...Colonization and Cultural Change in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe There is a major importance of customs and traditions in the African nations. The customs and traditions decide the fate of the men, women, and children of each separate tribe, as well as how the men are viewed from neighboring tribes. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart achieves the paradoxical effect of enabling African tribal life to be accessible to western society, while simultaneously excluding it. The incursion of the colonizing force is changing or threatening to change almost every aspect of their society: religion, family structure, gender roles, relations, and trade. In this novel Achebe uses the term Locusts to symbolize the arrival of white settlers who will feast on and exploit the resources of the Igbo. Achebe aims to show that Africa is not the uncivilized, simple country that it is portrayed as by other cultures. His work aims to show the reader to understand the tribe and assist the reader to think about the reasoning behind the beliefs that may be viewed as odd or illogical. For instance; that a child should be murdered or the spirits of the dead must be appeased, if not it can have grave consequences for some tribal members. Or the tribal concept of 'bloating' they simply take people suffering with it to the evil forest and leave them for dead, to them this perfectly logical. Paul Brians (Washington State University, 2002) states that "its most striking feature is to create...
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...“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, was written in 1959, but translated and published into an English version in 1994. The purpose of this book explains about how the African people acted, the race relation, and gender roles in Nigeria. The race relation was a main part to the theme of the book towards the end. There was a cultural collision between the Westerners and Africans. What had happened was when the Westerners went to Nigeria, to the Igbo tribe, they wanted to help spread their religion as missionaries. The Igbo tribe believed in several gods and seeing the Westerners come into their tribe, the Igbo people were irritated. Nwoye was the son of one of a well known leaders in the Igbo tribe and was impacted by when the Westerners...
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...In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, men are presented as the more prominent gender in the village of Umuofia. The novel was written in 1959, and the purpose of the book was to provide a perspective to those who feel as if African Americans have no culture. This novel is set during the 1890’s in the poor villages of Nigeria such as Umuofia. When the book starts, we are introduced to two characters, Unoka and Okonkwo. Both of these men are opposites to one another, and Okonkwo is considered a success in the village of Umuofia, while Unoka is considered the village’s largest failure. Chinua Achebe portrays men as failures, masculine, and as weak minded. Unoka is Okonkwo’s father and in the village, Unoka is known as being the most irresponsible man in Umuofia due to him owing money to most of the people of the village and him not being able to provide for his family most of the time. “Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor, and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never...
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...man was Okonkwo. At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. That was not luck. At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man say yes his chi says yes also. Okonkwo said yes very strongly; so his chi agreed. And not only his chi but his clan too, because it judged a man by the work of his hands.” Overview of missionaries entering Thesis statement describing the elements of each culture, their clash, and how the English destroyed the spirit of an entire culture by imposing theirs. This collapsing culture and broken spirit of the clans led to the suicide of Okondwo. Body Paragraph 1 – Okondwo’s Culture Perception of Masculinity (Gender Roles) “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness.” “To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.” “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man.” Traditions & Societal Status Taking titles and marrying multiple wives is the ultimate goal. “Having spoken plainly so far, Okoye said the next half a dozen sentences in proverbs. Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.” Spirituality “When a man is at peace with his gods and ancestors...
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...Chinualumogo Achebe, Chinua Achebe was raised by Christian evangelical parents in the large village Ogidi, in Igboland, Eastern Nigeria. He received an early education in English, but grew up surrounded by a complex fusion of Igbo traditions and colonial legacy. He studied literature and medicine at the University of Ibadan; after graduating, he went to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos and later studied at the British Broadcasting Corporation staff school in London. During this time, Achebe was developing work as a writer. Starting in the 1950s, he was central to a new Nigerian literary movement that drew on the oral traditions of Nigeria's indigenous tribes. Although Achebe wrote in English, he attempted to incorporate Igbo vocabulary and narratives. Things Fall Apart (1958) was his first novel, and remains his best-known work. It has been translated into at least forty-five languages, and has sold eight million copies worldwide. Chinua Achebe’s “African Trilogy” : Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God captures a society caught between its traditional roots and the demands of a rapidly changing world. A titled Ibo chieftain himself, Achebe's novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of Western and traditional African values during and after the colonial era. His style relies heavily on the Ibo oral tradition, and combines...
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...Christian religion had brought to the Igbo people. In the 1950s, an exciting new literary movement grew in strength. Drawing on indigenous Nigerian oral traditions, this movement enriched European literary forms in hopes of creating a new literature, in English but unmistakably African. Published in 1958, Things Fall Apart is one of the masterpieces of 20th century African fiction. Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s, during the coming of the white man to Nigeria. In part, the novel is a response and antidote to a large tradition of European literature in which Africans are depicted as primitive and mindless savages. The attitudes present in colonial literature are so ingrained into our perception of Africa that the District Commissioner, who appears at the end of the novel, strikes a chord of familiarity with most readers. He is arrogant, dismissive of African "savages," and totally ignorant of the complexity and richness of Igbo life. Yet his attitude echoes so much of the depiction of Africa; this attitude, following Achebe's depiction of the Igbo, seems hollow and savage. Digression is one of Achebe's most important tools. Although the novel's central story is the tragedy of Okonkwo, Achebe takes any opportunity he can to digress and relate anecdotes and tertiary incidents. The novel is part documentary, but the liveliness of Achebe's narrative protects the book from reading like an anthropology text. We are allowed to see the Igbo through their own eyes, as they celebrate...
