty.

A few plans have been put into action for developing energy in Africa. There are going to be attempts to bring populations who have been left out into a commercial system of energy. There are going to be attempts at numerous actions to make this happen. They hope to make produce that would be easier to recycle while promoting natural gas consumptions which is an abundant reource in parts of Africa. These are just a couple of the plans that are hoped to go into effect.

Waiting for an Angel part 2

There are two themes that really stuck out to me in this novel. To be honest I don't really know if we can call them themes but the subject of religion and how Africans have worked numerous values of the American social culture into their own lives.

Christianity seems to fill these characters hearts and beliefs for even when they are at their darkest moment there is some sort of biblical reference or comparison made. The most powerful bibical reference I found was when Lomba was taken out of solitute to help the warden but in return the warden doesn't release him for his own selfish reasons. "He was just man. Man is his basic, rudimentary state, easily moved by powerful emotions like love, lust, anger, greed and fear, but totally dumb to the finer, aquired emotions like pity, mercy, humour and justice."(pg. 41). We all have a self vain running through us and we can see this in the quote made, we are just man.

In the chapter, "The Angel," we are given many glances as African Christian views there is even reference to the winged angel with flight. The man who is shot and killed talks about death and the beliefs of christians as if he could feel no pain, as if the angel were blocking him from the harshness of reality." He made his death out to be heroic or christian like, he compared it to the christians in the Colosseum. Thought I disagree with the idea of waiting for death, asking for it, I found his faith to be inspiring.

Religion wasn't the only thing that stood out to me it was America and Europe in Africa. African people, or at least the ones in this novel seem to be seeking the comforts of other coutries achievements. They were finally able to dream, to obtain their desires. Bola's sisters wanted jobs (broadcasting for CNN, a fashion designer) that not to long ago Africans could only dream of. It gives me hope hearing these dreams. Because now, unlike a time not to long ago, they have a chance at reaching them. Though there are still not every family is as well off as Bola's but it's a start.

Waiting for an Angel part 1

This was my first time reading, Waiting for an Angel, and so far I've found it to be disturbing but informative. The writing style threw me off a bit at first with a bit of character confusing and story placement. For those exact reasons this books seems more powerful than it would be if it were written with a single storyline through time. Coming in behind that I find the characters to be the mutually interesting and informative.

Lomba from what i've already witnessed is a man of many stories and great talent. I found the poetry to be very powerful in meaning and are a great way of showing emotion. The part in the first charter where he places an S.O.S. his poetry is a desperate but beautiful way of showing how he knew he wasn't going to escape, "It was just a message in a bottle, thrown without much hope into the sea..."(pg39). The cells here both on a regular day or a day in solitude are a place of hell that for these people inescapable.

In the second chapter, the story of "The Angel," though I do not yet know who the character is; I can't help but dislike him. I did like the story of the fortune teller but the way this character faced death seemed wasteful to me. Yes, he may have felt death coming but he did not have to walk right into it. All I could find in this character is weakness and to much trust in the "beliefs/predictions" of another.

Oil in Africa

The excavating of oil from Nigeria and other countries in Africa has become a new trend in the past few years. The oil from these countries is popular because it's seen as "sweet" crude that has low sulphur content. Due to these factors it is easier and cheaper to refine into gasoline and other products. And, finally, the transportation costs are lower than getting if from the Middle East.

Now, as we all know this new found source of fuel/oil has its ups and downs. The African people are the ones who see these ups and downs, not us. You may ask where all the money goes because lord knows there is a great deal of it. Sadly, large amounts of the income makes its way into the hands of the ruling richer classes rather than the lower more in need groups. When calculated out more than 50% of the population receives less than $2.00 a day. Now not all of the wealthier people and groups keep the money for themselves. There are some activists out there who have pushed to use oil money on improvement of education, health and infrastructure. There is even an African Infrastructure Foundation in place with the goals to:

"To operate and carry out activities as a Non-governmental Organization (NGO) in a most efficient manner towards providing first class services to the African community and African and international development organizations to sustain Africa's development infrastructure with the purpose of improving the quality of the environment and enhancing socio-economic development through the principles of sustainable development. We believe that when Africa's infrastructure are conceived, developed, managed and governed sustainably, there will be sustainability in the quality and health of the environment, enhanced socio-economic development and sustainable poverty reduction. "

Though there are organizations such as this placed to try and better Africa that doesn't mean we'll see immediate results or even any at all. Right now the main issue of disturbance is that of corruption within Africa and its oil trade. There is an estimated 45 percent of oil stolen or wasted in Nigeria's oil along. There are often criminal gangs or rebels who sabotage oil lines daily in the delta. Pipelines can be cut or tapped in many ways but the most common are ways are with hacksaws and funnels. This stealing my help out the individual but it is killing the nation. Oil is not only causing pollution and the death of sea life but also is taking the lives of the African people by way of murder. We must reexamine if we are doing this for the right reasons, not just for the convenience.

