Abstract In this article, the writer notes that De Gaulle was clear that decolonization served the interests of France. The writer points out that the British Labor Party took the same approach, but was more benevolent. The writer discusses that the statements made by de Gaulle and during the British debate were inevitable and that behind the scenes, international events, and especially World War II, had and were making a massive impact. The writer shows that decolonization took place within the context of a profoundly changing world with new and very pressing demands.
From the Paper "There are several striking similarities between De Gaulle's justifications for decolonization and those expressed by the members of British parliament. There also are several very important differences. De Gaulle was clear that decolonization served the interests of France. The British Labor Party took the same approach, but was more benevolent. The statements made by de Gaulle and during the British debate were inevitable. Behind the scenes, international events, and especially World War II, had and were making a massive impact. Decolonization took place within the context of a profoundly changing world with new and very pressing demands."
Abstract This paper explains that the most notable internal factors influencing the decolonization of India is the gradual handing-over of more and more power to Indian political elites in the Legislative Councils of India in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. The author points out how collective memory, while well-concealed during the apogee of British might in the last-half of the nineteenth century, also fueled underground resistance to British rule. The paper explores how the rise of nationalist associations and a series of reforms by the British - the 1861 Indian Councils Act, the 1892 Act and most significantly the sweeping Morley-Minto reforms of 1909 in response to the foolishness of former Viceroy George Curzon - led to India being slowly introduced to responsible government and to the parliamentary traditions, which would sustain it when it became wholly independent after the Second World War.
From the Paper "It is axiomatic that empires cost a lot of money; it is also axiomatic that empires eventually must respond to the demands and concerns of the repressed - at least somewhat - or destructive rebellion, the disruption of trade and commodity production, and a general rise in hostilities will result. For the British, the 1857 Uprising and the subsequent 1861 Councils Act were only the first steps towards recognizing that the cultural imperialism of the past was no longer going to suffice as the twentieth century drew nigh. To wit, in 1892 a revised Indian Councils Act was passed that permitted "local comment" and criticism for legislation passed by the provincial legislative councils."
From the Paper "Thiong"o goes into great detail in describing his oversimplified view of the correlation between language and culture. He claims that language is a carrier of culture, and uses the example that in Sweden and Denmark, English is only used to communicate with those who cannot speak their language. However, in Britain, the English language is not only a means of communication, but also a carrier of its culture and history. For Africans, there is no relationship between their acquired language"English, and their African culture. Thiong"o defines culture as a product and a reflection of human beings communicating with one another in the very struggle to create wealth and control it"a product of the history which it in turn reflects. "
Abstract This paper discusses the historiography of the issues involved in the fall of the British Empire. The author focuses upon areas of overlap and commonality as well as major controversies and points of historiological disagreement, displays an understanding of the current state of historical writing on British decolonization, suggests ways in which the field might be improved, broadened, enlivened, or brought more sharply into focus, and offers some suggestions about the direction he thinks the field might or possibly should take in the future.
Abstract This paper discusses that, in the areas of the arts and politics, France surely was an able leader; but today, unemployment is at 10 percent and rising, the national debt has doubled in eight years, and the country has fallen to tenth position in the European Union for income per capita. The author points out three main arguments on the causes of the decline of France: the chaotic history up to the end of decolonization; the domestic confusion caused by lost opportunities and mistaken choices since 1970; and the months after French President Jacques Chirac's re-election in May 2002 with 82 per cent of the vote, followed by some of the worst economic statistics since the war. The paper concludes that France, like every other country, has its good and bad points, successes and failures; other Western nations, including Britain and the United States, need to do some internal cleaning as well.
From the Paper "Further, in a Time magazine article "From Decline to Renewal" Stanley Hoffman quotes what he considers a still-relevant quote by President Charles De Gaulle. He invoked "old France, overburdened by history, bruised by wars and revolutions, moving endlessly from grandeur to decline and back, but regenerated, century after century, by the genius for renewal." The article then notes that France, which was so devastated by World War II occupation, has to be commended on its reconstruction, industrial revolution along with the modernization of the country's agriculture."
This paper compares two articles on the cultural significance of language; "Decolonizing the Mind" by N'gugi wa Thiong'o and the "Intellectual Savage" by Jamake Highwater.
