Institute of African Studies
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Item Afrofuturism: The Changing Narrative And The African Youth(University Of Ghana, 2020) Komey, A.N.AThe premiere of Black Panther in 2018 by Marvel Studios threw more light on a genre of literature and popular art that was fast gaining popularity on the African continent. The booming success of the film drew the attention of many, especially young people in Africa and in the diaspora, to the new genre, albeit subtly. This genre’s goal is to rewrite the history of black people, which is often told in a myopic western lens, as well as put a black face in the future, through the use of fantasy, speculative art and science fiction. This is an eclectic study touching on literature, history, political studies, sociology and popular culture. It looks at the role played by the speculative imagination in the cultural emancipation narrative of the continent. The study also investigates the potential of this genre in aiding to achieve Pan Africanism. This study is an exploratory research that uses the qualitative research tools; interviews and content analysis to collect and analyse information. Young people from across the African continent and in the African American diaspora were interviewed to examine their response to the impact of Afrofuturism in African popular culture and how it influences identity and Pan African solidarity The study revealed that some of the objectives that the genre seeks to achieve are being met, and even being exceeded. However, there are serious concerns about the danger of promulgating an interrupted and skewed history of black people by producers and content creators especially in the diaspora. Thus, artists and others in Africa hold a different view about how the genre should develop on the continent in the future. The study concludes with recommendations on how the genre can be moved promoted to increase its impact in achieving its objectives.Item Prophetess Laura Adorkor Kofi And The Back To Africa Mission: A Ghanaian Perspective(University Of Ghana, 2022-09) Atta-Asiedu, K.A.This diesis is a contribution to the discourse on Laura Adorkor Kofi and her hack-to-Africa vision, The thesis engages in textual analysis of studies that have been done on Laura Kuti and explores grey areas covering her identity and Ghanaian citizenship. It engages in a comparative analysis of the various methodologies adopted by scholars who have studied Laura Kofi, and makes a case for the importance of oral narratives in accessing information about Laura Adorkor Kofi’s Ghanaian ancestry. The thesis is in two parts: The first part studies Laura Kofi from die United States of America perspective, while die second part studies Laura Kofi from the Ghanaian perspective. The first part analyses studies that have been done focusing on Kofi’s association with the Universal Negro Improvement Association (henceforth UNIA), her expulsion from the UNIA, her formation of the African Universal Church {henceforth AUG), her Patt-African and religious engagements and events leading to her demise. This part also discusses the difficulties she encountered and the successes she achieved within the period. The second part of the study* which focuses on her Ghanaian ancestry, analyses issues relating to her origin and attempts to solve the mystery surrounding her identity. This part explains why she is referred to as a Ghanaian, a princess and a prophetess, and why she bears the name Adorkor Kofi. The study explains the seeming contradictions in some of the existing literature and documents oral accounts from a descendant and other career of handed-down oral narrations of the story of Laura Adorkor Kofi.Item The Depiction Of Women In The Struggle For Cultural, Political And Economic Freedom In The Works Of Some Selected African Writers.(University of Ghana, 2016-07) Agu, T.A.Gender stereotypes have existed in African societies for a long time. In these societies, it is generally believed that women are the weaker sex, subservient to men, objects of sexuality, and incapable of taking critical decisions affecting their own lives and those of their communities. Following these assumptions, male writers have often been accused of projecting these stereotypes in their works. Indeed, this is true to a large extent as many male writers seemed to play down the role of women in the African society. While Cyprian Ekwensi presents the city girl as a prostitute, Oyono, in Houseboy, depicts Madame and Sophia as beautiful sexual objects fit only for male consumption. But at the same time that most male authors and indeed some female writers were presenting female characters as second-class human species, others had begun to see the potential in women to assume roles previously thought to be exclusive to men. One of these is Sembene Ousmane. God’s Bits of Wood (originally Les Bouts de Bois de Dieu) is a protest novel that has been given a contemporary political setting, and tells of the strike along the Dakar – Niger railway in 1947/48 in demand for better working conditions. Though they are beaten, murdered and tortured by the white employers, they win in the end with the women playing active roles. There is also Asiedu Yirenkyi’s Kivuli from which he has Blood and Tears which also unearths the wind of change that is blowing with the strong desire of women fight for equality and freedom. We can also make mention of the late Efo Mawugbe in his novel In the Chest of a Woman, which also exposes us to the wind of change in issues concerning women from male perspectives. Mention can be made of Wole Soyinka in his Kongi’s Harvest and Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of The Savannah which are some of the selected texts for this research. This study seeks to examine the economic, political and social roles played by the female characters to alleviate the privations of the daily sufferings they encounter in the society. This will be done by library research involving primary and secondary texts.Item Afrofuturism: The Changing Narrative And The African Youth(University of Ghana, 2020-10) Komey, A.N.A.The premiere of Black Panther in 2018 by Marvel Studios threw more light on a genre of literature and popular art that was fast gaining popularity on the African continent. The booming success of the film drew the attention of many, especially young people in Africa and in the diaspora, to the new genre, albeit subtly. This genre’s goal is to rewrite the history of black people, which is often told in a myopic western lens, as well as put a black face in the future, through the use of fantasy, speculative art and science fiction. This is an eclectic study