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Sg8sXjJcM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbrCzDOfmyc

The Woman, Ancestor Stones.

Ancestor Stones, by Aminatta Forna was a wonderful novel that shed light the lives of women in a new way. In the novels that we read before this women where not a topic subject rather the warfare and colonization by the Europeans was. I learned that women provided many things for their husbands, children and community.

Since men in the areas we have studied seemed to be the heads of the house, the spouse to numerous, and father to many I just figured they we in charge of everything. Truth is they aren't. Women seem to take the lead in many roles such as provider of food and in a sense the head of the household. In this novel, (Ancestor Stones) women are the ones who do all the fishing and cooking. I think the procedures of fishing are done very beautifully for you don't just run down to the banks and cast your nets. You must wait for the wife that is the favorite and follow her lead. "The women slipped and scrambled down the bank into the water like buffalo on a collapsing cliff. They were jostled for the prize spots close to the bank or else midstream." (pg. 60) This passage produces great imagery for the reader for I can see all these women run down the sands.

Also, I found it very interesting that the women are given a name by their husbands upon their marriage. When I compare that to present day U.S. beliefs I see the similarities but it seems odd that we are comparable. In the U.S. as we all now the wife normally (not in all cases) takes the mans last night as her own. In both cases the women typically have no say, it is a newer belief here in the states that the woman keeps her own or the man will take hers. There are still a lot of disputes over this process.

Diamond Wars

Diamonds symbolize many things including wealth and love but in Africa they are a sign of death, power, and terror. The Diamond wars in Africa promote violence almost on the same level as the slave trade once did. Across African war is being fuel by the government and rebels as a mask for this smuggling enterprise. This stone the diamond, also known as the conflict stone or blood diamonds, comes from the mines and rivers of Africa ranging from Angola to the Congo. Diamonds in these areas fund rebel groups like the UNITA (Union for the Total Independence of Angola) and the RUF (Revolutionary United Front).

The conflict stones are diamonds from areas controlled by forces against legitimate governments and are used to fund their military actions. These stones have been used to rebels to obtain firearms and other illegal items. It is hard to trace the origin of a diamond once it has been brought to market and impossible once its been polished. For this reason it makes it hard to catch those in rebel groups.

Blood diamonds as some people know them(thanks to the fill starring Leonard di Caprio) are just another way of describing the brutality behind the diamond extraction from Africa. In places such as Sierra Leone, people had their hands, arms, feet, lips, and ears chopped off during a civil war pushed by diamonds as punishment.

However bad diamonds may seen there are some instance where diamonds are seen as life giving gifts, a way out of exile and poverty. At the bottom of muddy rivers in areas near Sierra Leone many rebel free families and individuals search for the powerful diamonds a way of escaping poverty. If a family or individual was to find a diamond they would be able to afford school, to help their family eat, to help their village expand, or they could possibly escape Africa altogether.
It seems ironic that the stone that stands for love and matrimony in one culture (the US) also stands for death and war (Africa). The diamond race in Africa reminds me of the slave trade so much. No, people aren't being killed as freely but there is still drive to conquers others land for diamonds and the murdering for self gain. It is disgusting.

"It has been said that war is the price of peace… Angola and Sierra Leone have already paid too much. Let them live a better life."

--Ambassador Juan Larrain, Chairman of the Monitoring Mechanism on sanctions against UNITA.

"Diamonds are forever" it is often said. But lives are not.We must spare people the ordeal of war, mutilations and death for the sake of conflict diamonds."
--Martin Chungong Ayafor, Chairman of the Sierra Leone Panel of Experts

Female Genital Mutiliation

The Ancestors Stone novel was a very powerful book that showed us how over time things in this family changed and adapted to the white mans way. There were many things in this novel that disturbed me both nothing more than the subject of FGM, female genital mulitation. FGM is known by numerous names: female circumcision, female genital cutting and anything that refers to partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. It can be done for either cultural, religious, or non-therapeutic reasons.

