Week 2: Culture & Precolonial Africa
Block One
Session Theme: personal concepts of identity and whether they accurately represent who we are today.
Learning goal:
Youth participants will be able to examine their self-concept, how it was developed and whether it represents whom they want to be.
Meditative Questions:
Who are you?
Describe yourself using only three words.
Removing your gender, race, household title (sister, brother, daughter etc.), occupation title etc. Who are you?
Where did you learn how to define yourself?
Do labels limit your perception of who you are?
Are you currently living to maintain one of your labels?
Block Two:
Theme: a general view of what culture looked like in Africa before colonization.
Learning Goals:
Participants will learn the seven elements of culture and provide examples of each element.
Participants will be able to identify how culture intersects with identity and community.
Participants will be able to understand the importance culture has on people from both the micro and macro views.
Major Take Aways
The first human remains were found in modern-day Ethiopia over 400,000 years ago
The Ancient Egyptian/ Kemetic is continuously mentioned because of its development in comparison to other civilizations, especially those in Eurasia (Diop, pg. 230)
Egypt/ Kemet was a colony of Ethiopia around 716- 656 B.C.E
The roots of our culture are being erased, which in my opinion, is why Black suffers from a lack of identity and a sense of community
Seven Elements of Culture:
Social Organization (family patterns and social class)
Customs and Traditions (established values)
Language (Spoken, written)
Arts and Literature (Values taught through the arts, literature, dance, music, architecture etc.)
Religion/ Spirituality (spiritual practices and or faith)
Forms of Government (types of government, society’s laws and political institutions)
Economic systems (refer to 3 basic economic questions)
What goods/ services should be produced?
How should they be produced?
For whom should they be produced?
Key Words
Culture: The totality of socially transmitted behaviour patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought (American Heritage Dictionary)
the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social groups. (Google Definition)
Our self-concept is derived from culture
Culture includes all activities and manners of manifestation which a group of people have developed over the period of their existence. (Ashby, pg. 37)
Identity: the fact of being who or what a person or thing is (Google Definition)
Culture is a people’s window on whatever they perceive as reality (to understand the world around them) and their concept of self (Ashby, 35)
Community: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common (Google Definition)
a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals (Google Definition)
a similarity or identity (Google Definition)
Clan: a group of people with a strong common interest or family (Google Definition)
Tribe: a social division in a traditional society consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect, typically having a recognized leader. (Google Definition)
Antiquity: the ancient past, especially the period before the Middle Ages (Google Definition)
Indigeneity: the fact of originating or occurring naturally in a particular place (Google Definition)
Chiefdom: a territory ruled by a chief
Kingdom: a territory ruled by a King or Queen
State: a territory ran by a community exercising power
Bibliography:
Leyyard Public Schools (2022). Leyyard Public Schools. Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://www.ledyard.net/district/curriculum/social_studies_curriculum/grade_7__cultural_geography_of_the_eastern_hemisph/unit_2__seven_elements_of_culture
Ashby, M. (2000) African Religion Vol 3. Memphite Theology (M. Ashby) (Vol 3)
Ghosh, P. (2015, March 4) ‘First human discovered in Ethiopia.’ BBC News. https:// www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31718336
Diop, A. (1974) The African Origin of Civilization Myth or Reality. Cook.
Jochannan, Y. (1989) Black Man Of The Nile And His Family Jochannan.
Ashby, M. (2005) African Origins of Civilization, Region and Yoga Mysticism and Ethics Philosophy (2nd ed.) Ashby.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2013, August 2). Punt. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Punt-historical-region-Africa
Danso, S. (2018) Rites of Passage and Inclusion of Values among the Ashanti of Ghana: A Case Study. International Journal of Innovative Research and Development. ISSN 2278 – 0211 https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjtlp38_e_6AhWvkYkEHZgzCjYQFnoECAEQAw&url=http%3A%2F%2F52.172.159.94%2Findex.php%2Fijird%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F128002%2F88675&usg=AOvVaw06QWSsZKMlEV858VPDyoGz