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...as the total knowledge, skills, innovative abilities, and aptitudes of an organization's workforce, as well as the attitudes, values, and beliefs of the individuals involved in the affairs of the organization. It is the heart and soul of business’s or organization’s success. According to Think+Up, “Human resource management is a business function focusing on the staffing needs and responsibilities of a company. Because employees are often the largest business asset in a company, companies may spend copious amounts of time and effort evaluating their human resource management systems”. In today’s organizations, to guarantee their viability and ability to contribute, IHRM managers need to think of themselves as strategic partners. In this role, the IHRM person contributes to the development of and the accomplishment of the organization’s business plan and objectives. The IHRM business objectives are established to support the attainment of the overall strategic business plan and objectives. The tactical IHRM representative is deeply knowledgeable about the design of work systems in which people succeed and contribute. This strategic partnership impacts IHRM services such as the design of work positions hiring, reward, recognition and strategic pay, performance development, appraisal systems, career and succession planning, and employee development (Heathfield, n.d.). The globalization of human resource management has increased, to some extent, the traditional scope of IHRM. Today...
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...CHAPTER 2 Multi-Bonding: Polygamy, Polygyny, Polyamory Defining and Identifying Multi-bonding Non-monogamous relationships can take any number of forms, including, but not limited to, serial pair-bonding (known most frequently as serial monogamy), polygamy, polyandry, communal living, and “open” pair-bondings, where sexual or sexual-emotional relationships outside of the primary one are tolerated to a greater or lesser degree (cf. Robinson, 1997). Polygyny has been defined as “the marriage of a man to two or more women at the same time” (Moorehead, 1991: 311), or the “practice of plural marriage” (Altman and Ginat, 1996: 3). The term polygamy has also been used synonymously with polygyny, although it could also be used to encompass polyandry (Welch and Glick, 1981). Polyandry refers to the marriage of one woman to two or more husbands, while polygynandry contemplates a situation in which two or more women are simultaneously married to two or more men (Al-Krenawi, Graham, and Slonim-Nevo, 2002). Polygynandry has also been used to refer to group marriage (Anon., 2004). The term informal polygamy has been used to describe relationships characterized by the simultaneous existence of a legal marriage of one man to one woman and an affair with a second woman that has become a stable feature of the family structure (Rivett and Street, 1993). In contrast, polyamory refers to “group marriage” or the existence of one or more sexual 27 28 • Multi-Bonding: Polygamy...
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...CHAPTER 2 Multi-Bonding: Polygamy, Polygyny, Polyamory Defining and Identifying Multi-bonding Non-monogamous relationships can take any number of forms, including, but not limited to, serial pair-bonding (known most frequently as serial monogamy), polygamy, polyandry, communal living, and “open” pair-bondings, where sexual or sexual-emotional relationships outside of the primary one are tolerated to a greater or lesser degree (cf. Robinson, 1997). Polygyny has been defined as “the marriage of a man to two or more women at the same time” (Moorehead, 1991: 311), or the “practice of plural marriage” (Altman and Ginat, 1996: 3). The term polygamy has also been used synonymously with polygyny, although it could also be used to encompass polyandry (Welch and Glick, 1981). Polyandry refers to the marriage of one woman to two or more husbands, while polygynandry contemplates a situation in which two or more women are simultaneously married to two or more men (Al-Krenawi, Graham, and Slonim-Nevo, 2002). Polygynandry has also been used to refer to group marriage (Anon., 2004). The term informal polygamy has been used to describe relationships characterized by the simultaneous existence of a legal marriage of one man to one woman and an affair with a second woman that has become a stable feature of the family structure (Rivett and Street, 1993). In contrast, polyamory refers to “group marriage” or the existence of one or more sexual 27 28 • Multi-Bonding: Polygamy, Polygyny,...
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...However, this long-term campaign involved widespread support in educated circles to replace the term “tribe” or “tribal” with the more universally applicable concept of ethnicity. What if we insert element of this feminist theory into the history of our people by claiming we are from the same ancestral cord despite our linguistic differences. The Nupes regard Yoruba as brother from the same mother, that is why we hardly hear of clash between the two ethnic group. Nevertheless, older beliefs died slowly, and ethnic identities were still a vital part of national life since 1990. An untamed emphasis on ethnicity like this gives birth to...