This social custon started occuring about 2000 years ago in what Muslims call "al-gahiliyyah" the era of ignorance, amongst different African tribes as a custon not a religious act. The procedure can occur anywhere after birth to some time before a girls first pregnancy, most of the cases occur between the ages of four and ten. There are numerous side effects to FGM: death, infection, HIV, tumors, hermorrhages, shock, kidney stones, sterility, depression, and sexual dysfunction.

There are four different versions of this procedure according to the WHO, World Health Orginization.
1. Type I: "Is the total or partial removal of the clitoris or the prepuce. It results in the scarring and nerve damage." Also known as Sunna Circumcision.

2. Type II: "Is the total or partial removal of the clitoris and the labia minora with or without excision of the labia majora." Also known as Clitoridectomy.

3. Type III: "Is the narrowing of the vaginal orifice with creation of a covering seal by cutting and appositioning the labia minora and the labia majora. This is the most extensive form of FGM and about 10% of all FGM are done this way. This procedure removes lots of tissue and leaves the labia majora held together by thorns and stitches. In the bush the procedure is normally done by a midwife and no anesthesia is issued. " Also known as Infibulation.
4. Type IV: "Is all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes: pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization. These methods are primarily found in isolated ethnic groups. "

This procedure is practiced in many different countries but is the most populous in Africa. There are 14 counties that are known to practice these forms of mutilation:

1. Burkina Faso uses type II but there is now a law im place that says no to FGM,.

2. Central African Republic uses types I and II but since 1996 there has been a law in place jailing and fining those caught.

3. Cote d'Ivoire uses type II and fines and jails those caught and also has a penalty if a death is caused.

4. Djibouti uses type II but if you are caught you are jailed for five years and fined.

5. Egypt uses types I, II, and III but it has a ban on it, however, many tribes and villages still practice this belief.

6. Eritrea uses types I, II, and III and only in the last year has put a ban on it.

7. Ghana uses types I, II, and III but doesn't strongly enforce its laws against FGM.

8. Guinea uses I, II, and III but they have harsh punishments if you are found guilty you are punished with hard labor for life and if the female dies then they are sentenced to death.

9. Nigeria uses types I, II, and III but has no ban on it so the people are free to still practice FGM.

10. Senegal uses types II and III and it is seen as a criminal act that is punishable by prison time.

11. Sudan uses types I, II, and III and there is no law prohibiting it but there have been a few arrests made over type III.

12. Tanzania uses types II and III, they also have a law against it which places people in jail and fines them but there has yet to be anyone procecuted.

13. Togo uses type II if you are caught preforming FGM there is prison time and fines, if you know that someone is preforming this and don't turn them in you can also be jailed and fined.

14. Uganda uses types I and II and there is no law against it.

Jomo Kenyatta for President!!

Jomo Kenyatta can be accredited with many things but we should solute him for his accomplishments in Kenya. He was not only the first Prime Minister but also the first President and considered the founding father of Kenya. He came from nothing and ended with a legacy including schools, roads and airports named after him. No matter who are you, you have to agree that he has done a lot and saved countless.

Jomo Kenyatta was born in 1889 in Kamau wa Ngengi in the village of Negenda, Gatundu, in British East Africa which later became Kenya. He was a member of the Kikuyu people also known as Agikuyu, which is the most populous group in Africa. His parents were Muigai and Wambui and also had a stepbrother James Muigai but there is little information available about then and Jomo’s early life. However, after his parents died he was placed in the care and teachings of his grandfather, a medicine man, and also his uncle Ngengi.

He began his schooling after taking an interest in the customs and culture he was raised in. His first place of schooling was at the Scottish Mission Center in Thogoto. While in schooling away from his hometown he can under the influence of Christianity and was converted in 1914. His Christian name was John Peter but it was later changed to Johnstone Kamau and eventually in 1938 it became Jomo.
After his schooling he moved to Nairobi during the First World War to live with relatives and to work as a clerk. After the war he became a storekeeper for a European firm and started to show his African pride in a beaded belt he wore. Eventually he married to a Grace Wahu and they had two children Peter and Margaret.

He finally entered the world of politics in 1924 and became active in the KCA, Kikuyu Central Association, which eventually made him as a representative of the Kikuyu land problems. He made many different appearances in their name. He also published his own newspaper, Muigwithania which talked about his culture and farming methods. Finally, in 1930 he returned home to fight for the women of his country and the issue of female circumcision.

