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ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

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Page 1: ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

ANTH 1616: African IntersectionsContemporary Problems in the Anthropology of AfricaSpring, 2010

Page 2: ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

Words we use a lot.

Global

Local

Cosmopolitan

Transnational

Globalization

Translocal

Network

Nation

Tribe

Village

Community

Ethnic Group

Culture

Page 3: ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

•THERE IS: A Financial (Citibank) and Technological (email, phone systems, airports) penetration from the Core into the Periphery

•THIS PRODUCES: An unbalanced economic structure within the peripheral societies and among them and the centers

•THIS LEADS TO: Limitations upon self-sustained growth in the periphery

•THIS FAVORS: The appearance of specific patterns of class relations

•THESE REQUIRE: Modifications in the role of the state to guarantee the functioning of the economy and the political articulation of a society, which contains, within itself, foci of inarticulateness and structural imbalance (Cardoso, 1979)

WORLD SYSTEMS: THEORY AND METHOD

CORE

Periphery

Page 4: ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

Core v. Periphery. Core’s Stats.

Core States

•Big money, Big sticks. Few carrots.

•Highly industrialized

•Keeps labor – especially smart labor.

• Exports manufactured goods

•Specialize in information, finance and service industries

•New technology and industrial innovation

•Strong Institutions

•Big tax base so the state can support the economy

•Have more means of influence over noncore nations

•Independent

Page 5: ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

Core v. Periphery. Periphery Stats.

Periphery States

•Poor. Weak.

•Few, basic economic activities

•Weak institutions

•Tiny tax base

•Little infrastructure development

•Smart and hard-working labor migration

•Lots of people who are poor and uneducated

•Very influenced by core nations and their multinational corporations

•Forced to obey economic policies favoring core nations and harm the long-term economic prospects of periphery nations

Page 6: ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

Afro-Centrist Analysis

Thornton on Commerce and Exchange

Africans as active agents

African perceptions

African valuations of products and relationships

African controls and restrictions

African ideologies of wealth and ownership

Piot on Culture

Africans as active agents

African perceptions

African valuations of products and relationships

African controls and restrictions

African ideologies of wealth, fealty, relationship, obligation, ownership

Page 7: ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

The Role of Anthropology?

Page 8: ANTH 1616: African Intersections Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa Spring, 2010

Something Happened on the Way to the Americas…A.K.A. The Transatlantic Slave Trade

1840: “The Slave Trade”Auguste-Francois Biard

•Lots of people were traded.• 9.4-12 Million. Plus the babies.

•Over a long period of time. • 16th-19th centuries.

•African communities and leaders were deeply involved in procuring humans for commercial exchange

•There was a long tradition of slave trade in Africa –• African Societal Structures…

• “Good” Slavery?• “Bad” Slavery?• What’s up with this

debate?