CREATING THE AFRICAN MYTH Often times, when very little is known about a topic, we as humans tend to fill in the blanks with the signs to which we have been exposed. Eventually, these signs and their meanings begin to stick in our minds and the minds of a society as unquestionably accurate, thus a myth is created. This is the case with G.W.F. Hegel’s The Philosophy of History. Hegel addresses the significance of Africa and Africans in comparison to the rest of the world by analyzing physical, spiritual, cultural, and political signs; he uses these signs to create the African myth. Africa must be divided into three parts, according to Hegel. One part is entirely dependent on Europe, another is entirely dependent on Asia, and the third
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In his book Mistaking Africa, Curtis Keim addresses the idea of the “Real Africa” and a “True African.” He suggests that “Americans expect and want the Real Africa to be different, and often the more different the better. To find the aspects of Africa that are similar to us somehow doesn’t satisfy us in the way that difference does.” (Keim 67) Exotic Africa, troubled Africa, helpless Africa; these phrases and more are still used by Americans to describe the continent today. However, most of these descriptions are used based upon false assumptions due to a shortage of knowledge about Africa, according to Keim. Notions about Africa as the “Dark Continent” are also still prevalent. Westerners look at Africa and see dark skin, dark customs, and dark sinning souls. All these dark signs signify a civilization of primitives who have “never advanced beyond the intellectual stage achieved by a European child.” (Keim 35) To conclude his analysis, Keim discusses the White Man’s Burden. This burden, first written about by Theodore Roosevelt following a safari trip in Africa, is a call on white men to take care of the inferior black race. This Burden signifies that it is the duty of a white man to govern and protect the less civilized. Furthermore, it is signified that white men should be responsible for black men, like a parent is responsible for a child. Nevertheless, Keim still makes a point to say that “this idea of a Real Africa is a legacy of ignorance and a racist past.” (Keim
In his book Mistaking Africa, Curtis Keim addresses the idea of the “Real Africa” and a “True African.” He suggests that “Americans expect and want the Real Africa to be different, and often the more different the better. To find the aspects of Africa that are similar to us somehow doesn’t satisfy us in the way that difference does.” (Keim 67) Exotic Africa, troubled Africa, helpless Africa; these phrases and more are still used by Americans to describe the continent today. However, most of these descriptions are used based upon false assumptions due to a shortage of knowledge about Africa, according to Keim. Notions about Africa as the “Dark Continent” are also still prevalent. Westerners look at Africa and see dark skin, dark customs, and dark sinning souls. All these dark signs signify a civilization of primitives who have “never advanced beyond the intellectual stage achieved by a European child.” (Keim 35) To conclude his analysis, Keim discusses the White Man’s Burden. This burden, first written about by Theodore Roosevelt following a safari trip in Africa, is a call on white men to take care of the inferior black race. This Burden signifies that it is the duty of a white man to govern and protect the less civilized. Furthermore, it is signified that white men should be responsible for black men, like a parent is responsible for a child. Nevertheless, Keim still makes a point to say that “this idea of a Real Africa is a legacy of ignorance and a racist past.” (Keim