After much traveling, teaching, and marriages he finally returned to Kenya where he was appoint President of the Kenya African Union. However, many white settlers weren’t happy with this and he was arrested in 1952 for his involvement with the Mau Mau rebellion and was jailed for seven years. On June 1st, 1963 he became prime minister of the Kenyan government. At the end of the year they declared independence and became a republic and Kenyatta was the first leader in the new nation.

Quotes by Kenyatta:
--"When the Missionaries arrived, the Africans had the Land and the Missionaries had the Bible. They taught us how to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible.”

--"The European condemns the Africans for having two wives yet he keeps two mistresses"
--"I have no intention of retaliating or looking backwards. We are going to forget the past and look forward to the future."

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

The Underdevelopment of Africa, by Walter Rodney was a wonderful piece of information that helped me to decipher facts and ideas that were presented to me in other places in this class. It also presented me new information about African culture and the true nature behind the slave trades.

What I found to be most interesting and new was the concept of music in the African villages and towns. Music could represent many different things to the African people; it could be used in birth, initiation marriage, death, recreation, or just to celebrate something small within the community. "Music and dance had key roles in 'uncontaminated' African societies." I like how music was a thing to celebrate to show off the skills of one drummer to another. I feel that their music is more heartfelt and inspiring than that of the present day Americans. Very few of us create our own music or use in a celebratory way, our music is taken for granted.

My favorite line in this piece came early on and it was, "We should speak in terms of cultures rather than civilizations for a culture is total way of life. It embraces what people ate and what they wore; the way they walked and the way they talked; the manner in which they treated death and greeted the new-born." (chapter 2). I liked this because it should that just like everyone else Africans are very distinct and they vary from place to place just like everyone else. I think this is quote that should be used to show that inside we are all the same looking for the same things and we all deal with our own unique hardships. Just because the color of our skin is different doesn't make anyone any less human.

There was another quote that I found interesting and disturbing at the same time, "The title of this section is deliberately chosen to call attention to the fact that the shipments were all by Europeans to markets controlled by Europeans, and this was in the interest of European capitalism and nothing else." This is of interest to me because there were many different slave trades going on the Arab slave trade, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the East Africa slave trade but ultimately they were all started, founded, control by the Europeans and they were the ones who gained the most out of any trade. It is sick to see that one continent can wreck such havoc on another and be proud of the profit they gain.

This piece by Rodney touches on many sore and depressing subjects it was hard to read. It's sad to think that until reading these excerpts and other novels in this class that I really had no idea what went on in the slave trades. It was more than just forcing slaves onto an over crowded boat. These pieces show a truth that many are to ignorant to understand or accept.

** here is a good video link on the present day Arab Slave trade in the Sudan!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpYTusFqeDM

A Heart of Darkness

Before this class I had never read Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, but now I can see why many people find this to be the best written book in our language. The words he brings together create beautiful descriptions and pictures. I found his way of writing to be more interesting than the story, though that to is high-quality.

Conrad has this wonderful gift of drawing the reader into his story. My favorite line by this man can be found on page 70, "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much." This was stated by Marlow right before he started his long tail to the other men. Before I read this line I didn't have much interest in the story.

What I found most intriguing about the before mentioned line was that it is pure truth. No matter what there is always fighting, always has been. It's sad to see that we base many things on color and religion. This quote proves to me that the white man had just a ego that others lives didn't matter, self gain is where our hopes lay.

What I found most inspiring about Conrad was his ability to draw pictures through his words and there are a few other quotes that help me step into the world of the Congo:

1. Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him -- all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men. pg 70

2. Though the house was as still as a house in a city of the dead pg 76
3. Her ensign dropped limp like a rag; the muzzles of the long six-inch guns stuck out all over the low hull; the greasy, slimy swell swung her up lazily and let her down, swaying her thin masts. In the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, firing into a continent. pg 79

4. This was simple prudence, white men being so much alike at a distance that he could not tell who I might be pg 82
5. One evening a grass shed full of calico, cotton prints, beads, and I don't know what else, burst into a blaze so suddenly that you would have thought the earth had opened to let an avenging fire consume all that trash. pg91

Every line I have listed stuck out to me as being profound. Heart of Darkness, is a work of art. Conrad created a novel of splendid poetic lines of adventure. I sank into the words as if they had attached an anchor to my feet. Africa is rotten but full of character.

The Kings Ghost Part 2

From reading this novel I have found that William Henry Sheppard was the first black American missionary in the Congo. When I first started this novel I didn't think that a black man would have been able to walk free in the lands of Africa. So once I learned that he not only was free of the prison of slavery but also was able to visit different villages and share the word of his lord I was amazed.