touching on literature, history, political studies, sociology and popular culture. It looks at the role played by the speculative imagination in the cultural emancipation narrative of the continent. The study also investigates the potential of this genre in aiding to achieve Pan Africanism. This study is an exploratory research that uses the qualitative research tools; interviews and content analysis to collect and analyse information. Young people from across the African continent and in the African American diaspora were interviewed to examine their response to the impact of Afrofuturism in African popular culture and how it influences identity and Pan African solidarity The study revealed that some of the objectives that the genre seeks to achieve are being met, and even being exceeded. However, there are serious concerns about the danger of promulgating an interrupted and skewed history of black people by producers and content creators especially in the diaspora. Thus, artists and others in Africa hold a different view about how the genre should develop on the continent in the future. The study concludes with recommendations on how the genre can be moved promoted to increase its impact in achieving its objectives.Item Afrofuturism: The Changing Narrative And The African Youth(University of Ghana, 2020-10) Komey, A.N.A.The premiere of Black Panther in 2018 by Marvel Studios threw more light on a genre of literature and popular art that was fast gaining popularity on the African continent. The booming success of the film drew the attention of many, especially young people in Africa and in the diaspora, to the new genre, albeit subtly. This genre’s goal is to rewrite the history of black people, which is often told in a myopic western lens, as well as put a black face in the future, through the use of fantasy, speculative art and science fiction. This is an eclectic study touching on literature, history, political studies, sociology and popular culture. It looks at the role played by the speculative imagination in the cultural emancipation narrative of the continent. The study also investigates the potential of this genre in aiding to achieve Pan Africanism. This study is an exploratory research that uses the qualitative research tools; interviews and content analysis to collect and analyse information. Young people from across the African continent and in the African American diaspora were interviewed to examine their response to the impact of Afrofuturism in African popular culture and how it influences identity and Pan African solidarity The study revealed that some of the objectives that the genre seeks to achieve are being met, and even being exceeded. However, there are serious concerns about the danger of promulgating an interrupted and skewed history of black people by producers and content creators especially in the diaspora. Thus, artists and others in Africa hold a different view about how the genre should develop on the continent in the future. The study concludes with recommendations on how the genre can be moved promoted to increase its impact in achieving its objectives.Item The Role of Elite Women in the Yendi Municipality Of Ghana. The Case of Selected Women Leaders(University of Ghana, 2020-10) Mensah, C.K.The role of women in politics and decision-making is one of the current blazing governance issues because of the perceived and acknowledged potential and contribution of women to governance and national development processes. Effective and meaningful participation is a process of empowerment that enhances the self-worth of individuals and groups. This study examines the state of women leadership, their contributions, challenges, and how they are represented and perceived in terms of their roles in the Yendi Municipality of Northern Ghana. This was done by using two elite women namely; female Chiefs (Gundo Na & Kpatu-Ya Na) and one Magajiaa as case studies. The duties of Hajias and wives of chiefs were investigated as well. The study purposefully sampled and interviewed 30 respondents to solicit for data in the field to achieve this kind of purpose. Qualitative research designs and techniques were employed during the study. Primary and secondary data were collected and analyzed qualitatively. The study reveals that most recent scholarly works in the study area highlight the achievements and challenges of women in modern political systems, while little or nothing is documented on the roles and challenges of other equally important elite women who are not necessarily active in the modern political structures, but contribute greatly in diverse ways towards the development of their communities. It was shared that apart from the female chiefs (Paunabas), whose roles and position are revered by majority of the people in Yendi, the same could not be said about other elite women such as the female Tindanas and Hajias. They are less recognized and valued because of some endemic sociocultural and religious perceptions about the position of women in public life. The study revealed that elite women in Yendi of Northern Ghana are constrained by inadequate finance, low levels of education, sociocultural and religious beliefs, lack of confidence, and intimidation. Consequently, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), government, political parties, and civil society organizations do organize sensitization and training programmes to empower some elite women into governance and decision-making processes in the Yendi Municipality. Despite the social and structural challenges identified in the above, the study documented the following during the case studies as some of the duties performed by women leaders in the Yendi Municipality; serving as mouthpiece for women, settlement of marital disputes, mobilizing of women for religious, community, and political party work, serving as role models for young girls, and lobbying for loans and technical support from banks and NGOs respectively. In spite of these efforts, there are only few elite women who are found on key decision-making bodies in the Yendi Municipality. Due to the little number of elite women on major decision-making bodies, their impacts and influences are also limited, making it difficult to deconstruct the strong patriarchal systems and sociocultural norms which are used to marginalize women in most aspects of their lives.Item Sacred Spaces and Women: A Case Study of Okomfo Akosua Atuobua in the Koankre Shrine(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Aduako, H.BThe pivotal role of priestesses in traditional religious shrines is not as heavily researched as that of their male counterparts. These shrines regularly adhere to socially