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...ANTHROPOLOGY 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Queens College / CUNY, Spring 2015 TuTh 12:15-1:30PM, Kiely 150 Professor: Ramona Lee Pérez, PhD Email: ramona.perez@qc.cuny.edu Office hours: Th 2-3 PM, PH 315H COURSE DESCRIPTION This course is an introduction to the range of human diversity through an exploration of the peoples of the world. We will cover the basic concepts, theories, and methods that anthropologists use to study variations in cultural norms and social practices, economic systems and rules of law, social organization and patterns of inequality, identity and worldview, and patterns of social and cultural change. Focusing on the culture concept and the method of ethnography, we begin with the historical foundations of anthropology and then follow its attempts to understand contemporary human cultures. Comparative analysis of multiple ethnographic case studies and major theoretical approaches illuminates the range of human diversity, the forces that shape cultures, and how people adapt to a rapidly changing modern world. The central objectives of this course are to develop your intellectual skills, your cross-cultural fluency, and your sense of civic and moral engagement in global society. I hope that this course inspires many of you to become anthropology majors or minors, and grants each of you an anthropological perspective on your own life. REQUIREMENTS This is an intensive course that requires full participation from every student...
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...Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 i RTNA01 1 13/6/05, 5:28 PM READING THE NOVEL General Editor: Daniel R. Schwarz The aim of this series is to provide practical introductions to reading the novel in both the British and Irish, and the American traditions. Published Reading the Modern British and Irish Novel 1890–1930 Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Daniel R. Schwarz Brian W. Shaffer Forthcoming Reading the Eighteenth-Century Novel Paula R. Backscheider Reading the Nineteenth-Century Novel Harry E. Shaw and Alison Case Reading the American Novel 1780–1865 Shirley Samuels Reading the American Novel 1865–1914 G. R. Thompson Reading the Twentieth-Century American Novel James Phelan ii RTNA01 2 13/6/05, 5:28 PM Reading the Novel in English 1950–2000 Brian W. Shaffer iii RTNA01 3 13/6/05, 5:28 PM © 2006 by Brian W. Shaffer BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Brian W. Shaffer to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and...
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...Home JournalsBooksAbout UsMembershipSubscriptionAllies & FriendsContact us Culture And Child Abuse In Nigeria Charity N. Uzuegbu Department of Social Work, University of Nigeria, Nsukka Abstract Cultural practises have been observed to increase the abuse of children in Nigeria. This paper discusses the effects of cultural practices on the abuse of children in Nigeria. Some of the cultural practices discussed are early marriage, female genital mutilation, and desire for large family size. It was suggested that public enlightenment programmes and free social services should be provided to help control the situation. Introduction The problem of child abuse is very prevalent in the Nigerian society. The problem arose as result of various factors which include economic, social, and cultural. It is accompanied by adverse consequences to the child, family and society. This paper discusses the influence of some of the cultural practices prevalent in Nigeria on child abuse. The aim of the study is to bring to limelight how some cultural practices increase the problem of child abuse in Nigeria, and suggest ways of controlling the situation. Data for the study was collected through the use of participant observation and secondary documents such as previous research works. Child abuse has been defined as the “physical or emotional mistreatment and neglect of children or the sexual exploitation in circumstances for which the parents can be held responsible through acts...
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...1 Innovation in Africa: A View from the Peaks and Hilltops of a Spiky Continent* By David A. Wernick, Florida International University College of Business *From the forthcoming book Innovation in Emerging Markets, edited by J. Haar and R. Ernst (Palgrave, 2016). Please do not circulate or quote without consent of author. ABSTRACT: There is growing interest among scholars and practitioners in African innovation. Some contend that the continent's recent economic boom is largely a homegrown phenomenon, driven primarily by indigenous entrepreneurs developing local content for continental consumers. But is this true? To what extent is Africa's impressive economic performance in recent years the result of internal dynamics and which actors and institutions are most responsible? This chapter examines the state of innovation across the African continent, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. The authors identify key facilitators of innovation in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, as well as obstacles to the continent’s continuing innovation-led economic expansion. I. Introduction In a widely read 2005 article in the Atlantic Monthly, author Richard Florida argued that with respect to innovation, the world is anything but flat. Given the way that creative talent, technical expertise, and financial capital tend to cluster in a handful of hubs or “peaks” around the world – places such as New York, San Francisco, London, Berlin, and Tokyo – the world’s...
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...HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2004 Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World Accommodating people’s growing demands for their inclusion in society, for respect of their ethnicity, religion, and language, takes more than democracy and equitable growth. Also needed are multicultural policies that recognize differences, champion diversity and promote cultural freedoms, so that all people can choose to speak their language, practice their religion, and participate in shaping their culture— so that all people can choose to be who they are. 65 108 166 55 34 82 3 14 91 51 40 138 29 62 6 99 161 134 114 66 128 72 33 56 175 173 130 141 4 105 169 167 43 94 73 136 144 168 45 163 48 52 30 32 Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, Dem. Rep. of the Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic 17 154 95 98 100 120 103 109 156 36 170 81 13 16 122 155 97 19 131 24 93 121 160 172 104 153 115 23 38 7 127 111 101 10 22 21 79 9 90 78 148 28 44 110 135 50 80 Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea...
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