Sheppard is a rather unique man with a wide variety of occupations throughout his lifetime. To begin with he not only had some schooling but also finished college. The Congo is where he grew his real fame. He spent many years there leading or co-leading expeditions and interacting with the locals. While there he learned the language of the people; he was the first to do so. After visiting the Congo he returned to his life of ministry and was praised by both black and white followers of the faith. It seems odd that his man has celebrated many different experiences when other men the same color as he were being treated like animals.

Though I find everything Sheppard to be remarkable I wish that he didn't have to experience the Congo. If there was an instance in time where he didn't have to visit that would also have been a time of no murder and slavery in the Congo. However, we are not in a perfect world and I find it horrifying that today a hundred years after this story of holocaust and butchery that we Americans are still participating in similar acts.

The Kings Ghost Part 1

When I picked up this book I really didn't know what to expect. I knew about the slave trade from my high school history classes but I was never taught about what was happening across the world in Africa. This novel presented to me a new world and a different look at history. A view from people in distress and missery.

I found this novel to be full of wordful images of gruesome slature and beating. This was a lifestyle I have never piered into. This book showed me that even in this day in age there are still evils in the world promoting us to harm others for our own well being and status. I have gain a new respect for the things that I hold dear and the cush lifestyle I have been blessed with.

There were many quotes in the first half of this book that really shook me up because of the truth behind them. There is a few lines on page 129 that really eye opening. The part I am talking about it where Father Achte is with a group of rebels and they treat him with a bit more respect than he was expecting and he learns of their hardships. "With his own hands poured salt and pepper on the bloody wounds made by the chicotte and ordered the sick from his post thrown alive into the Lualaba River." This passage really showed me how cold hearted and ignorant the white men in Africa where. Kill a lot to gain a little. Great motto.

End of the Slave Trade in Africa

Africa has seen many horrors in its long history and it is hard to say what is worst the holocausts, the slavery, or just the overtaking of the european government. Slavery for the continent began in the 16th century and lasted till the 19th and in it's time took many millions of lives and ripped apart numerous villages and families leaving the native people in a state of panic and distress.

The African slave trade has a few different titles in our history supported by the white man the most common are the Atlantic slave trade and the transatlantic slave trade. They supplied the New World of colonies with workers/slaves by shipping over packed boats of slaves across the sea. Most slave traders we stationed in West Africa and Central Africa and obtained their merchandise (slaves) by trading, raids and kidnapping. This was a very disturbing process that supplied the Americas with between 9.4 and 12 million slaves but that does account for the ones who didn't make it there. More than five times as many slaves were taken to the Americas over Europe because they were more in need. In the americas there were developing colonies who needed slaves to work their plantations and in the mines. Mainly slaves were shipped to Brazil, the Spanish empire and the Carribean.

The white man saw the slave trade as just a means of work or a way around work but the Africans saw it differently. Africans called the trading Maafa which means "holocaust." These people witnessed a loss of a nation and a way of life. The trading of slaves killed off or tore apart many different cultures and beliefs leaving us with missing pieces to parts of Africas' history. To add to the all this miscommunication of this period there rumors/myth among the white man that slaves went willingly and enjoyed their lives of misery. This is proven untrue by the number of revolts and killing slaves committed in the quest for freedom. Due to slavery we find the most displacement of African in the American Continents.

Around the time of 1787 is when people first started to protest the act of slavery and question the moral rights of it. Many countries contributed to the abolishement of the slave trade but Denmark in 1792 was the first to but a ban on it soon followed by Britian. Britain then slowly tried to convert everyone to the belief that the slave train was immoral but the owning of slaves was permitted. It was a very hypocritical approach. But finally in 1831 when Brazil finally abolished slavery there was a global agreement that their would be no more slaves. Thought Brazil and Cuba agreed their would be no more there was still an illegal trade till the1 1860's but that to was eventually shut down.

A day in the village...

During my first visit through the Village of Umofia I was caught up in the pictures that so clearly illustrate this story. I loved the pictures of the people dressed in their paints and beads it was just another reminder to me on how different our cultures are when it comes to personal attire. In visiting this the village I felt as if I was really in African walking amongst the natives and living among them.

What I found to be the most interesting was the the actual houses/huts. They weren't at all what I was picturing and it was nice to get a real look at what this people lived in. I was picturing plain flat walls but from what this pictures show us they are filled with amazing designs that must have taken a long time to complete. This village really is a beautiful place and I plan on exploring further soon.