1,088 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 0 sources, 2008, $ 37.95
Abstract The paper examines two articles, "Decolonizing the Mind" by N'gugi wa Thiong'o and the "Intellectual Savage" by Jamake Highwater. The paper explains how the articles discuss how language becomes the means through which a cultural reality is transmitted, thus controlling language is one means by which colonial usurpers can control self-imagery and self-awareness. The paper is of the opinion that both articles do a commendable job of highlighting the inter-relationship between language and culture.
From the Paper "In her article, "Decolonizing the Mind," N'gugi wa Thiong'o writes about her childhood speaking Gikuyu in her native Africa. In particular, she devotes time to recollecting how, as a small child, she listened to tales about how the weak hare could outwit the beasts of prey - the lion, the leopard, and the hyena - and stay alive in a hostile world. Not to be overlooked, she comments at length upon the different types of human beings who emerged in anthropocentric tales and how some were cruel, selfish and opposed to all that might foster a stronger community, and how others were kind, giving and individualistic; in assessing the narrative, it is evident that Ngugi wa Thiong'o is comparing the beasts of prey with colonizers eager to take over her native land. More than that, those stories impressed upon her the power of language - its cadence, rhythm, inflection, its suggestive power - and how language could bind a community together. Later though, this harmony would be broken when Englishmen took over the school system and made it a serious penalty for any child to be speaking the native Gikuyu language instead of the alien, oppressive English of the colonizers."
Abstract The paper relates that the uprising in nationalism after the First World War led to a wave of decolonization after the Second World War, especially in Asia and Africa. The paper focuses on India's non-violent revolution and Algeria's violent war of independence that are two different cases of this process. The paper specifically examines the nationalist movement in India and its results and then reviews Algeria's historical background and demands for independence. The paper concludes by highlighting the similarities and differences between the Indian and Algerian pursuits of independence.
Outline:
India
Algeria
Indian and Algerian Pursuit of Independence
From the Paper "The Congress Party "was an anti-colonial mass democratic party (...) enjoyed significant popular support" (Riley, 2007, 829). The Congress Party became after the First World War the main actor and the most successful in its efforts because its main adversaries, the left, were contained by the British rule, and due to its growing number of members. The party had a great deal of influence and power, not only from the number of supporters and members, but also due to its non-violent ideology. According to Riley, "central to Gandhi's program was non-violence as a tactic [with] a fine balance between restraint and radicalism following a compromise-struggle-compromise strategy" (Riley, 2007, 831), using both official negotiations but also civil disobedience and mass protests. Therefore, a violent confrontation on a large scale with the British administration was more reduced."
A review of First Nations Literature including two plays by Marie Clements: "Burning Vision" and "The Unnatural and Accidental Women", and a poetry book "Exercises in Lip Pointing" by Annharte.
Abstract This paper discusses of some of the ways in which First Nations literature makes a criticism of North American society and culture. the paper explains that in "Burning Vision", Clements makes it clear that the First World is pathologically sick in terms of its attitude to the world and its people and resources. The paper then examines the theme of resistance and struggle and decolonization in three of the texts. The writer believes that if First Nations' existence is defined by their status as having been colonized by people of a different race, then their salvation lies in resistance and struggle. The writer concludes that if First Nations cannot decolonize their countries, they can at least decolonize their minds, and that is what many of the best First Nations writers strive to do, which accounts for the central importance of this theme in much of their literature.
From the Paper "Clements also seems to imply that the ultimate expression of this rape is nuclear destruction - the ultimate assertion of power, delivered in phallic-shaped bombs by phallic-shaped jets. In this regard, it is important to remember that FAT MAN was the name of one of the atomic bombs. Moreover, the other atomic bomb was code named LITTLE BOY. This was unintentional irony, given that it is Western male aggression that propelled colonization, as well as the kind of destruction meted out by the atomic bombs. In The Unnatural and Accidental Women, Clements seems to be on a totally different track, focusing on poor women living in Vancouver's Eastside in the 1980s."
Abstract This paper discusses decolonization, independence and the failure of politics in Phyllis M. Martin and Patrick O'Heara's "Africa". People in the West are most commonly exposed to representations of Africa as a continent in crisis. The impression is given that all of the leadership is corrupt, and that therefore Africa has no one to blame but itself for its woes. The paper shows how the book presents the facts of what happened after decolonization, which helps the reader to understand the situation in Africa today.
History since 16th century Dutch & British rule. Looks at history of slavery, economics, abolition movement, politics, decolonization, leadership, foreign relations through to independence.
