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| The renowned West African scholar and historian Mamadou Diouf delivered the Killam lecture, "Reconfiguring Public Space and Re-imagining Communities in Contemporary Africa." |
Despite being perceived as isolated and traditional, the youth in West Africa form a globalized population, captivated by images from the west, says Mamadou Diouf.
African youth are looking outwards to North America and Europe for solutions to the problems in Africa, a situation which has subsequently resulted in Africans migrating to try to find better lives for themselves.
Dalhousie students and staff gathered on Thursday, Nov. 6 to hear Dr. Diouf of Columbia University lecture on the topic of "Reconfiguring Public Space and Re-imagining Communities in Contemporary Africa." The director of African studies at the New York University presented the second in a series of three lectures put on by the Dalhousie's Faculty of Arts and Social Science and African Studies Committee and made possible by the Killam Trust.
Dr. Diouf’s lecture touched on aspects of pre-colonial-up-to current African history to explain how urban centres have been formed in West Africa. He then explained what the global trend of rapid urbanization has meant for identities and relations between populations in these cities. He explored the effects of religion and gender on this process and contrasted the pre-colonial and post-colonial city as a basis to begin to talk about ‘new civilities’ in west Africa.
"These new civilities,” he argues, "are the movements of youth and women who engage in forming identities and community building which ignore the state in their focus on community.” He says these are the groups who are "re-imagining" West African cities.
In an interview following his lecture, I asked Dr. Diouf to comment on the Obama effect for Africans.
“Racism has not only destroyed the black community but also the humanity of white people,” he says, adding that Obama’s election has the potential to transform humanity, helping racists become more human and showing blacks that they are indeed human beings.
The election which took place so far away from Africa was paramount to the black nation, he says. President-elect Barack Obama is a symbol to all black people that, “yes, they can.”
The third and final lecture in the series will be held on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. on the topic of “What Happened to the African Renaissance? The Challenges of Development in the 21st Century.”
For more information visit: http://killamtrusts.dal.ca/lectures/
Oh ObamaBy Lukas Akerley When Barack Obama’s election was announced last Wednesday around midnight, the historic moment resonated around the world. Major news stations broadcasted celebrations from Australia to Kenya. “I’m in complete shock... it's like a dream,” said Dal student Niteecha Gill, at a day-after celebration planned by Dalhousie’s Black Student Advising Centre. She even changed her last name on Facebook to “Ohbama” to mark Obama’s victory. The celebration would have gone ahead even if Obama didn’t win. The fact that he made so many people hopeful was enough. “He’s energetic, young, and intelligent and he got people moving,” said Morton Simmonds, the first African-Canadian correction officer in Atlantic Canada. He says he enjoys the charisma Obama brings to U.S. politics. But Barbara-Ann Hamilton-Hinch, assistant professor in the School of Health and Human Performance, cautions just because an African-American was elected president of the United States, doesn’t mean racism will go away. Issues of inequality in health care, housing, and education continue to persist in communities throughout North America, she says. |