Only use the book, no outside sources. Only use the book (uploaded pdf version). The book is this book: Mudimbe, V. Y. The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge . Indiana University Press, 1988.
Explain one aspect or chapter of the book
Structure:
Start the response essay by answering the following questions in a page, no more:
– Why does it talk about the invention of Africa? Afterall Africa hasn’t been invented
– What does it mean that Africa has been invented? Who invented Africa?
– What does that mean for colonizers to invent Africa? How was it invented? Power dynamics
– Consequences of the invention of Africa. For Africans themselves. Capacity to define and talk about themselves
– To what extent was it bias by this initial invention of Africa?
From there write a response and reflect more specifically on one chapter of the book, it needs to pick one theme, one aspect, one chapter and the chapter must answer questions. The questions need to answer one chapter of the book.
Sample Solution
In The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy and the Order of Knowledge by V.Y. Mudimbe, the author takes an in-depth look into how colonial powers have created a false narrative around African history in order to better serve their own interests. He argues that Europeans “invented” Africa as a way to justify their colonization and exploitation of the continent, while simultaneously denying Africans the ability to define themselves through their own history and culture. One chapter from this book which speaks particularly to this issue is Chapter 4 “Imperial Historiography: The Invention of Ancient Egypt” which explores how European scholars used historical revisionism and pseudoscience to create a false sense of racial superiority among colonizing Europeans.
Sample Solution
In The Invention of Africa: Gnosis, Philosophy and the Order of Knowledge by V.Y. Mudimbe, the author takes an in-depth look into how colonial powers have created a false narrative around African history in order to better serve their own interests. He argues that Europeans “invented” Africa as a way to justify their colonization and exploitation of the continent, while simultaneously denying Africans the ability to define themselves through their own history and culture. One chapter from this book which speaks particularly to this issue is Chapter 4 “Imperial Historiography: The Invention of Ancient Egypt” which explores how European scholars used historical revisionism and pseudoscience to create a false sense of racial superiority among colonizing Europeans.