constructed gender roles, which reinforces patriarchy. Shrines such as Koankre have male priests who are often the primary focus of many studies on traditional African religion. This is because of cultural norms that prescribe gender roles and responsibilities for men and women in society. Nevertheless, there are shrines that are run by priestesses who defy the traditional concept of womaness in their communities. This dissertation interrogates the role of priestesses in the traditional priesthood institution based on a case study of Okomfo Akosua Atuobua operating at Koankre shrine in the Eastern region of Ghana. The study examines how her gender impacts her ability to perform the diverse roles that she is obligated to execute as the ultimate spiritual leader in the Koankre shrine and Ohene Akura village. The study is based on field work that consists of interactions with 34 respondents from the Koankre shrine and Ohene Akura village. The research indicates that even though she operates in a patriarchal shrine, she is equipped by deities to perform her roles and duties without being confined or subordinated. The complexity of being a priestess in a predominately male dominated institution presupposes that the priestess must alternate between “genders” to perform her roles to varied groups of people and in diverse spaces. Finally, it suggests that the institution that is male dominated allows limited spiritual space for women to serve as priestesses.Item 20TH and 21ST Century Literary Voices on Colonialism and Beyond: The Case of Adichie and Achebe(University Of Ghana, 2019-07) Opare, P.D.Colonialism and its aftermath remain a perennial theme of modern African literature. This theme has attracted a lot of comments from literary critics: there have been concerns that African literature has sacrificed art for politics, that it has remained imaginatively timid and dull. African literature of the 21st century is expected to have a new face, a new face it will have, perhaps, by putting behind her the dark past of colonialism, racism and marginalization so that she can be more imaginatively aggressive and expansive. Yet the theme of colonialism remains, sitting side by side with the new concerns that 21st century African writers address in their works. This thesis seeks to examine the perennial theme of colonialism in 20th and 21st century African literature. I examine the peculiar approaches that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie adopts in writing stories about colonialism and beyond, comparing her works to Chinua Achebe in a bid to identify where they converge and diverge in telling the African story. I also examine how the concepts of transnationalism, cosmopolitanism and interstitial postcoloniality impact the commitment a writer takes in telling stories of colonialism and beyond. The study argues finally that the bold new approaches that Adichie has adopted in telling postcolonial stories are as a result of the heritage of Achebe as a forerunner in African literature, and more importantly because of her expansion of her work through extra-territorialism and cross-cultural initiations (Bhabha, 1994.)Item Towards Electing Women into National Executive Offices: Challenges of Women’s Political Participation within Political Parties in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.(University of Ghana, 2020-06) Dwaah, E.A.A.Since the commencement of the fourth republic on 7th January 1993, the NDC and NPP have dominated the space of governance. As such, these parties have become major vehicles that drive citizens’ participation in politics. Political participation, therefore becomes complete when all members of the party including women are able to participate at the peak of the party as occupants of the high national executive offices. The thesis seeks to explain why no woman has been able to occupy the high executive offices of these parties at the national level. The high executive offices the study considers include: national chairperson, General Secretary and National Organizer. The research findings were obtained purely through the qualitative research design and review of literature significant to the study. The qualitative method was used because it allows for depth of information more than what the quantitative design offers. One on one interviews were conducted with a total of fifteen people which included eight women and seven men who are currently serving, or have served, or have aspired to be national executives of the two major parties. The participants shared their rich political experiences and challenges with the researcher. The key to understanding why women have been absent at the national executive offices rest on a number of factors that include; their physiological make up which usually makes them object of insults and mockery when they contest, party processes that puts men at an advantage over women and the party ideology that largely influences women’s access to these offices.Item Popes’ Complicities in the ‘Negro’ Slave Trade, 15th Century to 19th Century.(University Of Ghana, 2019-07) Mensah, I.S.N.Catholic Church historians and the Papacy had claimed to have vehemently condemned slave trade at every instance. Catholic historians and scholars like Luigi Conti and Panzer have done their best to grant an intellectual absolution to the seat of the Pope by carefully whitewashing the ugly part of their history and eulogizing the Catholic Church for being at the forefront of the abolitionist movement. I contend that a thorough analysis of Papal bull, treaties and the classic works of scholars like John Francis Maxwell 1975, Howard Erskine-Hill 1998 and Pius Onyemechi Adiele 2017 and other published works would bring to bear the involvement of the Pope in the process of the enslavement of the ‘Negro’. I will advance this debate to show the authority of the pope in medieval European politics by examining archival sources on the alliances, diplomatic relations and international treaties ratified with such European countries concerning the slave trade. I will extend this debate further to show that not only did the church blessed and supported the trade, but the Church directly purchased African slaves in Rome. This work also takes a closer look at the extent of the papacy’s direct and indirect involvement in the Negro slave trade. An analysis of the financial system and fiscal policy of the Catholic Church in medieval times and assessment of largest Slave Corporation in Maryland by the Jesuit Order based on archival materials from Georgetown University Slave Archive show that not only was the leadership of the Church involved in the trade but also benefitted from the trade.