3,150 words (approx. 12.6 pages), 2 sources, 1997, $ 111.95
From the Paper "A Brief History of British Guyana
Guyana lies on the northeast edge of South America, flanked by Venezuela on the west. It is a largely populated settlement compared to other areas in the West Indies, but Guyana does not have the economic or political impact that nearby Trinidad or Jamaica does.
Current scholarship holds that the territory known as Guyana was first settled sometime before 900 A.D. by tribes of Indians whose present-day decendents include the peoples of the Shiriana, Waica, Warrau, and Guaharibo tribes. These early inhabitants were nomads, hunting and gathering for food. Theory holds that they began developing more complex communities after 900 A.D., evidence of which includes advanced pottery. These tribes eventually transformed into agrarian cultures, with religious sites and.."
From the Paper "African American History
This paper will discuss certain aspects of African American history. The first part of the paper will provide some background with regard to the history of Africa and its culture. The second part of the paper will briefly discuss the chronological history of African Americans, focusing especially upon the transition from slavery to freedom in the Nineteenth Century. The third part of the paper will discuss African American literature, including that produced during the Harlem Renaissance. The fourth part of the paper will discuss the African roots of jazz and the early development of jazz in African American culture."
Abstract This paper examines Chad-born director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's 1999 docu-fiction "Bye Bye Africa" which allows the audience to see into modern-day North-Central Africa, revealing and commenting on its complex social, political and cultural issues. It discusses how more importantly than serving as a voyeuristic peek into the world of the Other for curious European audiences, "Bye Bye Africa" effectively gives a voice to Black Africans themselves, a people virtually voiceless in the dominant media. It analyzes how the film achieves this counter-normative goal through providing a succinct history of Black African cinema and the ideological/theoretical/ cultural debates much of it is based upon, followed by a close reading of the film itself through the philosophical lens this historical overview provides.
From the Paper "Another way in which African cinema often wholly breaks dominant conventions is in the realm of language, by making use of native African language. This is a liberating change from most European depictions of Third World cultures, where ?[t]he languages spoken by Third World peoples are often reduced to an incomprehensible jumble of background murmurs, while major "native" characters are inconsistently obliged to meet the colonizer on the colonizer's linguistic turn? (Stam and Spence 240). Unfortunately in the case of Bye Bye Africa, language is one of the few aspects in which it supports the prevailing ideology: in its heavy use of the French language."
Abstract It examines how the messages of Achebe's work stem not only from what he says, but also from what he does not say. More than anything else, Achebe's spoken words, as well as non-spoken meanings, promote a process of decolonization of Africa, which includes the empowerment of women. The author clearly demonstrates that a revolution will be severely flawed if it does not respect its women.
Abstract This paper focuses on the development of opposition and local political organization in Nigeria initially. Then it examines the political process leading to independence. It focuses on the dual themes of federalism and independence in the decade from 1950-1960.
Abstract In this paper the author describes the reasons why she had to resign from her university post. She considers herself a Native American, despite her being Jewish. The author goes on to tell her story, why she was made to resign from her post in the Native American studies department. She also recommends, for all academics who are trying to get tenure, to ask a few pertinent questions of their departments before even applying. For example, she suggests that a prospect should inquire among his prospective faculty colleagues if they think that the decolonization of Native peoples is a significant issue today. The author carries on discussing her bitter experiences, emphasizing that because she is not the classic Native American, she was discriminated against. She concludes that it is better to work with your colleagues and find a common understanding, than to try and fight them.
From the Paper "Cornel Pewewardy calls for all of us to have a firm grounding in the discourse of the deconstruction of racial categories. He states that guilt and fear prevent too many from fully addressing the discourse and its ramifications "most of us are in denial about 'race' and 'hegemony' and do little committed thinking about race matters." Genocide and colonization are of course at the root of the guilt and fear; these historical processes will continue to erode every aspect of Native life until they are addressed both by dominant society and Native societies. Along with other Native academics and grassroots people, Pewewardy points to the need to "reach deep into the spiritual wells of our different religious traditions in order to draw strength and grace with which to address the challenges of healing and nation building." Implying that some of the current leadership may not be inclined or in position to do what he and others have called for, he also states that "Along with fresh leaders, a new leadership ethos grounded in tradition must be put in place, one that promotes accountability to the peoples through the revival of traditional decision-making procedures." My tenure experience, in addition to my experience of several reservations convinces me that too few of the people with power to influence the course of Native communities act from a Native ethos that is deeply concerned with reproducing Native values into the future."
Tags: phenotype, principals, dossier, program, chair, religious, ethos, cultureal, community