Things Fall Apart

This was my first time reading, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. This novel was very moving and present issues from other cultures I have never learned about before. I found this book to be facinating with all the diversity and different views on life.

This novel addressed many things that I wrote about in my second blog about mythology and the passing on of stories through different villages and timelines. After doing research on this topic I found it intersting to see different views this novel presented that were condridictory to what I already learned. In my research I found that twins were suppossed to be seen as sacred and to be a twin was a great honor. In this novel being a twin was not so "sacred." To be a twin was a death sentance not a gift.

My favorite part of this novel was all the different stories these characters told to one another. Be it for a young child to learn a lesson or for older people to explain something from the past. I find these stories to be a great was to keep morals present in the lives of our offsprings and a great sence of history.

Along with the theme of storytelling this novel presented a new lifestyle I have not yet come across in another readings. I never seen the lives of African people present in such vicious and murderous ways before. I understand that the killings that occured in this novel we a way of life and a part of "religion" but it was just so shocking to actually find the reasoning behind them.

The end of this novel brought about a shocking relization for me about ones beliefs and lifestyles and what can happen to someone if their way of like is comprimised. Okonkwo has strong faith and believed in the teachings of his ancestors that he couldn't bring himself to convert to the ways of the white man. He would much rather take his own life and be cursed than to follow in something he didn't believe. Okonkwo is a strong character full of a strength we rarely see. I admire his faith.

African storytelling and mythology

The African culture is deep in beliefs and values that date back from thousand of years ago. Throughout time these people have found many different ways of keeping track of track of their ancestors and then beliefs of the people before them. We can see this is the form of myths and storytelling.

The myths of the African people are not only a record of the past but many myths are still part of everyday life for these people. Many different cultures in Africa base their lives around the ancient stories and myths.

Myths for these people can come in many forms. Many of them are base on the origin of the world or what life after death will be like and how you get there. The reason for so many versions of a single story is because of traveling tribes and the split of religions throughout time. At one time the Sahara not only split the continent by region but also my religion. To one side you could find Christianity accompanied by large numbers of missionaries and to the other there were the beliefs of Islam. Migration along with conversion between the regions brought many new stories and meshed together older ones. Development is an ongoing process in the preservation and creation of myths.

Though there may be many different beliefs and varieties in the African culture there are a few things their myths have in common. Many myths present characters that are spirits, deity, pantheon, ancestors, rules and heroes the people lookup to. Also, in many cultures the earth, sun and moon are seen as gods; gods and goddesses are key to many myths. There are many themes seen in African mythology. The subject of god is always a big issue. In many stories it isn’t clear whether god came from an egg or if the earth did. It presents many issues and subjects the believers to numerous question and disbelievers. Another theme seem amongst the thousand of myths is that of twins. African view twins as being very special beings and are seen as almost sacred. And finally, the trickster, in many different stories there is a trickster of some sort shown, normally in the body of an animal. The trickster is seen by many as the messenger between the world and the gods but also as a destroyer. The trickster shows that survival is possible in all faces of devastation.

Every culture has there own myths and folklores but none compare to the soul and history of those of Africa. These myths not only are not only a key to the past but also a gateway to thousands of cultures all sharing their beliefs.

For more information:
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/african-mythology.php
http://www.a-gallery.de/docs/mythology.htm
http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/A-Am/African-Mythology.html

For more information on gods:
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/african_culture.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:African_mythology_stubs

Sarah, the basics.

My name is Sarah Pollard. This is my third year here at Western. I plan on majoring in English, secondary education with a minor in communication. I've spent much of the past two years trying to figure out what I really want to do with my life and just recently decided on teaching. After I put my time in here at Western I would like to join one of the teaching fellows and travel to different parts of the country and teach in new environments.
Though Kalamazoo has been home to me for the past two years my heart is back in my hometown of Saint Joseph. It is a smaller town right on the shores of Lake Michigan. I graduated in 2006 from Lake Michigan Catholic with a class of 31 kids. Coming to Western after high school was a sort of culture shock. I have found the people here to be much more accepting and open-minded
I took this class not only to gain more credits but also because of my roommate and her family. My roommate, Saskia, was born here in Michigan but her parents weren't. Her father was born in South Africa and her mother (I am not sure where from) was a missionary there. After her mother Paula came to campus last semester and read from her book about life in Africa I found an interest in the African culture. I am hoping that this class allows me to gain more knowledge and a better understanding of a different lifestyle and culture.