Against Decolonisation: On Africa's Place in the Global Circuit of Ideas
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ส.ค. 2024
- Professor Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò presents builds on the arguments in his latest book "Against Decolonisation: Taking African Agency Seriously", which provides an intellectual and moral critique of today’s decolonisation movement. He argues that 'decolonisation' has lost its way. Originally a struggle to escape the West’s direct political and economic control, it has become a catch-all idea, often for performing ‘morality’ or ‘authenticity’; it suffocates African thought and denies African agency. Now, he engages with critiques of his book and takes his arguments one step further, arguing for detailed engagement with African political thought on its own terms.
This thought-provoking lecture was hosted by the University of York Anticolonial Reading Group, with support from the Department of Politics and International Relations and the IGDC.
Prof. Olufemi Taiwo is making an incisive, insightful, and essential contribution here to the analysis of the contemporary 'decolonisation' movement/phenomenon.
Much of what the prof.has been itemizing and attempting to defog flies above the heads of those whose life (mostly in the continent) have been concerned and engrossed in political freedom,amongst other fundamental and pressing socio-economic matters. Frankly,it is those like him who had the privilege to attend ivy colleges (to a large degree) who were exposed to such philosophies . That ,in itself,meant that most of us have been worried about how to cross a road and how not to be thrown in some jail for brushing shoulders with our colonisers. Even when we would attempt to delve into philosophies,we were not afforded that or could not because the climate within which we lived would not allow for such and if it did for a tiny number, no place would have permitted anyone to express such. In short,we were shackled to only concern ourselves with bread and butter issues when our erstwhile colonisers ,their progeny and all the rest of them had cartblance lifestyles and had a political machinery that warded off any of us who would have ventured to enter such privileged arenas of philosophical discourse and economy. Whilst the Prof's incisive surgical points seek to show the 'folly' of wanting to decolonize may be on point, it should be noted that his stance would be correct where 'the playing field' was level and all sprung from the same board. We grew up being told we cannot be given mathematics for that wasn't necessary for us and every other course of study was designed to make us cogs in the wheels fashioned to benefit our colonisers and to deny that reality would not only be disingenuous but denialism of the highest degree. What he says about the former president of Nigeria may sound like foolish but I believe has substance given the era and credibility and content of what these subjects taught us. History offer or rammed in our throats (as far as most of the SADC states under the Anglophone education systems) was not correct in that little of our history,if any,was allowed in our curricular. In the climate we lived in, wherein the rulers expected compliance if one would fend for family, philosophy wouldn't cut it. You were not employed to think but carry out what was expected,period. Any endeavour to act contrarily was met with harsh retributive actions. The Prof. seem to me ,at least, say Africans must not press on with wanting to advance what we consider to be akin to our culture and accept the status quo we don't even fathom. Africa will find it difficult to develop such philosophies related to itself because of the complexities of cultures and deliberate speedbumps put on her diverse pathways by Europeans ,in the main who unashamedly would do everything in their power to fight us in every way possible even to design educational systems meant to keep us at bay just so we cannot upset the European social applecarts to paraphrase one Professor Nicolas. Prof Taiwo will ,in time, find that what he decries would be satisfied because he is now teaching others who, in time, step up to the plate. If he so desires that someone must debate him,let him offer his book for free to at least a thousand people and see if his content would not be challenged. This, I propose because,again, the book prices are exorbitant and those who may want to consume his content may be unemployed and may be engrossed again in socio-economic issues. Let me be the first to receive the book ,I may just be his nemesis even if I am not a learned professor! Cheers from South Africa!
Great review!
Be careful who to trust because SALT AND SUGAR LOOK THE SAME.
Exactly, this Prof is clearly only African by skin colour and not at heart
@judeogbonnaya2975 you are right my brother
Such a hugely misleading tittle. At least put it in quotation marks. But anyhow, if Ford, Rockefeller, etc, fund an African scholar, then its lost course before it begins.
17:45 Sabelo is not the Decolonization guru at this present time the Guru is Joshua Maponga.. I myself run a TH-cam on Decolonization @TebogoMokgehle
Interesting conversation by Prof, question is the topic of Colonialism not taught in the Western hemisphere it seems the concept is new to the West and not understood, Why so?
Because a certain body politic of the West is busy trying to ban Black history and the study of US imperialism.
He should understand that telling us what's in the book, how the book came about, will sell the book, then fill in the blanks. Normally that is what book presenters do, not sure why he would do something different. I am not sure I want to buy his book now. 😮
Don’t. He’ll live. I just know by what you wrote that you’re white. Everything isn’t all about you. Old habits die hard.
Absolutely correct. Colonialism did not bring modernity to us in Africa, and so-called colonial knowledge originated in Africa to begin with, therefore rejecting modern knowledge in the name of "decolonisation" is a huge mistake.
In my understanding, decolonizastion is not necesarily only about abandoning modern knowledge but rather re-membering the the agency of Africans, our contributions as the foundation of humanity and re-establishing ourselves as worthy of self-determination without the paternalism that came as a result of Arab and European colonization. Essentially, liberating the mind of the African from depending on his enemies to guide his future. There are too many think tanks outside of Africa that inform the policy and developmental goals of the continent.
This is brilliant. Where do I find the q&a?
I suppose there have to be dissenting voices
As an African, I did not understand his démarche !!🤔🫢✍️
Tongue, meet boot
That constant clearing of his throat was a bit annoying! Indicative of a dairy allergy! Valuable information though!
Please miss try to eliminate eehm in your message. It is not a good educatioñ.
Thank you very much
A 4min introduction of the man’s career. We get it, he’s qualified.