Philosophical response

  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.            
Mudimbe discusses how imperialists deployed archaeology and historical records as tools for creating narratives that favored white people while denigrating black ones. He cites numerous examples including Jean-Francois Champollion's 1836 decipherment of hieroglyphics, which was then used by European scholars such as Gérard Maspero (1886) or Flinders Petrie (1912) to legitimize their views on ancient Egypt being derived from Greece rather than African indigenous knowledge systems. This played into a larger narrative about “primitive” African cultures not having any intellectual value or cultural sophistication compared with those found in Europe—a view that still persists today amongst many Western countries despite archaeological evidence disproving it conclusively. As such, colonialists were able to manipulate popular conceptions about African society so that they could be seen as inferior and easily dominated by whites; thereby allowing for more efficient oppression through economic exploitation and political subjugation. Though Mudimbe does not explicitly discuss solutions within this chapter, his discussion does provide insight into some possible areas for reform when it comes to recognizing African autonomy over its own pasts and present realities. By providing evidence against outdated notions concerning African civilization being negligible or nonexistent he has helped open up new possibilities towards viewing Africans as capable agents who are just as valuable contributors to global culture than anyone else—something we should all strive towards when discussing them without bias or preconceived notions based on centuries old myths surrounding primitiveness or lack thereof

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.

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